We are homeless... and we had a baby!

     WOW! Where to start.  It has been a while since I blogged. So much has happened in the last few months.  First off, we had our baby! She is the cutest, sweetest little thing, and we love her.  Her name is Indigo, but we call her Indie or Go-Go most of the time. Having her around is super awesome, and super hard at the same time, especially when it comes to getting art projects done. I love not being pregnant anymore... let me tell you, I forgot how nice it is to not be pregnant! Indie is finally sleeping through the night and I feel like a new woman.

     Secondly, we are homeless. Okay, don't panic! We aren't sleeping in cardboard box in an alley.   We sold our place, and pretty much everything we own and moved to Minnesota. I was 7.5 months pregnant and I definitely cried when we said goodbye to all of our stuff (*sigh* stupid hormones). We loaded up everything else into our little SUV and moved.  We planned on only staying with my parents for a week or so, but it turns out we are actually kind of helpful around the house, so my parents asked us to stay.  Even though it was hard saying good bye to my super cute coffee table and my little home, I am enjoying the freedom of not having very much stuff, and I love saving money by not having to pay rent.  We are saving up for a house, and hopefully will have enough to start building a cute little house in January. Who knows what life will bring though! I definitely wasn't expecting things to work out the way they have.

   I am working on a couple of art projects, and prepping for Meta-Con (which Nathaniel and I will be attending).  Here is the line work for the Phoenix painting that I am working on. I am so excited to get painting this thing! I felt it was fitting to paint something that symbolizes rebirth since we are starting fresh in a new state with a new baby.

Life is good people! Enjoy it.

Mandie LaRue

The Gold Fish

Here is a little fish painting I did yesterday. Just a little for fun piece. I think I might do a triptych of fish in this style. We will see what I have time for.

Remember to paint for fun :)

So, ever since comic con I have had a little bit of artist block. I have been having such a hard time coming up with ideas, or even wanting to paint or draw anything.  I have never had really bad artist block before and it made me kind of sad.  I kept thinking to myself, Have I lost my spark? Do I actually enjoy doing art? Do I actually want to be an illustrator?. I was worried.  Part of the problem may have been due to the fact that I am pregnant, and was really tired all the time during the first trimester. But, as I thought about it I realized that being pregnant wasn't the problem.

The problem was that I had put so much pressure on myself to create something epic every time I painted or sketched, that I was scared to start anything. I would sit there and stare at my half finished painting scared to touch it because I might ruin it.  I would stare at a blank sheet of paper and be too scared to draw on it because I didn't have any amazing ideas.  The last few months have been extremely unproductive because of this.

As I talked about the problem with my husband, and thought about it myself I realized that the pieces that I have done just spur of the moment, for fun, and without a ton of planning have always been my big sellers and the ones that people have loved.  

For example the grumpy fish- I painted this in about 2 hours and it was a blast.

Another example is the mermaid- I painted her over a couple days in between the work I was doing for clients. She is one of my biggest sellers and one of my personal favorites to this day. 

So in effort for me to rediscover my spark, and for all my fellow artists out there to remember why they started painting and why they love it, I declare today paint for fun day! Paint whatever weird thing pops into your head. Paint for you and not for a client today, paint something that you love and don't worry about it being epic, paint for fun! 

Airen Firehair

I realize that I haven't posted any of my new paintings in forever. So here you go.  This is one of my newest paintings. I am pretty excited about it! It was a favorite at comic con. I sold quite a few prints of it. It is based on the book "The Hero and the Crown"  by Robin Mckinnley.  I grew up on Robin Mckinnley books, there are really wonderful :) If you haven't read any I would definitely suggest them.

During this painting I was really working on creating interest in the story behind the painting without being too obvious. I was also working on getting more contrast.  If you are interested in Prints you can buy them at my Etsy shop.

The piece was done with water color on arches paper.

SLC Comic Con!

Wow! It has been a long time since I updated this thing.  I really need to be better about blogging. Anyways, I just got back form SLC comic con! It was stinking awesome. I cannot believe how many people were there! There was 80,000 people there on Saturday alone.  It got so crowded that the fire marshals wouldn't let anyone in for a while.

It was a great first con for Nathaniel and I.  We did really well! Having a booth was super super exhausting, but it was so worth it! I met a lot of potential clients, and I got some great portfolio reviews while I was there.  Steve Argyle and Beth Trott (both super awesome people) took 20+ minutes to personally talk to me about my portfolio and what I need to work on.  Not only did I leave with a little extra cash, but I also left feeling inspired, and with a sense of direction.

I learned a ton while I was there, and next time I will definitely do a few things differently.

• First off, I will bring more merchandise! I ran out of most of my little things with in the first day and a half. So, if you are a first time artist alley exhibitor, make sure you bring enough merchandise, especially the little cheap things that sell really fast. 
• Secondly, I would make sure to wear comfortable footwear.  Holy Moses my feet hurt by the end of that con! Standing, and walking so much really puts a strain on your feet.
• Thirdly, wear comfortable clothes. I wore a dress the first day, and it was super frustrating.  My skirt kept getting tangled or snagged on things, and setting up was difficult. Just stick to your favorite pair of jeans and a cute/artsy shirt if you can help it. Wearing an outfit you don't have to constantly adjust is also a good idea.  Ladies, you know what I mean. It is the worst when your tank top keeps riding up or your shirt keeps bunching up weirdly.  Feeling cute and comfortable is really important.  When you feel good it is easier to help others feel at ease around you and helps you feel confident.
• Also, next time I will bring a little medical kit/ aspirin.  I had the worst head ache during one of the days, and it was not fun sitting there for so long while I felt sick. There was also lots of papercuts/splinters/ little things that it would have been great to have a bandaid for. 
• Next time, I will also do my best to stay organized. I tried to be organized, but by the end of the show my stuff was everywhere. I am thinking about making some sort of rolling filing system for next time... I will keep you updated on that...

Overall, it was an awesome convention! It was great for me as an aspiring illustrator. Good luck to all of you fellow illustrators that are getting ready for cons. I will try to post more about our display and what worked/what didn't soon. If you have any questions for me, don't hesitate to ask. 

Until next time,

Mandie LaRue

Here is the finished painting.  Watercolor on Arches.

Hope

Here is what I have been working on lately.  I get really down sometimes during the winter.  I think it is all of the cold and being cooped up all the time.  So I decided to paint something green and hopeful. Here is what I created.