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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Pretty Lights

I have just discovered the newest wonder of the world. It is called Pretty Lights. This guy is amaaaaaazing. The music is a synthesis of vintage funk, trip hop, ambient, downbeat, jazz, trance and other stuff I have no words for. It is the perfect music to finally kick off the summer!!

His website features samples and free downloads...and a donate button that I urge you to click upon. You determine how much you'd like to support Mr. Derek Smith in Pretty Lights. Major props, dude.

Last night I listened to PL for hours and drew Lollie being extremely happy with a buttercup under her chin:


Actually I think she found some cross-pollinated buttercup/dandelion/sunflowers.

So Lollie has been saving my life this last month. If you're familiar with my sticker art over on Flickr you will have seen Lollie in many incarnations. Mostly as a crazed woman. But always with the wild red hair. Last month the sun came out for a few days and I started drawing Lollie as this super insanely happy girl of various ages.

I also tabled at a First Friday Artwalk event and Lollie brought the house down!! Sold a lot of postcards and prints of the watercolor drawings I'd done during June. Thank you everyone, and thank you Lollie!! It was a LOT of fun, lots of traffic, and I felt very well received. I was also situated across from a Fine Art gallery, which I thought was great. Power to the street artists!!

I restrained myself going fisticuffs with one of the guys who got the ball rolling on the First Friday event: he remarked that he legitimized street artists by putting them into the gallery. Yes. 'Legitimized'. Oh I said something to him but I didn't break out the brass knuckles.

Last  friday my landlady Joan treated me to dinner at our local Friendly Street Market cafe restaurant. I talked with the owner, Mario (from Italy, but of course), about hanging some art. He said sure, bring it on in! Just put it wherever you want. And he didn't charge me any fees, and doesn't take any cut of the sales. I will be making a special Lollie for him. I sold stuff right on the spot there too.

I am so sweet on Lollie. Totally charmed. Second childhood!! When I said she's been saving my life, I mean that in a saving grace sort of way. I'm always so happy and often smiling pretty big when I draw her. I was never into baby anythings, or flowers, but something.....is....happening to me!!!

When Joan's two granddaughters were visiting a couple weeks ago (Violet is 7 and Alice is 9), I surreptitiously took many photographs of them playing. They were soooo cute. Being kids, just doing their thing, totally in it.

Here's Lollie with her first library card (she signed it all by herself!!). The youngster on the left is modeled after Violet.


Here's the first Lollie, when the sun came out in June:


You see what I'm sayin'???? I mean...I was NEVER the princess/tiara in a tutu type as a kid. I've never worn a tutu in my LIFE!! Oh Lollie! I love ya!! Jumping for the joy!


But, Lollie is also comfy in cargos:




And what does Lollie do when the clouds descend?? Beer and snacks of course!!



Okay there is sunshine out there to soak up. The forecast is for 'partly cloudy'.....for the next five days. Around here (at least this year) partly cloudy means totally overcast. So, today, I am going to revel. Happy summer y'all.

Oh and if anyone has any experience selling their work online (say, though Etsy, or any of the print-on-demand websites), I'd love to hear about it. I'm doing some research and trying to decide which avenues to pursue to build up some income and generate some more love for Lollie.

I started getting all weird and cramped up about money......and then I went back to just drawing what I love and how I love to draw it and I felt better again. Let that be a lesson to us (again!!). Muchos abrazos! And all that sweet stuff.