tjtoubeaux.com is now Live!

Sorry for that outburst. :-) 

This is something that I've waited years for, and I finally got it.  I'm overjoyed by the whole process of it. 

Creating my own website has been on my mind for a whole year now, and I always found a way to make excuses for doing it.  Not anynmore.  I finally got my site up and running, and it feels great.  Perhaps I may be able to liberate myself from etsy afterall?

Oh, btw, I'm hosting a Wordpress.org blog, and will probably stick to blogging there.  Hmmm...I haven't decided what to do about possible having two blogs.  But, I do pay to be there now....

Bloody Valentine....

A lover, and his prey.  Vampire theme.  I decided to go the unconventional route for this valentine's day...I don't know why.  I think that I really just like weird love stories.  I finally got to see "Thirst", and I think that's part of what inspired me.

BTW, Park Chan-wook is an excellent director.  I recommend seeing any of his films.  I really LOVED "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance."  Excellent film, and a beautiful score. 

Anyway, these will probably go up for auction on ebay in the next few days.  From there, on to my Etsy site.

Eve's Regret

One of those beloved, late night Saturday creations. I wanted to make something before I go back to school this week.  ::sigh::

She reminds me of Eve.  She has found a good home on my walls =D

Wahhhh!! (A Brief Rant)

So,I'll be posting a (kinda) brief rant before I post my goals for the new year.  Here goes.

Recently, in the etsy forums there was a forum thread that really got my attention: Etsy vs. Ebay.  The OP was a fine artist, Ebay veteran and having a b**** of a time selling there.  Most Etsy sellers already know what I'm talking about: endless tweeting, blogging, promoting etc. just to get views.  Usually when this sort of thread starts up people start bashing Ebay.  Not this time.  Now, a lot of people are actually considering going to that big auction site in the sky. Etsy requires a lot of WORK.  Not to say that we don't expect to work hard to make sales, but more time than what seems worth it.  After reading the first pages of the thread last week I decided to list some items on Ebay.   54 pages into the thread, and my first auction on ebay ended.

I sold my first item ever on ebay, and for the price I listed it for on Etsy.  Strange, no?

Here's what I like about it: no promotion.  I didn't have to harrass people on twitter, or get on facebook to do it.  Ebay has the buyers, plain and simple.

I have worked incredibly hard in my shop, and I have nothing to show for it.  Oh, I'm sorry, except the bills that I get from them for listing!  Listing fees keep mounting, but my shop is still so lonely.

For a while, I thought that it was my art.  So, just to test the waters I tried selling some of my art at a charity event on Saturday.  I was already expected to sell some of my jewelry.  The art was just a way for me to judge how people felt about the art.

I sold a photo, and an original drawing.  Both of these items had been listed in my shop, but no one was looking or hearting them.

 

So, I think that Etsy just may not be the venue for me.  I've had a shop on 1000 Markets since July, and I think that I need to work with that store more. 

I've made more money in the past three days without  Etsy than what I did last year from both of my Etsy stores.

That's one of my many goals for this year, including getting into some gallery shows.  There is a group exhibition coming up at the end of this month that I'm dying to get into!  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

And, I apologize for the rant.  I was just so frustrated.  I thought that I was creating all of this really terrible art that no one wanted to buy...I'm just glad that it's not me!

I'll be posting my goals later.  I have a lot to think about now.

Where do people go when they die?

That's the one thing that I would like to ask god, if he actually exists...I'm fascinated with the concept of the afterlife.  So, after posing this question to myself, this is what I came up with.

Created using Rives BFK paper, watercolor, conte crayon, ink, and pastels.

Available for sale in my Etsy shop.  $7!  The frame isn't included, but I can tell you where to buy this frame for a great price:-D

Artist on the rise

Since my daughter was really young I've been encouraging her to make art.  I noticed really early on that she liked to draw; she was constantly watching me make art, and drawing in my sketchbooks.  Over the past year and a half I've bought her tons of her own art supplies, and watched her skills flourish.  I like the art that she makes.  It's interesting in ways that an adult mind can't always understand.  It's fresh, energetic, and not weighted down with the worldly bull- that we adult artists create.

I've also created an interest in her for photography.  She really likes the idea of photography.  Even film!  So, for a whole day I let her use a 35mm point and shoot camera.  She really enjoyed the experience, and still carries the camera around to take pictures.

She thinks taking pictures of mommy is really funny.

If there's one thing that my daughter has taught me it's that you have to find a different way of seeing the world.  In order to excel in art and photography you have to find the right angle.

I recently bought some Shiva Oil Sticks, and she had a ton of fun with those.  She likes playing with my pastels/oil pastels.  So, we both made a picture using the oil sticks.  She did most of the work.  I just drew in the sky and the clouds/monster.  Mayoree really enjoyed it. 

Now this picture is up on her wall.  It makes her happy, and proud to see her art up on the wall.  The same way I feel when I look at my art!  I've promised myself that I will make an aritsts out of this one.

Roll Out

Describing the new work is a little difficult...I admittedly create my art based soley on my emotions.  My new art is a reflection of that.  I've just been feeling like recycled poo.  Not to say that I think my art looks the same, but I wanted to create things that reflected these emotions.  Very moody, and contemplative.

I really felt compelled to create something with a sense of immediacy.  This is how I feel now: hurry up, go, go GO!  I think the art expresses that.  These are all up in my etsy shop, and priced to move.

In the coming days there will be a huge roll out of art that is VERY affordable price, and ready to go.  I'm on a creating spree, and I want this stuff to find good homes.

Work, work, work...and love

I've been hard at work on my etsy art shop...no bites, but nothing new there. I've been really depressed about it for the past couple of weeks. The usual reasons, of course. So, last week I decided that I would start applying for jobs again. What did I have to lose besides free time? I didn't really expect any employers to call me back. I've been unemployed for almost two years now, and I haven't had any real prospects. Well, guess what? I was contacted not even 12 hours after posting my resume to a job sight. I was over joyed. I coordinated an interview within two days, and on thursday I was offered a job. A REAL JOB. I was offered a full time job making more money than my husband! But...I had to turn the offer down. I finally got a job offer, but I couldn't take it because I'm a full-time student. This is my last semester at the community college, and in December I'll have an associate degree. It's important to note that the only reason why I went back to school was because I couldn't find a job in my field. I'm so angry about this! I was so tempted to drop all of my classes. The drop deadline is November 1st, and it would have worked out perfectly.

Except, not really. I wouldn't be graduating in December, and this would set me back by a whole semester. I called my mom at her job to ask her what I should do. I expected her to yell at me for being stupid enough to turn down a job in this economy. She didn't. She told me everything that I felt in my heart. "It's not worth it. You can get more money."

My husband felt the same way, but I could tell that he was a little disappointed. I don't blame him. He's been supporting me since I was laid off, and I feel useless. I can't get a job in my field, and neither of my businesses are bringing in a consistent income.

What can I do? The only thing that I've ever been good at was art, and I can't even make a living doing that. That makes me...worthless. I've been working super hard for the past year: going to school full-time, working (below a living wage), and trying to support myself making art and jewelry. Yet, I have nothing to show for it.

Then, the weekend came. On Saturday, not only did we take our daughter Trick or Treating, but we also celebrated the 1st year of our marriage. After weeks of crying myself to sleep, that day made me cheer up a bit.

Mayoree played the role of a not so happy devil :)  BTW, this is not a costume.  She has horns, and a tail all the time :-)

The cake, courtesy of my dad-in-law.  I told him that I wanted a cake that was creepy, and had blood splatter and dripping blood.  He said he made the 'blood' using granulated sugar and red food coloring.

We also had a chance to pig out on snacks.  Mayoree ate a ton of candy.  She stayed up until 2 am watching scary movies with us.

So, I have to say that the weekend really improved my mood.  I didn't get a chance to work on any art, but I enjoyed myself.  I'm still trying to get over the flu, but I'll live.  I think that I may have pnemonia....but I don't have the time to go to the doctor.  Maybe next week.  I just hope my inhaler lasts until then.


BTW, this is me and my husband from our honeymoon last year.  We had a TON of fun in Toronto.  It's the coolest place on earth.

An Angel

It's important to note that this actually started as an abstract painting.

I'm not an abstract painter, but I wanted to try it again. I first dabbled in abstract painting last semester for my painting class. I discovered that I suck at it!

So, when I started making this painting I was going to make an abstract landscape...or something like that. Then this character appeared in the middle of the painting, emerging out of this hellish rift. I think she's an angel. Or at least that's what I intend to make her. Oh yeah, the city behind her was on accident. I just figured that I would add some type of skyline behind her, and there it appeared.

I've had a lot of fun working on this painting so far. It's a project that started as a way to just decorate the space over my couch, but it's much more interesting now.

This is also the biggest painting that I've ever worked on. It measures 40 inches by 36 inches. Now a perfect square, but close. I really like the square format in my artwork after working with medium format photography for the past couple of months. It's nice to break out of the 2/3 format every once in a while.

Here's another shot of the painting. This time without the mess of my workspace to distract the viewer:)


Unfortunately, work will be halted for the next few days. I got the flu a few days ago, and I still have a consistent fever of about 102 degrees:( It's not fun.

Featured in my first treasury on Etsy!

Help me get this one on the front page!

Hooray! I'm featured in my first treasury from BlingbyChristine.

Here is the link.


This is the photo I was featured for:

Featured on Trunkt!

I'm so excited: I've been featured in 3 showcases on Trunkt!