Good News & Bad News…

…but I’ll let you decide what you think is good and bad.

The move to the new house…is yet again delayed. If this keeps up, it might just not happen at all. I’m not going to complain, as I’m still on the job hunt…but a part of me is still relatively tired of living out of my suitcase; and I feel horrible because it seems like I’m continuously breaking my promise to my cat about her having a domain to claim as her own. A part of me feels that it would be beneficial to her weight health.

However, I might…just maybe…possibly landed myself a job. I submitted my application, immediately requested to see the manager about an interview…and despite having all of their positions filled, he wanted to talk to me the following day. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! I managed to positively express my experience, reflect my knowledge on the day to day work situations, and though he expressed that he couldn’t give me a lot of hours right away, he did feel the need to have someone with two defining qualities that is hard to find in one person; detail orientation and creativity. And here I thought I wasn’t good at multitasking. HA! I proved myself wrong!

Now, raise your hand if you remember that lovely painting commission that kept this blog oh so busy while I fretted and squirmed and squealed over for about a month or so! Guess what?! I’VE GOT LAYOUT PICTURES!

Before my handy work with a paintbrush…








Aaaaaaaaaaaand after my handy work with a paintbrush…along with more detailing work on the owner’s end.







Commence grinning and squealing like I’ve lost my mind again! Doesn’t it look awesome?! I’m so excited! AND I HELPED! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

A Day Late and a Dollar Short.

Framed prints of pretty scenery sell. Painted windows have shown interest and promises of buying next show around…but I’m not holding my breath.



And so I hope to be focusing more on my ink projects in the near future while I look for a means of steady employment and fattening up my cat. I swear, she’s too skinny for her own good.



Why I’m late in updating by a day? I only just got my main computer connected to the internet at my parents’ house…and spent that time updating my shop. I’ve got it nicely organized now in three different categories. Drawings pertaining to mythical and legendary creatures…something that I’ll be putting more time into as I get closer to saving up the money for my candle business. Then there’s just the random character drawings…which may or may not be updated at all…depending on what inspires me; which hasn’t been much as of lately. Then there’s the ink drawings, which show cases the pretty scenery pieces I’ve been working on, which will be updated whenever I’ve got a new piece finished.



Plus I’m not sure when I’ll be updating here again. Yes, I’m living with my parents now, but without a job, internet is not a luxury I’ll be able to afford once I’m able to move out of their house. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me coming over and using my laptop to check up on a few things, but…sadly, CafePress doesn’t seem to like my laptop, as they refuse to let me view my sales summaries on it. Don’t know why, and I’m sure I’ll never understand it, but I’m not going to stress over it. It is what it is, and I’m simply tired of arguing over anything these days. My dad and sister are finding me overly agreeable as of lately, which I’m not entirely sure if that worries them or not. Meh.



But I’m at least closer to my family now…most of my immediately family, that is. Dad’s been taking me to various places to walk, like Harpers Ferry, and when I was living with my sister, I became her guinea pig for so many seafood related recipes; it made her oh so giddy as her husband isn’t a fan of fish. I can honestly say I’ve tried and like swordfish steak and learned that I don’t like cilantro. I’ve also confirmed with myself that I’m not a fan of handling raw meats…and so will more than likely find myself eating fish and chicken from the can more often than fresh when I’m living on my own; and if I ever find myself cooking from scratch, it will be something that’s more or less involving a vegetarian style meal. Though really…with my lack of knowledge when it comes to cooking and what to use for cooking…oils and spices and butters and such…I more than likely won’t be cooking from scratch that often. It’ll be back to the pasta/rice + canned soups and veggies and meats + Mrs. Dash shakers again! Weee! That’s what I call making Tuna Helper from scratch! For that, I just need a big pot and lots of storage dishes, and then a pan to cook up my grilled cheese and tuna/chicken salad melts on! I’ll be good to go there, since my dad has stated that my house warming gift from him will be stacks of frozen American cheese he can’t eat! Just means I’m not cooking for my family anytime soon, especially with their dietary needs and allergies that seem to be piling up a lot as of lately.



Now all this talk of food has me hungry…now, I saw some cheese, and I saw some bread down there yesterday. Dad talked about tuna…tuna melt sounds really good right about now…hmm…so does chips and dip still…commence licking of chops.

Show your support!
http://www.cafepress.com/CerynitisD
http://www.cafepress.com/CeryntisDReichardt

Ballpoint Pens and Ink Brushes

As I’ve mentioned before, ballpoint pens don’t get enough credit as an artistic tool. And while I was playing around with some colored pens I had on an armor design I thought would be fun for a character of mine, as seen below…I came to a dilemma when it came to skin tones. There are no browns and yellows in my pen set, so…I became very limited in what I could do in comparison to what I used to do before with those big fat click pens that had 11 different colors in them. You know the ones…they were a must have to any junior high and high school student back in the early 90’s! They came with two greens, two blues, a pink, purple, yellow, orange, brown, red, black…no individual set can compare to those; especially since my current set is missing the light green, yellow, and brown colors. And I sigh…



So I had to figure out how to fix this problem, to which I look at an ink brush pen set I bought myself a year or so ago…and smile. Well…there aren’t any flat RED reds in there…all these pink and purple shades of red, but that was ok! As you can see above, she really isn’t wearing anything red anyways! But the brush pens seem to work out quite nicely with the ballpoint pens…yes indeed they do! This little test excited me…a lot! And with this in mind, I thought…HEY! Why don’t I work on some other media pieces along with the window paintings? I’ve got two more of those completed at the moment, but am currently unable to get such lovely photographs of them onto my computer at the moment. Maybe next Sunday, eh?



So here we go! I started out with just a flat black and white ink drawing, and then later added the color to it! What do you guys think? Looks nice, right? And I’ve got plans to do more for the shows! Hey hey hey! Look at me go! Making pretty scenery pictures of places around towns and such to make the non-student RPers/anime buffs possibly interested in my talents! WEEEEE!



Should I be considering myself a sell-out? Mm…not really. I learned early in my illustration training that I was really good at replicating from photographs. And it’s probably something I should have allowed myself to pursue further into instead of being the stubborn selfish bitch that I am in wanting to continue drawing up and writing stories about characters that pop in and out of my head…only to burn myself out while learning about the art of comic books and learning that if I’m working on something I’m not overly thrilled about myself, then I’ll wind up not wanting to draw, paint, or do anything remotely artistic-ly creative for a long period of time.

And don’t think that I’m not passionate about what I’m doing now. I’m actually enjoying being able to paint again, especially on something as wishy-washy as glass…it’s challenging my knowledge of light and colors. Which is good because I need to remember how to make such challenges work for me when I start candle carving again. Dipping a candle in red wax and then yellow wax does not make the candle orange! And with finding a way of putting the ballpoint pens and ink brushes to good collaborative use, I can promote something that isn’t seen very often…or…at least I haven’t seen it very often, and I saw a lot of art coming through the shop I used to work at to be shipped. Some were ink drawings, yes…but if it was colored, it was normally through watercolors! So there!

Yeah…so…yeah. Heh. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT! Please!

http://www.cafepress.com/CerynitisD
http://shops.cafepress.com/CeryntisDReichardt

Because She’s Gone Batty…

ISN’T HE JUST THE CUTEST LITTLE OLD CRANKY BATTLE SCARRED DRAGON YOU’VE EVER SEEN?!




And because a friend of mine REALLY wanted to hug him to death, I made him available as a Throw Pillow at my shop here below! Throw pillows and other items are not available in my original shop…but you can find them at this new one that I’m still tweaking. EEEEEEEEEE!

http://www.cafepress.com/CerynitisD

And I never thought that I would see the day where I would hear from my sister and brother-in-law would tell me how his coffee mug at work braking would lead to a memorial service and flowers would show up at a shrine made for said coffee mug the next day. Who would have thought that their co-workers were so awesomely weird?!

One Down, Nineteen to Go.

Only one person who reads this blog might possibly recognize the scene in this window painting. Two or three years back, my friends took me up to a cabin in the mountains north of Atlanta, GA for a gaming weekend. Though I can’t say I’m as fond of the rule/dice/feats/skills/and so on based Role Playing games as much as I used to be anymore, but the view, the serene feeling of being out there in the middle of nowhere without traffic and sirens and everyday life bothering me is a bliss I dream of returning to.




And so, with a photo I had saved on my computer from that first year the gaming weekend retreat was started, I painted this scene upon the window. My aunt and uncle are buying it from me, as it didn’t sell at the craft show I set up a booth for.

Yes, I’m doing shows again, not comic book conventions like I used to, as that’s something I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford again, nor am I wanting to go back into that industry so much. I’m still in the process of moving…my stuffed stored at my parents’ place while I live with my sister as I apply for jobs and figure out where the hell to settle down. At least the venues I’m going into have thus been free of charge, which means for the first time ever I made even at my first show at Mercersburg’s First Friday this month. That’s right, I didn’t sell a thing! But hey, I got a ton of compliments! Let’s give me two thumbs up and a forced grin while I try to think positively of this venture!

I think I need to change my game plan. I still have the same goal, starting my own candle carving business. What do I need? $7,000.00 to buy the equipment. I might haggle this price, asking to exclude certain items in the package deal as I’ll see if I can’t convert this company’s way of carving candles to what I’m more familiar with. I originally hoped to earn this money via a steady job, but considering that stupid me can’t bring myself to lie on an application questionnaire because I’d like to think that companies would want to hire an HONEST employee instead of one that they only become disappointed with when they don’t live up how they answered a question…I don’t see myself getting hired by the neighboring art supply stores anytime soon. Let’s not look at how much experience I’m bringing with me to the job! PLEASE! I have a feeling I’ll be making subs at the local Subway…and I was so hoping to stay out of the food business after working the overnight shift at the gas station so many years ago.

So…with that said, I’ll again have to rework the plan to reach my goal using a different source. My parents saved me 20 windows they had replaced in their house for me to paint on. So I’ve been going around taking as many pictures as possible of what I thought would be interesting to see through a window; like looking through a window into another world…only sometimes it might just be a scene of my own backyard. I received compliments on the painting above, and with the idea of having more options up for sale, there’s the hope that they will sell better than my character prints and old comic books.

My personal goal is to phase out (as in sell all back stock) my comic books and character prints to in part help pay for the candle supplies. In doing so, I want to push the window paintings and some of my personal art (ink and pastel drawings, paintings, mixed media and random stuff I’m ready to let go of and empty out my portfolios) to help make up the difference. Once I can start making my candles, the window paintings will be phased out so I can focus more on what I have planned for the candles. However, I do plan on upgrading and keeping my CafrePress shop for those people who still like the character art, and will be updated on a random basis depending on commissions and personal inspiration. In fact, some design plans I have for the candles will more than likely be included in the CafePress shop once my experiments prove to be as successful as I hope them to be.

I am confident that my candles will sell well and even better than my artwork. The business I used to work for had done well under its original management for roughly 20 years, more so than that if I remember correctly. It’s all a matter of keeping your new customers happy by getting the product done in time so that they will become regular customers and their word of mouth will bring in more new customers; and I am positive that I can manage that once I get my supplies.

A part of me wants to try and boost my sales at the shows by holding a fund raiser raffle. Promote my plans to start my business, and with each purchase made the customer would write their name, address, and number down to be picked once I’ve reached my $7,000.00 goal. Makes sense, right? I’ve got candles available to show as demos, and the raffle prize would be a free candle. I believe a good incentive is not a small candle of my choosing, but the largest size candle of the molds that will become available to me, colored and carved to a design of their choice. So, if they wanted a double bow design in a green and yellow color scheme, that’s what they’d get for their prize.

Sounds simple enough, but of course everything is easier said than done. Time will tell if anything ever works the way I hope it will, though past experiences have always proven me wrong.

To say the least, I’m keeping myself busy and attempting to stay positive. I am still a firm believer that this year will be a good year for everyone, as we’re only half way through it. Of all the bad and hectic things that have happened thus far, it can only mean that the last half of it will wind up better than anyone dared to imagine. New jobs will be found, businesses will be started, homes will be made and settled, and the bonds between friends and family will be strengthened. All will be right with the world.

Wondering what shows I’m looking to participate in? Here we’ve got:
Mercersburg’s First Fridays (PA) http://firstfriday.mercersburg.org/
Mercersburg’s Town Fest (PA) http://mercersburgtownfest.com/
Ellicott City’s Second Sundays (MD) http://ellicottcity.net/gallery/second_sunday_market/ (looking into as we speak)
Possible Quarter Auction (MD)…not entirely sure on this one as of yet.