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.

Sights

Just some interesting sights from the past couple of days.

It's been so cold here.  When it gets to 30 degrees Farenheit I call it 'warm'.  This is the frost that was waiting for me when I got off work one night.

Sweet potato french fries.  Absolutely delicious, and more nutritious than white potato french fries.  See my recent tweets if you want to know how to cook them:-)

Mayoree's panda.  My mom bought it for her at the National Zoo.  They had a lot of fun this past summer.  I found this last night laying on the floor.  I got my Argus Seventy-Five in the mail, and was trying it out.  It's too much fun.

An oldish shot...From Christmas Day.  All these birds were on my grandmother's back lawn.  I think they were looking for worms...

Carrying a camera is good.  I just wish my DSLR wasn't so HUGE, and clunky.  Can't someone make a compact DSLR that doesn't cost a king's ransom?

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

My new hobby

For the past couple of months I've been experimenting with printmaking.  It's really fun and relaxing for me.  It's a nice change from what I usually do. 

Lino has turned out to be more fun than what I bargained for.  My goal is to eventually buy some wood carving tools so that I can make woodcuts.  I'm going to have to save up for that:-(

I also decided to close up my jewelry shop today.  It's turned out to be more work than what it's worth.  I've only had a few sales this year (in both shops), and they're really just cash cows.  Goodbye etsy!  I'll be closing the art shop before the 1st of January as well.  I may post my stuff in my 1000 Markets shop, but I don't even think I should bother.  I have a lot to think about.

I am glad about one thing though.  My mom visited my house, and found a bunch of my art that she liked.  I'm just going to give the stuff to her.  One of the paintings that she liked is a new one.  I wasn't even so sure I liked it.  I'm glad it will find a good home.  I at least have one fan for life:-)  Thank god for moms!

 

Poor Emma--A Series

I'm busy all the time now with art.  I love making it.  I just can't stop.  It's the only thing that's keeping me sane.

I've started yet another project.  It's finished, but it was just a random idea.  It involves one of my favorite novels: Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert.  It's a small series of four mixed media illustrations.  I've created the series using bristol board with acrylic paints, oil sticks and conte crayons.  Oh, and parts of the book that I butchered :-)  Who knew that book mutilation could feel so good?

Thinking of Charles Darwin...And fish

I fell asleep last week at my laptop, doing my Bio homework.  Of course, this class (on evolution and genetics) is centered heavily around the work of Charles Darwin, and the work of his successors.  I was thinking of Darwin's years traveling South America; all of his discoveries.  I dreamed about it while I was supposed to be doing my homework.

Then, I went to make an abstract painting.  I stopped working on the painting.  I got stuck.  Then, I looked a little closer, and saw that yellow fish looking out at me.  This is what happens when I arm myself with oil sticks and conte crayons!

The original is up for sale in my etsy art shop.  Enjoy! 

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.