First the side bar:

1. There is now a gallery in the side bar. It will randomly choose 4 of the images in the gallery every time the page is refreshed. If you click on the gallery the images will load in the center of the screen and you can click the image to go to the next one.
2. Next we have the new book review links. I decided to make a carousel instead of the long list of books. It looks nicer and takes up less space.

The pages edges:

1. On the right hand side you have links to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr. They are right next to the scroll bar.
2. On the left hand side you have a nice new tool that will allow you to highlight something on my page and then you can make a tiny url and tweet a link to what has been highlighted. Just highlight what you want, take your finger off the left click and go back over what was highlighted.

I hope you enjoy these additions as well as the new layout. I will most likely play around with a few other things over the next few days so don’t be surprised if you come back and something is a bit different.  If you like something and I got rid of it, let me know and I will think about putting it back.

*I stumbled upon this amazing blog as I was cleaning out my following list on twitter. I added quite a few of her suggestions. Instead of using her links though I opened up the ones I wanted to us, opened my blog in another tab and just put in the names of all the plug-ins in the search box. Easy as pie.

1. When you leave a comment check the CommentLuv box and there will be a link to your latest blog entry!
2. I also added the share option so you can link with your favorite social media of your choice.

• 1.the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.
• 2.the class of objects subject to aesthetic criteria; works of art collectively, as paintings, sculptures, or drawings: a museum of art; an art collection.

This is Redgy. He is my clay board experiment.  I must say it’s a bit frustrating to go from the last painting to one that is in the ugly stage right from the beginning.

I have done about 3 steps to this. First is the brown one, second is the black (except eyes and nose) and third is the red and blue. I just put in the eyes and nose after the red and blue. I’m hoping that a few more layers on the rest, to darken some areas up it will look much better.

I think there’s a 50/50 shot that this will come out okay.

Everyone that I have seen use clay board makes it look so easy. LOL. I guess I’m just a paper girl.

“…There are always some aspects of the goal that got accomplished, but the [artist] was discounting them because it wasn’t all of the goal. I have come to believe that even if it’s one out of three, it’s still one more than zero. Small gestures matter — and it’s high time we start recognizing what we do instead of what we don’t do. We do a disservice to ourselves by not acknowledging even the smallest things we do accomplish…” –Summer Pierre, The Artist In The Office.

(Psst…I read this book the other day and I highly recommend it, even for full-time artists or anyone who kind of hates their job. It’s a very quick read. You could probably read it at the bookstore in one sitting.)

This led me to think about what I did get accomplished this year. I also discovered paintings that I completely forgot about.

I would like to invite you to leave your list of accomplishments in the comments. No matter what your goal is (art related or not) and the small steps you took towards that goal that you haven’t been counting because it’s not the whole thing! Let’s celebrate ourselves and what we did do instead of wishing we had done more.

My list goes a little something like this:

• Painted 4 full paintings and several small abstract paintings.
• In the BFA show.
• Had the good wall in the BFA show.
• Shared a booth at the Art and Wine Festival.
• Realized I probably could have filled the whole booth myself.
• Made up my own business cards.
• Read a lot of books on business, art, art business, etc.
• Put business cards offering pet portraits at various vet offices.
• Started a mailing list.
• Handed out all my business cards at the Art and Wine Fest.
• Shared a booth (although very short-lived) at the Bolingbrook craft fair.
• My website is up and I started a new blog, Twitter account, and Facebook fan page.
• Maintaining said blog, twitter account, and facebook fan page.
• Went to Santa Fe and Thailand.
• Tried out a news letter site. That was fun.
• Have my own shop at Etsy and CafePress.
• Tried Ebay for the first time.
• Made and sold prints and postcards of my paintings.
• Had a successful first give-away here at the blog.
• I designed my own twitter background. That is big people.
• Sharon did my amazing logo!
• Started SAC, the suburban artist coalition so my friends and I can have a community outside of the art school. And we have a few awesome things ahead in the upcoming year.
• Experimenting with color,  texture, and clay board.
• Practicing telling everyone I meet that I am an artist and that includes a lot of people at the bookstore (when it’s appropriate to the conversation)
• Tried 300 figures in 30 days w/ Sharon.
• Entered the Art Calendar Self-Portrait competition.
• Had my very own article at Empty Easel (for which I was very grateful)
• Started two other paintings that I have since decided I do not care about enough to finish
• Various art related outings (LaSalle St. art fair, Mr. Kennedy’s show, the Art Institute, etc.)

Wow, what a difference a list makes. Considering how long some of these items took and the fact that I am working part-time, all the things I am trying to do to be healthy, spent the majority of the time depressed, learning to sew, all my other hobbies including reading for fun, throw in two weeks to visit my family and time spent with Joe and his/our family and friends, and  a week of sleeping, it becomes clear I have been a very busy lady.

Yes most of these things are small, but some of them are actually pretty big. I was thinking “I only finished two paintings.” Now I see how untrue that was.

So I invite you to do the same in the comment section. I can’t wait to celebrate with you.

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This painting, along with my self portrait titled “This Too Shall Pass” will be my submission for this year’s Illinois Watercolor Society.  Any critique would be much appreciated.