Getting Back to the Moon Man

It's been two or three months since I last worked on the moon man. I've been experimenting with different color schemes, and think I've found one I like. Most of the piece is painted, as a result of me putting off the sculpting of the feet.

Believe it or not, the feet have probably been the most challenging part of this project.

Mr. Moon has already been through 2 pairs of shoes. I've finally decided to put aside the painting and get back to the shoes. 3rd time is a charm right?

Zero jumped from the table about five feet up to moon man's head. Dunno how cats do that!

New Stuff on the Way

Wow. I just realized that it has been over two months since my last post; it feels more like six or seven. Guess there hasn't been much going on; at least that's worth sharing.

Steph and I have been prepping for a possible move sooner or later this year. It's amazing how much stuff one can accumulate in a relatively short period of time. I also found that it takes a lot of time and energy to sort through piles of unneeded junk. Needless to say, there will be a huge garage sale on the way.

All the while, I've managed to find time to continue sculpting and painting. Today, I'm putting the finishing touches on several new pieces for Spookytime Jingles, including our STJ staples of Halloween and Christmas, with this months addition of our HOLIDAY HOOTENANNY!

Be sure to check us out on the 13th for Hootenanny Easter pieces from Crescent Hill Designs and other fine STJ artists!

Seasons Greetings From an Unfinished Moon Man

I wanted to have this project finished for Halloween this year, but I've had just too much on my plate. I have not had much time to work on the big guy, but I did have the"bright" idea of decorating his staff and hat with Christmas lights. Har har!

I hope to get back to sanding and painting on the moon man after Christmas, when things slow down a bit.

Happy creating!

My First Publication

You can find one of my Santas in the latest edition of Prims, by Stampington.

I never knew how rewarding it would feel to see my work on the pages of a magazine. What an honor!

This came as a bit of a surprise. I thought the article was coming out later, but I'm not disapointed.

Thanks, Meri for the heads up and the scans. Now I just need to get my hands on a few copies.

Spookytime Jingles April

It's STJ time again! Head over to spookytimejingles to see my new Frank piece, and a few acrylic art cards.

Moon Man Progress Report

Today, I realized it's been a while since my last moon man update. Most of the major structural work is now completed. This is where the fun begins! For the last couple of weeks, I've been applying clay over the paper mache exterior.

Thinking of the cost, I had not originally planned to have a clay exterior. However, I've decided after investing this much time into a single sculpture, it would be worth the few extra bucks to finish it properly.

I'm Back, and Refreshed!

As you may know, Steph and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary last weekend. We decided to make it a tradition to visit the Crescent Hotel every year on March 14th, the day we tied the knot. We had a blast!

For those who are interested, I'll be making several posts over the next few days to tell you all about our trip.

To start things off, we decided to spend the night in Hot Springs as a sort of halfway mark to Eureka Springs.

As soon as we checked into our hotel, Steph spotted a magic show she wanted to see. The magician's theater was litteraly right next door to our hotel downtown. It was nice being able to walk from shop to shop to show and so on.

Maxwell Blade and his magic show were a real treat. He moved his show from a larger theater down the street, to this more intimate setting. I've always loved smaller settings for shows be it concerts or magic shows.

The show was very light hearted and family friendly, while maintaining a dark and mysterious allure. Later in the show, Steph and I were even brought up on stage for a demonstration. We couldn't resist a photo opp. later!

Here's a few more pics we took around town, starting with a view from our hotel balcony:

Check my Flickr page for the rest of the Hot Springs photos!

This weekend I'll tell you all about our stay in the creepy Crescent Hotel.

Abandoned Motel and more Moon Man WIP pics

Need a room? Steph and I took a little Sunday drive and found this old motel. I must have passed it fifty times in my lifetime, but have never payed much attention to it. I wonder who its last guest was, and when he or she checked out?

I wish I could have had a look inside, but I wasn't brave enough. No telling what lurks behind those crumbling walls!

The moon-man project is coming along nicely. I took a little break from the face and started working on the body, which has been very, very time consuming, but loads of fun. I decided to abandon the old body and start fresh, so his legs could be separate. I wanted it to resemble my smaller pieces, most of which have separate legs. Here's a couple of pics...

He looks a bit sloppy in that last pic, but that's part of the fun I guess. Anyway, I think I better put him on hold long enough to get some STJ stuff in the works. Easter is next!

Etsy Sale

Check out my Etsy page for some really great sales! Everything in the "Sale" tab is marked at least 50% off. I become too attatched to every piece I create, but it's time for them to find a good home.

I should have the new Valentine piece completed by tomorrow, so check back for pics!

Spookytime Jingles December

Time is flying isn't it? The cool thing about this as that it's already Spookytime again! It's my favorite time of the month. SO that makes this my favorite time of the month of my favorite time of the year. It's a good time!!



Be sure to check out all of the awesome new art at STJ tomorrow, or tonight if your a night owl like me.

Also, I have a new item available at Etsy. This is the first of a little series I'm calling "Snowbodies." Click here to see the listing.

See you tonight at Spookytime Jingles!!

Still Available at STJ

This poor fellow has literally blown a fuse, trying untangle a string of unruly Christmas lights! Available at Spookytime Jingles!

Also, I had a pilgrim in the works for the 13th, but he didn't make it on time. I'll try to have him on Etsy before too long!

Look what I Got!

Well, I've had it for a while but here it is. I was fortunate enough to be paired with Amelia of Sweet B Folk art for Dani's second annual tombstone trade, and here's what she sent me!

She knows I have a thing for good old Humpty Dumpty, so this is what me sent me. How cool is that!? And check out my new paintbrush holder (also from Sweet B.)

Also, I have a new snowman ornament available on Etsy.

New Sculpture on Etsy

I tried my best to have this guy ready for the October STJ update, but I couldn't swing it. This will probably be the last Halloween piece for a while, but you never know!

A Great Way to Start the Day

It's almost update time again, and I've been trying my best to get everything finished. Lately I've been implementing a double dose of coffee, one of my favorite tools in art. The mug is from my favorite coffee house, a local place called "Java Jacks." I think their coffee is much better than Starbucks. The coffee in the mug, however, is just some good 'ol Folgers, "the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup!"

When brewed properly, a good cup of coffee in your favorite mug can wake you up and massage your artistic shoulders. That's what it does for me anyway.

In the picture, you'll see a snowman WIP from an earlier post. The snowman has a bit more color in this pic, and is almost completely finished as I type. I also have an ornament set, and two Halloween sculptures on the way, so keep an eye out!




Zero, making himself comfortable in the window seal.

Happy (late) Birthday, to my Wife

I'm sorry it's been so quite around here; I think I just saw a tumbleweed. The truth is I haven't had time to post lately, and as you know, my computer cord is out.

Anyway, yesterday was my wife's birthday. She just turned 24!! This day a landmark for her in more than one way. She also taught her first class at SFA, our local university. She's teaching intermediate algebra. Today she took her first grad school class. Wish her luck; as you can imagine, this is a lot to juggle!!

Now that Steph is a grad student, she has her own office!! Well she shares it with another grad student, but it's still pretty nifty, right?

Here's Steph, already hard at work in her new office.

The creepy looking thing above is a vulture. It kind of freaked me out when I first saw it. Apparently, it's a tradition to pass it down to new math and statistics grad students every year. He brings good luck if kept on a high shelf. LoL.

Also, I've been busy at work for the fall and Christmas season. STJ is right around the corner, so be prepared!

Fun at the Zoo

Steph and I both had Saturday off, which is unheard of, so we decided to make the best of our day. There's not a lot of significantly fun things to do around our neck of the woods, but we do have a small zoo. Though small in size, the Ellen Trout Zoo is considered one of the "best little zoos in America."

We decided to bring our nephew and niece along for the fun, and a fun day we had!

We kicked off the day with a ride on "Z & OO Railroad."

This was my favorite exhibit. Looks like something straight out of the Jungle Book.

This guy looked much bigger in person!

The rabbit wasn't part of an exhibit. He was next to one of the cages and I couldn't resist taking his picture. I thought it ironic that most animals probably want out and this one appeared to want in, lol.

Having a drink. I had my picture taken here when I was his age.

This is the only zoo I've seen where peacocks roam the sidewalks. They were all over the place!

For more pics , check my Flickr

Three Little WIPs

Halloween, in my book, is just around the corner. Can you believe it's already almost August!? That's just a hop, skip, and a jump from October. I know I always jump the gun, but every July, I start getting excited about the holidays.

I whipped these little fellows up for STJ's August update. As you can see from left to right, we have a skull, a black cat, and a moon man. I plan to give each of them a body soon. Only 13 more days till the next Spookytime Jingles update, stay tuned!!

Two Down, One to Go

Sometimes I like to make small Christmas items in sets of three, including a snowman, an elf, and a Santa.

Here we have the "Elfen" brother of the snowman art card I made a few days ago. Now I just need to complete the series with the old jolly fellow himself!

Find me on Etsy!

Graveyard ACEO

I'm not sure why, but I don't really do many Aceos. However, I've really been in the mood for painting lately, and aceos are great for that. Here's what I concocted last night:

I recently read Neal Gaimon's The Graveyard Book, and was inspired to paint a graveyard. If you like Gaimon's Coroline, chances are you'll love his Graveyard book.

The card is painted with acrylics, and I used bailing wire to make a nice iron fence. I had a lot of fun painting this thing, so look for more aceos in the near future!

Available here.

New Ornament and World's Smallest Frog

I whipped this little guy together over the past couple of days and he's now available on Etsy for a special low price. Check it out!

My wife and I went to the park, and I saw this little frog and couldn't resist getting a pic with it. Notice the ring!