London Journal - Ten Months and seven Tarot Cards

I arrived here on January 7th. It's now November 7th, ten months since that wintry day when the tubes were shut due to a dusting of snow.

When I first arrived I was without a job and with very few funds. What little money I had saved was practically halved due to the exchange and so my days needed to be spent frugally. I filled my time by visiting museums and job hunting.

About two weeks in I was unhinged. I had no art supplies and no money to buy art supplies. I awaited a delivery from Canada and felt myself going slowly bonkers.

When my supplies finally arrived (The case beaten up but the contents safe and ready for use.) it was as though a floodgate had opened. I bought a few canvases, deciding the expense was worth it for the sake of my sanity, and set to work on my Tarot Cards.

The last Tarot Card I'd completed before leaving Canada was Temperance, which I did for a friend.

The first card I did when I got to London was The Hierophant, which I did just for me. It continues to hang in one of the four spaces I have for my paintings, even though I've done seven more since.The Hanged Bat was my second piece completed and then there were a few weeks where I worked on other projects, taking a break from my cards. When I picked up the brush again it was to do The Magician.

I was already mulling my next card over when The Magician was just a pencil sketch. I often get the idea of the animal and a general image of the layout I want a few weeks before I start a card. I knew The Devil would be next because I could picture it so clearly.

Despite having such a clear idea of The Devil, this card has taken the longest for me to complete of any I've done thus far. It wasn't that the actually painting took any longer (I spend about eight to twelve hours per card.) but I found myself unable to work on it for weeks at a time. At one point I even feared it wouldn't be finished as I repeatedly laboured to get the horns just right.

Of course the feeling of being stuck didn't last and in one afternoon of solid painting I completed it and found the energy to start my next one.

But alas, I was without canvases for a time and had to put that energy into other projects until the time when I could afford some new ones.

The next batch of canvases arrived and I proceeded to complete Love, The Moon and The Hermit rapidly. Each of these carried through to the next and I found myself coming home and painting almost every evening. One of the canvases was damaged and so it could not be used for my Tarot Cards. Instead it was used for a self portrait and a replacement was ordered.

When I began The Tower I was nervous. I do not like this card and each card I've done has managed to reflect the energy and current experience of my life. I did not feel like I had the energy for a tear down and re-build but The Tower was sticking in my head. It was the only one of the remaining few I had to do that I had a clear idea for and so I began it.

I did seem to find myself wavering. Things seemed to be coming to a head and in an effort to remedy the personal difficulties I was struggling with I rushed to complete the piece.

It is the last one I've done but not the last Tarot Card I've worked on. I have two more from that last order of canvases. They're both started, both waiting for my time and attention.

Last week my final five 24X36 inch canvases arrived. The final five canvases for a project begun in January 2009 when I still lived in Calgary and moving to London was merely an idea in a long list of ideas.

From The High Priestess to The Tower, I have now explored and created seventeen of the twenty-two cards that make up the Major Arcana of a Tarot deck. I have spent nearly two years on this project which is now nearing the end. Last year I did nine cards in twelve months. This year I've done eight in ten, so far.

It's amazing what you can accomplish in a year. Amazing to ponder, if this is what you can do in a year, what will you do in a lifetime?

I look forward to finding out.

The Magician Revisted

Announcement!

Thanks to George at DigitalArte and to RedBubble, I now have posters, prints and cards of my Magician tarot card design available!

I've gone the route of RedBubble for a few different reasons. Whilst before my prints were done by a single imaging company in Calgary (They did a fantastic job and I extend many thanks to Heather for all her fab customer service.) this only worked if all my customer base was in Calgary and I was there too. As I've had interest internationally and as I am currently based in London, a solution needed to be found.

Through RedBubble my work can be printed as a poster, greeting card or canvas print. As the customer you can choose the currency that works best for you and pay securely with PayPal.

As of right now I don't have all of my work imaged, so not all of it is available in a print. When looking at my website you will see a 'Buy Now' button to the left of the image of a piece. Below that, if prints are available, it will say so in purple text. Just click on that text and follow the simple steps through RedBubble to choose how you want the image reproduced for your personal collection.

Easy peasy!

If there is a piece you're dying to get a print of and it doesn't have a RedBubble link, just drop me a line at faunawolf@gmail.com.

Painting outdoors

I am solar powered. Like a majority of the world's population, I'm vitamin D deficient. I also love the sun. Ideally I should probably be living on a beach somewhere, basking in glorious yellow rays every day, I love being outside so very much.

But I don't know how I feel about painting outdoors. One would think it would be the perfect setting. Nothing to block the best light you can get, all the sounds of nature to inspire you and if you're really lucky, three cats frolicking, which adds to the atmosphere.

But the direct light isn't so great when you're working on a white canvas or with the bright colours I choose to use. Often the painting looks washed out to me and I have to tilt it into the shade to see it clearly. Not that painting in the shade helps much. The colours can become mottled, patterns from leaves messing with the tone. If you create your shade it might do but that pesky sun keeps making its way across the sky and if you're like me, having to adjust every half hour isn't conducive to the artistic flow. When I paint I am usually too absorbed to notice much going on around me. Especially in the glorious outdoors where I have always found a sense of serene relaxation.

The other problem that arises is when the sun illuminates the canvas from behind. Suddenly every pencil line from the original sketch is visible and on a part I thought was previously completed I might suddenly feel the need to go back over it. Of course, no one will notice these lines because it's unlikely my paintings will be lit up from behind when displayed. If anything it may be beneficial to learning how to better cover my canvas.

It is a tough one to work out but I think the ideal setting would be a studio with large french doors and one entire wall of windows. The sunlight won't be directly over head but I can still benefit from it. Better still, I won't get sunburned, as I did today.

But I'm not complaining even a little bit because The Magician is complete and I'm quite pleased with the result.

A curious situation

In four years time, with the support of many, many people, I created a Not For Profit organisation from scratch. I did it with the connections I had and I used my natural anal abilities to get it fully established.

Then I burned out, which I thought would never happen.

At the time I thought it would be absolutely dismal to hand off everything and expect it to continue running smoothly. I thought I'd have to do extensive preparations and training and that, even after it all, it would still be unable to go on.

This was quite foolish of me as I was far better at making it sustainable than I first realised or gave myself credit for. I also wasn't giving nearly enough credit to the incredible volunteers that had been supporting it since inception. It was surrounded by a solid group of committed individuals and the hand-off took a few short weeks when I thought it would take months or even years.

Not only was the hand-off successful, but the organisation itself has moved forward with incredible strides, growing into exactly what I hoped for it. It is with a great sense of pride that I see how all the individuals involved have taken it and made it their own. It's become an incredible success and all the more for the fact that I can look at it from afar, know I played a part in it and also know it doesn't need me.

My burn out occurred when I realised the largest cause of my anxiety was the fact that I was spending too much time worrying about everyone around me and not myself. As a very dear and perceptive friend and fellow Yapper said, "It's about time you worked on realising your own dreams instead of realising other peoples dreams."

This has been mentioned before on my blog. It's the reason I write on here and the reason I answer, "I'm an artist and writer," when people ask what it is I do.

But as I've said before, these things take time. Recently I was reading a blog by a fellow artist. She's got an incredible talent with ballpoint pens and her blog has been one of my favourites to follow since I began using Social Media for my career. Her latest entry was about '5-9'ers. The breed of people who work a day job to pay the bills but begin their real work when they come home. I've seen comments on this before from other artists in a similar situation.

Since I began committing myself to my artwork I've been working in the retail world of odd schedules. Towards the end I think I ticked someone off as almost all my shifts became the dreaded 1:30 - 10:00pm...or worse, 5:00 - 10:00pm. At first these shifts drove me nuts because I like to be in bed by 10:30pm and messing with my sleep schedule would often mess with my then fragile state of mind. Of course, when you do what you love and you're good at what you do, your state of mind tends to improve.

I also got really good at waking up at 6:00am, no matter what. I felt fine with this and when I worked at 1:30pm or 5:00pm, it didn't bother me. I spent the entire morning doing my real job. I would paint, sculpt and write in my blog. I'd accomplish loads and head to the retail world, tired, satisfied and with a smile on my face.

I didn't look at the retail experience as a detriment to my abilities as an artist. I didn't care about selling the brand, but I did care about selling myself, which is what I'm doing. I used my customer service as practice to be memorable. At the end of the night I wanted to feel that I'd stuck in a persons mind as being personable, helpful and interesting. I used it as practice to brand myself.

And until I departed to London this was the pattern of my life. Of course I was no longer happy working the retail patterned hours and I was ready to move on. I wouldn't wish to be back there...but now I'm experiencing something new.

My abilities to organise, my knack for working in a charitable organisation and my ability to sell myself have landed me an extended contract at the place I'm currently temping. I should be elated, and in many regards I am. The stability of an income means I can continue my exploration of the UK and the Continent. It means I can buy more art supplies...like the remaining five canvases I need for my Tarot Paintings. It also means I can potentially look at putting some cash aside to use for self-publishing.

But it also means that my day is spent working and my evenings are going to be time allotted to my artwork. It means, when I come home at 5:30pm I've got to try and squeeze making a lunch and preparing for a new work day in around my absolutely unavoidable desire to paint, write or draw.

It's a new experience, most definitely. In the mean time I'm going to keep saying that The Magician is nearly done. I do have another stained glass piece in the works and with cash flow comes the ability to get my work imaged so I'll have more prints available soon. I will also remember that dissatisfaction breeds change and as long as I am always striving for this to be my sustainable form of income I will never allow myself to be lazily content about where I'm employed. There is so much more to life than a paycheque and there's something to be said about doing what you love and doing it wholeheartedly.

This and that and the other thing

I started my next Tarot Card. I've been working on the concept of it for a few weeks now. I finally sketched out the polar bear yesterday, in between painting another Buddha piece and twittering. For now the Buddha painting will remain hidden, as I'm re-working it and not satisfied enough to share...yet.

I also got a commission. Just a small one, for a replication of one of my dragons from my Dragon A Day project. Even if it's not a load of cash, it's nice to make another sale. I've about wiped out my funds and until I make some more sales I can't get my paintings imaged or purchase any more canvases. I still have one blank canvas left but I don't imagine that will last long.

To remedy this apparent dry spell I've been doing a lot of promotions on Twitter. Gotta admit, fabulous marketing tool. Besides the fact that my followership increases dramatically every week, I've been meeting some very cool and interesting people. I especially enjoy Elevensestime and the wonderful group of people who attend. In fact, that is where I met the woman who has commissioned me.

I haven't done any sculpting in ages, so it was particularly fun to get my hands on some Sculpey once again. She's not entirely done, as I still have to spray her and let her set for a bit...besides having to figure out shipping and packaging, but she's mostly done and I'm chuffed with the result.

Because a lot of people ask about how I do my sculpting I decided to document this particular project. I can't say exactly how long it took me as I was painting the background of the Magician at the same time (Gives me something to do whilst the paint dries) but I'd say it took me about an hour to make her.

First you get your Sculpey together. I use Sculpey, which is a brand name. Most people are familiar with Fimo. Fimo is the older of the two and essentially the same but I prefer Sculpey because it's always soft. Sculpey is ready to go when you are. The only problem can be when it's a bit too soft. In this case, the purple I was using was particularly gooey. It just means I have to leave it to rest for a bit after each stage, so it can cool from having been played with. The heat from my hands only adds to the softness so a few moments left untouched makes all the difference to firm it up.

Not to worry, neither Sculpey nor Fimo can fully harden until they are baked.

Next I get my body shape. I changed the shape of my dragons heads but the body is generally always the same. In the case of this one I was replicating a dragon I've already done, so I consulted photos of the original Lilla to get the correct shape.

Following that I add the tummy accent, in this case a strip of silver, and the hind legs. I have many variations for the hind legs of my dragons. Sometimes they have three toes, sometimes two. How I sculpt them really depends on the position the dragon is in. This is probably the most complicated leg design I do, when the dragon is turned on its side.

The front legs are quite a bit easier and they provide support for the head and neck. I've tried making my dragons with a wire frame but I find it simply doesn't work. The Sculpey doesn't stick to it and usually the wire actually ends up poking out and causing more damage than being helpful. I imagine it would be better with larger scale sculptures, but Lilla fits in the palm of my hand.
The wings are always fun. I developed my wings in my clay dragons and transferred the technique to Sculpey. The shape is key to having them stay attached. I always do a long curve and cut them so they look slightly folded. To get the duo colour scheme I roll out my interior colour first. I get the sculpey quite flat and then let it cool for a bit. I cut one wing and use that as a template for the next one. This way I have two the same size. Next I flatten out my primary colour and lay the two inner pieces on it. It's so important to lay them out opposite each other or you might end up with two left wings or two right wings. I've done this many times and it's simply frustrating.

After the wings are cut I gently go around the edges and nip them together with my fingers, so the two colours hold. The thing about Sculpey is it's quite adhesive to itself,especially when it's a bit warmer from being played with. I usually use my fingers to smooth and attach different sections, but occasionally a nice shaping tool is useful.
Attaching the wings is a delicate process. Not wanting them to collapse requires steady hands. I always attach them to the back of the dragon first, before shaping or positioning them how I want them. I smooth them down on the shoulder blade, usually with my finger. I will push the interior into the body of the dragon with a tool, especially as any tool marks usually won't be seen there.

Then I curl the wings so they appear to be folded in on her back.

The last step is the eyes. I use a ball of white and then whatever my colour choice is for the iris. In Lilla's case it's yellow.

Very important tip when using Sculpey : The darker colours tend to leave a stain on your fingers. Purple, blue, red and some of the greens will leave residue that will transfer to lighter colours like yellow or white. To avoid 'tinting' your lighter colours wash your hands between stages.

To make the pupil I take a small piece of black and roll it on my work surface. I roll it so it makes an itty 'snake' with the ends coming to points. Using my knife I cut off the two tips and push them into my iris. The last step is adding the eyebrows, which I sometimes blend in or build up so they appear spikier. I leave Lilla's 'raw'.

And voila! The 'finished' product.

Now I just need to bake her, spray her, pack her and ship her!

And if you would like custom shoes, paintings or a mask or if you like something I've already made and want to help me get more things imaged, please place an order! I have prints of most of my work available, I do custom shoes and of course, dragons.

My prints start for as little as $19.00 CAD. I just need to sell two prints to make enough to get something else imaged or to buy two new canvases. So not only will you get a really amazing, different and inspiring piece of art work to decorate your home or office, but you'll also have the warm fuzzy feeling of knowing you've helped add to the creativity and energy of an independent artist.

And as usual, thank you for reading! *blows kisses*