Big Numbers: Day 30

One more day left in the month. Oh snap! I'm doing well on my numbers, though continuing at this rate will not help me reach my SYM1,000. Turnaround is currently less than a week. That right there blows my mind. I'm almost out of 5x7s. They are not on sale. I am devastated. Going to buy enough for the week and hope for a sale on Sunday. Other than that, I'm not buying anything. I do want some more paint though. More colors. I'm trying to be strong, which often requires that I just keep myself out of the craft store.

I figured out what was wrong yesterday. I couldn't decide what to paint, because I was trying to paint something ya'll would like....without being paid. lol. When I create like that, it's frustrating. No motivation. No inspiration. I don't know ya'll like that, but I do know me like that. Painting what I like works so much better....unless there is funding involved. That wasn't the case yesterday.

Today was much better. I woke up inspired. I had some ideas. Then before I could get to the paint room, my plan was foiled. No biggie. Now that I'm here, I sketched out three paintings. All of them come from my own mind. Only one is for your consumption, but of course I'll show you all the pictures when I'm done.

I also have plans for a couple of onesies, a bib or two, a shirt for me, and one for mommy. I have two pairs of shoes I want to do and no idea what I want to do to them, but I'm going to sit them in front of the tv and stare at them until they speak. Shoes are a BIG deal and at this point, they can't be replaced, so I want to get them right. Those are my plans for this week. I'll have a lot of openings to fill in to help with my quota, but that's a start.

Here's the painting for the day. More hair. It's always fun.

"Clouds and Curls" 30/365 and 57/1000

Final count for today...1. 57 down, 943 pieces and 335 days to go.

Big Numbers: Day 29

Yesterday, I said I didn't complete anything, but I forgot that I had done my 5x7 for day 28 on day 27. I was going to add something to it, but today when I remembered that I had done it, I decided I like it the way it is. So convenient!

Day 28's piece was another "don't waste the paint piece." I used the blues left over from the "Love Thy Fluff" piece from yesterday's post. This was even after I scooped the little bits bakk into the tubes. (I'm almost out of white. I might have to buy a bottle. *bites nails*)

"Ebb and Flow" 28/365 and 55/1000

Day 29 is another splattery type thing. Before I did it, I didn't consider how I was going to draw through the blakk, but I made it work. I added a lil extra color on the end. I felt like she deserved it.

"Sunday Mourning" 29/365and 56/1000
**yep, I changed the name**

That's it for today. I don't have a lot to say. I'm trying to start these two paintings and the answers aren't really coming to me. I find that highly annoying. Maybe tomorrow, I'll just do clothes instead. I have a lot of things left to paint. Do people still use table cloths? I have some...and napkins. (Everybody oooh and aaaah) Maybe I'll work on that. *shrugs* This is what lakk of inspiration sounds like....if, of course, I'm coming across as bored and indecisive.

Final count for the day...1. 56 down, 944 pieces and 336 days to go.

Big Numbers: Day 28

Guess what I did today? NOTHIN! Well, that's not true, but I didn't paint. I wanted to, but the day refused to go as planned. That's ok. No worries. It's all good. I'm going to bed soon and I'll get another crakk at it tomorrow.

Let's talk about the paintings I did yesterday. I didn't add a thing to them. When I woke up this morning, I felt like they were done. So, I signed them and posted them to the facebook fan page. The first one was a custom order form a client. She sent me a picture of this artwork and said she wanted something similar.

I really like this artwork. Don't know the artist, but I think they sell it at Target...if not, they should. I LOVE Target. Anyway, this looks NOTHING like me. Not my style at all. So it was really important that i foudn out what she really liked about this painting, so that I could try to capture the things that were most important to her. Honestly, I think the most important thing to her was the splatter paint. I took the basic idea of the piece...a girl dancing (caught in the groove) and changed it to my own style with the added specifications of my client. Darker skin, natural hair, pink, teal, blue, paint splatters. Easy as pie!

"Pikk and Groove" 52/1000

The second one was a product of my imagination. Only thing I knew from the jump was there would be fluffy hair. My favorite part of this one is the orange and red on the bottom. I said it was Kung Fu Panda meets lion King. I liked both those movies.

"Love Thy Fluff" 53/1000

These two pieces aren't anything alike, but I think the both look a lot like me (as an artist). Also, I think the two, as a pair, resemble the styles of the set of paintings I did last week on Day 21. I like that though. Part of the journey is about finding out what MY art looks like. I'm well on my way.

Oh and peep this set of three of my 5x7s. They were adopted by two different people, but I wanted to show you how these pieces can be purchased and displayed as sets. If you haven't noticed, some of them are actually kind of similar. I'm sure the more pieces I complete the more you'll be able to see this. I'll try to post some sets up as time progresses, to encourage the adoption of families so that nobody has to leave my house alone. Well, Id' really just like to point out some sets you may not have thought of.

Hypothetical set of 3

Final count for the day...Nada! Everything else, same as yesterday! lol. Almost.

Big Numbers: Day 27

My birthday is coming! WOOP!!!

That was all for the big announcements. Now, on to todays paint! Today was pretty peaceful. I got some things done...I think. I FEEL finished, but right now, I'm just staring at them to make sure. So, I won't be posting the two big ones tonight, but if they are done, I'll definitely have photos up tomorrow. I'll even post the entire blog early, because I started two 5x7s today. We'll discuss how that happened tomorrow.

Anywho, here's the 36$5 piece of the day. I really liked the water colored splattery like paint from yesterday and the fact that Terrell said that he found it creepy tikkled me, but also made me want to try it again.

"Through" 54/1000 and 27/365

I like this one, quite a bit actually, but I think it could have been better. I try REALLY hard not to think TOO hard while creating and concentrate more on the feeling. I am a great thinker, but sometimes it gets in the way. Once the splash dried, I had a talk with the canvas. I found the face. Easy enough, but in trying to move faster than I can think, I feel like a particular line (the one stright down the center) got lost...or rather it showed up where it should not have been. I was drawing it in a literal sense. I saw that her "hair" was covering one of her eyes. I originally had no intention of drawing that, so I didn't care if the line cut through the center of her face, but the eye kept looking at me, but it was too late! Now it's there. Forever. I decided not to paint over it, because I like it despite the interruption. These are FUN! I'll try again.

Today's final count...3 (I'm counting the ones I think I finished). 54 down...948 pieces and 338 days to go.

Big Numbers: Day 26

Hahaha at the title. I suppose this day did not prove to be as auspicious for me as it was for those guys, but then again, I did have a pretty good day. Let's discuss.

I worked on two paintings today. Although I had hoped to finish one, I didn't finish either of them. They are both coming along nicely though. I'm happy. I should finish at least one of them tomorrow, but probably both. I don't have anything on the books. I see great things on the horizon. Yay! Happy day ahead.

Today, I did some splatter paint looking type thing. It was SO pretty with nothing on it. I really didn't want to risk covering up the design by adding anything to it, but it felt undone. I whipped out my trusty Sharpie super thin pen and made this happen. No splatter was harmed in the creation of this piece! *let's all cheer*

"Drip My Hair" 26/365 and 51/1000

Final count for the day 1. 51 down, 949 pieces and 339 days to go.

Big Numbers: Day 25

I'm...tired. I'm bored. I'm artistically congested. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I don't feel like thinking about it. I know what I could have done, but it didn't feel like the right thing to do, so I didn't do that. I did something else. I took out some paint and then I put it on the canvas. I tried NOT to think too hard. I bet ya'll don't even know how challenging it is to stop thinking. I'm sure ya'll know someone who grasps this concept easily, but it doesn't happen a lot here. I just kept doing that until I felt like I was done. It was UGLY...so I was about to paint the whole thing blakk, stay up another hour and make something worthy. Then this happened. I took a picture. Here it is.

"Built" 50/1000 and 25/365 

Now, off to bed I go! Final count for the day 1. 50 down. 950 pieces and 340 days to go.

TPT: Chasing Money

It's Two Post Tuesday! I almost kinda forgot, but here I am. Trying to honor my commitment to you. I wasn't sure about what to write today, but this was on the list and as always, I got into conversation with someone about this very same topic. You know how the rest goes.

Can I be honest? (Of course I can.) When I started, I said I could paint on just about anything. It's true. I can. The awesomeness may vary from item to item, but have the ability to. I think, maybe in the beginning I was more willing to TRY new things. However, it's been about three years now and quite frankly, I know I'm better at some things than others. I know there are some things that make for better canvas than others. I know some things aren't worth me buying the additional materials to make them happen, but most of all, I know that there are just some things I'd rather not do. I know some people don't mind that I can't do some things perfectly. They'd buy it anyway and even try to get a lower price. What they don't understand is that, despite my lakk of natural or practiced skill at certain items, I'd still give it 100%, which would require the same amount of effort and attention as something I'm really good at, except I'd end up cursing my way through it. Then I'll post the picture, at least one other person will love it, then they'll ask me to do it again. Vicious cycle. Just have to stop it before it starts. It's just not worth the dollar, headache, or somebody asking me to do it again.

This year, the SYM1,000 is to help me take bakk some of my freedom. To produce things that make me happy. That make me feel good. That inspire me. That can open up MY eyes (and yours) as to how great I am/could be. I don't like telling people I don't/won't be doing whatever kind of craziness they ask for, but I do. I can't stress myself out over the few hours of something I don't even want to do. It's not about the money for me. If it was, I would have QUIT two years ago. Shoot...I could quit tomorrow. lol. I like getting orders. I like getting emails from paypal telling me a payment has cleared, but I like it most of all when I create something you knew nothing about, something that I came up with in my own mind, and then you ordering that. Not saying, "I like it, but make it again in green." Or add this or that, but "Sym, I like it JUST the way you did it, send it to my house." I don't get to explore that often, because I usually only paint when I have orders. This time, I'm painting whether you order or not and I'm not going to accept any orders that take away from this journey. Maybe part of the journey is learning to say no and recognizing that although we all KNOW I could, doesn't mean I should.

This is the time for me to carve out that little piece of joy. I'm trying to maintain that space with as little additional stress and interruption as possible. I can't not do shirts, but I certainly can decline your order for those "happy mother's day" ceramic tiles you want. I apologize sincerely. I do appreciate the fact that you would trust me with such a task, but honestly, it's not where I see this going. It's not where I want it to go. I have two main goals here...paint and sell all these clothes and random items I have yet to paint and figure out what the future holds for SYM1. I'm trying really hard to stay within areas I am willing to go, so every now and again, I get to turn down some money! It's not fun, but I think about all the cursing I'd be doing trying to get it done. If I wanted to curse and complain about my job, I might as well pakk up the paint and go get one!

Big Numbers: Day 24

Guess what?

"Dance" 24/365 and 49/1000

That's it. Short post huh? YEP! I am going to bed. We'll try this again tomorrow. Final count for the day...1. 49 down. 951 pieces and 341 days to go.

Big Numbers: Day 23

I'm bakk! Again!

Today I learned that I can use spray paint....in the house....with no mask...and not pass out! BOOM! But I won't be doing much of that. By the time I started painting, it was too dark and cold to go out and I really wanted to start this piece. Next time I'll do it in the day time. So far it's coming along nicely. It's another pink canvas, but way more awesome than the one I talked about on Day 21.

I'm happy to report that the SYM1,000 has cut about two weeks off of turnaround time. I'm focused on production and numbers. I paint even when I don't have anything to paint. So when an order comes in I'm usually already in the mood. It fits into my daily habits. Of course this completely eliminates rush fees, but this is great for my customers. It is also less stress for me and I can really say I'm happy that people don't have to wait so long to get their orders. I know they get anxious.

Today was a great day for thinking and soundboarding (yes there was a word adjustment here). I'm feeling a little inspired. After only 23 days, I can see some direction. I see things coming together. Not only that, but I see other people catching on to the vision, even though I haven't explained it yet. I promise I'm going somewhere with this, though I can't say I knew the road I was going to take to get there when I started. I just knew that it would come to me if I just kept creating.

My soror/friend asked me if I thought 2011 was getting off to a good start. The simple answer is YES! I feel good. I feel inspired. I feel happy. I feel accomplished. I feel like it's going to keep getting better. I'm excited about tomorrow (not literally...well kind of) and the days ahead. I think in time, you all will be able see my vision come together as I continue to do more pieces. It's coming together for me. THIS is my year. :D

Here's my 36$5 for the day. Bakk to hair. I missed it. :D

"Whip and Flair" 23/365 and 48/1000

Final count for the day 2. 952 pieces and 342 days to go!

PS: I jakk up this count EVERY day! I just went through the last 4 days and asked myself "have you been drinking?" It's ok. I told ya'll I would do it. Easy math, just too many numbers. I promise I'm way more genius than my recent skills would suggest. HA!

Big Numbers: Day 22

Heeeey! I didn't really paint a lot today. I was trying to take care of some other stuff. I got a really good response for "Fluff and Soul." Yesterday's post was also the most visited one ever. Tied with the A+S+L post. It's going to pass it though. Well maybe not since I posted that link up. OH NO! People are saying  "Fluff and Soul" is my best piece ever. I don't know if I agree....or disagree, but I'm sure I can do better. Are you ready? She won't be here with me much longer. Pretty excited actually. Storage space is limited, so it's a celebration when something/someone has a forever home to go to.

Speaking of things moving along, guess who's been throwing away paint bottles?!!??! ME!! *throws confetti* They weren't new bottles that I used up. Just half used or mostly used bottles that refused to leave. I threw away three today. More before that. YAY! I haven't bought any. I am, however avoiding the craft store. Just in case.

Things I learned (not necessarily) today. Always do what you've been doing if it's been working because "people" like to make you not do what works for you so it works for them and then you'll be mad. I paint without orders so I can paint MY vision not my version of someone else's. I'm going to need "people" not to ask me to adjust my vision so they like it more. How about you just place an order and get what you like. Finally, paint the sides the first time. Makes life easier. That's all.

Here's the 5x7 of the day!

"Cool 1" 22/365 and 44/1000

It's uninvolved. In my head, I'm going somewhere with this. Maybe you'll be able to figure it out soon. Not sure how long it's going to take me to get to the point. I'm feeling it now, but one day I might wake up and want to do penguin feet, then spend the next month trying to get bakk on trakk. I'm giving myself the freedom to wander.

Final count for the day, 3. 954 pieces and 343 days to go. I'm 4.6% done with my goal.

Big Numbers: Day 21

Whaaaat??? It's the 21st already? Wow! It was kind of productive. It's strange how I can equate kind of with actually finishing multiple pieces. I wonder at what point kind of becomes actual. I'm just a little crazy. Don't mind me.

Today I learned the same thing I learned maybe two days ago. Everything doesn't have to look like exactly what it looks like. What it looks like in my head is fine and often beautiful. Sometimes people comment on my photos and say..."is that....?" or "that looks like...." and of course I know that it's not what they think it is, but now that they said so, it could be. It's FUN! Like blind dating for imaginations. The outcome is sometimes the same too. Not the part where you have really bad sex with a stranger, but the part where you go away thinking..."Did s/he REALLY JUST.....?? Hmmm....ok." That could be really positive or really negative. You never know.

So, here's the first piece I finished today. It's not really like it was in my head. I like it though. Wait, I lied. I LOVE it! I love the colors and that I successfully executed a curly fro. I rokk! I feel like it looks like me. Not me personally, but SYM1ish. Way to go me!

"Fluff and Soul" 41/1000

My second piece of the day has been in the making for months. I haven't been actively working on it all that time, but I originally had a clear idea of what I wanted to do. Then, I didn't anymore. I began by painting the entire canvas pink. It was intentional. I hated it. I think the canvas hated it too. So it sat here pink and blank for about two months. However, since I'm not shopping until I run out of something, I didn't want this particular canvas to be the LAST thing I worked on. It was a problem I didn't want to takkle with no other options.

When I decided to give it a second go round, I started by drawing the outline of the figure. Then I painted the bakkground. I was hurt. Felt like I was wasting paint. Pink paint that would never be seen. Tragedy. I already had a dress in mind. It's a combination of one I saw on Wendy and something from Anna from "V." When you last saw it, I was at this point and confused!

Kinda Before...Again

I had no idea what to do next, but she certainly couldn't be pink. Fixed that. I intended for her hair to be short, but the way I positioned her face, you couldn't see any of it, so she looked like a bobble head. I added hair. Then I got scared.

I was pretty much done with the base picture. She had no face. No jewelry. No bakkground. And I didn't want to add much of anything, because I wasn't sure if I'd like it. I didn't want to have to redo anything. I didn't have a clear picture in my head of what it was supposed to look like. I was going with the flow. I didn't know if I was making the right color choices. I was scared to add the words. The glitter. The glasses. I didn't know what color lipstikk to use. But I did whatever I felt, simply because it's what I felt like doing. And not doing what I felt like doing was becoming just as annoying and frustrating as being afraid to do what I felt like doing. Today I learned to stop being so damn scary. I GOT THIS...and when and if I don't, I have more paint! lol. This is what happened:

42/1000 "Janay (Derwin's Baby Momma)"

And yes I did. Was it planned? NOPE! Completely coincidental...and I'm ready to go to bed. No more fighting the feelings. HA! She's probably thinking more like "bish please" in regard to Melanie, but I did what I was feeling she was suggesting at the time. Guess what? I LOVE IT! I'd also love for her to be adopted into a loving home. But until then, I'm more than happy to have her here. 

Here's my 5x7 for the day. I'm bakk to normal I suppose. It's late. I'm just finishing it. The paint is still wet. *shrugs* I don't know why you would judge me for that, but if you are, stop it. I didn't want to do colored hair today. I wanted to paint a word. I chose fresh because Tanaya mentioned something about vegetables and peaches. When I was about 8 or 9, I got all my clothes from "The Children's Place." Bakk then EVERYTHING was bright colored and AWESOME! I had this shirt that said 100% Fresh. I don't remember the design much, but the shirt was purple. Or maybe pink. I remember drawing it in 3rd grade. The shirt in the drawing was purple. I don't think the real shirt was though. Memories are so selective. Anyway, I started there and finished here:

"100% Fresh" 21/365 and 43/100

Final count for the day 3. 947 pieces and 344 days to go!

Big Numbers: Day 20

Do I have anything important to say?
*Thinking*
...
...
...
*Still thinking*
...
...
..........
Nope...Can't think of anything. Here it is.

*Paris and Ponytails" 20/365 and 39/1000

So, I like hair. I had no idea. Apparently I like it in wild colors in hair too. Who knew? Not me, but I'm having fun. I may do more. Actually, I'm sure I will, but I won't make any promises about doing one tomorrow. We'll see. Today I worked on big pieces, so I didn't complete much, but goodness, I'm really enjoying myself. I should finish a few more tomorrow. Final count for today 2. 960 pieces and 345 days to go.

Big Numbers: Day 19

Whudduuuuup?!!

I had FUN today. I WANTED to paint, so I did. Started a few things. Tried something new. Nothing spectacular though. I finished my 36$5 piece before 2am. It's been a good day.

Here she is...live from my blog...

"RAGE: A Diva w/ No Mic" 19/365 and 37/1000

I love her. She was a pleasure to paint AND I finished early. All wins. Now...somebody buy this because she can't stay here. Maybe you should take some of her friends with you. Just a thought. Final count for the day...2. 963 pieces and 346 days to go. I think my math was wrong yesterday. Might be wrong today. Oh well...the count is right. lol.

P.S. Welcome new followers. It's a pleasure to see you.

Big Numbers: Day 18

Things I learned...not necessarily today.

Don't think so hard. Sometimes I try SO hard to make something look exactly like what it is. That can be boring and tedious. I've learned that if I get the basics down, people will still be able to grasp what it is without any additional details. Saves me a lot of time and headache. It's like a de-cluttering of the artistic expression. Think of how you would draw when you were little. Square house...triangle roof...four pane windows. Simple, but easy to figure out. I'm going for that, but better. 

Here's the piece for today. I'm not sure if I thought my way through. That's fun sometimes. As usual, it's the last thing I touched today. I'm ready to go to bed. I wanted to get done. I like it. A lot. The bright colors. The androgyny. Do you think it's a man or a woman? 

"Carrot Top" 18/365 and 36/1000

I also continued working on this. It was completely pink. I don't think I was ready. Or maybe the canvas wasn't ready. I ended up painting over it. I was hurt. Wasting paint. I'm stukk again though. Whatever I thought I wanted to do has changed since I started doing it. Ugh. I can say, the girl now has a beautiful chocolaty skin color. And I want this dress. When I'm done, I'll tell you about where it came from.

We may have to settle for updates because some of these pieces won't get done in a single day. I still have onesies for when the emergency finally hits...it is near. In the meantime, I'll keep you posted. Final count for the day....1. 964 pieces and 346 days to go. 

Big Numbers: Day 17

Ok, this one is going to be quikk. I don't think I had any epiphanies today. Well, I did, but I'm going to write about them now and save them for some future Two Post Tuesdays.

I asked the facebookers what I should paint today. I didn't mean it. Just typing out loud I guess. I try to feel.......moved towards an idea as opposed to just pikking one. So dropping random words doesn't really help much. Then my frat Nas hits me up in the facebook IM and DEMANDS that I hug him. "Hug Me!" And THAT is what I needed to hear. It triggered a memory. I had a friend in college, named Cherrie, and we frequently made such demands to one another. So, I decided to work with it.

17/365 and 35/1000 "HUG ME"

Now I've done the cherries. I think I need to do some fruit in a bowl....go ahead and make it official. Today's count 1. 965 pieces and 348 days to go.

TPT: Be the Change

I don't make resolutions. I never do. Most things I decide to do are things I really feel are important and I try to stikk with them. Resolutions seem far too temporary for me. Well this year, I decided to change lots of things. I made up all kinds of challenges, hence the 36$5 and the SYM1,000.  I put myself on restrictions. All to be a better SYM. One thing I decided to do was to be the kind of consumer I want my customers to be.

Admittedly, this is going to be a challenge for me, but I want to be able to be mad and curse people out knowing that I'm not a part of the problem. :o) So, I'm going to cut my mall visits (even more)...and stuff...*sniffle* to be able to be more supportive of other hand crafters. Not just posting...and tagging...and telling you all to support. I'm going to do that AND put my money behind it. This is going to be fun though. I didn't know how much fun it was to get pakkages in the mail. I've been missing out. Ya'll tried to tell me, but I've finally seen the light.

I made two orders just before New Years. For everybody who says, "it's too expensive," I bought it all on sale. I placed one of them with my artsy friend Zelle. When we first e-met she was painting clothes and stuff like me. Now she's moved on to do jewelry. I hit up her web page, placed an order for a ring and a pair of earrings, then I waited. Then the ice came, so I kept waiting. Then, on Saturday, they arrived! I wore my ring today.

Peep my mystery

Not only did I get two pieces from her, I got a little fancy inspiration. She individually bagged each of my pieces, then wrapped each one in tissue paper, with custom stikker closures. They do that at the Coach store and probably other places that sell expensive things I don't buy. Anyway, I thought it was nice, so now everybody will be getting individually wrapped tees, totes and everything SYM1. If you think that's awesome, or you just want to be like SYM, hit up Zelle at Black Betsy Earrings and get a lil somethin.

Big Numbers: Day 15 and 16

You know what? This is harder than I thought. Old habits/behavior is a mess to get over. However, this is also more fun than I would have thought. Maybe one day I'll try to describe how it feels to be able to paint what EYE want for no other reason than the fact that EYE wanted to. JOY!

It's been a terribly eventful and completely uneventful weekend. I haven't posted, but I did paint. The first piece I did is called "PUFF." It was inspired by this AKA I met on BlakkGreekYard.com. It's long gone now, but I thought about her on Day 14. Her line name is "Pink Fury" (if my memory is correct) and when she told me I laughed. I said it sounded like a cotton candy tornado. I started calling her Puff! So, I decided to paint the pink tornado for her. I'd even consider tagging her on FB, if I can find her. Goodness she used to change her name a lot!

"PUFF" 15/365 and 33/1000

This next one was inspired by all the IMing and text messaging I did today. Smileys are my friends. I just didn't want to do a (not so) big yellow circle. I decided to rokk with the teddy bear (that looks like a monkey) and the winking smiley expression from Blakkberry, since that's what I'm using now. I even managed to use the color themes from my phone...by mistake. I might be impressionable.

"Feeling flirty...maybe" 16/365 and 34/1000

So, that's as far as I got. 967 pieces and 349 days to go. *bites nails*

Big Numbers: Day 13 and 14

**I think my writing today is terribly dry. Pretend I'm reading it to you...in the voice you decided I have, it may prove to be more interesting that way**

Yesterday was a BUST. I did paint, but very little. Today, I pakked up my Christmas crafts. Mommy said I could decorate the tree for Valentine's if I wanted to. I've been trying to decorate the tree all year forever and she never lets me. She thinks I'm crazy. I might be. I don't think she meant it, but I want to do it though! It might be a little involved. Probably won't happen, but the house is going to look terribly empty with the tree gone. We'll see what happens.

Yesterday was the first day we were able to go out since the snow/ice/everything frozen storm on Sunday. We went by the mall to return some items. I saw a shirt in one of the store windows that I liked. I didn't take a picture, because I didn't want to be tempted to copy it, but I knew the moment I saw it that I should paint something like it. The thing that stukk out the most about the design was the orange hair. This is what I came up with:

"Must. Squint. Hair. Too. Bright" 13/365 and 31/1000

The one I did for today came from my mind. Nowhere else. I have no explanation. I thought it. I painted it. I like it. But I will say that I think of make up as paint for the face. You draw, color, and fill in the lines (or not depending on how adventurous you are), so maybe that's where this thought came from.

"POPPIN" 14/365 and 32/1000 

I bought (more) red lipstikk today. Paint for my face. I'm getting acclimated. It's kind of weird walking around with bright RED paint on your face. I will wear it out one day. One day soon. On that note, I need to do an update in regard to my "Seriously?" post. I think I've determined what the issue was. I am smart.

I know I'm not going to finish anything else tonight. I am going to get these items ready for shipping, since I can go to the post office now. Then I'm going to work on these hoodies and trakk jakkets. I have grand ideas...again. Final count for the day (and yesterday) 3. 32 down, 968 pieces and 351 days to go.

Big Numbers: Day 11 and 12

Heeeeey! Did anyone miss me? I skipped yesterday. I did paint a little, but I didn't finish anything. Tragedy. Today made up for it all. I learned that maybe I shouldn't blame my troubles on the TV, it's been on all day. I also took maybe 3 naps. I woke up. Painted. Went to sleep. Painted. Went bakk to sleep. That's not a normal habit, but it worked wonders today. I'm pleased with my progress. I didn't do anything epic, but I did everything I wanted to do. I feel good.

Here's number 11, which I did today...because I rebel against myself. I didn't know what to do. I was going to do more cherry blossoms, but I didn't feel like it. I looked across my room and saw a card with a big sunflower on it, so that's what I did. I think that card is from Ashley. I never pikked it up. I painted from a distance. Ashley likes ladybugs too. So I guess this one is for her. lol.

11/365 and 23/1000 "Sunshine and Watermelon"

Then, I was watching Color Splash with David Bromstad on HGTV yesterday. He was making over a nursery that would also be used as a guest room. He chose a gender neutral palette of blues, greens, and yellows. It was an adorable room and he used these cute owl lamps and spray painted them gold for accent pieces. I liked them so much, I decided I wanted to paint them too. I couldn't find a picture or the episode for that matter. I just worked off the memory. (I'm trying to develop a new habit. See something...remember it...paint what you think it looks like. Sometimes fun. It definitely makes for interesting outcomes.) The inspiration for this piece was the gold owl lamps. I was going to call this "who dat?" but decided against it. He reminds me of the tootsie roll pop owl.

24/1000 "lOOk, Over There!"

I got the inspiration for today's 36$5 piece from another design show. It was a design of a poodle face on a throw pillow. I don't remember the colors. After thinking about it, I really don't remember much about the pillow. I remember not being able to tell what it was the first time I saw it, then having the aha! moment. So, again, I'm painting from memory. It's actually more like painting from a feeling about something that I saw, than an actually memory, because clearly I don't have much of a mental image to work with. Here she is...

12/365 and 25/1000 "Prissy"

I decided to get some small pieces out of the way and finish up some things I had been working on, because I have some larger pieces I'd like to do. I know I can't finish a few of these a day, so I'm just preparing myself for what these smaller numbers will look like. Also, since I'm refusing to buy paint and stuff to paint on, I have to work with what I have. Only 6 canvases left (to sell). *panic* I have 10 for me. :D So I'm going to try to space them out and think long and hard of what I want on them before I start to paint. I suppose today was to prepare myself for the next few days.

Final count for the day 7. YAY! So.......that makes it.....972 pieces and 353 days left.

TPT: Why I Charge More for Blakk

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time working on two blakk hoodies. I felt like it was taking FOREVER and it probably was. Everybody that I know that does shirts is dealing with the same issue. We've discussed it before. What can we do/use to make painting on blakk apparel easier/faster? NOTHING! Well, metallic paint works wonders, but if you want to have a really good coverage, you have to paint it twice. You may have to do it three times depending on the color. My patience...it wears....thin. SAVE ME!

I wish I would have taken a true "before" picture after only one coat of paint, but here, I've already done a second coat of the red, gold and white. Now look at those colors in comparison to the silver bakkground color. It's much more vivid and smooth. In order to create an attractive product, I have to do some extra work. Here's what it looks like with two coats of paint. 

You know what? This is a crappy photo! You know what else? I'm not getting up to take another one until I'm finished with the whole thing. Anyway, you can still tell the difference between the single and double coats of paint. I'm not done with this particular piece yet, or the other one I started, but this is what I was doing all day. It takes forever. Then you have to wait for it to dry in between coats. If this was done on white, I would have been done with them both. So, that's why I charge more for a blakk item than a white one. And honestly, after yesterday, I don't think it's enough more and I plan on correcting that. Blakk items cost more than white ones. I use more paint and spend more time working on them than white. Oh the travesty.

Big Numbers: Day 10

Man look... I think I kinda stressed myself out with all these numbers. It's only day 11 and I'm like....MUST...PAINT...MORE!!! I try to be very serious about promises I make to myself. Let's be honest, as long as I get my orders out on time, I don't have anybody to be accountable to, but me. So I put stuff out there so I'll have someone to "report" to. I told ya'll so I ya'll would EXPECT it and I knew I'd do it so ya'll wouldn't know I broke a promise to myself.  But OH....THE....PRESSSSSSUUUURE! I'll be fine. I'm still trying to find a groove. I actually WANT to paint, so there's a start. I know what works well, but I'm not sure I knew how much time I was really spending on these pieces. And how much time I wasn't spending painting. Part of this was for me to learn my habits though, and that's definitely happening. Project...in process of being a success. Here's what I did last night.

"Cherry Swirl" 10/365 and 22/1000

More cherry blossoms? Yes. May do more tonight. I promise, I still have no idea why this is the last piece I choose to do each day. We'll see what happens though. I have a lot to do. Day 10 is now behind me. Final count 1. 978 pieces and 355 days to go! EEK!

Big Numbers: Day 8 and 9

Heeeeey! 

I skipped a day. You know why? I did NOTHING! I seriously considered it...thought about it and still did NOTHING! Shame on me. I stayed home so I could get work done. But, then they gave me free movies all weekend. I ended up down on the couch curled up with my mom watching comedies that weren't funny. Fun!

Today, I had a plan to make up for it. I don't know how I got away from it, but I did. I think it was my failure to turn the music on....and the free movies. I did however go pikk up the items to take care of my orders this week. Yay! Here are my 2 36$5 pieces. I did them both today.

"Somewhere, It's Spring" 8/1000 and 20/1000

"Outside...It's snowing."

I think I may do flowers all week. We'll see what happens. Seriously though, I'm painting cherry blossoms and it's snowing. RIGHT NOW.

I really had something I wanted to share. I forgot though. I hope it comes bakk. I hope you all had a great weekend. I'd also like to wish a happy Founders Day to my frat brothers, the men of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Final count 3 for the day. 979 pieces and 356 days to go! 6 pieces behind schedule. EEK!

Big Numbers: Day 7

Guess what? I had a semi-bad day. I was defeated by an emotional outburst. I cursed. A lot. I feel better.

It didn't completely hinder my process though. I was able to complete 2 pieces today. Let's talk about them.

"PAISLEY: YAAAAY!!!" 17/1000

I like paisley. I think it's fun and beautiful and HARD to paint. I love details, but I guess I like the little ones that make a LOT of impact. This is only an 8x8 and I couldn't wait to bed done! I might have a mild patience problem. I may or may not be working on it. 

"Don't Waste Paint: ONE" 7/365 and 18/1000

This is number 7 of the 36$5 Project. I painted a little every day this week using the colors from the bakkgrounds of the other 6 paintings. Basically, didn't want to wash paint down the drain. I am SERIOUS about saving paint. SERIOUS. So, this happened. I was going to paint a hand over it, but I liked it the way it was. So, this is how we ended week 1.

I didn't quite get to 20. I was just 2 shy. But 18 in one week is GOOD and I'm going to try to get ahead for next week. Final count for the day, 2. For the week: 18. 1.8% of my goal complete. 982 pieces and 358 days to go!

Big Numbers: Day 5 and 6

Blogger was in labor or on life support last night. Not sure which, but it was having no parts in me posting a blog for you. You know what though? I'm ok with that. lol. Day 5 and 6 actually go nice together. How cool is that? Didn't plan it at all. I'm just mildly amazing. Ok, let me stop lying, I'm 3 degrees beyond amazing when left to my own devices.

Yesterday, I only completed ONE piece. Not how I planned, but it is what it is. The piece I ended up with was...rushed. I felt it was TOO simple. TOO obvious. In the message. In the delivery. The whole thing. Then I thought, but this is EXACTLY the way it is sometimes. So, it's all good and all bad at the same time. It's PERFECT! Ha! See, GENIUS! I do this.

"Nuff Said" (my mommy does this!)

Then to make it even better, I followed it up with this handy dandy super obvious piece for Number 6. Now they are like a 2 piece set. By mistake. I suppose I've been feeling VERY red these past 24 hrs. Oh well.

"POOF: Be Gone!" (for nostalgia's sake)

Total completed today is 6. That means I only need to do 4 tomorrow to reach my weekly quota. I already started 2....so I'm IN there. I told ya'll...I got this!

No real challenges these last two days. I don't think. OH! There is one thing. Why am I always doing the ONE piece I promised to do last? Then at the end of the night I'm scrambling to get it done. Probably because I'm crazy. I'll take it. I'm having fun though. Seeing how my ideas transfer from my head to my hands. Or how it never really makes it out; once I start painting, the direction sometimes changes. We'll see how I'm feeling next week.

984 pieces and 359 days to go. I think that's right. LOL. It looks good though.

Big Numbers: Day 4...not so big numbers

Happy Tuesday. In my head, I was planning to do a "Two post Tuesday" thing, but this is definitely not the week to start that up. I have things other than the 36$5 to talk about, so I was going to do those on Tuesdays. Just because it sounds good. No other reason. I'm thinking I'll pre-write those too, because there may be a Tuesday I'm just not into it...and a Thursday that I will be. It worked well in the past. It shall work again. Anyway, I know why you're here. Please excuse me while I get to the point.

This one came easy and fun. I REALLY wanted to throw the ONE in the title somewhere, but the painting kind of changed as I went along. It didn't fit anymore. Oh well...I have plenty of other days to put my name in titles.

"LifeLineZ" 4/365 and 9/1000

I didn't accomplish much in the way of creating today. Not for lakk of desire...just didn't work out. I am going to start some things before I go to bed tonight....maybe. Things should be approaching some sense of normalcy come Thursday. I'll take that time to work extra hard to complete my 11 pieces for the rest of the week. It can be done. It's been done before. If all else fails...I'll paint bibs! lol. It's going to be a TERRIBLE day when I run out of those. I won't have anything easy to bump up my numbers. Maybe I should save them in the event of an emergency which it clearly is NOT at this moment.

Day 4: Final Count 1! 991 and 361 days to go. Who's going to chekk my math? I'm sure one day I'll jakk this ALL the way up! lol.

Big Numbers: Day 3

Maaaan...today was a complete challenge. Not because anything in particular happened. I just knew I had to be out of the house for the majority of the day...away from my paint and I would be tired when I came home. I definitely felt like my outing would throw a wrench in my painting plans. However, I planned accordingly and had a counter attack ready! And the challenge had a counter counter attack. Just my lukk.

I decided if I couldn't paint, then innovation...or regression was key. I pakked up my sketch book and my colored pencils and said BOO-YAH challenge! I got something for that! Then I went to Bullseye and bought some markers and made my own traveling, make it work, bustin' 1,000 WIDE open art kit in my handy dandy forever fly peacokk messenger bag! Woop!

Sadly, I didn't finish as many as I would have liked...but I did finish two. And given how I'm feeling at only 12:21 am, that's pretty good. Here's what I knokked out: 

"umm...iDoodle?" 7/1000

This was the result of my travel emergency kit. The point was to keep creating...so although it's not exactly what I had originally intended, it was fun and I didn't over think it. I just did what came to me. You know what else? When I talk about people askin me to do crazy things on shirts, I imagine it's something just DUMB like this. "Aye, lemme get this BIG text...and over the Os, lemme get a dude with a big ole smiley head sittin on a bridge holdin a blue balloon...and...beside it a big puffy purple cloud...with polka dots inside...." *straight face*

Then I managed to crank this one out just before midnight. Honestly, I'm glad I decided to do it. Not only because I didn't want to miss a day so early on...or at all for that matter, but it really did relax me. I was listening to my Pandora station (Jill Scott today) and looked up, kind of like how you wake up from a day dream, and had that feeling of "how long have I been sitting here?" Feels good to me!

"You don't mean it" 8/1000

I really like these colors. I definitely let the spirit move me on this one. I just stared at this tiny canvas panel and thought..."what now? I wanna go to bed." Then just pikked up the brush. This is what happened.


What I learned today: Colored pencils are great...and even greater when you don't forget to pakk a pencil sharpener. iTried. lol. Oh and I'm frighteningly more comfortable with a tube of Tulip than I am with a paint brush. Going to do some nipping in that bud.

Day 3 complete. 992 pieces and 362 days to go. Take that, take that! 

Big Numbers: Day 2

I think that will be the title of these posts. I have two concurrent "challenges" with two different numbers...that are big. See, I'm even wildly creative even when it comes to titles for blog posts. *rolls eyes at self*

I was going to continue painting through the night, but I decided to post the blog first because it will put me on trakk as far as posting ON the day the item was completed. Plus, I'll be spending a lot of time outside the house tomorrow. Trying to decide what I'll be doing to make that time productive. I'll consider it from bed. Let's see what I managed to do today.

4/1000 2/365 "One: Another"

Guess what? This is more like what was in my head. Colors aren't the same, but I like it. I'm going to do another one tomorrow. All week. I'll probably do a few themes over the course of the entire process. We'll see. I can't keep up with all my ideas. It's so BUSY in my head.

My challenges today were the TV (again) and facebook. I can live for hours without facebook...I just didn't prepare for that today. It's the TV during prime time that's going to be a problem...then Oprah just slipped an entire new network worth of TV in. It's an EVIL test, although I will say I didn't watch anything trashy or brain killing today. Just need some will power.I got this!

Oh, and THIS is why I don't need to buy any paint! If you've asked me what kind of paint I use...here it is!

I had the good sense to take this pic BEFORE I started painting.

4 of these are filled with paint. Different kinds.

More Paint. Joy in a bottle.

I ruined all this today. Oh well. It was bound to happen. Simply putting stuff away as I went along was slowing me down. I'll clean it up....when I take a break or something.

Final count for today: THREE. 994 pieces...363 days to go!

Happy Year of SYM1

Welcome to MY year everybody. I hope you all had a fabulous New Year's Eve, Day, and overall holiday break. Now it's time to get bakk to work!

I started on my big numbers projects. I've learned stuff already. Who would have thought the answers would start coming in so soon?

1st up: This tv is going to be a real problem. I noticed how, even when I'm not watching it, but it's still on that it either distracts me, or messes up my energy. I've resolved to keep it off while I paint. Now, the issue here is...how often am I going to turn it on. Eek!

2nd: The part where I paint more than one piece at a time is going to make painting a 5x7 a FOREVER process. I had to stop painting a bag last night to make sure I finished my 1/365 before midnight.

3rd: Umm...so I didn't give any thought to when I'd actually post these things until yesterday. So I'm posting day one on day two...which is fine, until I get to day 365. I can't post that on day 366. That just ruins the plan. The blogging/posting part will be hard. I like to do it when I'm at the beginning or end of something. Except I'm hardly ever done for the day until I go to bed. There's no...let's stop at 11, then blog, then sleep. I have 364 days to figure out what works.

4th: Something that I've always known and have recognized will definitely be difficult. I don't EVER rush...unless I have to. And when I have to I HATE it. It's definitely bad for my art work. However, I'm on a time constraint. I'm trying to see it more as a challenge/game and less like a restriction. This is supposed to be fun. My leisurely attitude/pace is definitely a blessing and a curse. I'm trying to work with it, tame it, but not kill it, which is one of the reasons why I'm doing this in the first place.

There may be more, but this is getting long. On with the paint!

 

 

1st piece of the year. 1/1000 MINE

1/365 and 2/1000 "Only One Me"

Were you expecting something epic? My bad. It's not at all like I saw it in my head. The message is correct...and I love the colors. All sugar and sunshine (just like me)! I'm going to make another one. Not exactly like it, but more like what's in my head. I'll explore it til I get it right. That's the purpose of the project. I'm on it! Any other day, I would have just said..."this isn't right" and then painted over it. Not this year. I'll just make another one tomorrow or in this case TODAY. Oh the fun!

I closed the day out with this piece. I liked the bag I made for myself so much...I decided to make another to sell. I like this too, but one thing I don't need is another bag! Who wants it?

3/1000

 

I won't be posting ALL 1,000 pieces, but if you chekk out my Fan Page on Facebook you can see the entire set and a bunch of other stuff. It's going to be awesome! :D

3 down. 997 pieces/364 days to go.