iPad Pro obsessed

                                           

I recently made a big purchase. Since I haven’t upgraded my computer in forever I figured it was time to invest in something worthwhile. At first sight it’s a pretty piece of technology. Shiny. Bright. Smooth. Fast. Big. And just a lovely work of art. And then you get to know the most important part of why most creative people like me buy this. The drawing part. The pen is not too slippery and not too grippy. It feels right. Sticks to it real good too. I’m a photographer. I know what I want something to look like. And the procreate app allows me to do just that. I feel like I’m on to something. So yesterday I spent literally all day (about 10 hours) drawing. Creating. Making stuff that is meaningful.  To me. I sketched, inked and painted so hard I had to switch hands just to complete a piece from my series I’m working on. Then I realized I can’t draw with my left hand. The top piece is the nearly final. The look and style I’m aiming at. As you can see from the 30 second speed drawing I need tons more practice with cat anatomy. No probs. This machine is my new sketchbook. But I’m pretty pleased with how this all turned out. 

 The iPadPro has literally changed my life. I’m now obsessed and excited about the projects I’m creating and what my mind can conjure up as I live with this new best friend. Love.

Grandparents kitchen

My sloppy copy original sketch of the kitchen series. I’ve gotten a bit carried away and will probably end up with a hundred sketches. This is sketch number 17 and am working on color composition for each piece. Sloppy copies are great. I can throw out everything that’s going on in my crazy mind but then really in the end you gotta just simplify the final. I want to put focus on some key elements such as the tea pot, pull out cutting board and the heart waffle. Grandmas was frequently on that micro kitchen but grandpa created to best Norwegian waffles on the planet. 

Series of 12 cats plants and home.

A series of illustrations featuring 12 wackadoodle and naughty cats. Plus plants. In a home vignette. The idea struck me last night while experiencing artists block. I’ve always wanted to create a series of portraits or paintings of something I just absolutely love and adore but nothing ever sparked. Until last night. 3 things I’m obsessed with are plants, cats and vintage furniture/decor. And since the beginning of the year I’ve also been filling my sketchbook every day with oddities. Cats. Dogs. Etc. I possess some truly unique period pieces of furniture such as a 1950s coffee table inherited from grandmas house that The tv and plants and occasionally cats sit on. This is where the spark grew from. While obsessively sketching I made certain to draw from my wackadoodle imagination and not look at anything online. So as to keep the focus original and build my own artistic style. This is nostalgic and meaningful to me. The 12 sketches are complete and the tracing has begun. Then it is off to the painting process. I’m excited to use gouache because of the rich and matte and versatility of this medium. The one I have taken a picture of is the last one I drew. And I just absolutely am in love with it. Stay tuned for the next step. Rummy keeps me company and this chair will most def be featured in a painting!

What I did today

Re purposed canvas. 12x12x2". Chunky and shiny. A Siamese/lynx point kitty cat still, hunting in a pile of wildflowers. Abstract and loose. Yet needed some tight details for the eyes. Acrylic and using only the best paints which I now forever am obsessed over. Golden AND Liquitex heavy body. Worth every pretty penny. Roughly $10 for 2 oz. Cheap paints are like...cheap. These are made in USA or France or Germany or even UK. This fun piece is based on a vintage framed needlepoint work of art that I own. I am pretty satisfied. The paint is heavy and vivid and flows nicely! I still need much more practice with my flowers though. But hey-it's abstract/expressive/loose. I Try not to dwell too much. It's good. But the next one will be better. Cats.

New banner/cover/profile/photo on ETSY!

I have been selling all kinds of collectibles on EBAY since 2007. My feedback seller/score/rating is a perfect 100%--with 454 positives. It's fun. It's time consuming. But rewarding. My user name has been ggirl1969. Not original, but Ebay won't permit me to change much. Shop name change to good old Puppycat Photography/Shop/etc. would make things less confusing, but like I said, they won't let me. So, I've been tossing around the idea of selling on Etsy. For a year. Created a fancy big banner today. (For some reason 3 years ago I changed my shop name to Puppycat and mouse. And now it's stuck) I do seem to stick with the 'puppycat' theme-so that's safe. I would love to continue to sell items on eBay, they are super duper easy peasy to navigate and set up sales in a snap. But the fees are too high for me now. 10% fvf. No tanks. Right now I'm going to figure out my ETSY shop. I've added links from my blog/website/instagram/'facebook'-but, the thing is, the FB link is actually my feedback seller rating from Ebay. Etsy will not permit me to customize links. Customer ratings are PRECIOUS!!!!  So...there you go. I hope this doesn't confuse customers too much. Ultimately I am a seller of old goods such as vintage items. Cool collectibles. Old paper. And just about anything that is 20 years and older. OMG-1999 is the 'vintage' cut off year. Huh. Hopefully my lovely looking banner will shine and stand out. My product photography will look better than ever. And I hope I can just take the time to get the hang of this smoothly and successfully. I really LOVE picking items and reselling them to people who just adore the stuff I collect. Ebay made it easy for me all these years. And now I want to say tanks and goodbye. Hello ETSY.

Same pets. Different year. Just love them.

Happy 2019!

Christmas presents from the past

One of my absolute favorite toys I received for Christmas from ‘santa’. Fisher Price circus train. My vintage collection of toys and decor is pretty eclectic and I love it. I love elephants as well. But of course not in a circus but rather in Africa. I suppose one day I should go on an African safari to just shoot animals. With a camera. The image above is my dad and I. Playing on the shag carpet with Christmas toys. I’m thankful my mom took this. I’m thankful she was always there to document our lives growing up both in USA and Norway. I miss my dad. So many people close to me are gone. But still, never forgotten. These photos make my happy. I hold on to those memories and continue to document my everyday life of people and animals and then the stuff. 

New Years word of the year is ‘create’. Someone said it and I feel it too. Keep creating. What makes you happy. What gets you up in the morning. Life move fast. If you don’t stop to look around, you might miss it. Love that. 

S

Pet portrait painting process.....lengthy indeed, but incredibly satisfying in the end.

Norway. A different perspective

Spending two weeks in a different country on the other side of the world gives you a new fresh perspective on life. This was a vacation to reconnect with family and friends again. Eat a lot of delicious food. And soak in the fresh, clean Norwegian LUFT. Frogner Parken, the world's only statue park, created by one human, (super touristy-but hey, we're tourists) was a must on the visit list. Sagene, the oldest district of Oslo, where mom grew up and us kids visited every summer was nostalgic. Beautiful Kristiansand, the southern edge of Norway, where the ZOO lies, had to be revisited, even though most sections were closed, I went nuts with the nature shots. Troll shops, fish, chocolate, waffels, goat cheese and beer. Basically food, family and nature.
Norway, a beautiful country. A lovely culture. And marvelous food!!! Will need to bring lots of cash next time I visit (everything is expensive) but it's def worth it!