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.

Let me hear your podcast recs!

I'm the kind of person who doesn't like pure silence.  From the minute I wake up until I go to bed, I need to be listening to...something.  Depending on what I'm doing.  Even when I go to sleep, I like to leave a fan on to create that kind of "white noise" that lulls me to slumber at 7 or 8am (I swear I'm not a vampire, even though all signs point to....)

Lately, when I've been working on my show pieces and on illustrations in general, I've been listening to audiobooks.  I rarely have time to sit down and read anything, so at least I'd be "reading" in a different way.  However, audiobooks cost money, something that is rarer than the Rosetta Stone these days for just about everybody, so I'm listening to about 10 - 12 hours of podcasts every day. 

Obviously, at this rate, I run out of shit to listen to quickly (even though some episodes of certain podcasts I will listen to over and over again).  So, I am asking you, internet-friends!  Do you listen to any awesome, amazing, inpsiring, funny, or interesting podcasts?  Can you recommend me any podcasts to listen to?  Please let me know in the comments or contact me in some other way--I'd love to hear from you, and what interests you!

My favorite podcast ever is The Moth.

Oh god, the Moth.  If you don't listen to the Moth, I strongly encourage you to do so.  I love any kind of storytelling and I love listening to stories and hearing audience reaction to the stories.  Once, when I was at my old office, I was by myself upstairs with my coffee and just waking up for that day and listened to THE SADDEST STORY OF ALL TIME, and I started crying and wibbling in front of co-workers.  DAMN YOU, MOTH.  STOP BEING SO TOUCHING. 

But seriously, most of the stories are hilarious, with a serious one thrown in there every now and again, but it's such a treat every week, I promise!

Other podcasts I listen to:
2) Sidebar Nation: 3 great guys from Atlanta talk comics and illustration, with a strong focus on the artistic community.  Their interview with Peter de Seve is one of my favorite interviews of all time!  They seem like 3 super fun and awesome guys; they really do their homework on the people that they interview.
3) This American Life: I KNOW EVERYBODY OF ALL TIME LISTENS TO THIS but I love this program, and I can never catch it on the radio when it actually airs.  The stories are always amazing and informative.  I basically learned about health insurance, the economic crisis, and the election from TAL.
4) Risk!: I was just informed about this podcast about an hour ago by a good friend, and it did not disappoint at all.  It's sort of like the Moth, only way more explicit, ahaha.
5) Downloadable Content: The Penny Arcade podcast.  Sadly, I don't think they update anymore, but their back episodes are all hilarious, and it's a great look at the writing process for their awesome webcomic, Penny Arcade.

Allright, back to work!  (And listening to new podcasts, come on, guys!)

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!

Test test!

Testing!

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!

I lied. Time to do a pimp post.

I can't get away from you people!

But, I wanted to check in really quickly before I get ready for the wedding this weekend, and let you all know (especially other convention artists) about an art-centric convention that my friend Oni has started called Intervention.

Artist alley tables will be juried, and applications are due tomorrow night, so act fast if you can!  It's sure to be a really really great convention!  Here's a press release to let you know more! (or go to interventioncon.com)

There is a new convention in MD called Intervention. This convention is by artists, for artists. Community and respect are a huge deal here. Artist's Alley tables are only $85. This includes a 6 ft table in a secure (locked overnight) table, a clickable link to your work, and a sample of your art on the Intervention site. The idea is to engage with the community so that we can send you traffic and help you drive sales before the convention even starts.

AA tables are open for application NOW. The deadline is tomorrow night, so you'd best apply quickly.

The URL is http://www.InterventionCon.com

September 10-12 2010 at the Hilton Washington DC

Official details:

Intervention is a convention for the independent comics, art, and music creators. The con was started by webcomic creator Onezumi Hartstein and web developer James Harknell. This goal is to bring together different independent creators to party, educate, and appreciate the opportunities the Internet gives to all of us.

Intervention will have awesome webcomics geek-related programming and gaming all day and night from Friday through Sunday. There will be one dance party where the audience can assist the DJ in making live music and one NYC-style dance party. In addition to the Artist's Alley/Vendor Room over 30 webcomic and New Media experts will attend. The con is still being planned. Discussion is being held on the Intervention forum.
If you need more information or you want to schedule an interview with the con chairs, please contact onezumi@onezumi.com

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.

Knee-deep in Monster-land

One good thing about being freelance full-time is that I don't have any sleep problems anymore!  Mostly because I'm keeping my preferred vampire hours where my peak working hours (and jeezus, I can do a lot of work in this time) is 11pm to around 4am.  I'm thinking it might be because of the quiet, and the feeling that I'm here, busting my ass while everybody else is sleeping, like I'm in a secret underground art-making organization (members: 1).

It's about 3:30 in the morning right now and I'm about to turn in, but here's some in-progress of one of the pieces of my show. EXCITING.  I'm going to be pretty busy until the show in the 16th, especially because I'm going out of town twice in this time.  Crazy, I know.

I'll try to blog more but as this show gets closer to...showtime, my nose'll be to the grind and I won't be able to see past tentacles.  Or something.

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!

The times, they are a-changin'!

Animazement was a total blast this year as usual.  A PILE OF FRIENDS, IT WAS.  It was great to meet up with all the people that I've basically grown up with artistically over the past...8 years?  9 years?  Jeezus.  I'm practically a grandma in the convention-world these days.

AND OF COURSE I TOOK SOME PICTURES:

This is one of those times when I wish I didn't have just a cell phone camera!  OH GOD.  When I saw Dug and Russell on the other side of the hall, I pretty much screamed "WATCH MY TABLE PLZ THX!!" to my table neighbors and darted across.  I believe I was the only one over 7 years old who wanted their picture taken with them but WHO CARES BECAUSE I DO NOT LOOK THAT PICTURE IS EFFING ADORABLE.

 

I love DOGS and these are the first cosplayers of the twins where it doesn't look like they went to the Rag-O-Rama and cut apart a parka.  ADORBS.

Grab Captain K'nuckles and Bubby, OH MY GOD IT'S AN ADORABLE FLAPJACK.  I felt bad because I think I made her pose about 30 times as I was having TEKNOLOGEE MALFUNKSHUNZ.  *headdesk* *headdesk* 

Ah, I have about 4,000 more pictures but this blog might be long and arduous and those were most definitely the best ones.  This con was pretty kick ass, and we had more than few good meals, and like I've mentioned a thousand times it was like, THE FRIEND REUNION, and really, that's the main reason why I do these cons anymore is because I get to see the people that I don't see anywhere else.  Although I've talked to a few others about how maybe I'm going to cool it from anime cons and start heading to different shows (starting with NYCC in the fall, oh crap!!!).  After I see how my the show I'm part of does in July, I've got to really examine the rest of my year.  It's already June, what the hell!?

Also, I'm not keeping this secret or anything, but a couple of you have asked--I don't work full-time anymore, so I'm all-or-nothing freelance these days.  My company and I ended more than amicably, so it wasn't a throwing-tables affair or anything like that.  But, changes changes, folks!  My life is going to be interesting for the next few months, and HERE I AM FUTURE, I AM READY FOR YOU.  *puffs up chest and raises gumption*

I'm working on a post for a few of you via my tumblr about what my studio looks like.  Being that I just cleaned that sucker up recently for MAXIMUM WORK POTENTIAL, I figured I'd take a few pictures tomorrow along with some roaringly obnoxious commentary, as usual.  I don't know how people put up with me, I swear.

For now, here is an adorable picture of my dog next to my flippy floppies on the blanket I put down for her in my studio space.

EDIT: ADDING ONE MORE BECAUSE I'M OBSESSED AND WEIRD.