Work, and Then More Work

I sold Ziggy today, which is both good and bad.  It's good because it went to someone who appreciates my art, and this particular painting gave her great joy to look upon.  It's bad (well, more like regretful) because it was one of my favourite pieces of art and it gave me joy as well.

Such is the life of an artist ....

I did very well at the market today.  I made over $100, and people seemed enthusiastic about my new deals!

 Now, however, I'm back home and I have a lot of work ahead of me tonight.  I need to write email; update my schedule and my finances; look on the internet for a new battery for my laptop; and then, if I'm not utterly exhausted, design and order more cards.

As Mom used to say, "No rest for the wicked!"

Getting Ready for Tomorrow

Come to the St Lawrence Market tomorrow and get a Dandy Deal at Annie's Dandy Note Cards and Artwork!

Getting Things Sorted Out

I hardly noticed as the snow fell steadily outside my window.

I was too happy in the knowledge that I had finished my most recent painting and I would be starting another commission soon.

Other things occupied my mind as well.  Emails had to be written, my computer had to be fixed (thank you, guy from Geek Buddy for your help), and I had to arrange with new employees to come in for further training on certain days.

I didn't get to call the vet to make an appointment for my boys - but there's always tomorrow!

Sirens

My niece Michelle recommended to me that I watch Supernatural. And so, like a good aunt, I do! Watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel are two of my guilty pleasures, so its easy for me to enjoy Supernatural.

Well, anyway, I was just watching the episode about the Sirens, and it made me think of my counselling session today. Let me explain, in this particular episode one of the Sirens made both Sam and Dean reveal their true feelings about each other - well their negative feelings anyway.  And I thought most people have both poisitive and negative feelings about the people they love, which makes love a very difficult thing. To be able to have a half decent relationship, you have to be able to decide what to show and what to keep to yourself. And yet, as I learned today, sometimes if you keep the negative things bottled up inside of you it might come back to bite you in the ass one day.

Commissions Overload!

Can't talk now! I'm overloaded with commissions for paintings!

Too Busy for Words Part II

Too Busy for Words

... so just pictures today!

Putting On My Thinking Cap

This morning, as Brittainy was assisting me in getting dressed, she might have noticed that I seem to be preoccupied, and she would have been correct.

My mind was full of ideas about how to improve  and promote my business.  One thought I've had for awhile is to have a "Find the Face of Dandylion" promotion, where people find stickers with  pictures of Dandylion on them and get a price reduction on their purchases. I'm going to implement this idea today at the market.

(Hmm, I just had another idea. Since next month is Dandylion's birthday, maybe I should make booklets telling the story of his life and why he became my muse. People might be interested in this story.  God, I miss that damn crazy cat!)

Plus, I'm going going to ask The Printing House to take the photo of my painting finger and put it on a plaque, and then add the words:  "Annie's Dandy Note Cards and Artwork -  Making People's Lives a Little More Dandy!"   I'll hang it up at the market ... although I'm not sure how long I'll be allowed to stay here.

That's another issue I need to put my thinking cap on for: how to stop the bureaucratic monsters from evicting all of the cart vendors in March.

Bastards!

Please sign this petition to stop the vendors at St. Lawrence Market from being evicted

Better and Busy

I felt much better today and way more energetic.  (Woo-hoo!)

I wrote/replied to a thousand emails/texts; I picked up two prescriptions at the Drug Mart; and, at Loblaws, I bought mostly healthful food.  Whatever this on-again-off-again illnesss is, I want it gone for good!

The employees' schedule and payroll is almost finished too.  I think I'll take a break and watch Supernatural.

No Post Due to Illness

The Beginning of Dinah the Cat

Memories of Ginger Beer and Grandma Dixon

I had more stomach problems today, so I drank some dark ginger ale to settle down my complaining guts.

Dark ginger ale tastes vastly different from the regular kind. One sip tasted to me like ginger beer, a drink that my Grandma Dixon used to love.  This simple fact brought up so many childhood memories.

I remember when my grandparents would come over to our house to have dinner and play Pinochle.  A toddler at the time, I could hear my parents and grandparents talking and laughing, and I always insisted on getting out of bed to join in the fun.  I would marvel at how my dad called my grandfather George not Grandpa.  I would feel annoyed with my mother for trying to go back to bed.  I'd just gotten up!

Grandma and Grandpa Dixon resided half of the year in Toronto and half in Florida.  According to my mother, Grandma Dixon could never decide where she liked to live most (or least).  In either location, my grandparents were simply mad about going to the horse races.

Such wonderful, fond memories ...  It makes me want to go out tomorrow and buy some real ginger beer.

A Shortage of Canvas Boards

Did you know that there's a shortage of canvas boards in Toronto?  There is! Well, the 16x20 size anyway.  That's my favourite kind of canvas too!  However, after the salesperson explained that they were sold out in every art store all over the city I mentally shrugged and bought two 12x16 flat board canvases and one 24x30.

I put one of the smaller canvases up on my easel; I'll start work on my latest commission tomorrow.

As for the big canvas, I'm thinking of painting a picture of a dream I had years ago.  In the dream, I was mountain climbing, and Hershey and Rascal were below me hanging onto the same rope as I was.  And then, all of a sudden, I felt myself started to slip.  I began to panic, but then, above me, I heard Rob's voice saying, "Don't worry, Sweety! I'll never let you fall!"

I keep thinking about the shortage of canvas boards and imagining that a single eccentric artist has bought all of the supplies and is working on a gigantic work of art.

I wish it was me!

Tomorrow is Another Day ....

Sorry, folks.  I'm not feeling well.  I'm going to finish writing my short bio for BROAD Magazine and then go to bed.

Tomorrow is another day, though, and, hopefuly, I'll feel better and refreshed in the morning.

A Whack-a-Mole Kind of Life

I quite happily finished my painting of Rob last night.  If I do say so myself, it's one of the best portraits I've ever done.

Yesterday morning, Dobrila asked me when I thought I'd be ready to tackle painting the photo that she had brought to me this week.  (The photo is one that Dobrila had snapped of me, naked on my bed with my heart-shaped ass and curved spine as its main focus.) I told her regrettably that the nude painting would have to wait because a woman from St. Lawrence Market had asked me first to do a painting of her cat.

This is how my life is like.  Finish one painting and another comes up. (Not that I mind; I make my bread and butter through commissions.)  Reply to half a dozen emails and a dozen or more come back.

One of my friends mentioned to me how much she wished that she and I could fly to Cuba so that we could lie on the beach and do nothing except drink Margueritas all day. The Marguerita and the warm beach sounded heavenly!!! Yes, yes, sign me up!

But, to sit and do nothing? Really?  I know that other people do exactly this on their vacations: nothing.  HOW do they do that?  Aren't they tortured like I am by the mere idea of sitting still for more than a full minute?  And, doesn't it occur to them that when they return from doing nothing there will be twice the amount of SOMETHING to deal with?

Am I the only one who thinks this way? Naw, there has to be more neurotic, over-achievers out there whose idea of fun is to play whack-a-mole with their lives 24 hours a day?