How Crazy Has This Week Been?!?

How crazy has this week been?!? About THIS crazy! Haha! In the past 10 days, I have:
*gotten my hair cut (yay!)
*lost about 3 pounds
*gotten some sweet arm muscles, several bruises, and a ripped toe nail
*worked 4 days at my temporary job for Color Me House (they are awesome!)
*completed an order for a great client (LittlePutLand.etsy.com) (she is awesome too!)
*finished a couple of drawings
*done my regular cleaning jobs (if you live in Portland, please visit Trillium Artisans and Trade Up Music--they are both fantastic stores filled with really great people!)
*magically kepts up with my own businesses
*spent lots of quality time with Indigo
*had some really fantastic grown-up time, too
*felt hung over from such a busy week!

Now it's Sunday, and the biggest thing on my mind is coming up Tuesday morning--I am going to be doing a 5-6 minute LIVE segment on AM NW (Channel 2 if you're in Portland)!!! I will be showing how to do a little crafty project, thanks to my friend Rebecca Shapiro who connected me with the show. Thank you Rebecca! I am so nervous, and exited, and nervous...! I will be live around 9:20am (PST) if you live here, otherwise you can stream the video at http://www.katu.com/amnw Wish me luck!

A Joke About a Sink or Something

After doing the dishes, finishing up a project, and looking at my sink, I'm sure I found a joke somewhere on the tip of my tongue. Something combining "what's the difference between" and "everything but the kitchen sink?" Although I have my moments of awesome hilarity, however, I am terrible, horrible, no-good, and very bad at telling jokes, let alone making one up! (Just ask anyone who has suffered through my wretched puns).

I thought this would be a great follow-up post to "Ink in the Macaroni," though, seeing as being an artist seems to seep its way into every little corner of my life, including the dishes. Please note brayer & glass plate for inking linoleum blocks in the dish rack :) Oh, and that plastic dish with the weird-looking gray matter is not as gross as it seems in this photo--it is actually a bar of soap that is specifically designated for washing my paintbrushes. The gray on it is actually from black paint getting all sudsy. And of course it wouldn't be an artist's sink without the jar of paintbrushes & the big pot of coffee in the background ;)

Ink in the Macaroni

Ooh la la! New stuff in the works! My brain is bumbling--bubbling?!?--er, bursting?--something like that--with ideas & projects. So of course, right in the middle of putting a movie on for Indigo and her friend Hannah (tonight's a sleepover!), cooking dinner, and reading a new book on crafty businesses, I decided to pull out all of my linocut supplies and start up a new project. Great timing, right??? Right, 'cus that's how I roll ;) Now, hopefully I won't get any ink in the macaroni...

Japanese Washi Paper Sale!

I hope you all don't think I'm getting spammy on you, but for those of you washi junkies (you know who you are!) I wanted to let you know about a huge sale I'm having in my supply shop!

Here's the deal:
If you buy 2 or more of any size sheet of washi, then half sheets are $5 each and 1/8 sheets are $2 each. Don't pay at checkout! I'll send you a revised invoice.

And for those of you who couldn't care less about things like washi paper, I'll be back to talking about art in no time ;)

Progression of my newest painting

When I started this painting yesterday, I got the idea to take photos while I worked and post them on my facebook page as I went along. I was a bit nervous at the idea of the added pressure when I first started (what if it came out horribly?!? Would I post my mistakes?!?). After the first couple of pictures and some really awesome comments (THANK YOU!!!), however, I relaxed and had a lot of fun with it. I was so exited, in fact, that when I woke up early this morning I picked up my paints and finished it up!

"Comfort," 2009 by Lea Keohane. All Rights Reserved.

Lately I have been using photographs as references for my paintings. Not to specifically do portraits, but to add some different qualities and more life to my characters. Yesterday I ran across some fantastic old photos from my childhood, and this painting is inspired by a photo of myself and my little brother. I think I may see a series in the works! ;)

Miniature portfolios

Lately, I am letting myself reach the conclusion that craft shows are not the right venue for me. On one hand, I have so much fun interacting with potential buyers & with other crafty people, and it's a great place to do that. But is it worth paying fees, lugging my booth around & sitting around for 13 hours only to be let down by poor sales? Followed by a few days for me to cradle & attempt to regenerate my ego? No. As a fine artist, is is simply the wrong venue and it's high time to admit it.

There are some fairs with a good balance of fine art and craft, like the Buckman Show & Sell, for example, that I will continue doing. But I have decided that now is the time to get out there and do more shows of my own around town. This is Portland, after all, and a business isn't really a business in this town until there is art on the walls! From coffee shops to hair salons to galleries to you name it, there are literally hundreds of venues to choose from.

So, as a step in preparing to approach more venues, I have spent the past couple of days creating these little miniature portfolios. I chose my 5 strongest paintings & had them printed in 2 x 3 format. Then I made little accordion books and attached one photo to each page. The first page has my name and contact information permanently affixed, and the last page has a little slot for my moo card. Now instead of just handing someone my card and hoping they'll remember to look at my website later, they can see some examples while I'm talking to them.

Do you have a miniature portfolio or brochure for your work? Is there something else extra special that you use to promote yourself? I am interested to hear about it! I am also thinking of offering these little guys as a service to other artists. I love making promotional materials! What do you think?