After the holidays

So after a brief break for holiday traveling I am back on track and getting things together.  I set up a preliminary website for Jenny and I for out photography company.  It needs a lot of work, but feel free to check it out at http://themirroredimage.com/ .

I have also researched the additional equipment that I wanted, just a few extras to help with making the photos a little extra appealing, like a diffuser for my flash and another lens for some of the zoom shots I am currently fixing in other ways.  I will likely get these in the new year.

Drawing wise I finished coloring another page but need to sit down some more and draw now that we are home.  I did take a lot of pictures over Christmas, I have some great ones of Dave's nieces.  I need to ask Chris before I post pictures of her kids on my blog though.  I have one really neat photo I am posting here from the Christmas shop we found in Newport RI.  I love the lighting and the effects on this one.  I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday and that you have a happy and safe New Year's eve tonight!

Good habits continuing

So my goal was to illustrate one page a day, draw, ink, and color.  I have not quite made that, but I have done pretty well.  I have about 4 pages completed for 5 days worth of work.  ( Since I had a bachelorette party this weekend, illustration was totally impossible.  Also we were able to successfully negotiate an offer that we are really happy with for a house, so we spent today talking to mortgage people and will spend tomorrow going through the home inspection.  This may seriously infringe on my goal, but I am super excited about the house!  It is in downtown Plymouth, so walking distance to everything.  We have 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths.  Definitely some work to do, but I am really excited about it. We are already planning rooms in our heads and making project lists.  Instead of attaching an illustration, I am attaching a picture of the house.  Next week we will be back to illustration pages.   Hope everyone is having a good week and gearing up for the holidays!

I am back from my little hiatus!

Clearly after coming back from Colorado it took me a little while to get back in the swing of things.  I was on such a great schedule of getting up and drawing in the morning and then I went away and it all fell apart.  Thanksgiving came and then things got busy.  Dave and I started looking for a house and I was more motivated to search for that.  This afternoon and into this evening I spent sometime drawing. I only really got one picture finished, but it came out really nice.  I am trying out some new more 3D friendly looks for Willemina.  I think I like the new version, it seems like it would work better with the photographs so that she was more incorporated into the scene.  Willemina, in case I have not mentioned it before, is the name of the main character in my children's stories. Until now she has been more of a simple line drawing but I am starting to experiment now and see what I think changing things up a bit would do.  Since I was drawing with pencil and paper tonight and not with the tablet, showing you my drawings will have to wait, but it is coming along nicely.  Also, when we find a house I will definitely post some pictures on line for everyone to see.  This should be the boost to motivate me to get back on track and get excited about the projects we have been wanting to focus on!

Enjoying the snow and the sun in CO

So, I have only had minimal time to focus on my art and photography while in Colorado.  I have spent time talking about and thinking about business models/plans for all of the various routes that we are working on.  I am spending today doing some research on price points and the probably writing some stories to go along with the Iphone applications since I was not able to fit my tablet or art supplies, but this will help me to get off the ground running with that part once I get back.  I did spend some time editing Jeff and Julie's wedding photos, which they loved.  They want to create a separate album just for the pictures of the Mission San Jose that I took while I was there.  I have seen some interesting places that I love, like Boulder, where I have been before, but love every time I go there.  I also spent time walking around old town in Fort Collins with Mrs. H, we went to a lot of neat stores and art co-ops.  It was a wonderful way to spend the day.  Most of the rest of the time has also been spent seeing friends and catching up with everyone.  We also spent some time in Lafayette, with Jorge and Christina, doing what it seems that we have done best while here...eating and frequenting coffee shops! All in all, it has been a relaxing trip. I am happy for the time to spend here with friends, but even more focused than ever to make concrete headway on my goals.

Getting Ready for Colorado

Well, I have been running around like a fool all day.  I had so much to do before Colorado and I made a big dent.  I was also able to see Maggie and Sadie and take a few pictures.  I will spare you the laundry list of things that I had to do. I do feel much better now that I made a dent.  I am confident it will all get done before I leave.  I was also able to order a selection of pictures from two different print companies to see who's professional photos are better.  Jenny and I are going to continue to do the photos for weddings, family, portraits, etc..  we are getting cards printed, working on a website and completing a portfolio.  Anyone need a photographer? Okay, off to bake cookies and Jenny is bringing over Thai Food...Yum!

The Jones River and the start to a busy week...

Well, I have been trying to be committed to my goal of working with my art and photography.  I would like to try and do at least one thing a day toward my goal.  I am trying to do either drawing, photography, or another chapter of web design.  I did right my first website, which i was super proud of and may share in the next blog.  For someone with computer experience it will be less impressive, but to me I was proud of it.  Today, Dave and I went and got coffee and then drove to the nature trail across from where we are getting married to go for a morning walk and take some pictures.  I was pretty happy with the results.  I am attaching one of them here and then the Flickr page on my last post should show you the other new photos I have uploaded as well.  It was a stunning day out, the sun was shining and it was really warm and clear.  An easy day to get some great fall shots.  The rest of the day was spent helping Dave get ready to fly to California, doing laundry, getting food together for him, continuously telling him how much I was going to miss him!  Thankfully my mother came with us to the airport, she interjects just enough humor and balance into my mood that I can't be distraught for too long.  I am really glad she came along.  After I got home, I burned several CD's on Jeff and Julie's wedding photos to bring to them when we go to Colorado and I also made a copy for Christina who sadly had to miss the wedding.  Now I am winding down, I am a little tired and weary.  Too much worrying about Dave flying and my mother having surgery tomorrow.  Her surgery is routine, but of course I still worry.  I am sure both will be fine, but it is just my way to worry.  Enjoy the photos and I will have more soon!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44287850@N07/4087165025/

Out of the gate running...

Well, it has not even been a week yet and I have managed to keep a schedule of doing something with either my drawing or photography each day.  On Monday, I did spend a lot of time cleaning and doing laundry..not very creative, but I have a hard time working in a cluttered environment.  I did spend 3 hours drawing with the tablet on the computer.  My results are cute but I am still out of practice with capturing exactly what I am going for.  I am also still learning how to use the tablet so the results would probably be mixed anyway.  I am happy that I am at least doing it and seeing some results that are favorable.  We went to Borders over the weekend and found a web design book that seemed reasonable for me to follow.  My task for this morning is to read at least one chapter and complete the exercises. I am going to try to do that every day on top of spending time either taking pictures or drawing each day.

It is a beautiful fall day out so I am torn about which to do today.  Originally I was planning on drawing so that I could make smoky corn chowder for tonight while I was home, but I am tempted to go outside and try to get some shots while the sun is still out.  The winters in Massachusetts can get quite grey and the pictures you get outside are not the best because there is not always good light to speak of.  I am attaching my link to Flickr, so that you can see some of the photos I have taken lately.  I attempted some night photos too, but my camera is finicky with those.  I have one in here that came out okay.  Jenny and I also photographed a wedding this weekend, which was awesome.  It was a Halloween theme, the details were so cute.  I was really happy with those pictures too.  Once I put together the website for that business, I will include the link so that you can see some of the pictures we have done.

I am already feeling healthier and happier just in the few days since I stopped working at BBH and started doing something that I really enjoy.  There is so much less stress.  I have slept just slightly more, but without the commute, I feel like I have a lot more energy.  Off to read about website design...have a great day!

Flickr Site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44287850@N07/4074293434/

Two More Days....

Well, two more days until I leave BBH and begin my new journey. The decision to leave a good paying job for the unknown was not made lightly. Dave and I talked about the many reasons for me to leave and the reasons for me to stay and in the end I decided to take a chance at something new and exciting. The first reason to leave was for my health. As many of you know I have been dealing with the residual effects of an inflammation in my spinal cord since Memorial Day. I am about 90% healed and doing really well. Certainly this was a much better problem to have than some of the other problems the doctor's were suggesting. But this commute of 1 1/2 hours is not doing me any favors on the road to recovery. I have had a lot of time to think what it is I really want to do and the path I would choose to lead. I have always gained more satisfaction from the art and photography and I think it is time for me to feed my soul. The only concern was what that meant money wise. We have been able to work that out and we have come up with many ideas of what we could do instead. As well, a few others have presented themselves already to begin this journey. My attempt here is to keep people updated about my venture and to keep myself motivated as I am beholden now to you, my readers, to produce something to write about every week. Feel free to post comments, critiques, or fun ideas that you think would go along this path for me to explore. Most of all, thanks for reading!