The monsters have left my house and THE GIVEAWAY COMETH.

THE MONSTERS HAVE LEFT THE BUILDING.
Today, friends, I said some sad farewells to my little creations and put them in the hands of the wonderful Kai Lin Art gallery for safe-keeping, and by safe-keeping, I mean to hang.  Freshly varnished prior to delivery, my house smells like a garage and myself and my dog may possible be high as kites right now, but at any rate, OH, MY GOD, THE SHOW IS NEXT WEEK, THIS IS HAPPENING REALLY FAST, AGH, AGH, OH, OH, MY GOD.  I am a simultaneously excited and terrified.  While I get ahold of myself, here are some professional cellular telephone photographs:

BUT NOW IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES WHEN I MUST REJECT MY EMOTIONAL RESPONSES PUSH ON, and I have so much more to get done by the end of this month.  The past week has been pretty intense and chaotic, and, from the looks of it, will continue to exist in this manner at least through August.

All I will say is that the saying "something better is always around the bend," is actually proving itself to be true!  It's not always a load of horseshit false!  EVEN THOUGH I HAVE REQUIRED A PHOENIX DOWN FROM TIME TO TIME, KATIE LEE GROSSKOPF HAS JUST LVL'D UP.  (If you understand that last sentence, I truly am thankful for your presence in this world)  Everything, lately, seems to be coming up Katie, and I credit much of it to your support and encouragement! And, because I love you all so much, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE BACK TO YOU.

This weekend, I am working SUPER HARD to prepare for this blog's very first giveaway.  I AM GIVING THINGS AWAY, INTERNET-FRIENDS.  And not just things like in your elementary school goodie bags you got from parties (ie: pencil with "happy birthday" design on it with eraser that does not actually erase and so said pencil has stayed unsharpened for 17 years) but I am giving away five free prints of the pieces in the "I'm in love with your monster" series of paintings that are smelling up waiting in the gallery to be shown on Friday to the general public.  This, of course, requires some participation on your part, but IT IS NOT HARD.  So easy, internet-land, that my little dog (as adorable as she may be, she is the most intelligent of life) could probably win this giveaway.

I'm announcing what to do when I blog on Monday morning!  It's a first-come-and-do-what-I-say, first-served, so please head over to seekatiedraw.com on Monday morning AND YOU MAY POSSIBLY WIN THE GIVEAWAY.

GOOD LUCK, INTERNET-LAND.  Prepare for my post on Monday!  Thank you for supporting the hell out of me--I truly appreciate all your e-mails and follows on all 2309842098423089243 social media sites I frequent!  INTERNET-LAND, YOU ARE TOO GOOD TO ME.

LO AND BEHOLD. A WEBSITE.

WHY HELLO THERE, PIECE OF FABULOUS.  WHAT ARE YOU?
OH, SO YOU'RE THE NEW WWW.SEEKATIEDRAW.COM, I PRESUME!?
MY, YOU LOOK DASHING.

Oh, internet-land, I am so happy to announce the launch of my new ultra-fantastic website, programmed and designed by Orange Umbrella, who were ultra-professional and took great care to cater to my every psychotic, control-freakish wish to ensure my great happiness and satisfaction!  I AM AN ADULT NOW, Y/Y!?!

In spite of my growing giddy nature about my big, shiny new website, I've got to simmer down, because I have got myself on apartment lock-down 2010, and I will not emerge (except for doggie let-outs) until I have all my pieces completed, built, and ready for presentation to hang on July 8th.  So, while I get back to that, here are some more in-progress shots:

Joon is supervising as she attempts to take cover under my leg from the fireworks:

Also, I have been working on some patterns for some SEKRIT PROJECKZ.  They are up in my children's art and patterns gallery. Where you may ask?  ON MY SUPER NEW WEBSITE.  I'm updating as I go, but here are some of my initial pattern ideas.  I've graciously been offered some help with color from my good friend Ivy Rose Mcleod (who I wish had a website, but here is her flickr account for you to peruse), and I'll be continuing pattern work in my downtime.  Whenever that is.

Here's a preview of those--go to my new site for more!

Can't wait to show you guys more as it comes around!

My Life is a Monster

The flyer for my show is out today, featuring artwork of the talented Dante DeStefano!  Now that I see it, it definitely feels ULTRA-REAL AND SIMULTANEOUSLY HORRIFYING AND EXCITING.  Please, if you are local and can make it out to see this show of epic proportions, I encourage you to do so!  It's being sponsored by Svedka Vodka and there is also an after party at the Halo Lounge down the street!

Taking a moment out of a crazy couple of weeks to share some in-progress pics with you all!  I only have a cell phone camera for right now, so the quality is just so-so.  Plus, the light today was not as bright as it usually is in the morning times, but you get the idea, right?

I enjoy painting on wood, and I've had a mini-lesson in building my own frames to back my paintings from the wonderful Richard Russell.  Also, for you local folks, Highland Woodworking helped me so, so much with materials and tools I needed to make my art presentable and beautiful, even before I painted anything; it's so wonderful to go to a shop where people truly care about what they sell and truly care about your projects (and your budget).

Also, I used a circular saw for the first time this week, and decided that I don't much care for using tools where the power is not my own!  D:  I've been hand-sawing and hand-sanding my frames, which I'm much more comfortable with.

The piece on the left is 95% done!  I mounted it on the frame yesterday and I'm sanding it down and adding some texture and poly coating tonight.  EXCITING.  Getting a few pieces totally done has boosted my morale tenfold.

Fellow art-maker Sarah Jane Sapang (whose blog / shop are both wonderful, if you have not taken a look, please do yourself a favor and do so!) pointed me in the direction of an etsy blog called "Quit Your Day Job," which interviews people who, because of their popularity and success on Etsy, have been able to quit their day jobs and work full-time for themselves!  Considering my current situation, this has ultimately put me in SUPER-INSPIRED-AND-MOTIVATED mode.  I have a morbid and insatiable curiosity to 1) see other people's studio spaces and 2) know what each artist's typical day is like when they work for themselves!

Also, I opened my formspring.me account again, so you can always feel free to ask me anything there!
Also^2, I am going to be doing my first GIVEAWAY soon!  So, please stay tuned for that!  I'll also be announcing this on my twitter, tumblr, and facebook fanpage, so no one will have an excuse not to participate!!  I'm so excited about this, and I hope you all will be, too!  Till next time!

Preview: I'm in love with a monster

Some pictures taken with my cell phone of one of my pieces for the show in July.  I wish I had a better camera, because, as you see, in these three pictures the color already looks ridiculously different.  I'm getting them shot professionally when the whole show is done.
More deets another time--going back to the hunker-down position, will not unfurl until I've got more done.  It's been steady, and I feel good about it.

Thanks for sticking with me, guys.  More soon.

A studio post

I got some questions on my tumblr and other internet nooks that I frequent about my studio space, and I thought I'd share some photos and talk a little bit about my "studio."  Studio meaning, that room in my house where I make arts happen.  If you were anticipating something Disney-esque, GRAVELY MISTAKEN does not even begin to describe.

Well, let's start with my drawing desk, which was donated graciously to me by Gary after the flood.  This is where I start to lose my mind / thoughts of artistic suicide begin.  The Daystar was bright as hell this morning, and burning my recluse-skin pretty hard.  For now, I've blurred out my pieces for the show, but I promise within the next week I'll give y'all an update about that.

Next to my desk are thousands of dollars of wasted money art supplies.  Pretty self-explanatory.  Because of the recent getting-laid-off thing, I actually rearranged everything and scrubbed the floors (BY HAND, LIKE, CINDERELLA-STYLE, Y'ALL) and I promise you that in a week I won't remember how I organized, like, 90% of this stuff.  And it probably won't matter because it'll all be a mess by then, anyway.

Across the way (read: 3 steps to the right) is my computer desk.  I learned the beauty of dual-screen action at work, and looking at one screen is almost foreign now.  I keep 2 bottles of 100 pills of Advil on my desk because MY HEAD ALWAYS HURTS FROM LOOKING AT THESE TWO SCREENS.  Also, I'd like to point out that my mother sent me the same Christmas card two years in a row and that kind of sums up the kind of awesome lady she is.

And behind my desk I keep some old sketches / paintings of mine that I like (usually color palettes or line quality or something to remind me that SOMETIMES I DO GOOD THINGS) and artwork from friends / inspirations that remind me to get off my ass and work.  There is also that giant paperweight printer.  Gotta get that working again.  It basically crapped out right before I was about to head out to Animazement.  WONDERFUL TIMING, AS ALWAYS, LIFE.

And there you have it.  Not much to it, like I said, but this is basically where I'm going to hideout for the next month and a half.  I've gotten some really sweet e-mails and replies from many of you, and I appreciate them all.  BUT NEVER FEAR.  I've no time to slow down--it's all full-speed ahead from here!

Pre-con Madness Begins!

Happy Monday!  This is Katie on 2 hours of sleep, 3 cups of coffee in.  My body can't decide if it's hot or cold, I have to consciously think about blinking, and the impending to-do list of these precious few days before my trip to Animazement this weekend is screaming in my brain, aka, the hollow space between my ears that has manifested due to slipping into an alternate reality called "Lack-of-Sleep."

Most of you know I've had a problem with sleep for the past year or so.  I've tried just about everything, trust me.  Fortunately, this means I can do a lot of art over a weekend.  I had intended to make a blog happen at some point on Friday.  I'm not sure how all this works.  How often do people blog?  How often do you guys actually want to hear from me?  Questions, questions.

Anyway, me and Joon are venturing to North Carolina this weekend for Animazement, my most favorite convention.  The staff is always so friendly, and the new Raleigh Convention Center is a perfect new home for this convention that has gone from like, 50 forty-year olds (and me, ohhhhh noooooo) to over 4,000 people!  ALSO, ALSO, it is like reunion times for me and my repeat customers, my artist friends, my friends I met when I was sort of in the j-rock industry, and just friends.  Animazement is a pile of friends!  WHAT COULD BE BETTER, I ASK!?!?

So, here's some art I popped out over the weekend.  More to come, even!

 ADVENTURE TIME!!!!

SOMETHING ABOUT BELIEVING IN THE ME THAT IS BELIEVING IN YOU OR SOMETHING.

 OH HO HO, WHAT IS BETTER THAN ONE GAGA?  TWO GAGAS.

That's all for today!  I'm gonna go sneak a nap.

Changes, changes!

There is a lot happening over here in Katie-land  I can't talk about a lot of it right now, but my life is going to be very different beginning next month.  I'm looking forward to all the changes and challenges in store for me.

I'm opening commissions again, $10 for some digital art.  Also, I'll take some commissions at my normal rate for paintings or large-scale digital pieces.  If you're interested, you can e-mail me at katie@seekatiedraw.com, and we'll have a conversation! 

Right now, have some Gaga.  Because I have to remind myself that it'll be okay.  Doo doo-doo doo.  Just dance.

Announcement! Commissions! Thank yous!

I did this fish for someone at work who likes goldfish.  It doesn't really have to do TOO much with this post, but it adds to the list of doodles that happen because of some severe procrastination.

Because of my sleeping problems (right now, I'm blogging at 5AM, urrghhh), I've been exhausted all the time and in kind of a crummy sort of mood.  I'm hoping that this changes, starting this week!  To help me get out of this rut, I'm doing one of my favorite thing to do, which is to draw things for other people!  I haven't opened for commissions in awhile, so maybe now is a good time to do so.

SO!  If there's anything you'd like to get drawn by me, I'm opening five slots for $10 commissions.  Because of the cheap cheap price, these will all be digital commissions, like the fish over here, no background, full-color, one character / object of interest (or two, if a little simpler).  Please e-mail me ( katie@seekatiedraw.com ), and I'll put you on the list!

Slots taken:
1. GL (Owls)
2. MM (Glee characters)
3. EO (her puppy)
4. ND (dwaggin)
5. JS (turtle)

**Edit: Holy crap, that filled up fast!  Hopefully, I'll get through these quick and then I'll open up more slots!  Thanks, everybody!**

To see samples of my work, you can always go to my mainpage or my new facebook fan page!
Speaking of, wowowowowowwow, guys!  I think I reached almost 120 fans in the first day!  Thank you so much for all your support.  The times ahead are sure to be a challenge--my heart gets all mushy-gushy when I think about how I could never get up and keep trying without your encouragement. 

ALLRIGHT MUSHY STUFF IS OVER.  ARTIST MACHINE ENGAGE.  TIME TO KICK ASS AND TAKE NAMES.

Late by about four weeks.

About four week ago (urrrrrrgghh), C. Lijewski suggested a "Devilman Day," where we get out the old comics and draw that bastard.  I completed a sketch on the actual day, but haven't completed the illustration until now.

Mostly watercolor and acrylic, some photoshop color retouching.

Glee tonight!  It'll get my artist mojo going again, I believe!

Critique finale

I'm churning out these little mini-paintings, about one every night now for the past three days. It's somewhat therapeutic, as it balances out the hectic crazy that is studio week. Also, I am out of money again (thanks, utilities), and am thankful that I can paint as quickly as I can so that I can deliver the goods to the fine people that commission my poor ass.

Spent the weekend at Dragon*Con (also a reason for my poorness, oh, self-indulgence...D: ) where I didn't spend much money, but the money I did spend was all on artwork that was really inspiring. Please visit Gus Fink, Chris Hamer, and Sarah Frary, all who are going to be featured in a follow-up pimp post that I'll do in the future. For now, it's almost 2AM and I'm not as young as I used to be, so to bed for me, so I can get up and do some hardcore work tomorrow!

My last and final (THANK GOD) critique is in a week. THE FUTURE. I LOOK FORWARD TO IT.

Painting eases my raging anxiety.

It's been somewhat of a stressful time in my life. I'm out of money, I graduate in a mere few months, and I have to be out of my apartment by December. I'm not sure what pieces I'll have in my book. That worries me probably the most. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm not really much of a worrier, but the past few days have been really bad for some reason. Can't sleep. Drinking a lot of coffee. Really, really on edge.

To take the edge off, I've been doing little paintings that take maybe 2-3 hours a piece, at night, as a way to wind down. I'm not sure it's working, but at least I can get a painting out of it. It's good practice, considering I'm doing just about everything digital these days, and I'm on the computer for like 12-14 hours a day. Yeek.

Here's a couple that I did for people. JJP's is the octopus having coffee with myself. I did the other for my friend Jonathan's mom, with a couple of her dogs. I'm going to try to do a few each week. I think I need the therapy.

Cloudy Days

Well, 6th quarter is over and I'm just happy it's done with.  My critique lasted maybe 8 minutes, and I went out with Gary for pizza later on.  He really liked some of my character development.

I'll post more work this week, but here's some clouds I did for my final for Gary's plein air painting class.  It was taken with my cell phone so it's obviously not the best quality, but I worked my ass off on it, so here's some work in progress, which is the point of this blog anyway, I suppose.

I'm headed back to North Carolina to see my parents for a week or maybe a little more.  They need a vacation and I need to stay inside and avoid the daystar aka the sun, so it works out for both of us.  I just had a pretty stressful weekend in New Jersey for a work-related trip, and I'm ready to wind down for a little bit.