Chickens...All De Time and Such!

I've been drawing chickens and chicken-like creatures for the past 12 years. The above is 'Chicken-Man', and it's just a silly little wooden sculpture I picked up at a yard sale. I've done a number of renditions of him over the years, (the second image is early black and white scratchboard work of mine) there's something quirky and fascinating about him, and I like drawing quirky.  Unfortunately there is no signature, so the artist is unknown. Most likely this came from some sweatshop in Mexico or Central America where folks making one after another earn next to nothing.  Even though I'm earning next to nothing right now, I am still so much better off then they are. Wow. There's a thought. I'm sipping my starbucks coffee, the heat and electricity is on and I have food for breakfast. I'm lucky, and happy to be living my dream of making art my life's work.  I've got a few commissions on the table, and I hope to fund the Chicken Scratchin' book project on kickstarter. Take a look at it right HERE. You don't have to have chickens to participate, but if you know folks with chickens please share. A friend has said that this might be a stretch to fund because people have a much different relationship with their chicks, "they're not really 'pets' and sometimes you eat them". I hope she's wrong, or even if she's right, I think this could be a really sweet book. Working on my plan B idea, in case it doesn't fund.
Still moving forward with the Art Nomad idea. Sell the house, buy a little RV and make art wherever I am with lower living costs.  Just Opal Mae the cat, and me in the little box on wheels. Dreamy!
This Saturday (tomorrow) I will be posting new 'old' artworks on my Linda Sheets Art page for free. Yes, free. All you have to do is, pay shipping and any special packing, give a donation to a shelter of your choice, click like on my page and say I WANT THIS! That's it. I'm cleaning out the studio and these are pieces that either were not super successful as a gallery piece, or they are old style for me, whatever they are/were, they can be yours. I'll start around 11am Central Time and will quit when I get tired. Ok, lots of words today....Thanks for lookin'.

Free Art--Yes Free

I've been spending some time cleaning out my studio in preparation for the next big adventure. Currently I have a heap of large and small art that is old work just sitting or hanging around and I am ready to heave it out the door. I started yesterday on facebook and have already given one away. So starting today until I'm finished I will be posting at least one if not two pieces of artwork at my facebook page Linda Sheets Art. You can go there to see what's currently on the way out. And for the love of crap, like my page while you're at it. I don't know what benefit that is to me, but everyone seems to be doing it for some reason or another, and god knows I like to be liked.
Here are some rules:
*You will pay for packaging and shipping. If you don't have the money for this, obviously don't say you want a piece of artwork. If you are in Fayetteville, AR or Austin, TX we can arrange for pickup...so it will really be free--free for y'all.
*The artwork will be available for 36 hours (give or take a few) and then, if there are  no takers it going in the dumpster
*If you've already snagged one piece from this give-away, hold back and let someone else get one
*You must give the art a good home...but knowing that I can't control your behavior and the destiny of the art after it leaves me at least know that I retain full copyright to the piece.
Ok, let the games begin! I appreciate you helping me lighten my load and hope that my art makes you happy. If you don't see something you like, for crying out loud, commission something. I'm fast and not too expensive. This is how I make my living...and while giving it away may not make much sense, I can't take it with me when I'm on the road (or when dead) and I don't want to take up the space in the storage unit. Plus, and I know a lot of artists who agree with me here, if it hangs around me unsold I feel strange about creating new art. It's a mental thing...and I want to continue creating new...so out the door with it.

2 Sweet Dogs Commission

This is the work in progress from the previous post about "choices." You can see I've made quite a few, choices that is. There is some tweaking to finish, and a frame to build before I deliver it. My clients already approve and like it very much. I'll change the collar to red and make some other changes. This is a 16"x20" ampersand scratchboard with colored inks.  Lots of scratchin' going on there. In addition I've been scratchin' out cats left and right for the Cat Scratchin' book, and getting ready to launch a kickstarter project to create posters with the artwork from the Dog Scratchin' book.
Along with all of that, my truck which I love so much hit 200,000 miles last week. It came and went without the fanfare I had expected--no parade or confetti. I looked down and whoop there it went. Oh well. I personally put 160,000 of those miles on the truck in eight years of owning it.  I had always used 200,000 has a sort of milestone, although I can't remember what I thought would happen afterward. I'm in no hurry now, to sell or trade it in. I'm in no hurry to do anything right now. That is an unusual condition for me. I am always moving ahead, often quickly leaving folks in the dust. My movement forward has not always been in the 'right' direction, or should I say, sometimes in my haste I leap before I look. Like a cat though, I most often land on my feet. Or my ass, and then I have to pick myself up and dust off and try to make the best of it. Waiting and patience is not something I'm known for. But, here I am, waiting and studying to see what path is next for me. I will say I hope to be in a small travel trailer or rv type vehicle in the next year or so. Free of the responsibility of owning a house...and all the things that go with that. I can do what I'm doing, ie. the books the scratchboards, anywhere that there is a table to work on. I don't need stuff...There you have it. This time next week I hope to be raising some money to print dog posters. Don't worry, there will be plenty of notice about it.
 Until then, be happy. Really, that's it.

On The Drawing Table

Sorry I've been missing in action for a bit. Working on the Cat Scratchin' book and other commission pieces has kept me at the table scratchin' away for days. In fact everyday is an art day for me. Not a bad thing, I'm happy. I've found that I post less here and more on Instagram so if you are interested in following me at the profile blueyemonkey, that would be super cool. In the meantime, the above is the current cat on the table. Got to get back on it. Have a day!

Early Morning Studio Time

This morning I'm juggling several things, here is a shot of the studio table and it's pretty messy. I'm making folk art birds at the kitchen countertop, scratchboard drawings at the above table, franken-furniture pieces in the workshop, and mixing in some visiting with Bowen the dog (below) at his home with good friends.

He's the cutest little guy, but being a puppy I found I couldn't get anything done with him doing what puppies do. So he's still a part of my pack, but we are all happier.
Oh yeah, still funding the Cat Scratchin book on kickstarter. It's almost to the end...soon I get to start gathering and drawing the cats. Go here to see the project. If you have a rescued cat, you may want to jump in...like, uh, now....please.
I'll be in Austin next week starting a visit and teaching tour. Check out Casa De Linda in New Braunfels for a listing of classes, plus I'll be at Jerry's Artarama Austin Sunday the 17th doing a demo. Line up-sign up. Ok, that's all for now. Stay happy.

Oh Holy Crap.

I'm in pre-kickstarter launch hell. And blog hell. Mostly because the computer (either due to program glitches or operator glitchiness...uh, that would be me) is not behaving the way it should. (or how I want it to, damn it) Here is a photo of one of my collage pieces from my Picasa web album...that I didn't even know I had. But it was an option and I needed to vent here, and I always think it's nice to have something to look at while I'm fussing and fuming, so there you go. It's grey skies and gloominess here in Arky. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm off to Hobbis Lobbis to buy some E-6000 glue and a sketch book so I can at least make some kind of crappy Mc crap crap art.  Dang, I think I need a dose of happiness. Sorry, here goes...Hey, have a great night!

Some Things Can't be Fixed or Early Spring Cleaning in the Studio

Last night for no reason other than it was there, in my face, I started tossing items and failed artwork from my studio. My hoarding gene (which I got from my Mother) had caused me to hang on to art and objects that I kept thinking I would finish or use or 'fix'. Finally, my purging gene (from my Father) kicked in and things flew into a big pile. I carried the load up this morning to the trash, which will be picked up today...so no changing of my mind and rescuing items! It's amazing the amount of clutter I've been able to endure in my tiny studio. Here's the picture...it's a 12X16 shed that I lived in for 6 months a couple of years ago (that's a whole other story) It's jammed full of vintage paper and junk that folks used to leave on my doorstep. I'm glad I'm not in town anymore, even if the items left were not that interesting to me I always had a hard time throwing out the 'gifts' from friends if they were not usable in my art. Thinking about this today I realized I'm a 'fixer' by nature. If it's not houses and plumbing etc...it's the art pieces that I just kept thinking, 'Well, this isn't very good now, but I can fix it, so why get rid of it?' Now I realize not everything can or should be fixed. What a great relief!