Good Tidings To You and Your Kin

me and mommy, originally uploaded by livefunky.

(This is a picture of me and my mom last year at our Jack and Jill party.)

I finally did it and upgraded to a pro account on flickr. This means I can upload as many pictures as I want and make as many sets and collections of images as I want, too. I'm adding a bunch of personal shots as well as art and art related photos and I feel like 'why not?'. It may seem unprofessional, but I always think it's cool to see other artist's "real life" pictures in their flickr account along with their wares.

May our smiles give you some holiday cheer. Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas

Silent Night

The sun just set red over the valley below and now the world's turned blue. I took this picture looking out our kitchen window to the backyard, the snowflake was from a Christmas crafty day here with the fam. I've got some time before the whole lot comes home and it's very peaceful sitting here, listening to the wind chimes outside and relaxing for a moment.

I hope everyone is allowing themselves some moments of peace and quiet in the mad dash of this next week. Take a deep breath. Look at the pretty lights you worked so hard setting up. Enjoy this moment with family or friends, a pet or by yourself.

Peace.

Etsy In The Press

Check out the NY Times article about the Handmade Pledge and Etsy's role in the movement.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/magazine/16Crafts-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Preparing for the New Year

Howdy folks. I've been fighting a beast of a cold for the past week. Knock on wood the worst is over but I still need to take it easy. I can't stand being sick and I can't stand being slowed down! But I obviously needed this break. I just want to be better for Christmas.

Since painting hasn't been an option (no energy, dizzy standing) I'm working on reorganizing my Etsy shop. I've got a sale section now which you can see by clicking here http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=102895&section_id=5247974

Basically I am clearing out some older work to make way for new paintings and prints. My plan is to create a new shop on Etsy just for my "gallery collection" of original fine art. This will feature only the best of the best. I'll be working in series with the highest quality paints and materials. I'm going to hold off on telling you the link name until I have set up the shop, but it's something I am very excited about.

Since I've had such success with livefunky, I'm keeping that shop too - but of course! Livefunky will feature all affordable art, including prints, ACEOs, sketches, etc.

The reason why I'm doing all of this is to make some sense out of the mounds of artwork I have accumulated! Cleaning out the studio was the wake up call of just how much work I've got. I need to seriously go through everything and make a few piles/stacks.

Art that I don't want to sell because it's special - That should either be hanging in my own home or passed on to someone I love.

Art I don't want to sell because it's not good enough - I need to figure out what to do with the loads of art I have held onto that's just random. Sketches that never went anywhere, paintings that have a tear, you name it. I can't sell it but I can't part with it either. I guess the only answer is to find some sturdy tupperware bins and just store them away. Who knows, maybe my random sketches would be worth something to my kids someday?

Art that I do want to sell - These go to Etsy, and if they've been on there for a long time and haven't sold, they go on sale or get taken off to be part of a collection of "give away" art since I always include freebies for buyers.

That's my plan for all of my finished artwork. My plan for art that is yet to be is this...

MY PASSION - Time to raise the bar with my paintings. Invest in higher quality materials for new "gallery collection". Paint in series/groups. These will be my babies... :)

MY EVERYDAY - Even though I'll be raising the bar (and prices, by the way) of my fine art paintings, I'll still be doodling, sketching and doing little experimental watercolors and paintings on paper. These will be my livefunky puppies, ready for an affordable price tag and perfect for a little dorm room, apartment or workspace.

MY SIDE PROJECTS ONLINE - I'm going to continue developing my clothing lines through Zazzle www.zazzle.com/babukins* and www.zazzle.com/artjct*. These will have special illustrations and digital designs. Expect some more of these special product lines in 2008.

There's a lot to look forward to in 2008, but for now, I need to take a nap! I need to get better to get back to work!

All Sassed Up

I scored a Treasury List on Etsy tonight and dedicated it to dressing up for a night on the town.

Check it out here! http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=17925

It will be live through Monday.

Modern Art Apparel on Zazzle

a few examples from my online apparel line....

www.zazzle.com/artjct*

Oh Happy Day

I had an amazing day today babysitting for a relative's daughter, I'll call her Lil' K. I had to post this just because I'm so moved by my experience with her. Lil' K is the sweetest baby in the world. Am I biased? Yes, but it's still true. From 8:30 to 5 only one cry - and it was for a trip and fall I might have cried over too. Just a little singing did the trick to get that smile back again. My favorite part of the day? Post nap, warm bundle of love snuggling up against me, staring into my eyes with her big brown beauties and long lashes, smiling - uh, total peace.

I love you so much Lil' K! Thank you for filling my heart with sunshine!

Two Clothing Shops on Zazzle

Modern Art Apparel - www.zazzle.com/artjct*
Tshirts for Men and Women


Babukins - www.zazzle.com/babukins*
Tshirts and onsies for babies and kids

Rediscovering Older Work

Two Has a Dream by Jessica Torrant

Prints available at http://www.livefunky.etsy.com/



Yesterday Rob and I went up to the studio in Indian Orchard to make our first of two trips clearing out all my stuff. After packing my Suburu to the brim, we brought it all to our new storage unit right in our own hometown. (Unloading was so much easier than loading! My sympathies with anyone that has to move any time soon!). As much as I may miss some parts of having a studio in the mills, this new "system" is going to be so much easier for me. Now I can paint at home and when I'm done photographing, I can take a canvas five minutes down the road to our storage unit. No more 45 minute drives just to pick up a painting! Yipee!



Part of going through all of my things at the studio meant finding my binder with all of my watercolor and ink illustrations from 2004/2005 (such as the piece above). I'm going through them looking for my favorites to list as prints on Etsy. There are also some drawings that I plan to scan and color in Illustrator (including one on an old envelope! My best drawings were always on scrap paper - there's got to be some psychological reason for that, which I won't look into now - hahaha).



At this point my Etsy shop has 237 items. Is that ridiculous? Too much? Should I put some of the older pieces that haven't sold in edit mode just to make my shop more user friendly? I am inclined to put it ALL out there, but there is A LOT and it just keeps coming! What are your thoughts on this, fellow artists? I could use your expert eyes and input!



(Oh by the way! I just got accepted by Trunkt - woo hoo!)

Winter Inspiration

Acrylic on 8" x 10" canvas, 2007

Available HERE in my Etsy shop.

Tranquil

Original acrylic triptych by Jessica Torrant, 2007.
www.livefunky.etsy.com

New Paintings

Wandering Dreams - original triptych by Jessica Torrant

Acrylic on three 5" x 7" canvas panels, 2007

Now available at http://www.livefunky.etsy.com/

The other night I got some new supplies and today was the first day in a while that I got to do what I love - PAINT!!!! Don't get me wrong, it's fun playing with Illustrator, but painting is my true love, it always will be and that's just the end of it. :)

I started by opening up my brand new pack of canvas panels. They are packaged in threes and it just felt natural to lay them out before me and begin to create a composition using all of them. The tradition of painting triptychs is ancient, and it's always interesting to me how this translates across time into and beyond modernism. It works. Because as we all know, three is the magic number! :)

I am eager to get back to work, but this was the first set I finished so I had to post it here and on Etsy ASAP. Back to painting I go! I'll post more as they are completed.

Annie The Cat With Stars

Digital illustration by Jessica Torrant, 2007
Prints are available at www.livefunky.etsy.com

An ode to my parents' wild and wonderful cat, Annie.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Reach For The Stars

Original ink drawing digitally colored in Illustrator, 2007
www.livefunky.etsy.com

Me and You

Me and You - art print available at www.livefunky.etsy.com


This drawing colored in Illustrator is a silly/sweet version of my husband and I. Sometimes I feel like we're mirror images of each other! Can you tell I love him?


Holiday Sale!!!
From now until the new year, I'm offering a buy two get one free sale on all of my art prints!
Just purchase the two same sized prints and include the title of the third print you'd like in your order (or just email/convo it to me afterwards).

Sizes and Prices:
5" x 7" - $10
8" x 10" - $18

All reproductions are printed on matte finish, archival Epson paper that is 8.5" x 11". The images are centered on the page leaving a white border. I ship worldwide and shipping is combined for multiple purchases. For more information, and a list of my prints, please visit the Art Prints category of my Etsy shop.
Art Prints on Etsy

It's an all around great day!

I just got high speed internet and I am in HEAVEN!!!! Finally I can zoom through uploading images, watching videos... yipee!!! This also means that I can actually visit all of you other bloggers much more frequently. What used to take five minutes to load comes up in five seconds - what a world!

I got a Treasury!

For those of you that don't know what I am talking about, a Treasury is a feature on the site www.etsy.com that allows you to curate your own little gathering of Etsy listings with a theme, or color connection or just your favorite things. There are limited slots and time limits to each list, so they aren't super easy to get. It's been on my mind to try and get one for the last few days and finally today the timing was right and I snagged one on Treasury West. Check it out while it lasts! :)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=1787

Rise and Shine

Acrylic on 20" x 30" canvas, 2007
www.livefunky.etsy.com

Here's my new painting shot in daylight. It's kind of overcast today, but sometimes that diffused light can be better than direct sunshine. Still, I am thinking that I need a new digital camera. I know how crisp a picture CAN be and this camera just doesn't quite cut it. It's a good camera, and it's given me a good few years, but I'd love to be able to get high quality shots of my larger pieces to use for prints. At this point, I just make prints from pieces I can scan. I know a really good camera is expensive, so it's time to start saving my pennies! I'm not even close to being able to afford one, but does anyone have any good suggestions for a make and/or model?

Come back here, light!

I love the autumn leaves changing color. I love the crisp feeling in the air. What I don't love this time of year is to lose the light! I need to get an earlier start to my day because by the time I finish something, the sun has gone down and I can't get a good photograph. This is a new painting I finished today. I took the picture inside with a flash so it's not perfect, but at least it's a glimpse! Not sure of a name yet....

I also have to add that it's been a year that I've been on Etsy! I must give a shout out to the site that I love so very very much. Thank you Etsy, I look forward to a long, wonderful relationship!

:) www.etsy.com