Puppycatandmouse progress and to new continued creations for 2023!

Stickers!Peeking panda bear sticker

Totes!AOP tote bag

Printables!Instant

Mugs!Mugs

Trusty eBay seller since 2007!?!?

Three months since I opened my Etsy shop. Currently have 53 listings and 11 sales. 2 are organic. Rest are family and friends!!! Thanks guys for supporting me! I had a goal of 100 listings by the EOY but it’s not what matters. My quality and time that it takes to properly create the products and list them accurately is my focus. I do completely understand the logistics of product listings and how it may take 90 days for algorithms to catch up. My products will soon enough be ranking higher slowly but surely. I’m patient and do believe in slow growth. For anything and everything. 

I have this routine of re working and modifying and enhancing an old design plus creating a brand new design twice a week. Sprinkles of variations of current designs plus POD. Mugs. Candles. Totes. To start. Nothing complicated. And different price points as well. I have a AOP tote for about 11$.  And another organic tote for $30. I have a stock of 50 stickers that were printed from stickerAPP. With a cool NO plastic product packaging! A variety of sample wall art prints in glossy and fine art paper. Ugh the matte fine art paper is to die for from Mpix. Looks AND feels like real authentic watercolor prints. All of these products have links to my Etsy shop!

I recently unlisted all of my eBay listings. I did not close u the shop but rather put it on hold. I do regret choosing eBay over etsy. Ten plus years of solid product sales with over 500 reviews and 100% feedback score through eBay. I now have to earn my customers trust with the new biz. And I also need to let go of that reminder. This new biz is fresh and exciting and all of ME and my creations. Hard ass work since July of this year when it finally occurred to me that instead of simply creating and posting art and hoping for the best I should absolutely monetize it!

I love creating new products! I just started offering pet portrait commissions. The traditional canvas portraits are just getting started as well. Look for these and many new product listings coming as quick as a bunny!!!

I am actually feeling like I may be on to something big here. 2023 will be chock full of ideas and creations. Bring on the hard work cuz I’m ready for it. 

Done is better than perfect

 

Final print ready design of TOVI!

Sweet TOVI fur this picture works well!

Creating in photoshop but procreate is faster!

TOVI phone pic super low res file but DOABLE!

Currently designing some personalized and custom wall art. This guy is an example of a unique pet grief gift that I will be offering in my Etsy shop! After purchase you will email me 3-5 of your favorite pet photos. In 1-5 days you will receive a personalized pet name photo art in size 8x10”and 11x14”. Downloadable and print ready for you to frame for your wall or desk! This is very affordable and unique and I am realizing that the more designs I am creating the more I am seeing why I do what I do. From pet photography to pet paintings to simple and unique pet gifts. It’s grief. It’s forever living inside of me and this is truly how I learn to live with it while creating animal art. If you experience real trauma at an early age (10 y/o) and then once again earth shattering and life changing at age 35. You must learn to live with this grief. And creating art has been my thing. So here it goes. Pushing the art to the next game changing level. Every day I’m hustling. Because I have to to live. Done is better than perfect!

October my favorite month to stay organized!

Razzy enjoys her favorite lookout spot!

Ten Marilyn’s by Warhol is up on display for an 80’s look-Dougie approves!

The workspace is more organized for intense focus!

 

Leia completes the look and mood for this month!

This month has pushed me to organize not only my physical life but my future art project has forced me to create products and give each and every one plus it’s variation a home as to never lose them on my computer. The peeking panda art series has made me rethink the digital art world and how simply by staying organized and focused I can then truly create something from nothing and plop it in my Etsy shop to sell! My goal is to have a fully stocked shop (100+ products-which is sooooo doable) including not only a ton of digital art prints and calendars, print on demand products, stickers plus commissions as well! October is chilly and I love the fall foliage and brrrrish feels in the morning. Inspiring 🍁🍁🍁

“I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way”! 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

Development of my digital art print shop on Etsy

Lola chihuahua modern print created in an hour and listed the same day

Since I began the digital painting journey back in the day of May of 2019-I have been simply drawing and painting and posting and hoping for the best with my art. Ok. Some people may find that satisfying but this July of 2022 it occurred to me that that was not enough. 3 months later I have completely re learned everything there is to be known about selling digital art online. Passive income is simply this:

Make a bunch of art

Open a shop on Etsy 

Let the money roll in. 

It’s so easy!

Stand by we will return after these messages!

22 easy steps for selling digital art (for passive income)

Idea (to create the item)

Creating (the art piece)

Uploading (the artwork)

Editing (the artwork)

Saving (the artwork)

Relearning (photoshop size ratios)

Saving (ratio templates)

Test printing (the samples)

Purchasing (the licensed mock-ups)

Creating (the mock-ups)

Saving (the mock-ups)

Designing (the shop)

Researching (the competition)

Searching (the proper keywords)

Memorizing (the proper meta words and descriptions)

Shooting (the videos)

Saving (the videos)

Pricing (the the items properly)

Listing (the products)

Uploading (the files)

Describing (the products)

Revising (the listings)

Sharing (the listed products on Pinterest and Instagram)

Repeat and start the process over again to list 100 different products as a goal to actually make sales because Etsy needs to trust in your product. (Yes you ONLY need to create each art piece listing once. Then your stock of 999 products of ONE design are set to auto pilot. THAT is ultimately passive income.) I haven’t even mentioned updating the listings and my website to stay new and fresh for the algorithm to rank me somewhere high up there for my target audience peeps to even consider buying my art. 3 months of some serious intense prep work. And I’m just getting started. Like I said it’s so easy. Only sell what you love. And they will stop by to buy your art!

 

Peeking panda and pets print series available in my new shop!

Peeking panda 12x18” print

Peeking Razzy 16x20” print

Peeking Clovis 20 x 20” print

 The initial decision to start selling my art as prints began only 3 months ago. I had a look at my work and was adding wildlife art along with the pet art. YouTube has taught me wonders. Since then it’s been quite a learning experience. The entire process for setting up a shop that sells digital downloads via etsy is a monumental task that does require not only creative art skills but also a technical skill. Did I mention business skills? Selecting the proper art pieces that actually look aesthetically appealing to a buyer is tricky. Relearning final file, templates and print size in photoshop as well as seo meta description and key words is something to memorize. What many people call passive income takes an enormous amount of solid and intense prep work. I am willing to do my due diligence because the the end result IS passive income. Above are the Mockup  designs that were purchased for commercial use so I have a license to use for my shop. They are absolutely lovely in my humble opinion!!! Modern and fresh interior design to display the fanciful and fun modern animal prints! I will have 15 peeking panda and pet prints available to purchase and download to your computer so you have the option to print from home or local print shop such as Walgreens-most affordable and good quality or a online professional high end shop such as finerworks. The largest print size is either a 20x20” or 16x20” or 12x18” depending on the frame you have. This is series one. New designs will be added as fast as a bunny!

Buy art because surrounding yourself with beauty is essential for life!

Affordable and enjoyable printables!

 

The scandi Norwegian version soon to be available for purchase in A4 size-plenty of  pet  options for this!

Pet printables series one size 11x14” available soon-series two will have size 16x20” as the largest printable size!

Making the step towards monetizing my art. I’ve been a pet photographer for years and transitioned to becoming a pet painter only 4 years into this and all the time I’ve been learning and taking my art to different levels such as traditional painting, YouTube channel, and Instagram Doggust challenges twice! It has occurred to me to maybe start monetizing my art but I was stuck for so long and never quite ready. I’ve spent a great deal of hours upon hours of learning my craft and style that I chose not to let the cute and fun art to go to waste. Painting each and every pet is a lengthy process. It’s a labor of love indeed. There is always the plan,subject,goal and then completing the final piece feeling pressure and doubt and so on for hours. Posting a piece on Instagram is good for the gallery. But it sinks to the bottom of the Instagram scroll pool. Stuck there in the digital world. Where it could possibly disappear forever. Idk how to explain properly but Instagram is a great instant gratification/dopamine hit for a moment. The gallery is neat and useful. But all the hours spent creating something from nothing needs to mean something more than a 2 second peek at a cute and unique piece of art. And that’s where Etsy wins. 

Printables. Digital downloads. Instant. Affordable. Art for the everyday person. I like to say pet prints are budget focused with an eye for maximum enjoyment. It’s a place to make a difference in your art. Selling you art online. Like not selling on eBay which is expensive(fees!)but super duper easy-I’ve been selling there for over ten years-or even the POD-print on demand-zazzle and red bubble which eats MOST of your royalty profits- And not yet selling from your actual website (I plan to sooooon!)which can be difficult and lengthy at first. It’s in between. Sure there are fees. But not for digital downloads. So that’s a win.  I do realize that. I’m ok with that. I’ll manage.

Pet photography brought plenty of joy but pet painting brings a whole different layer of art satisfaction!

I’m going to start with my original and unique pop up pet planners first. Then pet printables. And eventually offer custom pet portraits. So it’s a good mix of graphic design. Art prints. And original art. 

I’m following these steps I learned from a YouTuber and that is: improve on an existing product. Create something new. And then finally brand yourself. 

Pet art is timeless. It’s forever cute and classic. It will never go out of style. 

We loooove our pets and will do whatever it takes to make them oh so happy because they don’t judge. 

13 years blogging and growing strong!

Kenobi 2009

 Today is year 13 of blogging. My very first post was June 5 2009. As you can see through the years the art came in waves. From starting small with happy snaps and going to college for painting digitally with Painter X and photoshop to running and operating a part time pet photography biz-to currently obsessing about Procreate and it's level of painting sophistication. Besides showing off this photo of my dog from back then-I don't have much to add other than I'm busy with daily painting mostly digital using procreate but also teaching myself to be more disciplined with traditional art. Finishing off this post with a favorite quote by Vincent Van Gogh: 

If you hear a voice within you say: Do not paint. Then by all means, PAINT! And that voice will be silenced. 

Mountain Lion Cub 2022

Wildlife series in progress!

Tasmanian Devil Soft Pastels & Charcoal Block

 Starting off the wildlife series with a slightly melancholy Tazzie. They tend to fight a lot but this shy guy is a newbie and seems just unsure yet. Obsessed with soft/oil pastel and and charcoal block for depth and texture-also the big eyes are here to stay as I am super absolutely inspired by Margaret Keane's art. The animals need some depth and mood and intensity because all wild animals have to fight for their life every single day. Plan is to draw every day while working my way up to the top wildlife animals to draw/paint-such as the one and only most spectacular -- elephants. Joy! Committed to this journey toward becoming a full time animal artist very soon. 

Improving an old piece

Number 2 - FINAL - It is deeply satisfying to improve and shift your mind set the second time around 

                     

Number 1- Pekka has sort of a monkey vibe about him

The real Pekka the pug

I overworked Pekka portrait painting number 1 and was NOT satisfied with the end results. So I changed things up a wee bit and started my painting with a vibrant color palette and took off from there which created Pekka portrait painting number 2 which is now moving forward my go to color palette. Abstract and quirky style. Modern with a pleasing palette that strikes a conversation immediately. This one spoke to me. I did not over work it. Each stroke and color choice was intentional. Cute pets with colorful style. 

Baby Bighorn-first procreate painting of wild animal-April 2019-taking a look back

3 years ago I began the digital painting journey using my apple pencil on my iPad Pro. Procreate is the most intuitive and sophisticated drawing program on the planet and I never imagined I would be able to create drawings of critters and cuteness digitally. This baby bighorn was an attempt in April 2019 and I’ve been hooked since then. My plan is to keep honing my dog and cat drawing skills everyday with a bit of wild forest critters then graduating to even wilder animals. I have a fox painting that’s in the works-traditional acrylic on canvas-poor guy has been pushed to the wayside but I will pick up my brushes very soon to complete. In the meantime I look at this sheep and am pretty proud of what I was able to accomplish with the minimal training drawing on a tablet. I love it so much. One day I’ll trade in for a 13” which would be mind blowing when I get there. Bigger is better when drawing and painting. (Soon I’ll paint on 20x20 or 30x30 canvases) big art is my dream project…..
 

Only Cute Art work in progress

 These are the the cuties I plan to use in a series of nursery art/modern pet art for display in nurseries, kids rooms and the like. The whole process of this is definitely consuming my valuable time. Working on these forces me away from current world events which are indeed beyond my control. I only want to create cute and small things. Since I was a small child growing up in the states, my first favorite book that has inspired me and brought pure joy and safe cozy feelings is a book by Gyo Fujikawas Baby Animals,1963. 1980’s baby animal stickers and Hello Kitty toys at It’s A Small World at the westroads mall was my LIFE!

 Ultimately to make this art sellable as digital downloads available to the proper target audience. Which does not make them limited art-I’m ok with that-custom commissions is possible although the lengthy process of a final print from digital drawing/painting worries me simply because of the print output would be inconsistent. I’m focusing on traditional painting of commissions. That way I can really take the painting process a step further from semi realistic to abstract modern. Which is my ultimate goal. Currently I’m completing a 30x40” acrylic/mixed media-trusting the lengthy process that it is and all of the important steps that need be taken throughout the creative painting process. 

Above image of a nursery snapshot I copied and placed my image within the room. These sophisticated wall guides are from Ariana Falerni. I purchased the couch set years ago and added some final images on display on my up to date website-today I wanted to play more but since I’m working on a newer computer I’ve lost the downloads and just have to make a purchase of the new and improved newborn/kids room templates-it’s superior wall guides that work flawlessly with photoshop. This is my goal for 2022. I only want to make cute stuff. That’s all. 

Believing in a greater purpose

One of the many important quotes I love from Martin Luther King Jr.!

The inspiration and reason I wake up every day!

Highly nutritious for 3$ at ALDI-not organic but close!

It’s your moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. 

In the spirit of MLK day, I’d like to pause and dig deep in what matters most

This blog is absolutely not political in any shape or form. But this is a new year. A new beginning. And sometimes moments in our creative lives require reflection in order to keep our creative juices aware to function and why I do what I do and the freedoms that I have in America to be able to think and do what I do. 

My top 3 things I do to keep myself sane, healthy and on track with my daily life. 

1 diet, exercise and health in order to ‘stay safe’-this is what I drink every day: cold pressed juices including whole foods, minimal processed and fast food-(do not deprive yourself-you’ll go insane).

Dog walking, yoga and working in a warehouse environment keeps me fit and never sedentary!

2 open mindedness understanding and compassion-freedom to respect other peoples opinion. MLK looked at the world with compassion and understanding! Respecting other peoples opinions even if you disagree is how we are a democracy! Without it we are doomed. Government overreach has grown and taken us down a dangerous and dark path-being aware of this and always on your toes for multiple sources of information is crucial-independent media is the path of the future. 

3 creating art is my therapy and the freedom to share and create whatever I chose -no censorship. Always learning new ways to create and new artist ideas and inspiration is what motivates me-the pets I live with bring my stress levels down and are also my inspiration-I could never function without a dog by my side. 

I’m going to die one day and if I don’t hold to my convictions while I’m here on this beautiful blue earth-I serve no purpose. 

This is my daily life. Only here for a short time-making the best of it-dig deep about those who are gone and no longer with us. It will gut you and force you to believe in yourself.