The Adventures of KJ & The Dreamy Giraffe

Adventure #168: Night & Day Ala KJ

Dear You,

As promised, two more new paintings!

"Starlight" is an acrylic painting on an 8" x 10" flat canvas panel, which has been embellished with stars punched out of glittery and metallic cardstock.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Aja, who lived in a kingdom full of traditions and customs. One of these customs was, when a young man wanted to marry a young lady, he climbed, climbed, climbed way up into the skies, almost to Heaven itself, to retrieve a star to give to the girl's father, in exchange for her hand in marriage. There was no proposal or ring or even inquiring as to whether the girl wished to marry this particular fellow or even at all.

Aja always thought this tradition was, well, icky at best, but it never even occurred to her that something could be DONE about it, until her best friend Lane was told she was going to be the bride of some awful boy named Henry, who laughed like a mule, smelled like pepperoni (which is good for a pizza, but not a husband!) hogged the remote, and was rumored to kick puppies.

Aja went to the king and begged and pleaded with him to make a change and finally, finding her tiresome, he waved her away, telling her that if she could climb, climb, climb and bring him back a star, that he would institute a kingdomwide ruling that marriages would only occur if both parties truly desired the union. Of course, all the king's men (and the king's horses!) guffawed with laughter, because girls can't climb trees, much less high enough in the sky to retrieve a star.

Well...that's Aja in the painting, clutching the star...so I guess you know how that story ended. :)

"Little Miss Sunshine" is 12" x 16" and I cannot even begin to tell you how the scan of this painting doesn't do it justice. In person, when it catches the light, it's twinkling and shimmering and almost magical looking, thanks to the fine folks who invented metallic paint and ultrafine glitter!

She was originally supposed to be August's painting, but in the end, it just didn't feel right.

This idea popped into my head after I read what Kim from Regal Beads wrote about me on her blog. She said that I add sunshine to others' days and I have to tell you, that is probably one of the top five nicest things anyone's ever said about me. I mean, can you THINK of a better compliment? I can't. Thank you so much, Kim! You are TOO SWEET. And Kim? I'm waiting on a new shipment of mailers to come in, but after they do, I would LOVE to send you a free print of this one, if you'd like it, for inspiring this painting!

Talk to you all soon!

Adventure #167: Sometimes KJ DOES Paint

Dear You,

I have not one, not two, not three...but FIVE new paintings!

This is "Buggin' Out", which represents August, in my Very Dreamy Year series.

Amber was a very outdoorsy girl. She loved nothing more than going out into the backyard and lying in the grass and staring up in to the puffy white clouds polka-dotting the brilliant blue sky, enjoying nature and daydreaming the day away. Until, that is, one day, while doing so, she got bitten by a spider and her whole arm swelled up and she had to go to the emergency room and get a shot.  For a few months after that, she stayed indoors, unhappily watching television programs, and skittish about venturing outside again.

One day, bored, she went to the library, where sitting out by itself on a shelf, just like it was meant for her, was a book called How To Talk To Insects.

"How silly!" Amber thought. But she sat down and started reading, anyway.

Within two weeks, Amber was quite fluent when it came to speaking the secret language of bugs. When a spider came near, she politely asked it not to bite her...and it listened, turning away and meandering off in another direction. Amber once again returned to her outdoorsy ways and quite enjoys communicating with bugs -- even the spiders, since now when they get a be intrusive, she can request that they not bug her and they understand her wishes and 9 out of 10 times are cooperative (except for the mosquitoes, who tend to do what they want to do, regardless.)

 

This is "Patience, which is for September, the month where lots of kids find themselves, like Tara, waiting for the bus to come whisk them off to another year of school!

Tara was terribly impatient. She wanted what she wanted and she wanted it now (or five minutes ago, if possible). And what she wanted at this particular moment was for the bus to come and take her to school so that she could see the friends she hadn't seen since June! She missed them so.

She thought she heard a voice, chirping at her: "Sometimes we must wait...." but she was fairly certain that that was just her mother's words, which she'd heard many times, echoing in her head.

She ignored it, thinking: Hurry, hurry, hurry.

And it was quite a shame that she didn't pay attention, because had she only turned around, she would have seen that it was a little birdie speaking to her -- and what a story for show and tell that would've been!

And this one, of course, is for October. It's called "Family Portrait".

I had this idea in my head for so very very long but thought it would be too complicated to do -- but it really wasn't and was such fun to paint. I love the little mummy baby!

All three of these are in the shop as originals & prints. The originals are 9" x 12" ("Buggin' Out"), 8" x 10" ("Patience") and 11" x 14" ("Family Portrait").

Originally, back last December when I became determined to do the "A Very Dreamy Year" series, my goal was to, at the end of this year, to produce a calendar. I've at this point in time decided not to do that this year. I'm a perfectionist and I don't want to put something together haphazardly -- and I've just not had the opportunity to figure out a way to produce a calendar in a quality and cost-effective way. 2009 has been a rocky one for me and also filled with new opportunities (like designing the rubber stamps!) as much as I want to offer new products, like calendars, I'm just going to try to finish out this year getting as many new paintings done as I can and keeping things simple. I would love, love, love at some point to be able to offer them as a set of mini-prints, if nothing else.

I do have big plans (as always) for all sorts of things in the future, but one thing this year has taught me is that sometimes we just have to do as much as we can possibly do...and when it's the right time for bigger and different adventures, they'll happen.  Sometimes, like Tara, we just must wait. :)

Wait...that's only three paintings!

I do have two more, but this is insanely long already, so they're going to get their own adventure.

Love,

Adventure #166: KJ Is Behind The Times

Dear You,

I simply cannot believe I have not blogged about this yet!

La-la Land Crafts is now open for business and the first release of the line of stamps I am designing for the company is now available.  Here is Lala as a fairy:

You can see all six of the stamps here. Also check out the gallery, where there are some beautiful examples of crafts made using the stamps.

In other news, the super sweet and super talented Stephanie Fizer interviewed me for her This Artsy Life blog feature last week & if you'd like, you can read my interview (and those of other artsy types she's interviewed) here.

And last, but not least, I am also now involved with We Are..., a monthly collaborative coloring book type* publication from a group of Etsy artists and illustrators. Yael Frankel is putting it all together and you can see the We Are Scared, the Halloween issue (which includes a little mummy girl drawn by me!) in her shop.  We Are Happy is also available and though I was not a part of that issue, lots of wonderfully talented other folks were! So check it out, too! I think it's a wonderful project.

This very cut and dry and long overdue adventure has been brought to you with love by the letters

K & J

* I say "coloring book type" only because though it technically is a coloring book...you don't have to break out a box of crayons to enjoy and appreciate this little book of art!

Adventure #165: KJ In La La Land

Dear You,

Since the end of May, I've had a new project in the works and I've had to keep it a secret, which was difficult, but now, I can finally tell you!

Well, I'm not going to tell you.

I'll give you this little bitty sneaky peek.

Want to know who this cute little girl named Lala is?

The big news is right here.

I could not be anymore excited about this new venture and can't wait until I can show you even more!

Talk soon,

Adventure #164: KJ Screams For Ice Cream

Dear You,

So, far, in my Very Dreamy Year series, we've had:

The Resolution (January)

The Girl Who Loved Love (February)

Carried Away (March)

The Girl With The Most Colorful Umbrella (April)

A Floral Affair (May)

Havin' A Ball (June)

It is now July 13th, so I think it's high time the seventh month was represented in that line-up, don't you? There hasn't been a little blonde girl since January, so I thought it was time for one of those, too.

Did you know July is National Ice Cream Month? (You can thank Ronald Reagan for that (and my best friend for pointing it out to me).

I'd struggled to come up with an idea for this month, but I think this one would be fitting even if July weren't National Ice Cream Month, because, at least where I am, it is so freaking hot, eating ice cream (and other frozen treats) IS necessary.

Stay cool, kids!

 

P.S. This piece is now available as a print in the shop!  I'm not listing the original (which is 11" x 14" on a flat canvas panel) right now, but it's available if anyone happens to be interested!

Adventure #163: KJ's Angels

Dear You,

Just a self-portrait for today:

Just kidding! ;)

(Although, I think this one does look a bit like me, with longer hair. And wings. And a halo.)

If anyone's on Facebook, I nearly worked myself up to a migraine earlier today creating a fanpage, so if you're on Facebook and want to check it out, that would be super dreamy! I may eventually have some sort of fan only sales and promotions...if I can get over the fact that Facebook scares me, what with all those people from my past just lurking about ready to pop out and point, yelling "Hey! I knew you in high school! Do you remember that time (insert embarrassing memory here)."  

Be good!

P.S. This one will be in the shop in original and print form later today. I'm thinking of offering the print with and without the words...what do you think?

Adventure #162: KJ's Flight School

Dear You,

It still amazes me -- even though I've painted 8970987987 (approximately) paintings--  how you can start out in the morning with something that's only in your head, something that doesn't actually exist, and with the help of a blank canvas, some paintbrushes, paint and a bit of time -- you have created something real and tangible that you can show others and say "Here, look what I did!"

So, hey, guys, here, look what I did:

Seriously, the process is still sort of magical to me. Like I know I painted this. I know 39870987987 (approximately) brush strokes went into it.  I vaguely recall at one point thinking "ARRGH!" (because I am half-pirate, doncha know?*) and "I am NEVER going to finish this" but even with those facts, it sort of seems that the paintings just kind of...appear.

And they rarely show up just as they were in my head. This one, for instance. From the moment I had the idea several months ago, the background was a cream or maybe a light lemony yellow and her hair was going to be a mane of rainbow pastels (something I still really want to try!) and the rest of the colors were muted and dreamy.

Of course, I should know by now I don't have a muted bone in my body. They're all very bright, some even neon, I'm afraid.

It became evident as soon as I had her face painted that she needed to be a dark haired gal and I didn't want to go with anything traditional so I decided to do a blue-black -- however, for future reference, when going for blue-black, lay down the blue, then add in black lowlights, because if you do the blue first, you do not wind up with blue-black. You wind up with black.

Also, in my head, the text said "She was the type of girl who tied on wings and prepared for takeoff", but in the middle of the painting I thought of this wording and liked it better.

She didn't turn out how I'd initially envisioned her at all -- but I think she turned out just the way she should be. And that's kind of like life, huh?

She will be in the shop later today, both as a print and the original.

Love,

Adventure #160: KJ Likes Boys

Dear You,

I do like boys! It's true. I just don't paint them very often. I've given my reasons for this in the past, but now, I think the only thing stopping me is that most of my ideas are very girly!

But every time I paint one, I think, "OH, my goodness, I must paint more boys!"

This is Olaf and his friend, Thor, who I originally intended to be a beluga whale but I went too gray with the color and he became more and more dolphinish but not quite, so we'll just say a beluga whale and a dolphin fell in love and had a baby and that baby was Thor.

 

I originally titled this one "I Will Understand (When You Must Go)" but have decided to shorten it to "I Will Understand" 'cause it's a bit less sad that way and more like a painting about friendship than a painting about goodbyes. 

Though I have to admit I started this painting, I had this Henry Rollins quote, which I'd stumbled upon the previous day, on my mind: "It's sad when someone you know becomes someone you knew."

It is indeed sad, so that's why you should always give people big hugs, like Olaf and Thor do, whenever you go in separate directions, no matter how brief the time apart may be.

(I had to reword that last sentence about 500 times to get it to not sound dreadfully depressing!)

I want to write a cute little story about Olaf and Thor but nothing's coming to me that feels natural yet.

The original has already sold, but there are prints in the shop!

Big hugs!

P.S. I totally originally typoed "big huts!" The longer I am away from an office job, the more my poor fingers forget their way around a keyboard.

Adventure #158: KJ Does Makeovers, Part Dos

Dear You,

I'm almost done with the process of deciding what stays in the shop and what goes. And after making the tweaks to "Sometimes I Forget", I've definitely had my eyes open for other pieces that could use some sprucing!

My inner perfectionist is having a field day finding what she perceives to be flaws in some of my "best" pieces and being allowed to make improvements. I'm telling you: She is cackling with delight.

I get requests fairly often about making changes to prints and most of the time, the answer is that I just can't do it. Mostly people want eye color or hair color changed and that's just not something I'm comfortable with since, for me,  digitally altering with the hair and eye color almost always looks supremely wonky and out of place.  But I do enjoy tinkering with backgrounds and such.

This print is actually from a custom piece I did based on my previous painting, "Extraordinary". The lovely woman who commissioned me to paint it for her daughter loved the original painting but just wanted a different hairstyle and some color changes. The light lime green background worked really well on the actual painting...but somehow, it never quite translated in scans in a way I was head over heels with.

The original "Extraordinary":

The blonde version:

 

I found myself thinking, "Wouldn't a nice, light blue background make her eyes pop like crazy?" (which sounds kind of painful and not good, actually).  So the background became a sky and the floor became grass.

Before, I liked it. Now, I kind of LOVE it.

(I ordinarily do not sell prints of custom work, but in rare cases, where it is something not too personal or tied specifically to the buyer, I'll ask if they'd be okay with it and offer a discount on their painting if they are.)

I also made some minor changes to "I'm The Boss". I think she was perfectly fine as is and has been one of my strong sellers, but every time I printed it out, that bright pink around her arms just shrieked "BLOTCHY! BLOTCHY!" at me. So now, it's gone. :) Bye bye, blotch!

Before:

After:

Next time, I will have a brand new painting to show off...that is, unless my inner perfectionist wins out and I'm unveiling the new background to the original version of "Extraordinary". She's screeching to have a go at it, but I'm trying to convince her she's had enough fun for the time being!

See you soon,

Adventure #157: KJ Does Makeovers

Dear You,

I am in the process of making over the shop a bit. Okay, a lot.

For a long time, I thought the best game plan when it came to shopkeeping at Etsy was to keep the shelves as fully stocked. The more, the merrier, right? The more listings you have, the more likely you'll turn up in searches. The more you're offering, the more likely someone will find, once they find you, something they like, right?

A week or so ago, my shelves weren't just fully stocked: They were kind of overflowing.

There were some pieces that were older and just don't quite fit with my current aesthetic anymore, mostly since over time, the faces of my girls have evolved a bit.

There were some pieces that I just wasn't 100% proud of. Oh, don't get me wrong -- it's not like I felt I had junk for sale, but since I first began selling my art, I've gotten significantly more perfectionistic when it comes to each and every detail in a painting being just right. (I look at say, some of the hands, on some of my older pieces and cringe a little...um, are those SUPPOSED to be fingers, darling?!)

I decided to trim the fat and those two groups were mostly easy to let go of. (After all, it's not like I'm burning the originals...just putting them back in the storeroom, which doesn't necessarily have to be a permanent banishment or anything.)

There was another group, though -- pieces that I personally adore, but that obviously had faces only a momma could love. I mean, it's hard to admit, but when a print's been up for over a year and hasn't sold even once and has just one or two hearts...um...yeah. Maybe time to admit that that one isn't going to ever be the popular kid in school, no matter how many times you renew it.

Carefully poring over all of my available items and checking out the trends of hearts, views, and sales was a little bit eye opening. I'll never be able to just paint what sells -- but it was interesting to see what absolutely, positively doesn't.  The most loved pieces have a strong concept, a specific plot of sorts (like "Cookies Are Love" or "Gnome Sweet Gnome") -- but it can't be too niche-y to provoke "I don't get it"s (like "Olivia & The Idea House").  Once upon a time, my art was featured on a blog and they described it as being full of "inside jokes that everyone gets" and I think those pieces are the ones that will be most loved -- the ones that are relatable and strike some sort of chord in the person looking at it. I think that's why every single painting I've done that was more or less just a plain, basic portrait of a little big eyed girl with nothing really special about it get overlooked consistently.

I don't intend to just remove all of that work and forget it exists -- I have plans for all of it, eventually -- but for now I'm editing all of my listings (trimming some fat there, too) and redoing my pictures and slowly but surely filling the shop back up with the paintings and prints I truly feel like are the best and the brightest.  When in doubt, I'm leaving it out (for now).

And even some of those I feel are the best and the brightest are getting l'il tweaks.

This one, "Sometimes I Forget (It Was All A Dream)", has been pretty popular and I like it a lot, but every time I look at it, I wince just a tad at my choice for that bright yellow background.

So I reworked it a bit and now: No sunglasses necessary.

And I added a bricked texture! And seriously wonder why I didn't think of that long, long ago!

The new and improved print is now in the shop...but what do you guys think?  Is it really better or should I have left it alone?  Be brutally honest, I can take it!

Talk to you soon!

P.S. I'm trying to keep the blog focused on my art, but if you are ever interested in what random thought is running through my head when I'm not painting, you can follow me on Twitter! I'm kind of addicted to it: http://twitter.com/dreamygiraffe