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Hello again!

So here I am halfway through week four of my blog.  Way back in January while it was still more of a pipe dream than anything solid, I read somewhere that you should have something like three months of material saved up and ready to go.  I really want to post three times a week, so what I had was a little over two months worth of material saved.  Once the blog launched, I started looking really hard at all the girls I’ve done to date and started doubting how good they looked.  It’s so easy to judge yourself!  I started pulling images, or mentally tagging them under the heading of ‘never to see the light of day’ but I was hit with the realization the other day that if I keep doing this, everything I want to post for July…has not been painted yet.

My initial inspiration for this blog was Inslee Haynes, check her stuff out here.  Now I’ve had to start exploring more social media (hello Twitter) and for all my friends who will surely roll their eyes at this, I am finally considering starting a Facebook account.  Through Inslee’s blog, which I have read in it’s entirety — twice — I discovered another one, Katie Rodgers of PaperFashion.  From the history, and contributing to my rapidly growing image as a new found internet stalker, I’ve learned that these two are old friends who have both worked hard to become independent  illustrators.  I’ve been tiptoeing around it and not being entirely honest with myself, but this is what I really want for myself one day too!  I want to paint for a living.  I don’t dream of being fantastically wealthy, I just want to maintain the lifestyle I have, with the minor tweak of being able to come into my study to paint every single day.  Honestly, I picture a vacation right now and regardless of the location (Brazil?) it would involve having time and space to paint.

For whatever reason the last week has been chalked full of moments of extreme doubt.   I’ve produced a few really awesome ladies (which I am saving for a 2013 calendar!)  but everything else has felt just subpar.

So I’m letting that go!  This is meant for me to learn, and to show my work in progress.  Having said that, the three ladies above are actually the first three I ever painted.  Fun fact, I’m left handed — so they were actually painted from right to left.  I even think the first one was the best of the three.

I hope you’ve been enjoying everything so far, and I am going to make a continued and strengthened effort from here on out to reach out beyond my current circle of influence to show even more of the world my work!  SO scary!

PS: I will open an online store soon.  I hope you like what you’ve seen so far, I have a few things up my sleeve for the launch of the store…so stay tuned.