Woo, I woke up at 1pm today :) Guess I was tired, and it's no surprise. Florida SuperCon was a success I didn't expect, and a wonderful experience all around. I got to sell things, network, run around being a weirdo as well as making new friends (*waving at silvertales*). It was also the first con that my parents attended, and I'm glad they saw me, er..thriving in my natural element. XD



( You know the drill: three million pictures under the cut! )

My neighbors' constant doodling inspired me to do the same, so I spent some time sketching what I believe will be my next color piece.



( Cut due to potential N-completely-SFW, depending on your sensibilities. )

Bed now, as I've got work tomorrow. ^^

I can haz real banner now. <3 <3 <3

Still printing, oh gods. I have no idea what's going to happen but I'm spazzing out like a spazzy mad thing. Also, I'm working on completing my display. Not too bad, considering that they're essentially glorified cardboard boxes with laminated paper taped on them:





An earlier design, without the logo.

I've had virtually no time to sit down properly and draw, so I had to make do with my wee sketchbook at the restaurant the other night. Say hi to teenage!Joss. Joss is one of my favorite original chars. Ties weren't actually around back when he was 17 years old, but I was doing an exercise in alternate universes. (yes, isako, he's sporting Sven!hair.) He grows up to be huge and bearded. :]

1. I got my MegaCon pro badge in the maaaaail. It's really official now, I'm going. Time to make prints. :D

2. Purpletophat.com has been updated with "Sanctuary". Check out the sweet fancy updates doortoriver made to my shoppe pages.

3. So to reward myself for not having lost it during the Holiday season or given up on everything else, I went shopping. More specifically, I let myself buy the two items I'd been drooling over for a while.



and



which I picked up while hanging out with my sweet coworker Lindsay over at World Market. I love World Market.

4. Last Friday was Lipstick Lingerie day. ( Blah blah blah )

5. Okay, can people just stop calling Christian Bale a crazy douche now? :( ( LJ cut because I am way too invested in this for what it is )

ETA: Because it takes high class to apologize, no matter what anybody might say about it. http://www.cinematical.com/2009/02/06/christian-bale-apologizes-without-dropping-the-f-bomb/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbkziDbnCsI

Working title was "Cocoon", and I've been working at it on and off (well, mostly off...) since september 2006. O_o; doortoriver says that it represents my growth--perhaps she's on to something.

( Sketch & detail under cut )

I feel pretty awesome now and am going to take a little break to cook something. And maybe head to one of the stores with new prints. Then it's back to work, because it's not like these commissions are not gonna draw themselves. XD

PS: Prints of "Sanctuary" available soon on the site, that goes without saying.

I showed Paul Potts videos to my dad tonight and it made him all misty eyed--in a good way.

So. First day in, and rumor has it that President Awesome is hard at work in his office, while finding the time to do things like re-take his oath. I'm torn between paranoically reading the news and being excited, and spent some time re-watching the first dance at the inauguration ball. LOOK AT THEIR SCHMOO FACES. Awwwww. And Sasha Fierce Beyonce looks like she's this close to crying. AWWWWWWWWWWW.



Speaking of people in love, here's my random sketch of the day:



( Full image here )

In conclusion: people in love make me happy inside.

Quick doodle of the day, dedicated to isako:



Yep, am making good on my resolution to sketch no matter how little time I have. Also, I can't draw cityscapes to save my life. Maybe I should make it another point of practice.

Anyway. Now that my drawing mojo is back, I'm once again tackling commissions. Plural. I've 4 lined up--my WoW one, and 3 others with deadlines this winter/spring. Between that, prepping for MegaCon, churning out new stuff and moving into a new house, I've got my work cut out. Let's see if I'm any good at time management, shall we?

Oh gods, thanks to the flu and the general holiday madness, I went almost a few weeks without sketching anything new. Remind me to never do that again. I was getting positively weird and uncomfortable and for one crazy moment I thought I really couldn't draw anything anymore.

At any rate, I'm committed to honoring my New Year art resolutions, and so, I vow to sketch something for fun or for practice (no fretting over whether or not this or that will become a finished color piece...) anytime I can.

So this was done at work during my break :)



( See the whole doodle. )

ANYWAY. Now that everything is as it should be, I can start making plans for next week.

Finish current painting, at long last.

Get right back onto the commission train. I have my current one, and one with a deadline for Valentine's day. GET ONTO IT NOW, CELINE.

Remember to doodle!

Just quickly pondering the strangeness that is my life.

Hi, I'm Celine. I'm an artist and I turn daydreams into drawn and painted goods. I'm a squicky clean salesperson 4 days a week, and I love my retail job. I draw during breaks. I cook my own lunches for the week so I can avoid buying stuff at the food court. One of my favorite hang outs happens to be a lingerie and sex shop where my stuff sells like water (or something like it). I ship orders to Hollywood, CA stores.

I wonder what I'll have to say in 5 years. Speaking of years....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO poelaramont

I hope you're enjoying the cookehs! You better have shared with Rose, you cookie monger

And Happy Diwali to those who celebrated it. :D

doortoriver? I never say it enough, but your work continues to surprise and thrill me.

I don't think I'll have time to paint her this week, but here's Anna, my sweet Italian vamp.



Oh, and I'm now on facebook! Took me a while to figure the thing out, but you can now facebook me if you want. :D

Et bien oui, je sais que la majorité de ma flist ne parle pas français, mais une peinture inspirée par un poème de Charles Baudelaire, ça se fête :D

Presenting The Dancing Serpent, a watercolor painting. Cold pressed Arches paper, 9x12. Inspired by my favorite Charles Baudelaire poem, as well as my favorite flowers, bougainvillea.



Et ton corps se penche et s'allonge
And your body leans and stretches
Comme un fin vaisseau
Like a delicate ship
Qui roule bord sur bord et plonge
Rolling from side to side and dipping
Ses vergues dans l'eau.
Its yards in the water.

Full poem and various translations here.

And before you ask, no, this is not me, this will never be me, unlike one or two other pieces I've done in the past. :D

( Detailed shots )

Prints available very soon on purpletophat.com!

Oh man, this week has been insaaane. I'm manning the store 4 days a week until team member #4 returns from her much deserved vacation, and Wednesday found me working a double shift by myself from opening at 10 am to closing at 9pm, but we got awesome new stuff in and I'm not complaining.

I picked up poelaramont at work on Thursday evening and we went to see queen_lily_rose at the hospital--no worries, it was a scare, but now she's better and most importantly, she's back home and resting. Sweetie, I'm so glad I got to see you in spite of everything. *hugs*

Now:

draw moar of commission<--working on this at last

finish watercolor painting YAY.

order new business cards (must do this)

start making embellished prints for the Fun Fair

check all props for show on Nov 8th

try and start new painting

sleep, as always

In other news, Supernatural continues to be awesome in its fourth season. isako deserves props for introducing me to the show. :)

Oooh my childhood.



( Existential ponderings under cut )

I'm working on ten things at the same time right now, so here's a something new-ish:



I know I posted a sketch of her before, but I'm likely to be done painting her this week. I'll use watercolors. :D

Shiny to-do list!

Paint!

Keep chucking clutter out of my studio

Start making French version of website

Continue working on current commission

Contact next person down the commissions list

Look up info for Megacon

Go visit the Goddess Store

Call doctor to make appointment

Oh, and Happy Mabon to all who are celebrating it!

Ooooooh, new Prison Break eppie tonight. Yey.

Huzzah. And now my house is clean and the air is breathable and I am doing much, much better. Being able to sleep a whole night through again is a wonderful experience, I tell you. Never take it for granted!

So what's new? I finally started on teilea's commission. We're currently at the sketching stage, and it's quite exciting because I'm getting to play with concepts.



I'm actually just back from having spent the evening at Lipstick Lingerie, where I hung out with Naydi and finally got to meet Mason and Kami.



Say hello to Buddha!Head. From left to right we have Naydi, Mason, that girl who likes purple and Kami.

( Blah blah blah and some pics )

Boooy, am I sleepy right now. Let's wrap this up with the meme everyone's been doing today because and call it a night.

Take a picture of yourself right now.
Don’t change your clothes, don’t fix your hair…just take a picture.
Post that picture with NO editing.
Post these instructions with your picture.

Okay, right as I finish typing this entry:



*promptly passes out*

It must be one of those subjective experience things, but Friday night was probably the most fun I've ever had at any club. Like, ever. It combined several things I feel are completely indispensable to good time having in my book, which are good friends, hugs, seeing good art, selling my art and lounging around the Red Room in a slinky black dress and top hat (yep, I have the things, might as well make full use of them during this trip :3).



( Big photo post under cut :D )

It's Sunday night now and I'm lounging around with isako re-packing my suitcase. I don't particularly want to leave yet and I'll miss her lots T_T but at least I'm going to see doortoriver and her hubby, and we'll all be missing isako together.

I've had the most awesome time in LA. Nothing went like I expected it would--it just went better. I'll post more about last week when I'm in New Hampshire.

1. Aww. I was rejected by the Dragon*Con art show jury yesterday. I'm bummed, but not heartbroken over it, as I kind of expected this outcome. Competition was probably stiff, and my work could use some maturing. That's okay, I'll try again next year or even later.

2. Lest I forget this gig is actually working, I am currently featured in a hella cool store.

3. My commission slots are also currently FULL O_O. Seriously, I'm booked until the start of 2009. That's all kinds of awesome.

4. Speaking of commissions, my African Queen is finally here! I am so happy with her, and so is, I believe, her commissioner:



( Detail and original sketch under cut )

Yay. So. Le Sexe Shoppe Lipstick Lingerie is now officially carrying my artwork! And it seems to be doing well with their customers, which is another big yay. Also, the wonderful staff is totally making my stuff look awesome, as evidenced by the following pictures:





Squint a little. Why yes, that's framed Fetish Cinderella you can see through the window.

( 2 more pics under the cut )

For reals. Why, you ask? A couple of things.

One, Moka's toe is going to heal just fine. We took him for a check up at the vet yesterday, and she was happy to tell us that no amputation would be needed. OOOH. T_T

Two: last night, I got my stuff into a fabulous store on trendy/chic Las Olas blvd in Fort Lauderdale.



It's.... a really cool lingerie and adult novelty store. Some of you may balk at this, but I assure you, this isn't a creepy joint where you run into shady looking dudes in raincoats. In fact, it's one of those nice women-couples-LGBT friendly places, where you come in to shop in a safe atmosphere, ask questions and try on fun outfits.

( Cut for vaguely R-rated photo post and some squeeing )

Check out the kickass custom made Harley they've got for sale.



( More kickassery under the cut )

Aaah. What a week. But it ain't over yet. After all that excitement, it's back to photoshop with me. I've got a commission to finish. Y'all have a great weekend now. ^_^

Okay, first off, CONGRATULATIONS TO doortoriver for getting her much deserved first request for a partial. It's not like I didn't tell you people she's on a certain path to success or anything.

Aaand CONGRATULATIONS TO isako for being back in the land of automotive functionality!

My life, once again, seems to have been overrun by an army of angry imps conspiring to keep me from updating and being generally social online. Trouble started two weeks ago( Blah blah blah... )

I'm happy to report that commission and artwork are progressing as usual. I've got several pieces in the works, and here's a work-in-progress shot of my current commission:



I'm still figuring out all the base colors, but we're getting somewhere. Sketch of the piece can be found here.

I've come to realize that I must now carry copies of my prints everywhere I go, because people will randomly ask to buy my stuff. Notice that I'm not complaining at all. It's just that you know you need to be ready when restaurant owners notice you drawing at their tables, come up to see what you're doing and then ask you if you've got anything for sale so they can buy it. :P

Thus, if I had any word of advice to dispense to aspiring and/or beginning artists at this point of my journey, it would be this: be ready for anything, even you don't think you're good enough just yet. More often than not, you're the only one who sees flaws everywhere in your work.

And because I've been tagged, here's a meme.

*List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself
*Tag seven people to do the same
*Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag "whoever wants to do it."

( My answers )

doortoriver already tagged half the people I know so...I'll go with queen_lily_rose, krystalemerges, giovanna_adams, ojouchan, poelaramont, lvictoriaart & nowgoesquickly.

So I haven't been totally useless during my sick week, but it kind of amazes me how something that took me this long to churn out on a regular year ended up getting completed in less than a week at a time when I could barely sit up or lift a spoon to feed myself. At any rate, my work is done and my commissioners are happy with it. Score!

( Details and stuff )

Well those went by pretty fast, didn't they?

Ten years ago, I was an art student. Eight years ago, I got really sick. Six years ago, I reached what I'd call a personal bottom. Four years ago, I got back on my feet. Two years ago, I took a leap. Last year, I flew. Believe me, it's worth it. It's all worth it.

There's nothing else to add, really, except that maybe, maybe, this is the first birthday I've had in a long while that finds me both stressed...yet profoundly content. I'm where I hoped I could be, and the great things is, I still have a ways to go. That's kind of exciting. :)



Aaand introducing Indigo, Mediterranean/gypsy sister of the Heart Suite. She was finished on the day of my birthday.

PS: Thank you to everyone who called/texted/emailed me for my birthday. *hugsnkisses*

Okay. I still have no internet, but what does it matter? I'm typing tonight from Whole Foods Market, somewhere in South Florida, in order to bring you (at last!) the piece I've been working on for the past couple of weeks. I'd hoped to get it done a few days ago, but obnoxious little details kept on clamoring for my attention. ^^;

Anyway, without further ado, I proudly present my new baby, "The Party Dress".



( Click for detail shots )

doortoriver (thank you T_T)should have updated Purpletophat.com by now, so please go have a look. This piece is available in both 8x11 and 11x14 prints.