I am working on our Christmas card for this year, and I decided to use an illustration I drew a few months back of the three of us. I wanted to add an embellishment to my drawing but after searching the web for a simple holly Photoshop brush and coming up empty, I just made my own. If you like it… feel free to help yourself.

To use this brush, simply download the file and place it into your Photoshop Brushes folder: Adobe > Adobe Photoshop > Presets > Brushes. Open Photoshop and select Edit > Preset Manager… and make sure Brushes is selected in the Preset Type window. Click the Load… button and select the abr file you wish to use, click Load. Now the brush will be available in your brushes palette. Enjoy!

Download HollyBrush.abr

I almost always listen to my iPod while I’m painting and since my studio is right next to Eric’s office, this way we can both listen to the music we want without disturbing each other.

I have a specific playlist that helps me get into a painting mood—a mix of energizing and thoughtful songs, here are ten of my favorites…

Dig - Incubus
Run - Snow Patrol
Call and Answer - Barenaked Ladies
Glycerine - Bush
The Scientist - Coldplay
Soul Meets Body - Death Cab for Cutie
Other Side of the World - KT Tunstall
Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
Independent Love Song - Scarlet
Read My Mind - The Killers

(I’ve linked above to the YouTube video for each song, if you’re interested!)

Like many pastel artists, my hands get very dry from frequent washings while I’m working on a painting. I use regular hand lotion after I am finished for the day, but since I use my fingers to blend, I don’t want a greasy lotion smearing up my work.

The last two times I picked up some new pastels at Jerry’s, the checkout girl gave me a free sample of Gloves in a Bottle lotion. I finally used it this afternoon and wow. It goes on smooth and after it’s dry you don’t notice that anything is there—it looks like regular lotion and has no smell.

Interestingly, I have noticed a difference in my blending ability… because this stuff seals in natural oils, my hands are less likely to contaminate the paper.

The biggest benefit was the fact that the pastel chalk came off my hands much easier and my skin didn’t feel dry even after multiple washings. I am definitely going to have to pick up a full bottle of this stuff!

Eric will be on an interview in Oregon for the next few days, so I am planning to use my free time in the evenings to complete two paintings—a shooting star flower painting and a dog portrait of our friend’s adorable chihuahua, Lucky.

Truthfully, I spent the whole day watching football instead of painting. Oops.

I completed this hibiscus drawing ten years ago for an independent study course in intermediate drawing. It was also the first drawing I had ever given away as a gift. I was able to scan it this morning because I happened to marry the recipient. We’ve been together ten years today, in fact.

Technically I would change a few things, like the leaf position on the right, but I’m still fond of this drawing… one of my first attempts with graphite pencils.

This evening Eric and I attended a workshop on financial planning. The information that was most useful to me was the terminology as the concepts of balancing my checkbook and saving for retirement aren’t new to me.

Since I quit my job it’s been even more important for me to create a budget and financial plan outlining where I want my freelancing business to take me. (Barcelona, anyone?) Sporadic income is going to make my taxes next year interesting to say the least but I’ve been keeping excellent track of the money I’ve earned so far.

Eric gave me a crash course in Quicken for Small Businesses and I’ve been using that program consistently to track invoices, payments, and expenses. It really helps me to see everything in spreadsheet format. That way I know who owes me money and whether I’ve sent them a bill. Plus, I love pie charts.

One the surface this might not seem like a typical “art blog” post, but if I’m going to make a living from this, I better have a sound plan in place!

In June of this year I left my reasonably paying job to concentrate full time on my artwork and freelance design. Not only does this make me more flexible in terms of travel (i.e. Halifax, Chicago, Montana, Curacao, Florida), but I am also free to work my own hours.

My wonderful hubby has been nothing but supportive in this venture and I can’t help but feel extremely blessed that I have his support. I’ve also had tremendous help from of a good friend of mine who started her own marketing group at the same time. Not only is she a very talented writer, she has also been a wonderful cheerleader when it came to my striking out on my own.

Thank you, Eric and Elizabeth, for helping me realize my dream.

This Saturday was SchnOctoberFest and I managed to give away several business cards as well as help raise money for the NC Schnauzer Rescue.

I was pleased to see quite a few raffle tickets in my bin! They also added a link to me from their contributor’s website, so now folks can find me through there as well.

The Pastel Society of North Carolina is sponsoring a show at The Upstairs Gallery in Blowing Rock, NC for two weeks in early November. I’ve decided to show the Riesling portrait, titled “Riesling the Wise” (thanks, Eric) and a landscape I am doing of the Great Arch in Zion National Park. I don’t typically do landscapes, but I didn’t do pets at one point either. I’m committed, so it’s now or never. Progress coming soon.

Once I decided to get serious about dog portraits, I ordered 100 business cards to help me spread the word. I used OvernightPrints.com because I had a coupon and they don’t put their logo anywhere on the materials you order from them. The shipping was a bit extreme, but the print job was “technically” free, so it evened out.

I am very pleased with both the quality of the printing job and the weight and feel of the cards themselves.