Mo' Flow Plumbing

Speaking of logos...who thought I would get to design two in one month? Considering I've never done this type of work before, it's funny that I had two logo commissions in a row. (In case you missed it, the other one was for the Support Our Sisters campaign--you can see it HERE). This one is for my little brother's biz, "Mo' Flow Plumbing & Heating." Mo' Flow--how awesome is that name?! I love it :) If you're in the Longmont, CO area and you need a plumber, you should look him up!

p.s. My logos are designed, drawn, and colored by hand!

Illustration Friday--Boundaries

"Boundaries," 2011. 9 x 9" Mixed media on paper. By Lea Keohane, All Rights Reserved.

Obsession

byLea Keohane, 2011. 8" x 8" pencil & watercolor on paper. All Rights Reserved

I've always wanted to participate in Illustration Fridays, but never got around to it. So this is my 1st. The topic this week was "obsession."

Besides the darkness that I see as inherent in the word obsession, I have been wanting to begin exploring some of my darker feelings in my work--at least privately, in my sketchbook--lately. Most of my work is quiet and introspective in a meditative way. It is meant to be thoughtful, uplifting. Looking for the beauty within myself so that I may finally see the beauty without. Hopefully inspiring others to do the same.

But this search for inner beauty would not be necessary if I had not spent so many years of my life suffering from a lack of self confidence, an inability to see my own worth. An acute pain that made me at many times wish I could simply vanish into the shadows so that no one could look at me.

I don't feel that way anymore. Not that I am magically some mountain of self-confidence, but I don't want to disappear. Most of the time I even feel pretty good about myself. I could write volumes on the journey that I've taken to get here, but that is for a later time. For now, "Obsession," a girl in the dark.

Standing Up

I have been struggling with what to say in this post. It is never my intention to offend anyone, but I guess sometimes it just can't be avoided. Especially when you are talking about something you really believe in. As you may know, Planned Parenthood is in danger of losing it's federal funding. I am not talking about abortion here (by the way, did you know that as it now stands there is actually no federal funding for abortions?). I am talking about basic sexual health care--cancer screenings, std testing, and birth control. Thanks to federal funding, Planned Parenthood is able to offer these vital services at a sliding scale to millions of women who are un/underinsured.

I am one of these women. I work for myself. I'm a single mom. I have no health insurance. When something goes wrong, if it can't be fixed by my acupuncturist then I am basically S.O.L. I go to Planned Parenthood for my annual exams and birth control because I can afford to go there. Without Planned Parenthood, I would never see a doctor.

I am extremely thankful for the services, privacy, and respect that Planned Parenthood offers, and I want to do what I can to help. I have signed every petition I can, and I would like to contribute financially as well. You can help me do that. I've listed several of my newest paintings (encaustic collages, actually--new technique for me!) on eBay, and thanks to eBay Giving Works, 10% of each sale will automatically go to the Planned Parenthood Foundation.

Click here to take a look, and thank you so much in advance for you support!

Greeting Cards

It's been such a busy Autumn for me and I have so many things to share with you...but first I want to show you these awesome cards that I made from some of my latest artwork. They make a perfect gift or stocking stuffer, or buy them for yourself. Hey, you'll be sending them off to people you love anyway, right? ;) You can buy them right here for only $15 a set!

What's your story?

One of the most difficult things to do as an artist is write your own story. Art school training--if you have it--may give us the vocabulary to discuss art, but getting to the heart of your own work is something entirely different. Just last night one of my friends and I were joking about this same topic when she threw back her head and laughed, "Well, I kind of painted it so I wouldn't have to talk about it!" I couldn't agree more.

But the fact of the matter is that you are never going to get anywhere without a good story. At the very least, your journey is going to be a lot more difficult. Without a story, you are just another face in a sea of faces. Yes, your images should speak for themselves, but people who buy art usually want more than just a pretty picture, they want to know Who-You-Are and Where-Your-Art-Came-From.

I have been writing and re-writing my own story over the years, without ever feeling satisfied. I had a lot of facts about myself--born in Loveland, CO in 1976, B.A. in Drawing, Painting and Printmaking from Portland State in 2002, single mother, blah blah blah--but I couldn't seem to pinpoint the heart of the matter and put it into words. I read other people's bios on Etsy, on artists' websites, at gallery shows. Many struck me as awkwardly as my own, many others used pretension to plow through. A glowing few struck my heart and actually explained where in their souls their art really came from. Then, finally, a few days ago, my own story came to me:

~~
Lea's mother gave birth to her on the principle's desk, which sent her sailing on a long career of following rules and being an excellent student. Nevertheless, Lea spent her childhood sucking her thumb and twirling her curly hair through her fingers while staring off in the distance into her her far-more-daring-than-reality imagination. Her playmates were frequently imaginary as well--she had so many of these that she was often caught playing tag or hide-and-seek "by herself."

Today, Lea's art work continues to explore the places in her head. These are places where all women hold their own beauty, and each possesses a power so strong it surges through her long electrifying curls. Places where friends come in all sizes and their forms are often surprising. Most importantly, places that are free of rules and ever-changing, where anyone and everyone can find that wild piece of themselves that they have always been seeking.
~~

When this story came to me, it gave me a sense of power that I did not expect. It tells something of my roots and how I came to be where I'm at, but it also gives me a reason, an explanation of who I am and why I do what I do. Something I planned to give to my patrons, so I was incredibly surprised when, as the words flowed onto the page, I found I was really discovering something new of myself.

Art and Life

"Alice," 2010 by Lea Keohane. All Rights Reserved.

Occasionally I feel like being an artist is Too Hard; I feel anxious wondering if what I'm doing is really worthwhile or just selfish; I fear that I'm not good enough to make it. Those are moments I've struggled with all my life, in between bouts of confidence in Who I Am and What I Do. Moments that rear their ugly heads and pop my daydreamy bubbles of All That Could Possibly Be.

I know those moments of self-doubt are perfectly natural (albeit incredibly annoying). They are little tests, poking me with reality checks. Sure, they make me second guess myself at times, but all of that second guessing can either scare you away from your dreams--if you let it--or bring you even closer by helping to focus your energy on what you REALLY want.

It has been 8 years now since I graduated from college, a soon-to-be single mom bullheadedly determined to find her way to being an Artist. I've come a long, long way in 8 years. I recently found an old portfolio that I brought around to shops to try and sell my work and...wow. My work was immature, the photos were bad and the prints of them were even worse. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was determined enough to do it anyway. And you know what? It has paid off. I have been working for myself for over 5 years now, my art has seriously improved and I'm selling more of it all the time, and I am moving steadily closer and closer to being a full-time artist every day.

Lately I've been more focused than ever, feeling like I am on the brink of something important. I'm clearing out my life and making room for all of those daydreamy bubbles to come into existence--self-doubt be damned. I don't know what it all is or what it all means, but I want to share it. I owe a debt to everyone who has helped me on my way, and I would like to pay it forward in my own little way by writing about my experiences as I move into the next phase of my art and my life in the hopes that it will help you with yours.

Buckman Mural--Finished!

Wow, it's been a busy summer! I finished the mural at Buckman Elementary school, have done more portraits and work for my clients, am getting ready to start another new business (more details soon!), and have been running around playing with Indigo while she's out of school. It's been a lot of fun, but Indigo and I are both looking forward to the routine of school starting up again in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I promised pictures of the mural!

Are you interested in a mural of your own? You'll be your kids' hero forever with their room painted in shades of awesome! Or what about something in another part of your house or business? Send me an email for rates and more details! leak@leakarts.com

Work in Progress--Kitchen Mural at Buckman Elementary

Buckman Elementary, where Indigo has been going since Kindergarten (only one year left, omg!!) is a fantastic arts focus school. Art is integrated into every aspect of the curriculum. The kids have tons of great experiences with visual and performing arts.

But to be honest, for an art school there is very little permanent art on interior of the building. So you can imagine how excited I was when the PTA approached me to create a mural spanning a huge wall in the kitchen! The wall is about 10' x 23', and the mural wraps around onto the doors on either side, plus I'll be adding some smatterings on the hood above the oven, a door in the back of the room, and an area of the wall in the hallway. Holy huge project, Batman!

As an arts school, naturally it attracts a lot of parents who not only appreciate the arts but are artists themselves, so I am incredibly honored that someone thought of me to do the work. There is such a grand lack of funding in the public schools, especially for the arts. I don't need to tell you how many schools are losing their art programs altogether. Which makes me feel even luckier that my daughter goes to such a great school, and that, even in times like these, our school sees the value of art and is willing and able to fund new projects.

The kitchen may seem an unlikely place for a giant mural, but it is one of the mose deserving. It is an interior room with no windows, mind-numbing fluorescent lights, and horrible yellowish industrial paint (DREARY). But it's a place where children comes every day to get their nourishment and energy for the rest of the day--it should be a cheerful, energetic place! I hope that by the time I'm done, that's exactly what it will be.

Natural Motivation

Punchbowl Falls at Eagle Creek

Working for myself, and especially working from home, has a lot of incomparable benefits. A flexible schedule. The ability to listen to my favorite new CD or to watch the X-Files on Netflix while I work. Being able to be home for Indigo when she's done with school, or if she is sick and needs to come home. No one looking over my shoulder, no one to be accountable to except for myself and my clients (who are all so super awesome!). This list goes on and on, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to do what I do!

But working for yourself is also filled with loads of challenges. Like self-discipline, panicky slow months, staying on track, not getting too distracted by the X-Files or the laundry, or the fact that your child is home sick. Staying out of the fridge when it's time to take breaks...

I have found in the past year, as I've been working to lose 50 pounds, (30 to go!), that one of the most important things for my sanity is getting outside. Whether it's a walk around the cemetery, a run through the park (who knew I'd love running?!?), or a hike through the city or in one of the hundreds of nature trails in the area, getting outdoors every day saves me.

It may seem counter-intuitive--getting outside helps you with your work? Are we still on the same subject here? The answer is YES. Every day that I can get outside and move around, even for 30 minutes, is a day that I feel motivated. My creativity is sparked, I feel good about myself because I got my exercise in, I am more focused when I have to sit at my desk to work. I am grounded and inspired all at once. There is something about being in nature that is so rejuvenating, and it's a feeling that lasts even when I have to go back indoors. Luckily, living in Portland, I don't have to go very far to feel like I am close to nature.

Rockin' the product photos!

My good friend Ryan recently gave me some advice: "Drive to the store, buy a frame, and take pictures of your prints in the frame so people know what they will look like on the wall." She gives good advice (she does consultations--if you need help with your shop, look her up!), and my Etsy shop has been needing some tlc, so I decided to follow it. (Thank you Ryan!!!)

First, I bought an inexpensive little frame. Then, I decided where I wanted to shoot. I wanted an area that looked welcoming, but not too busy. A bit of color, but not enough to distract from the print. I finally decided on my dining room table. I put out a nice place setting, and a bowl of fruit, then put a small nail in the wall where I wanted my prints to hang. Finally, I set up a couple of clamp-lamps to get the area well-lit.

I have to be honest, there is a part of me that hates that Ryan gives such good advice, because to follow it means WORK. You should have seen me during the photo shoot. I had to turn up the music to get me motivated, and at least every other minute I had to give myself a little talk, "Lea, you are NOT going to stop now and finish tomorrow! Do you really think you're going to keep all of this set up until tomorrow? It will just be in the way! If you take it down you'll just procrastinate putting it all back together again." I give myself pretty good advice, too.

So I stuck to my guns. I pulled every print I have out of its plastic sleeve (I would recommend, if you carry prints, to keep a stock of them on file that are not in plastic sleeves, because it was really annoying to do this), and carefully took turns placing each in the frame, shooting, and replacing it with the next. I should mention that I took some time carefully placing my tripod at the beginning of the shoot so that I wouldn't have to re-position my camera every time.

Viola! It took a good bit of work, but it was worth it. Now all of my prints have a nice setting so that my customers have an idea of what they could look like on their wall. Plus, of course I kept the close-up scans in each listing so they can see the prints in detail.

Now to update all my listings!

Nostalgia in Denver

Going to Colorado, where I grew up, is always filled with such strange feelings for me. I would say going "back home," but it just doesn't feel like home anymore. I had a perfectly good childhood, but for some reason I don't feel connected to the place I grew up in a way that so many other people seem to. Still, I get to drive (or be driven) from one city to the next to visit my family, and hopefully catch up with some old friends from high school (and even middle school!), and that is always good.

Eleven days is a long time to be away from home, and away from work, especially when you work for yourself, so I've been trying to find ways to weave part of my vacation into my work. I'm taking lots of pictures, re-visiting places I used to go (the ones that are still there!), journalling and sketching inspiration for new paintings (a new series??). When I have some down time to myself, I'm brainstorming blog ideas and going online to check out venues to apply to show my work.

All in all, it's a lot less work than I would have done had I been home this whole time, but it IS a vacation, right? ;)

20th Annual Buckman Art Show & Sell

Portlanders! Come & see me & my work along with the work of over 100 other local artists plus hundreds of kids' art at the 20th Annual Buckman Show & Sell this weekend! I'll have my newest mixed media work on wood for sale, along with prints & cards. And this year Indigo will have an original painting, 2 cards, and 2 bookmarks for sale along with her peers in the entranceway of the school.

This is truly one of the best art events in Portland--every year I am impressed by the quality of work being shown and honored to be a part of it. And the best part is that 30% of every sale goes to Buckman Elementary--a fantastic Arts magnet school that strives to integrate art into nearly every aspect of the curriculum. I can't wait to see you there!

Morning Ritual Re-visited

"Flyaway," 2010, by Lea Keohane. All Rights Reserved.

There are certain times of day when the Muse is strongest. For every person it is different. For me, I learned a long time ago that early in the morning and late in the evening are the most creative. Then one of my teachers in college said to me, "Schedule a time every day to create, and your creativity will just start showing up." It took me a long time to get a regular practice, but I have found that for the most part she was right.

As a single mom who runs her own business, plus picks up a lot of odd jobs cleaning and helping out other artists and artisans, my days are incredibly irregular. Finding blocks of studio time on a daily basis is next to impossible, so I fit them in whenever I can. But I do have one block of time every single day--the early morning.

About 2 years ago I started this ritual: I set my alarm for at least an hour before my daughter wakes up for school. Dreary-eyed and fighting against every ounce of myself that wants to stay in bed, I pull myself up and put some coffee on (I am an addict, I admit). I flip through my iPod to find some music that fits my mood (TIRED), and pull out my sketchbook. I used to just draw anything that popped into my head, but recently I started something new.

At the end of every morning session, before I go wake Indigo up, I put a watercolor wash on the NEXT page in my sketchbook. The next morning, I pull out the watercolor from the day before, and stare into it to see what I can see. Whatever image appears is the one I draw. Once I have divined the image, I spend several more mornings on the piece until it is finished. I also use this morning time to play with different mediums and mix them together in new (for me) ways.

What about you? Do you have a daily ritual that helps support, maintain, or inspire your creativity?

Original paintings on eBay!!!

Fearlessness and focus. Two things I'm working on in all aspects of my life. This is not a New Year's resolution (I don't believe in those--I think they set you up for failure), but a long-term resolve. Something I've been working on for a long time now. Qualities that I know exist within me, but that I sometimes have a hard time digging out and utilizing. I have inspiration and support, and lots more to talk about on this subject, but for now I want to keep it about my business as an artist.

What does this have to do with selling paintings on eBay? A lot. For a long time, all of my adult life, I can safely say, I have been struggling to make my art my central focus. And no wonder. I had my daughter at 24 years old, while I was still finishing school, left her dad 3 years later, and worked one crappy job after the next for what seemed like ever trying to make ends meet. I was trapped in that void of single-mom-working-raising baby-no-time-for-myself-land. Finally I was able to work for myself, but the ends-meeting part was, and is, still a bit of a mystery to me.

So is the focus. I feel as though I am constantly pulled between 2 equally strong yet opposing forces: making money and making art. In between those two forces are many other competing realities--for example, having control over my own time so that I CAN make art and so that I can spend quality time with my daughter vs. working a "real" job, making (theoretically) better money and (theoretically) getting benefits but having to depend on daycare to raise my daughter and having no energy left for my art. I choose to continue working for myself, but I am constantly fighting the urge to accept every single opportunity at the cost of focusing on my art. When I fall into that trap, I am driven by fear. Namely, fear that I won't be able to pay the rent.

At the same time, somewhere inside I KNOW that making money and making art don't have to be opposing forces! So one of my primary goals for 2010 is to work harder than ever before on merging the two. Next time I'll tell you some of the steps I've already taken in that direction, and I'll keep you updated for the year. Think of this post as a little introduction :) In the meantime, help support my work and score yourself an awesome deal by bidding on my one of a kind, original paintings on eBay. A great big fearless step for little me, putting them there!

Hip Happening this Saturday--get those last minute Mother's Day gifts!

Come visit me this Saturday at my booth at Hip Happening in Sellwood! I have never tried this venue before, so I am very exited to check it out. It will be a great opportunity to check out lots of local art and pick out something last minute for your Mama (she'll never know, and even if she did, she'll be glad you waited for such awesome stuff!).

See you there!

New Magnets Listed!

I'll be getting the rest up today, but as of this posting I have 6 of my new magnets listed! Just click on the photo above to link to them all.

Also, can you believe it's April already? What happened?!? Today is April 2, my friend Josh's birthday. Happy Birthday Josh! He & his wife live all the way in Australia, so I won't be able to celebrate with them, but I'm sending all of my good wishes anyway.

It's funny how inspiring it can be to have a goal...when it is attainable. I am working really hard on giving myself goals that are big enough to be real accomplishments, but small enough to actually achieve. I have a problem of setting huge goals, making crazy-long to-do lists, and ultimately scaring or frustrating myself straight out of achieving anything.

With that in mind, I haven't been posting my goals at the beginning of the month lately, but this month I have a big one for my art shop--get up to 100 listings! For a long time, I have been lingering between 70 and 80 listings, and it's just not good enough. My long term goal is much higher (400-500 listings), but I think 100 is a good start. That means I have 21 to go for the month (more if you buy stuff! I wouldn't mind that at all :) ). It will get me off of my butt and list some things that are finished but unlisted, and inspire me to make more art to reach the goal.

With that said, it's time to list some more magnets and make some more art!

Contest Winner is....Healingstones!

Wow! Thanks everyone for entering my contest! It was fun (and funny) to read all of your guesses, and a couple of you gave me some new ideas, too :) But nope, not SupplyRiot stuff, these will be going in my LeaKArts shop instead. I bought these awesome glass pieces from The Crafty Dragonfly, and made some large magnets out of my artwork. Each one is 1.5" across and about 1/4" thick, with a flat, very strong neodymium magnet on the back.

Four of you guessed "magnets," so I held a very dramatic drawing involving little slips of paper and my hat, and the winner is....Celia from Healingstones! Yay! Below are all of the choices, Celia, so just let me know which one is your favorite, and it will soon be heading across the ocean and a couple of continents to meet you :)
Finally, I was hoping to have a couple of these listed before the drawing ended, but I am having a bit of technical difficulty with the photos. I'll post again when I have them listed; meanwhile, if you want to purchase one just let me know and I will send you an invoice ($7 + shipping).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I don't really celebrate St. Patrick's Day much, even though I'm 1/4 Irish. Guess I don't like beer enough :) I did go see KMRIA over the weekend, which was awesome, and about as much of a St. Patty's celebration as you'll get out of me. Nevertheless, I though it would be fun to comb through my Etsy shops and see what kind of green I have listed. Click on any of the photos below for a closer look!

Saturday Crafty-ness!

What to do on a cold, rainy March Saturday? Why, make your own dry-erase boards, of course! Heehee, I'm a dork, I know, but a couple of days ago Indigo and I bought a 2-lb container of strawberries. May sound like a lot, but in this house strawberries don't have a chance and we finished them off last night. I was about to throw the container--one of those clear plastic clamshell thingies--into the recycling when I remembered that I really need a dry erase board. That, and it's Saturday, and we've already been to the movie theater today (we saw Bedtime Stories), and it's raining and cruddy out, and we needed a project to finish off our afternoon.

Here are the basic steps:
Cut out a rectangle (or any other shape!) from the clamshell. It has to be smooth and flat, or the dry-erase markers won't erase.

Cut out a piece of white poster board (or matt board) the same size as your clear plastic.

Using a stapler, staple the plastic and the poster board together on all four edges. It doesn't have to be perfect--your frame will cover it up.

Take 4 wide popsicle sticks or strips of wood and measure how long you want them to be around your board. If you're using popsicle sticks, you can probably cut them to size with scissors.

Paint the popsicle sticks! We used acrylic paints, but you could use tempera or watercolor, or even decopage them.

It is really stinky, but I used E6000 to glue the popsicle sticks to the plastic side of the boards. It sticks to plastic better than hot glue.

I also used E6000 to glue a couple of magnets to the back of the boards, so they will stick to the fridge or the inside of a locker. Pretty cool, huh?

I have heard that you can also use this kind of plastic to make your own shrinky dinks, which will probably be my next project when we have another container to recycle. It makes me feel a lot better to be able to use this kind of stuff and not just throw it away. Even in a recycling container, where I am not sure whether it will actually be recycled or not. Now, to go pick up those aliens...