Etsy Tip

Listing on Etsy

I have written my listings in a word processor document so that I can copy and paste the basics of each listing. After that I fill in the remaining information such as Title or Dimensions. This is especially nice for something like ACEO where the dimension is always the same.

Plus, it ensures that I do not leave out information that I want to include in every listing.

My Etsy Experience So Far...

I am having a lot of fun with Etsy. I have learned so much from hanging out in the forums and joining teams. (I make a real effort to avoid threads that have a negative vibe to them.) I would rather focus on the things that I can do rather than complain about things I have no control over.

I love how helpful people are. I am learning how to bring traffic to my site and to my blog. I think this experience will help me in other areas of my life too.

Gripes About My Job...LOL

I bartend in a hotel that caters to large conventions, mostly corporate type people. I am soooo spoiled! Until now...hahaha. We have a Christmas event that lasts all month long and people come from all over the area to attend. Well....these are not my business travelers and they are driving me crazy after one day!

I know that people want to get out and see things and brings their kids but come on! Do you really have to be this difficult? Kids aren't even allowed in the area that I work but people want to order all kinds of things from me and then try to get me to serve them out in the area they are allowed to be. I know they are trying to avoid the 2 hour wait in the dining area. I get that. However, making me serve you outside of the busy area I am already working just makes it bad for everyone. No one gets good service. That is why they have sections in the restaurant and don't allow kids in the bar. I know that this applies to no one reading this blog but GIVE ME A BREAK PLEASE!!!

Okay...I feel better now. Ha ha ha!

Strategy

Lately I have been working out the kinks of opening an online business. I think I am getting it down...developing my own process and things like that. I feel patient, which is quite unusual for me. I can see that it takes time to come up in search engines and for people to see me. That is my goal right now. Letting as many people see me as possible.

Soooo....I am sure that a few things will change here and there while I get the kinks worked out.

Crazy

I am expanding in a new direction with my work. That is the point to me. Expansion. Not even perfection. Just expansion. This one started out with more structure than any of my others. I started with grid and then worked my way from there.

Cathedral ACEO

New ACEO

I have been experimenting with some transfer techniques this week and finally ended up using the original picture for a mixed media ACEO. LOL. I like the results though. It looks pretty cool. The photo is one that I took in the cathedral at Duke University.

New ACEO, how to display ACEO's

Aqua by Lizardo, 2008.

NEW ACEO

This is one of my recent favorites. It reminds me of this dress that Sarah Jessica Parker wore one time. I think the dress was a turquoise color and she had red shoes. Something like that. Or I made it up and created a painting from my mixed up mind. LOL. Either way, I love this one because of the colors and I love the texture on the red part. It's pretty cool.

What do I do with an ACEO?

I found some frames that fit ACEO's perfectly at Target. It is just simple and black and about $2. I think it looks interesting to have a bunch of small paintings framed on a mantel or a shelf and the ACEO's give it a little more interest. I kept making them and thinking, what the hell is anyone going to do with them? As much as I love to make them, I don't see the point in putting them in a baseball card type book. Either way...if I were to be stuck in a boring cubicle, I would put these on my desk. For now, I have them on the fireplace.

New ACEO's

I am becoming obsessed with ACEO's. They're fun to create and fun to have. No worrying about whether or not the painting matches the furniture. You can just have them for the pleasure of looking. And they are a low risk way to 'get to know' an artist. Or you can hang them if you wish. I've always liked grouping smaller paintings together. Or groups of different sized paintings on a ledge.

Red Stripe, 2008.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17460411

Blizzard, 2008.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17460411

TMI about my life...

I just took a killer accounting test that I didn't study enough for. Story of my life. ;) I tried to be responsible and put everything in my calender but I should have put a reminder for a little bit longer in advance. Oh, well. The semester is almost over and another lesson learned. I am convinced that college has nothing to do with the subject you are studying.

Where Am I Going With This

This is one of my favorites! (Well, right now...until the next one. LOL) I have been playing with different techniques and now I am starting to get the effect that I want. If you saw what I was doing in the beginning, you would have no idea it would turn out like this. I had no idea it would turn out like this but it just came together today.

When I paint I like to work on several at once. Mainly because I like to do something while I wait for it to dry and jumping around between paintings keeps me from getting blocked. If something isn't standing out, I move on to the next and then keep hopping around until something gets done. It works for me. It wasn't a good process when I had a design class and had to work on a single thing in the classroom. But when you are painting out of a garage, it's great. LOL

Tonight is wierd because I am home alone and just hanging out. It's kind of nice actually. I am trying to watch 30 Rock because Tina Fey is in it and she was hilarious as Sarah Palin. I don't really like to sit and watch TV though so I am kind of listening. Sounds like it could be funny. I'll probably never know.

I have some new techniques that I am ready to try. I have been wanting to play with transfers for a while now and I have been gathering some images that I want to use. The Cathedral at Duke University inspired me so much. It is so gothic and huge and detailed. There is a dark feeling there but not a bad one. I can imagine it could be quite creepy at night. Anyway...I want to use some of those images. Don't know how it will work but that is what makes it fun, right?

This painting is available in my etsy shop. Stop in and take a look!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17297800

North Carolina

Hi everyone! Just got back from North Carolina. It's very pretty and nothing like Texas which made it interesting. I have not experienced the fall changing colors before. It was beautiful!!

We visited Duke University. ( I had no idea it was in NC, lol) and that was amazing too. I wish my school looked like that! I might be more interested. Hmmm... probly not.

The thing I like the most is visiting a new place and finding out for myself if it is worth the visit. So, yes it is worth the visit in the fall. Other times...not so sure. The cathedral is something everyone should see.

Anyway...new work coming soon!