Holiday sales have been keeping me busy, as well as producing ideas and completed artwork. Had to order some supplies that were running low, too.
I am getting back to doing youtube videos, but much more limited since I needed to narrow the scope of what I was doing before. I’m currently working on a bearded dragon animation for my new intro.
I recently had the pleasure of doing a commission for a fellow bearded dragon owner, and I was pleasantly surprised when she sent me these photos after she got it in the mail.
It’s one of the best responses I’ve ever had sent to me on facebook. Here is the 8″ x 10″commission once I finished it.
Another thing that I got done last week was a video about my pet turtles and the Mid-Atlantic Turtle & Tortoise Society. MATTS does wonderful work promoting responsible care of captive and wild turtles and tortoises, as well as rescuing and adopting out those in need of homes. If you like the video, please share it. More people should know that pet turtles are a commitment, not a throw away pet.
In the meantime, I posted two new tutorials, so here they are for your viewing pleasure.
In the last few days, I’ve been putting together some videos of the shot by shot process of some of my latest drawings.
In between working on these, I am still working on more original artworks. I’ve had a couple of commissions all completed and sent out in the last month or two. I’m free again to take on more custom orders if anyone’s in the market for it. Some of my time has been spent on marketing on Facebook, and other social media platforms. Sometimes just before the perfectly timed summer storms begin rolling in. Then, because of frequent lightning, I have to turn off my PC.
This is what it looked like right before things got ugly.
Utilizing social media platforms to advertise myself and my work have been very beneficial to me in starting my own venture. Some of it has been frustrating and confusing, but I’ve kept learning through trial and error.
I had a Youtube channel a few years before I started posting on many other platforms, mostly for my pet videos and such. However, I just tried my hand at making a video advertisement for this little business of mine. It’s a fairly simple trailer for my artwork, but it is the beginning of something I feel will add another dimension to what I do for my readers, and possible customers.
Many people are fascinated by how art takes shape and progresses over time. While no one but the artist sits hour by hour seeing that process through its iterations, by documenting it in photos I can show it all without taking hours of someone’s time. I would love to have a high-speed camera to record everything, but for now I can provide a similar experience by taking incremental photos.
I did this video below a few years ago on some seaturtle pieces I’d done.
I have several folders of image files for the more recent pieces I’ve done, and I will be putting more art process videos on my channel.
I will still be adding pet videos every now and then, typically of my turtles. Those are fairly sporadic uploads. As I need to increase my marketing platform, I will be trying to focus more on the art side of things.
Although, who can resist the little turtle destroying the live plants I so lovingly put in the terrarium for him?
Speaking of turtles, this was my latest completed commission. A pet red eared slider turtle and her owner. This is a big female slider of nine years old. Many people end up getting rid of turtles when they become so large. I’m so glad to see someone who loves their turtle after so many years (and hopefully many more!). It’s very encouraging for me to see others who value them as much as I do. I was very happy to do this piece, and it’s a great piece of work to add to my portfolio.
Two Ladies: One A Turtle, One A Human
Having a love for my pets and wildlife is a big part of what I do as an artist. They endlessly inspire me. And of course, make me laugh.
