Looking for a One of a Kind Gift?

Hello Everyone! I have been amazingly busy and distracted at the same time lately, so I apologize for not updating my weblog in over a month! I've been working on a few projects and have been meaning to update the site for a while. I have finally been able to put some art work up for sale though!

The Elliott Art Works Store is OPEN!

I have several original graphite illustrations I have done for Asimov's and Analog along with a few role playing game pieces.

Fans of my page get a 10% discount and I offer FREE shipping to anywhere in the world!

I plan on adding new pieces at least once a week, but we know how plans can get messed up.

I made my store right from inside Facebook with the Payvment app. It was super easy to set up and within just a few minutes of looking around at everything, I managed to get it up and active within a half hour or so. All you need is a PayPal account and a Facebook page to attach your store to. Easy.

Check it out! Until next time, keep it real!

What does your profile picture say about you?

Your profile picture says a lot about who you are and what's important to you. If you have a photo of yourself in a business suit, looking very professional, then you probably use your social networking profiles seriously. You use them as another weapon in your arsenal of  marketing yourself to potential clients. If you have a photo of your children, then you are probably more interested in family and the true 'social' aspects of social media. If you have a picture of your pet, your pet takes priority in anything you do! If you have a photo of yourself doing the "Duck Face", then it's pretty safe to say, you are a teenage girl.

I switch mine occasionally. I guess it depends on what mood I am in. My LinkedIn profile currently has this:

Since I want a sample of my art on my profile, I chose this small section of a larger piece I had done for Analog Magazine.

One day, I randomly asked for a suggestion on my Facebook Page for a project. Some one suggested I paint their profile picture. Hmmm. Interesting. I thought about it for a minute and decided it would not only be fun, but it could be good practice on how to get a painting done quickly. Well, I did it and it did turned out pretty good.

It's 600pxi X 600pxi and I did it in ArtRage Studio Pro in about 3 hours. I actually didn't want to spend that much time on it, but I was having so much fun experimenting and messing around with it, I went a little overboard.

SOOOOO, someone else has asked me to do there's and since I'm such a sucker, I said I would. For nothing. I think I'm going to do this one in black and white though. The photo ref is a little iffy, but I think I can work with it.

If you'd like your profile pic done, drop me a line on my Facebook Page and I'll see what I can do. I'd like to charge $50 USD for each, but I may do it for nothing. Depends on what mood I'm in.

Have you tried ArtRage?

I love ArtRage! It is a great little graphics program that is super easy to learn! On the surface, it doesn't look like much. It has a very clean interface and isn't cluttered up with a bunch of ugly boxes and tabs all up and down the sides. The nodes are all soft and organic, with rounded edges and you can even change the colors to something that appeals more to you. ArtRage is amazingly easy to load up and start painting right away.
I would highly, highly recommend this if you have a youngster. I think ArtRage is perfect for children. Lot's to play with!

                                   Jon Hodgson is also an ArtRage lover and he's put together a few neat vids. This one on how to make and use stencils, happens to be my favorite. Don't forget your weak lemon drink!

Also, pick up Jon's excellent book on Amazon. You can use all you learn from his book and practice it in ArtRage!

Check out ArtRage. Oh, yeah it's only eighty bucks.

Till next time, keep it real!

Where am I going and what am I doing?

It's been a while since I've posted up anything on the old weblog. I was sitting around, staring into space, after the morning routine of hitting the job boards, looking for work.

This past year has certainly been a roller coaster of emotions for my family and me. Losing a job we had held for ten years for standing up for what was right, then moving to Ohio for another position similar to the one we held in Georgia. In retrospect, I was looking to replace the good life God had given me, which I had learned to take for granted and then I personally destroyed it all.

Now, I'm trying to pick up the pieces, hold everything together and rebuild. Uncertainty abounds. I want to do art but I'm finding the market very stingy and crowded with talent.

I'm a Work In Progress. Aren't we all?