About this time last year, a friend of mine bought me a dA calendar. It was great to have original artwork to look at all year. I'd love to have another calendar from here for 2010 but have been lazy about finding one. I'm not looking for anything with fractals or abstract art. Oh, and nothing I'd be hesitant for my kids to see since it will be on my office wall. Everything else is fair game. If you have a calendar up for sale or want to promote one of your favorite artists, please link me up! I will be buying one in the next week or so.

Hello all

The last few months here have been great, and I have finally caught up on my message center. Though the artists I watch seem to be cranking out the amazing works, I've been struggling to find my direction. I am not really content to just sit where I am artistically speaking. I'm happy to say though that I believe I have found my way.

I want to focus on smaller projects/tutorials/lessons that will give me more practice in one specific area or another, mainly in digital painting. I have found many helpful tutorials and lessons online, and I plan to use these as well as other resources to achieve this. My ultimate goal is to be able to paint anything I want, not depend on stock to fill in the gaps of my lacking skill level, which is a lot of what I do now. I love photo manipulations and will certainly not stop doing them for fun, but I feel the quick and easy access to these resources is keeping me from stretching my limits in what I can create on my own. So I am determined in the next year to focus on practicing my painting skills, pushing beyond my previously established limits, and gradually weaning myself off my stock dependence.

Now, onto the really good stuff. Feature below!!

~ FEATURED ARTIST ~



I absolutely love this artist's various creatures and feel his gallery is in desperate need of some more exposure. Please go check him out and give him some good ol' fashioned dA love and appreciation. Some of my favorites of his are thumbed below.

I actually recommended this one for a Daily Deviation.




~ CLUBS ~

Hello all,

Just wanted to let you know that I'm back around on a daily basis. I'm still working on the novel, but my coauthor is working during the week again, so it has become a weekend project. My presence here lagged from both the writing project and because my work computer decided to no longer allow access to dA, which is when I spent the bulk of time browsing, commenting, faving. I was NOT a happy camper. Well, that ban has been lifted, so now it is back to my old habits. I have a lot of catching up to do. I've been whittling away at the backlog over the last week, but there is still a lot to go. I may just delete journals since a lot of them are 'old news' in peoples' lives anyway.

I have the urge to start another art project but haven't done so yet. I have a few ideas but nothing I'm willing to get into right here. I just reinstalled Photoshop after a computer meltdown and reinstall, so everything is ready to go. Just need some free time and a little bit of inspiration.

Dani

~ CLUBS ~

It occurred to me today as I blasted the stereo for my cardio workout on my elliptical machine that I would love to actually have a goal accomplished when I work out other than just the calories burned. I mean, couldn't all that energy I'm expending go to a good cause, other than just keeping my thighs and hips from growing to an enormous size? Wouldn't that be awesome if I could make something useful, like electricity, with every rotation of my feet? Even if it was just enough to power the stereo I listen to while I work out, that would at least be something! I believe I'm going to research online to see if anyone has come up with anything like that. If not, makers of exercise equipment should get on the ball and join the green revolution! If I can pay a smaller electric bill by having all 3 of my kids and myself get on a machine and sweat off calories for 45 minutes a day, hell ya I'd do it! I'm already putting in the effort. Now give me some more tangible reward!

~ CLUBS ~

It's my 32nd birthday today, a time to reflect on my huge list of accomplishments, the good use of all my previous years, and my confidence in a bright future to come...

Yeah, right

It's actually a day for me to be whiny that I have to work on my birthday and that any present I might have gotten for myself isn't possible because I had to spend that money on a new pair of glasses for my aging vision.

*rails at the unfairness of it all*

~ CLUBS ~