Art Updates, Shopping, and a Video!

I've been busily working away on my 'Secret' themed paintings. The next one should be finished very soon, and I am SO excited for you guys to see her. I also made a little video preview of my artwork in progress that you can find at the bottom of this post.

Lately I've been experimenting with painting on Creative Paper Clay. I roll a hunk of it into a ball, then flatten it out into a coin shape, let it dry a bit, and paint directly on it with watercolours. I think acrylics would look better though, as the watercolours seem to just soak into the clay and lose their pigment. I then applied a layer of matte medium to seal the painting, and added sparkles for some extra pizzazz. Once that was dry, I glued on a pin back, and now she's ready to wear!

I've also purchased a lot of neat things over the past few months (either online, through thriftstores, and via craigslist) and have some posts planned to share those shopping hauls. :) But to start us off, here are two things I recently got in the mail:

1. Fabric tapes - for decorating the gift boxes and envelopes that get sent to my lovely customers.

2. Krylon Metal Leafing Pens (in 18kt Gold, Silver, and Copper)
(I can't wait to use these in my artwork, and jewelry!)
I plan on doing a video review of the Krylon pens, so look forward to that! :)

I experimented with the metal leafing pens, and drew on some black Onyx pendants. I really love the effect! What do you think?

And last but not least, my foxxy purse! I kind of want to get the light brown, and light pink ones too.

Lastly, here's the art preview video!

Hope you're all having a fabulous Friday! :)

Theme: Secrets!

A few little announcements today!

Firstly, my website has been re-vamped! Check it out here, and let me know what you think! Forgive the little welcome/owl sign, as it's only a placeholder for future things.

Secondly, I'm super excited about this new project I'm working on. It will be a series of up to five paintings (depending on time), that will be inspired with the theme "secret". This theme really appeals to me, and I think applies to a lot of my own artwork already. In every piece, I try to express mysteriousness in my characters, as well as eerie enchantment in their surroundings... so this theme kind of feels natural to me.

I've made a bunch of sketches, quite a few of them based off of ideas from you guys, that you supplied me with on facebook (thank you so much!!), and have three that I definitely want to use. The titles of these pieces, as of now, are Secret Garden, Mystery Behind the Masque, and The Trees are Watching.

If I'm able to get a larger memory card soon enough, I will record the painting process of these pieces and share them with you on youtube. :)

On jewelry news, the leaves from my previous post have finished baking, and look all glittery and fantastic. Tomorrow I will get started on making them into new ear cuffs, and hopefully soon they'll be in the shop!

Now, for your viewing pleasure, may I present...... Scarlet!

You can watch a little video of her creation, here:

Well, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you follow along with me and see how the new paintings turn out! :)

Pictures from the Past

I was looking through a bunch of memory card photos, and starting feeling rather nostalgic...

My mom's handmade soaps, getting ready for sale at Granville Island.

An old painting from about a million years ago. I did it for my portfolio at the time. 

A pretty shop window.

A Scrumptious breakfast. Eggs benny with mushrooms and brie, roast potatoes, and fresh fruit. Yum!

A little pigeon friend at the harbour. 

A rainy spring day. 

Something glitzy I made.

Miss Meowmurs herself, the Hun-bun of my heart. <3

A tiny art card I owe to a friend. 

Hope you enjoyed this little trip to the past. :)

Friday Favourites

Friday Favourites by sasha-fitzgerald on Polyvore

An Enchanting Fairy Tale - Video

I just had to pop in and share this amazing video I found on the Little Fox's blog.

It's a promo video for a book of fairy tale illustrations, and it's simply enchanting. If you love fantasy, you will adore this video.

I've just discovered the brilliant work of illustrator Benjamin Lacombe, and am looking forward to exploring his website and seeing more of work.

I'd love to hear what you think of the book, and what your favourite fairy tale image was! :) I think mine was the girl with the Blue Morpho butterfly wings.

You can purchase the book here.

New Years Goals for 2013

My Goals for 2013

1. Finish a 365 Project 

I had been thinking about this one for a while. My idea was to take a photo a day outdoors and then do a blog post once a week summarizing those photos. Well the one hitch in this plan was that I wanted to do this little feature using the instagram app, on my ipad. Turns out I wasn't able to afford an ipad in time for the new year, but hopefully in a few weeks I will be able to. Now I have to decide whether or not to start the feature using a regular camera instead... hmm... what do you guys think?

2. Sell Art & Grow Art Biz

The title is self explanatory. I feel kind of all over the place when it comes to my 'art career'. I am not sure how to get the kind of exposure I need to sell art, and yet to do the things I need to do to get the exposure I need to sell art, I first have to have popular art that people want.... and there's the cycle of confusion. I do have a plan though - I am going to look at what I've been doing, and see where the weaknesses lie, and where I can focus my energy and improve. 

3. Live Healthier & Make Positive Choices

It's a live long goal for me, to strive to live a healthy life (food and exercise and mental well-being), and make conscious, positive choices for my future. I want to make what I envision - a reality. Thoughts into actions.

4. Spend more time with people

I'm a bit of a hermit, for many, many reasons. But I find the more that I hide away into myself, the harder it is for me to be around others. I get bored easily (thinking of all I could be getting done at home), have difficulty with conversation (feel anxious and awkward due to not practicing my conversational skills, which is pathetic), and my list of close friends has dwindled. I want to feel the joy of being around others, going on adventures, and sharing memories and good conversation. 

5. Publication

I've had a taste of publication, and I must admit, it's addicting. This year, I aim to have a piece of art published in Spectrum 20. *crosses fingers*

6. Art Show

Whether a solo show, or a group show, I'd love love love to be a part of an art exhibition, at a modern/lowbrow art gallery. Unfortunately, I missed my chance in 2012. But I am hoping for new opportunities this year!

7. Be HAPPY!

Another one of my life-long goals, that I always want to improve upon. I want to bring and build happiness in my life and the lives of others.

8. Grow a HUGE garden on my balcony

I had big plans for my faerie garden last year, but they only got so far as some strawberry plants. This year I want to make a huge herb garden/faerie oasis. 

9. Cook at home

We already do a lot of cooking at home, but I'd like to get a bit more creative in the kitchen, and perhaps post some of my culinary wonders. 

10. Makeover the Apartment

I want to do a major overhaul on this place. Plans are already in the works, and I am looking forward to sharing!

11. Go Camping

I had a few chances last year, but was feeling far too anxious and agoraphobic to go. I am surprised I even made it to Kelowna in September. So this year I am determined to get out there and put up a tent and build a campfire, somewhere in the woods. Kayaking would be cool too. 

12. Work on my Wardrobe 

My wardrobe needs a lot of work. Any extra money I have goes to new supplies or business expenses... so this leads me to wearing the same pair of runners four years in a row, and the same pair of flip flops in the summer. Kinda gross, and kinda sad. Will be expanding my wardrobe a great deal in the coming weeks... I plan to ravage the thriftstores and if I have any extra dough, get a few special things from modcloth. 

12. Make a video of some sort

I've been thinking about making a video for a while, but wasn't really sure what I should do, so I kinda let the idea drift in the abyss of my thoughts. Then I found the nifty-ist app for the ipad, 8mm Vintage Camera and was instantly inspired! Another creative idea I want to try when I get an ipad. Here's a cool test video on youtube by Daryl Spong. 

What are your goals?
Happy Thursday! :)

A Survey of 2012

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?

I made my own little strawberry garden on my balcony. It was very exciting to see the little berries get redder each day! (Yes, I know, I am so elderly lol)

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I'm pretty sure I didn't. Let me go back and check what they were..

The first one was to stop eating bad foods - well I've been somewhat successful with this one. Haven't had fastfood in a long while, and I'm trying to curb my sweets intake. I guess this will always be a work in progress for me.

Get more exercise - I'm such a sedentary person. Seriously, when it's cold and rainy outside (which is most of the year), I just want to curl up and draw, read books, watch movies, or game. I'm trying to improve upon this, and go for a speedy walk at least once a day.

Get a house - no house yet, I'm sad to say. Hopefully this dream will be fulfilled this year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Not anyone particularly close, but many, mannnny people on facebook are either pregnant or just had babies. I still feel too immature and too 'young minded' to even consider... reproducing.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, though my eldest aunt did pass away. I don't know that I ever met her, so it didn't impact my life personally as much as it did my mother.

5. What countries did you visit?

None! I've been meaning to visit friends in California but it just hasn't worked out yet. I'd also really love to take my mom on a Euro trip.

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?

A steady income, selling art, a feeling of success. That would be amazing.

7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

I don't really remember specific dates, but I do remember specific events... like when my mom's friend's son went to live with his dad (sooo far away)... we were all so sad. When I got a daily deviation for my dryad painting (that was so exciting). When I got an xbox (I feel like such a nerd admitting that one lol).

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Probably the growth I've seen in my jewelry business. It makes me so happy to think of all the people wandering the world, wearing my ear cuffs. :)

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not painting enough. For the first part of the year I was still in a major art block/art slump. I'd never experienced one this bad before... I'm fairly certain it was caused by the stress and pressure of art school. I was taking 8 classes at a time, spending over 14hrs a day (including weekends) at school working on assignments, and was exhausted. I think the thing that sucked the passion and inspiration out of me the most was the design assignments. That year we had mostly design classes and few illustration classes... and even in the illustration classes, I couldn't create what I wanted to create...

Though illustration takes a lot of time, it comes easily to me, so I put those assignments off to the side and focused my energy on all of my design projects, since I struggled there the most. So for over six months I was spending an incredible amount of energy on projects that were in a field I was passionless for and had no intention of pursuing, just so I could get good grades.

Then I had a nervous breakdown over the christmas holidays and had to leave the program. I had definitely pushed myself past my limits, and blew a few fuses. For the next year or so I had no passion in me to paint at all. The magical little sparks and ideas of things "I MUST PAINT NOW" no longer came to me. I was like a dead battery or something, that just needed a charge... well, I can thank Christina and Alice for giving me that charge. I saw what they were doing with their work, and suddenly felt like I needed to be doing it again too. I saw part of me in them.. the part of me I must have forgotten.

Now I feel so creative it's overwhelming and fantastic. I'm feeling very positive about my future and art!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nope. Pretty sure I didn't get sick once. Sometimes I felt like I might be coming down with something, but nope, I was okay the next day.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Probably my laptop and my xbox. :)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Hah what a weird question. I don't have an answer to this one.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Well this is kind of personal... but lets just say my feelings on this haven't changed.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Definitely jewelry supplies.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

My little trip to Kelowna. It had been a long time since I'd done anything remotely exciting or fun, and this was a good change for me.

16. What song will always remind you of 2012?

I listen to soooo much music from sooo many different eras that none really remind me of a particular year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? happier.

b) thinner or fatter? probably a little fatter, but who knows.

c) richer or poorer? I feel richer on the inside, but on the outside, it's the same as last year.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Painted more.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Sitting on my ass wasting time.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Very untraditionally. Me and my mom slept over at our family friends house and had spicy chicken and rice for dinner and apple pie for dessert. Me and the kids played call of duty all night. Good times. ;)

21. Did you fall in love in 2012?

No. Maybe this year?

22. How many one-night stands?

This is another personal one, eh?

23. What was your favourite TV program?

The Walking Dead, Dexter, and the Ian Somerhalder Diaries. :P

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

No, none that I can think of. Over the past year I've kind of isolated myself. Sometimes I feel I get lost in the lives and emotions of others, and "lose myself". I want to focus on me and where I need to go instead.

25. What was the best book you read?

I didn't read as much as I would have liked. I read Pride and Prejudice again, of course. I read the first couple books in the Fifty Shades of Grey series... over all not impressed with the writing, insane amounts of sex, and weak characters. I recently got a wholllle bunch of books at the used bookstore, so I am looking forward to lots of reading this winter.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

A few 'new to me' Led Zeppelin songs that made me quite happy.

27. What did you want and get?

A good laptop and an xbox.

28. What did you want and not get?

An Ipad - still working on that one.

29. What was your favourite film of this year?

I enjoyed quite a few:

Cabin in the Woods

21 Jump Street

Magic Mike

Prometheus

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

26, I drank wine, and had cake with my mum and Tracy.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

To be living in a house, for sure. To have my art studio room.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?

Oh my god. Horrible. This is something I'm definitely trying to improve upon this year.

33. What kept you sane?

Happy Pills. Will power.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Norman Reedus, Ian Somerhalder, Channing Tatum

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

So so many. But I try not to talk about this too much.

36. Who did you miss?

Marcus!

37. Who was the best new person you met?

Tabitha, hands down! We'd gone to elementary school together for a couple years, and then high school, but we never really hung out together. Then, because of facebook, we reconnected and discovered we shared a lot of similar interests and decided to hang. :)

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.

Well the first one that comes to mind is that keeping a blog is very valuable. It helps me to stay focused and work on my dreams, and at the end of the year, I can review everything I've done or not done, and make a better plan for the new year.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

I'm gonna marry the night

I won't give up on my life

I'm a warrior queen

live passionately, tonight


I'm gonna marry the dark

make love to the stark

I'm a soldier to my

own emptiness

I am a winner


I'm gonna marry the night


(Lady Gaga)


Feel free to fill one out yourself and link me to it! :)

Influence Map

This is an influence map! It features everything and anything that I find inspiring. I filled one out after my pal Sara filled one out and suggested I should. The whole influence map thing has been pretty popular on deviantart for a long time, so I was pretty sure I'd already made one, just didn't know when or where it was. Well soon after I finished making this one, I found the old one I had made previously, back in April. Funny thing is, both maps feature several of the same images, but in different ways. I guess I know what I love deep down, and all of my maps will probably have similar imagery throughout my life.

Influence map via - click image to enlarge

1. Peter Pan
This movie was my warm milk before bed, my soother, teddy bear, and nightlight all in one, as a child. I'd watch it when I was sick, I'd watch it when I couldn't sleep, I'd watch it when I woke at 3am (and over and over until my parents woke up). I'd even dream about flying with Peter Pan and the lost boys, as Wendy. Something about this movie really appealed to me - the magic, the idea of never growing up, escaping life to have adventures in Neverland... it was just the perfect childhood movie for me.

2. Woodlands, Forests, and Greenery
I feel most at home in nature. Fresh air, and lush greenery inspires and relaxes me like nothing else. My imagination seems to spark with all the possibilities and secrets the woodlands hold. In the woods, you're amongst creatures that have seen many more years than you have or will ever see (trees). I find this fascinating and mysterious.

3. Diana F+ Camera
This film camera produces whimsical, dreamy, unpredictable photos. I luckily happened to find one at the thrift store a few months back and love it dearly. I'm still waiting to save up enough to purchase a lens for it. :)

4. Love, Elycia & the Dainty Squid
These ladies blogs are so inspiring! I check them both almost everyday. These two girls live very creative, inspiring lives, and are always up to something nifty.

5. Pride & Prejudice
This is one of my favourite novels! I must have read the book three times. That Ms. Austen sure knew what she was doing. The main character, Lizzy, is quite witty and charming, and her romance with Mr. Darcy is the stuff of epic romantic-tension-filled legend. My favourite movie adaption is the BBC version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

6. The Art of Brian Froud
I remember seeing his Pressed Faeries book when I was about ten or eleven, over at a friend's house. We were both obsessed with Faeries and the Faerie realm, and this book was a holy relic to us! As I've grown and become an artist, his work has continued to inspire my own. :)

7. The Art of Arthur Rackham
This man. Oh this man. Seriously one of the most amazing illustrators to have ever lived. To me, he is the epitome of the Golden Illustration period. I'm ashamed to admit I first heard of him in my art history class a couple years ago. I can't believe I've missed out on his work my whole life up until then. He is a huge inspiration to me.

8. The Art of Kmye-Chan
I discovered this lady a few years ago and have been a huge fan of her artwork ever since. I love the strangeness and femininity her work exudes, as well as the way she paints emotion, textures, and dresses. I would love to live for a day in her head. If I was to choose a favourite artist currently living, she would be it.

9. The Art of Loish Van Baarl
I also discovered her work a few years back. Her upbeat, energetic paintings, are always stunning to behold. I love the painterly way she paints digitally, as well as the amazing, yet subtle textures she achieves. Hands down, Loish is my favourite digital artist.

10. Lady Gaga
Some love her, and some hate her. I'd be in the first camp.
I don't usually love every song an artist puts out (esp. the ones that aren't featured tracks), but in her case, I actually do (minus a few like Paprazzi). I think she's an amazingly gifted singer, and I love the creativity and story behind her work, as well as her unique personality and fashions. She also talks a lot about not being accepted by people (esp. in highschool), and that's something I can really, really relate to. She gives a sense of liberation and freedom to be ourselves and love ourselves for all the whacky strangeness we are.

11. The Art of Alphonse Mucha
This man was the pinnacle of the Art Nouveau Movement. His work has inspired so many artists over the years that I'm sure many of you out there are familiar with the style. The parts of his work that have influenced my own, are the thick outlines in the line art, as well as the love of insane details.

12. Galaxies
The planet - solar system - space - exo planets - nebulae - galaxies - THE UNIVERSE is a wonder to me. I absolutely believe in intelligent life outside of Earth (I think it's ridiculous not too. I mean, look up the stats on that). I often wonder what it would be like to interact with intelligent life forms, to learn their beliefs, history, technology, and all things unique to them. The universe is so gigantic, and almost as endless as my questions about it. Part of me hopes that when we die, all of our questions about the universe and the purpose of life, are answered.

13. Mushrooms - Amanita Muscaria - Fly Agaric - Toadstools - Faerie Rings
I've never seen one of these mushrooms, but I hope to one day find one. I've often seen them depicted in Faerie art, and I think it would be amazing to see a forest ground full of them!


I hope you've enjoyed this post! Feel free to make your own! (there's a link below the image of my map to the photoshop template)

How Authentic Are You Online?

I would say I'm pretty much myself online. And in some ways, my truer self, online then off. I have anxiety, and when I'm with people in person, I tend to feel awkward, and not express my thoughts the way I really feel them. But online, I have time to think, time to figure things out, and a delete key - so I can express what I want, exactly how I want at the time. 

There are some personal things that I don't share - like disturbing nightmares that happen all to frequently (and vivid dreams in general), depression, fears, etc... but that's probably because I like to think of this blog as my happy place. A place where I can share positivity and inspiration, and hopefully uplift others while I'm at it.

So in general, I would say that I am not the same person I am online, in person. I think here, you get to see the real me, or at least who I want to be. 

And then there's this picture: 

me being a dork... as usual... and in public places. LOL

How authentic of a blogger are you?

*post inspired by Angie & Alycia

Currently

What's New:
I've recently given my blog, Lacewinged.com a full on makeover!
Inspiration struck, and I just had to tear down the walls, throw some furniture around, and mix things up a little. 
I even changed my blog name & identity to The Bohemian Faerie (as well as my url)
Lacewinged always felt more like a place holder name, until I found the 'right' fit for me. I wanted something that represented me and my style, as well as my love of Faerie.I hope you like the new look & feel of The Bohemian Faerie!

Reading: 
I just finished reading The Clan of the Cave Bear >> it was a popular book in the 80's that was turned into a movie, starring blonde bombshell, Daryl Hannah. I'd seen the movie when I was around seven, and when I saw the book in the thriftstore over the summer, I immediately picked it up! 

Over all, the book was really great. It presents a time in early human pre-history, where Ayla, a modernish human, is adopted and raised by neanderthals ("the clan"), and her struggle to try and become more like a woman of the clan, even though her very being is the opposite. 

The book was about A ZILLION times better than the movie. 

Watching:
Currently I'm watching The Walking Dead, Dexter, and The Vampire Diaries... all which kind of relate around death and dead things, LOL. There's some other shows I've been meaning to catch up on, like True Blood & Supernatural (and I want to start watching Game of Thrones, it sounds amazing), but it'll be a while before I make it through even the first three! 

As for movies, I recently watched Resident Evil - Retribution, and yeah it sucked. Milla was great, as usual though. I'm hoping the sequel will be better.

Listening to:
I've been listening to a lot of 'new to me' Lady Gaga songs, like Americano, as well as some old Michael Jackson hits (he was SUCH an amazing dancer). 

Thinking about:
The paintings I have to finish for the Grimm Art Show & NaNoWriMo.

Loving: 
Making collages in polyvore, awesome friends, beautiful fall leaves, Halloween, black cats, and GLITTER!

Looking forward to: 
Well Halloween is tomorrow, although I will be posting this afterward (perhaps on Friday or Saturday). I'm super stoked about my homemade/thrifted/cobbled-together Halloween costume, and can't wait to take pictures tomorrow, and wander around the neighbourhood snapping pics & admiring decorations. 

Feel free to comment with your answers to the questions! I'd love to see what you're up to! :)
Questionaire snatched from Marcia

Halloween Plans!

Halloween has always been a special day for me. >> take a look at what I did last Halloween here & here <<
Since I was a kid, I relished the magical holiday. I loved planning my costumes, collecting candy, and the general sense of mystery in the foggy, fire-crackled air, on Halloween night.

As I've gotten older, and other kids grew up, and moved on, I still held onto the magic of the spooky night. Even now, I still love to dress up, eat candy, and walk through the streets with friends on Halloween night, looking at the decorations and the little trick-or-treaters. I think, if I ever have kids, I will thoroughly enjoy taking them out for Halloween (and then the gran-kids after that)!

So for this Halloween, I have a few plans I'd like to share!

Halloween Plans by sasha-fitzgerald featuring a black bootie

Although it's been credited above, I'd like to make sure to note that the beautiful eye shadow make up is done by Katie Alves, and you can see more of her work here.


I hope you all have a very happy Halloween! :)

I'm going on a trip!

Hey all!

Today I'm going to Kelowna!
I'll try to check in while I'm there.
Should be back in a week.

Ta ta!

:)

26 before 27

I recently turned 26, and decided to make a list of 26 goals that I want to accomplish before I reach 27 years old.


1. Eat Healthy & Get Exercise (at least one 30 min speed walk a day)
2. Go to California in April (visit Ashley, meet Christina & Richard at their gallery show, and of course, Disneyland!)
3. Move into a house (where I will have space for an office & studio & large garden)
4. Date (haven't done this in a looong time)
5. Dress up and get fancy more often
6. Finish work on Cryptic Femina (my art collection)
7. Take a course (maybe sewing, or pottery)
8. Learn to drive (I'm a scaredy cat)
9. Go on an Alaskan Cruise in August 2013 (I dream of seeing the Aurora Borealis)
10. Illustrate a whole faerie tale
11. Write an e-book 'how to'
12. Go kayaking (my favourite water sport, haven't gone in a couple years)
13. Look through a telescope
14. Whiten teeth (odd, I know, but I've been meaning to try this for ages)
15. Video Blog
16. Go to Faerie Worlds in Oregon
17. Start a comic, and share the pages with friends
18. Finish the vampire Etiene's short story with illustrations
19. Re-open my art shop (which also involves fixing the printer)
20. Spend more time with friends
21. Save for a Europe trip
22. Sew my own dress
23. Make a doll out of clay with a shadow box
24. Do what I say I'm going to do. Follow through & be dependable.
25. Go out on my own more often.
26. Live life to the fullest!

Have you ever made a list like this? Link me! :)

I was featured on Bloggers.com!

Yesterday I awoke to find many new people following me on my various online haunts, and finally figured out why.

I was featured on BLOGGERS.COM!!! Thank you very much to the editor who picked my blog to feature. This blog is my personal space to just "be", and the fact that others want to "be" here too, amazes me! :)

click image to enlarge

Thanks again for everyone's friendship and support. I really do treasure my online community like a family.

My tendinitis seems to be healing up pretty quickly, so I'm going to try to post daily once again. ^^

Cat .gif

Hey friends!

I'm taking a short little break (a few days to a week) from blogging/typing.
Every so often my tendinitis flares up (it's a pain in the wrists and tendons of the hands from repetitive movement like typing) and I need to rest my hands until they heal.

Until then.... Honey! In .gif format!

I'm 26 now!

How did that happen?!

meeeeeee surrounded by magical tacky ps stars!

the cake

I had a lovely, quiet birthday at home with some lovely ladies.

We drank cupcake wine, ate cream puffs, and black forest cake. 

I wonder what this new year will bring?

Hipstamatic, Instagram, and Iphones

Today I spent some time with my friend Bekah. I am so super jealous of her iphone & the photograph filters. I would really love to get one someday, but the plans are so expensive that I can't justify it at the moment. 

I love the nostalgic fun feel of the hipstamatic & instagram apps. I'm pretty sure if I had an iphone I'd be photographing stuff all the time, rather than phoning people, lol. 

Now, without further ado, a shot of a yummy danish!

Delicious berry danish

Artist Questions MEME

When did you get into art?


I've been drawing since I was a toddler. I was an only child, so drawing was a good activity to do when I spent so many hours alone. I also had lots of stories and characters in my mind, and since I couldn't write yet, I expressed them through pictures. 


Show us your oldest piece of art you have on hand:

Solaris - 2007 - photoshop

I was really proud of this one at the time. For some reason, it didn't bother me that I didn't finish drawing the leg or the second wing, haha. I'm still not really a perfectionist, but I would definitely "finish" an image completely now. Even though this is digital, I feel most comfortable working traditionally. 


What defines your artistic style?


I'm influenced by anime/manga and the Japanese aesthetic, as well as the voluptuous style of the women in Fathom comics. My inking is also heavily inspired by art nouveau/Mucha. One of my older influences is Brian Froud. I love Arthur Rackham's art as well, though I only discovered his work a couple of years ago. 


Do you practice other styles/have you tried other styles in the past?


I'm always trying new things. Tedium makes for a bored Sasha. 


What levels of artistic education have you had?


Quite a bit, actually - though I must say that my abilities are mostly due to my own practice over the years. And my art teachers have never really been fond of my style of work anyway. I took a semi-private portfolio building class for two semesters outside of high school, many many many life drawing classes over several years, and painting and illustration classes in university. I also took a lot of design and typography classes. 


What is your favourite piece that you have done?


Generally whatever piece I'm currently working on! :P 

A Midnight Stroll

This one (above) is definitely one of my favourites, and was even published in an art book last year! :)


What do you like most about your art?


I love my characters, and the secret stories they tell. I love to draw the magical little details, strange outfits, and haunting atmospheres. In the piece above, for example, I loved doing the line work on her tights, shading her hair with grays, and dotting the stars in the background sky with my white gel pen.


What do you like least about your art?


Lots of things haha. I feel the expressions on my character's faces lack emotion (or are just bitchy) - the poses are stiff and face forward because I want to feature the clothing/hair - my colour pallet could be more sophisticated... maybe more minimalistic and desaturated... so many things haha!


What would you absolutely refuse to draw?


Anything I don't feel a keen interest in. I only draw things I'm passionate about. For example, photo realism, people's pet portraits, still life, etc... I also don't generally use any photo references, and don't enjoy projects where I'd have to. 


List at least one of your “artspirations.”

I would say Kmye-Chan is my all time favourite artist. I don't like to peg myself down, or committing solely to one thing, but I have to say her art is a huge, huge inspiration to me. I love the mood, textures, fashion, line work, pretty much everything in her art. If I ever owned an original piece of her work, it would be my most treasured possession (aside from my child hood teddy bear. yes I am sentimental like that haha). One day!


Other inspirations include: Stephanie Law, Nati Peirandrei, Arthur Rackham, Brian Froud, Kelly McKernan, Audrey Kawasaki, and many more!


Tag people!


Erin Kerr & and other artists out there! Send me a link if you fill this out! :)