You know how really old books have two names? One that is short and will fit on the front cover, and another on the inside across the title page. The one inside is usually much longer, and sometimes gives a little clue as to what the book is about.

Well, this painting has two names like that, too. It’s called Putting the Cat Out or Offering Her Empathy By Way of Cupcake. heh heh Or something like that, anyway. Okay, so I’ll work on the name.

This is one of the six unfinished paintings I was talking about the other day. I am so truly out of practice, I forgot to scan or shoot a photo of this before I started painting on it again. Oops!

So, I can’t show you what it looked like before, but trust me..this version is better. I had no idea what it was even about last time I worked on it. No clue. No story to tell..nothing! I had a flower, which somehow developed a face. I had a woman with a cat. That was it. But, now I’ve figured out that the woman has been kept awake by a very noisy, naughty cat! I mean, look at her face. Her expression says it all. And, although the jury is still out, the cat looks guilty to me!

You can’t have a cat in the house and not know this feeling. You just want to get some sleeeeep!! My three are all indoor cats, so I don’t have that option. But, there are nights when all three of them would go outside, for sure!

The flower with the cupcake is offering up her empathy. She can only imagine what it’s like to live with a noisy, naughty cat.

It’s not done. The story may develop more as I go along. Or, I may decide to put the finishing touches on it and call it a day. I have about 10-15 hours in this right now, and I don’t know how much more I’m going to work on it.

Oh, btw..this was done using Kelly Rae’s style (I plan on writing about Kelly’s book once I have a chance to read it all the way through). You can’t tell by this lousy scan (something is still wrong with my scanner. grr!), but the background has layers and patterns beneath the paint. It shows up a bit too dark here to see all the colors under there. I’ll show close up shots when I get ready to sell it.

So, yeah, I did the background first, and then the woman. I felt like I was working backwards the whole time I did it. It just didn’t feel right to me, but I’m definitely going to try it again. I loved the challenge, even if I was feeling very uncomfortable the whole time. You gotta try new things and mix it up now and then. Otherwise, it gets boring.

If anyone would like to trade Etsy minis with me, let me know. I will be featuring a couple Etsy shops here in my blog each week, probably on Fridays. Leave a comment or email me - mizkatie228 @ gmail.com if you’d like to do a swap. Close up the spaces around the @ sign before sending email.

Oh, and when sending the mini code, my blog can only use flash. You can make it whatever size you like. My blog is wide enough for 5 x 5. Please let me know what size is good for your blog.

it must be fall. i’m hungry all the time, and i want to go to bed early every night. i seriously need one of those sad lights, so i can feel better during the fall/winter months. actually, i’d use it year round. i love my house, but man, it is DARK. i need to have lights on during the day, even when it’s bright and sunny outside.

has anyone ever used one? does it work? or, how about the full spectrum light bulb that just screws into a lamp? i had one in my shopping cart at amazon the other day until i found out i was going to get charged over $10 for shipping. for a light bulb??!! i think not.

sooo, they think they’re going to arrest casey anthony on homicide or murder charges. you think?!!?

i don’t feel like typing correctly right now. i’m too tired to bother with upper case letters. hm..i just tried to add new links to my blogrolling account, but it’s been hacked. oops! i’ll try again later.

here’s my latest mixed media painting…dandelions daisies violets

available in my etsy shop

I got a little tired of my old blog look. I know this isn’t a BIG change. I kept the same colors, for now. I’m still tweaking it here and there (ljers i’m talking about the blog on my website, not lj. i update my website and lj at the same time via a plugin on wordpress). But, it is wider, so my images can be, also. And, I made a new banner, which displays some of my recent art.

I also added monster avatars to the comment section. Now whenever you comment, you get a little monster beside your name. If you mouse over the monster, you’ll see it also links to your website, if  you filled in that info. I think you get a different monster each time you add a comment. Aren’t they cute?

Ooooh, and look at this!! I got a rebel art card made by Bobbi in the mail. She started making rebel art cards a few years back, and I was lucky enough to get a couple back then, too.

I just loooove this card. I never make my bed. It’s just wasted time and energy to me. I know it only takes a few minutes, but life is short. I have better things to do than housework. I guess it’s my way of rebelling. heh! So, I was immediately drawn to this card. Thank you sooo much, Bobbi.

that reminds me that i have totally dropped the ball on my pay it forward entry back in August. i’m so sorry. i told you ladies that i would send you something and i haven’t. it’s not that i’ve forgotten because i haven’t. actually, i have started to send you something a million times, but for some reason i freeze up. i can not decide what to send you. nothing seems good enough, and i think, ‘why would they want that???’ so, yeah, i haven’t sent anything at all. i know it sounds stupid, but it’s true. i need to move past my frozen zone, and i will..promise!

Last chance to own this mixed media painting for this cheap cheap price..

worldwide shipping. ending in a few hours.

If it doesn’t sell, it will be in my etsy shop tomorrow for a much higher price because it took forever to make, and it shouldn’t be sold so cheaply. ahem!

Oh hey, if you haven’t checked my etsy shop lately, I now have a SALE section. I’ve slashed prices on some stuff more than 50%. Go see! I want to clear out the old to make room for all the new I’ve been making lately.

the tv and newspapers are too overwhelming right now. sometimes, i have to turn away, tune it out. so, as i was listening to music last week, i created this piece.

it is available on ebay

I’m in the process of making another journal. This is the little girl I drew a couple weeks ago. I still have to smooth out the beeswax a little more, cut the paper, punch the holes and coil bind it. I think I’ll wait until tomorrow to finish it up. I’ve spent way too much time on it today. Time to shift gears and think about eating something for dinner.

brr..it got chilly here all of a sudden. This morning was muggy and sunny. This afternoon it turned cloudy, windy and the temperture dropped. I will be putting on my sweat shirt soon, for sure. Maybe even trade my shorts in for sweat pants before the night is over. Those thoughts make me sad. I don’t want summer to be over. It’s my favorite time of year. I hate being cold.

His wife was at work. All his laundry was dirty. Good thing he knew his way around the laundry room. He threw a big ole load in the washer.

He, in his underwear, sat down and watched a bit of tv.

After the wash had finished its last spin cycle, he realized he had nothing to wear out to the clothesline. So, he borrowed his wife’s skirt and sweater. As he hung up his orange shirt, he glanced around to make sure no one was watching him.

This is a 6×6 print mounted on chipboard and sealed with beeswax. It’s made from a painting I did a few months ago. The original is not for sale, but you can get the reproduction in my etsy shop.

This painting was created because lately my little neighborhood is much too noisy. Dogs bark all night and keep me awake. Dogs bark all day, which makes me lose my concentration. A very sweet, but noisy guinea hen likes to hang out in the backyard. She squawks all day. Kids, kids, everywhere!! Noisy, RUDE, distracting KIDS. Kids who come up on my porch and move furniture around at midnight. Kids who play on my lawn when I haven’t invited them. argh!! If only I could have my quarters moved. That would be ideal!

If the noise disturbs you, too, perhaps this painting is for you.

This one took a while, which is why I’ve been so quiet lately. I’ve been bizzy, making a mess, getting things done. This was a big project. I decided to paint both the front and back covers this time. Not only that, but there are several layers. Several. It took about a week to complete. It’s quite big - 8 3/4″ W x 11″ L.

As always, photos enlarge when you click them.

close up front cover

back cover

close up back cover

Can be used as a art journal, scrapbook, photo album or whatever you’d like.

Available in my etsy shop now. Or it can be purchased directly through me via Paypal.

i promise it’s not that blurry in real life. for some reason, my scanner hates beeswax. probably because it’s bumpy and doesn’t lie flat flat. but, it’s better than what i can do with a camera (that needs a serious cleaning), so there you have it. it will be in my etsy shop soon.

i have joined plurk. if you want to add me, please do. i’m not sure how long i’ll be there. not addicted yet. depends on how many people i find, and how active i get, i guess. i only have 2 friends so far, so please add me!!