Silicon Valley Open Studios

Wow.

This is what happens when the craziness that is my life takes over. Long story short: House hunting, found a house, played please take our money and accept the paperwork already with the lender for a while, got the house, contractor work, major sadness and heartbreaking loss in the family that felt like a suckerpunch to the gut (still tearing up here), and finally move in.

The only painting I have done in the past 2 months has been on my house. Not on canvas :( Which hits a HUGE sour note. I have been itching to get back to painting but by the time the work day is done, I am back at home working well into the night on house stuff, the last thing I want to do is fight traffic back to my studio.

Not complaining about buying a home. ;) It's just time consuming. Haha.

Anyways, I wanted to let you know that I am here.

And, if you are still here (THANK YOU!!!), here is some news:

Please view PDF here.

I am participating in the Silicon Valley Open Studios!!! I mentioned in my last and only post of this year so far, but basically, for the entire month of May (weekends only) artists are opening up their studios to the public. The first weekend May 5th and 6th is MY weekend for opening.

My studio will be open from 11am to 5pm Saturday (May 5th) and Sunday (May 6th).

I deeply apologize for my lack of posting on this blog and springing this up on you. But, if you are able to attend, please do and please check out http://www.svos.org/ for even more artists showing this weekend!

I know there is a studio at Mission College (near me) and several near downtown Santa Clara. For other artists and cities showing this weekend (remember, the weekends in May) please visit http://www.svos.org/.

I will be showing ALL of my past work which includes all art shown here on the blog, that hasn't been sold already. And I will be showing NEW work and works in progress.

You can come on by, see how I amazingly get covered in paint from head to toe, and what works are in the chute right now.

The address to my studio is 401 Nelo Street Santa Clara, CA 95054.

Closest cross streets are 101 Freeway, De La Cruz Blvd, Trimble, Aldo, Lafayette, Montague Expwy and First Street.

I am located just north the San Jose Airport, East of 101 Freeway, west if First Street and the Guadakup River (actually right next to it).  

Look for the SVOS YELLOW signs when you come near. Black and yellow balloons will be posted when you are getting closer to the studio, and I will have balloons marking the studio space.

It is in an industrial area. My studio is based out of an old tiny office in my father's machine shop. (Thanks Papa! [yes, I call him Papa. <3])

*********Also, 10% of all sales or commissions for animal portraits made this weekend will be going to the local Humane Society. *********

Food (snacks) and drinks (even some 21+) will be provided.

Please please please spread the word about SVOS. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, people you see on the street. Anyone who likes art.

All are welcome.

Come out enjoy Silicon Valley artists and support the community. Thank you so much!!

Goals for the New Year

. .
. . . . it's about time I post this.

I have a feeling this is going to be a good year. 2012 is the year of change, and thinking positivly, it's going to be good change. If I think about the possible negatives, I would just want to curl up in a ball and cry.

So this it going to be a fabulous year!

I feel very motivated in a lot of places in my life. In my creative zone especially. I have my lists going for paintings, I have my outline built up for my next two books and I am currently editing (again) my novel. I am sending it out to agents by the end of February.

I love the idea of having a deadline. It gives me time to think and work towards and finish. I realized, that if I don't have a deadline, nothing gets done. I won't stress if I get a little behind, but as long as it gets DONE then I will feel successful.

Part of the reason for this realization is because I made myself a little inspiration board.

The inspiration board, or vision board as others call it, also includes my health/fitness goals for the new year as well as home goals.

All things on the board are important in my life so it was only natural that half of the board was taken up by my creative/professional aspirations. They blend nicely.

Let's start with the art section.

My goals for my art within the year 2012:

1.)  Show in more festivals and participate in an open studios tour.

I know of two festivals that I will be a part of. West End in Sand City and Dias de los Muertos in San Jose. I want to participate in at least two more. Perhaps Salinas Food and Wine again and maybe another DOD festival (perhaps  Oakland?)

I actually just signed up for the Silicon Valley Open Studios Tour. Just in the nick of time too. I am very much excited about this. I get to show locally from my studio for an entire weekend.

It costs me a pretty penny to paticpate in these shows, and sometimes I don't break even, but in hindsight, that's okay. All I want is to expose my work to more possible future clientle.

Which leads to. . .

2.) Have more commissions! I have had two commissions in the past year and I would like to at least double that this year. So the goal is to have AT LEAST four commissions for 2012. If I get any more, I will be extremely happy.

I also love working on commissions. It's a challenge that I am all too ready to tackle. Each one different from the one before.  It also keeps me motivated in my work. As inm 'hey! someone actually likes my work and wants their own! woot woot!'

I do the woot woot in my head of course.

3.) Show in at least ONE gallery. Last year I did not show in a single actual art gallery. My dream right now is to be able to show in MACLA (Movmiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana) in down town San Jose. I just got to fill out the submission guidline and hope they can show my work.

4.) Expand myself as an artist.

This one is a little tricky and explainable at the same time. I LOVE exploring differnet styles of painting and different mediums. What I want to do, generally depends on my mood and how I envision the piece of art. I want to keep expanding my work and not limit myself just to paint and canvas. But it does lead to hesitation because sometimes I can't decide whether to do a piece of work in acrylic or pastel and worry about how it feels and looks as I go through it, wondering if I made the right choice.

I really should stop stressing myself out by second guessing my first initial feeling.

Stevie Nicks you got that right. . .

Love Practical Magic BTW. :)  I actually listen to the soundtrack wuite a bit when I paint. John Denver has been on my que as well.

5.) Go to more galleries and museums.

Inspiration abounds.

Onwards to the writing portions of my inspiration board!

Writing Goals for 2012


1.) Publish book.

I know I said it last year. . . . but THIS is the year. I feel it in my bones. Have you ever felt so strongly about something happening that it actually did? Well, I am feeling so strongly about this, that there is NO DOUBT in my mind the univerese will see my book published to great reviews.

1. b) find and agent or publisher. Currently looking into agents. I have gone through some of the books that I love to read myself, and looked into the author's agents. That's the best way I know how.

2.) Write more. blog more.

Yeah, I truly need to blog more entries. I hear the more frequent I blog the more traffic I may get. On both my sites.

This is my second, well, first real blog entry of the new year. I am a little behind schedule on this. Whoops.

3.) Write the two more books in the series on my story/novel. I have loads of stories lined up afterthe first book. It's smart to keep writing as you shop your book around. Better to have more than enough stories ready to hand over to the agent, than none at all.

4.) Go to a writing blogging convention. I have to look into this more. I know of the Willamette Valley Writers Con in August and I know of BlogHer 2012 in NY this year. 

You know, just to get inspired ;)


I am also going to be building a professional website this year. I have been told by many people I need a website in league with my blog.  Hence, market myself.

Another goal is "do not fear rejection". This above all, is a bigthing with me. I fear many things and rejection is pretty much second or third on the list.

Rejection not just from an agent or publisher or gallery house, but rejection in my life in general. Sure, rejection happens. I have been rejected by agents before. I cried. And I let it get me down. I let my self doubt rule.

Not this time.

Not any more.

Rejection can say hello, but I will kick it's but to the curb and fight on.


Do you have any goals for the New Year? What are some of those goals? How strongly do you feel about them?

Have you ever made an inspiration board?

Week Recap

 It's been one crazy busy week for me. And when there is craziness in my life, little accidents happen.

In example. I was painting at my desk, rotated the canvas and accidentally smacked myself in the lip. Blood was spilled.

I survived the wound and got back to work on painting. Whoops, I didn't mean to flip the camera off.

This past week, while at work, I had company managing my painting routine.  My puppy Lando joined me for work since he could be trusted at home by himself. He destroyed and partially ate Elizabethan Collar  #1. He tried working on Collar #2, but I kept an eye on him so he couldn't do much damage.

Don't worry, he wasn't in his kennel the entire time. He managed to run around the office causing usual puppy havoc and mischief.

 I had also started on this painting.

And then decided to work on this one as well at the same time. 

I have no sense of time management skills. :P

But each painting progressed very well. Even though two of my other paintings got put on hold.  When I have an image in my head beating to come out, I have to oblige.

 

Below is the scene of chaos that is my temporary studio.

The two paintings that need work are the Parade and the Pinata Party. I lost my focus on them, becoming too overwhelmed by the volume of what I need to accomplish within the painting.

Whoops.

Friday I spent preparing for the Salinas Food and Wine Festival.I made new/more prints, contacting officials of the festival to ask questions for my family (there was a little confusion of the event was free or not. it was)  loaded up my parents van with my new grates Hubby and his family gave to me as my birthday present (heavy!!) and made my way down to Salinas with my Mom who was going to help me at the Festival.

We stayed at mi Abuela's house.

She likes elephants :D

I woke up around 5:30 the day of the Festival and couldn't get back to sleep. I was quite nervous and excited at the same time. Like a child on the night before Christmas, waiting for Santa to appear. Well, instead of dreaming about eight tiny reindeer carrying a big guy in a red suit all I could think about was setting up my booth.

The e-mail I received about the event said we could start setting up after 8:30am. I was staring at the clock as if it would burst into flames while I waited for time to move swiftly.

After a  bowl of cereal and have a glass of chilled Starbuck's Mocha (I hardly ever drink coffee) I was jittering in the passenger seat of my  parents van and got to the site within 10 minutes. Though setting up wasn't as easy. There was a line of people in their cars and trucks waiting to find out just where their booths were to be set up!

No one at the entrance knew. Apparently there was only one sheet that revealed all? :\ Even amongst the confusion, people kept their cool and we all managed and finally got directed to spots. Pretty much where ever we got pointed to. Lol. I don't know if I was actually supposed be across the way from a Bratwurst vendor, fruit juice venodr and a cigar vendor, but it all worked out.

Mom and I got help unloading the van, and we began to set up. Eric and his brother Ty usually set up for me and Devon and I direct, but it was just my mom and I so I had to my big girl pants on and get a control on my bubbling freak out.

After only a minor glitch, we set up the booth wonderfully.

 

Ha! Just noticed Hubby peering through from behind the grate.  He came just an hour after set up with Devon and Lando.

The day was HOT. For Salinas. It had to be in the 80s. For the first part of the day we had the sun hitting us directly, but as soon as noon came around we got the shade of the tree behind us, but it was still hot out in the sun.

I walked around once to check out the other vendors. I was eyeballing some very cute looking boots from across the way, but forgot to take a picture of them. I did however get a card.

I also watched a little part of two performances. One was this chica:

 Isn't she cute? She wooed me in with Como la flor, by Selena. I very much enjoy Selena's music and this girl really hit the notes. Talented girl. Anyone know her name?

I LOVED her ranchero dress. I couldn't help but study the designs.

We also had a visitor in the booth.  One of the ladies walking through the festival came by with her little basset hound Sugar. She was simply adorable. Much smaller than Addie, but just as sweet. She was so gentle and friendly.

You bet I will be painting her sweet face.

The other performance I saw was something near and dear to my heart. No, not the belly dancers. Wish, I could have watched them though because I really do enjoy belly dancing. I had to man my booth so I couldn't partake in all the festivities like the wine tasting, performance viewing or food tasting.

But I did catch a bit of these guys as they walked by my booth.

Aztec dancers!

 

I love watching them dance. the beat of the drums, the feathers, the shells and nuts making noise. Love it all. 

All in all I had a great time at the Festival. I'm glad I went. I hope those of you who came out to the festival had a lovely time and if there is one next year, I would see you there again.

To check out more photos from the event, check out this site: Salinas Food and Wine Festival      

The Californian.

I am preparing for another crazy week as I gear up for the Calvary Cemetery show this Saturday. New and old Day of the Dead work will be shown!

It's a basset's world.

Sooooo . . . no post on Friday eh? My bad. Work and then mad dash south for a birthday surprise for my dear mother in law.

Would a picture of a basset hound in a party hat make up for it?

 Do you recognize her? She's a frequent model in my work. . .

Part of the surprise :) Addie is my MIL's hound. Hubby, his brother, Addie and I surprised his mom at work with flowers, a balloon and all of us in hats including the shortround above. She managed to wear that hat for a good 15 minutes before she managed to snap it off with her back paw.

Here's another round of basset pictures. The painting below was done back in August. I wasn't too happy showing it at the Sand City street fair but I needed something to show my animal portrait work

 

 In December, I wanted to fix it up before having it possibly show at the Axis Gallery.  Here is the new and FINISHED version below.

It wasn't picked to be in the show, but I was overall thrilled with the outcome of the painting. Looks so much better to me and more in the direction I want to go with my animal portraits I think. Far more detail, texture and depth. Not as flat.

Her eyes pop a little more in the first version than in the second, but there seems to be more life to her in the second.

Hmmm.

What do you think of the changes? 

Hubby's mom now has this hanging in her house among her other basset artwork collection. She has four dog drawings from me on her wall, three of which are of Addie.

I really got to start on some more animal portraits to build up my collection to show perspective clients. Can't just all be basset hounds.

:)