DebCompany

2011-09-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Facebook has added new changes, and as usual I am confused and dazed. It really doesn't take much for this to happen to me. It's miraculous that I can even keep up with anything online anymore. As soon as I learn how to USE a site or some software, it gets changed/updated/upgraded and I am in the dark once more.

Yes, I have taken some computer classes over the years, but you would never believe it if you could see and hear me (yelling) when I am trying to sort something out online. I got so frustrated by all of this that a few years ago I made some simple to follow videos with step by step instructions for other artists to follow while they learn a new format.

Needless to say, the sites and applications that I made these videos for have changed and now my videos only make people MORE confused. Guess I will just stick to making and posting artwork.

This is a self-portrait of me while learning new things on the computer.

2011-09-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

Thought I should pop this video in here about my continuing online art classes. Would love to have you as a student!

2011-09-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

It has been over a year since my last blog post. I have been so uninspired! I am still creating and the above image is from my Mermaid Art Journal, but my artwork doesn't seem all that inspired to me. It seems cliche at best.

I went thru some of my old images that I had saved on CDs and threw away piles of them because I didn't like the artwork anymore. And I didn't want anyone else to see it, either. Perhaps I am being overly critical of myself, but that's my prerogative. I know when my work is good and when it's original and not looking like so much other work that I see.

The good news is that I am continuing to create something. Even if I am not excited about it, I am creating. Boredom is okay, I have decided.

If I REALLY wanted to do something new, I would get going on those dolls that I have been talking about for years. I've bought books and magazines and even have supplies to make them, but I'm not making them.

Moving into that third dimension seems almost like stepping thru the Looking Glass. What if I never return? Maybe I shouldn't return?

Making decisions seems to be getting increasingly difficult for me lately. Is that the right color? I don't think there is enough contrast? What about the composition....is it overly simple?

Obviously, this is some PHASE that I am going through. Like all of the other phases of my life, it seems to be taking too long for me to come out of it, but even if I do emerge....that will mean I am in another phase, right?

Like so many other people, I have been yapping incessantly about Enjoying the Journey. That's also really cliche. I must be enjoying the cliched?

Girlie Girl

2010-08-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

This image is in my new Girlie Girl art journal. She is made using acrylics, pencil, and oil pastels.

Girlie Girl Art Journal

2010-08-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

This is my first entry for the new Girlie Girl Art Journal that I have started. So far this is all pen and ink with some acrylic medium and mica powders. I'm thinking about adding some charcoal.

Girlie Girl 6

2010-08-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

This is an acrylic and pen & ink piece done on 6 x 6" masonite board.

Girlie Girl 5

2010-08-02T16:59:00.001-07:00

This is an oil painting on a 6 x 6" hardboard panel.

Girlie Girl 4

2010-07-19T13:03:00.001-07:00

Girlie Girl Giveaway 4

2010-07-18T05:46:00.000-07:00

Enter a comment on this video and be a subscriber to my You Tube Channel, Debcoart, and you will be eligible to win this painting.

Video link...click here!

Girlie Girl 3

2010-07-12T19:51:00.001-07:00

Girlie Girl 2

2010-07-04T12:24:00.000-07:00

This is the second painting available as a giveaway on You Tube. See how to enter the giveaway by clicking here.

Oil portrait

2010-05-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

Banner for MMW

2010-01-01T22:35:00.001-08:00

Mixed Media Workshops Badge

2009-11-19T10:43:00.001-08:00

Visit Mixed Media Workshops

Waiting

2009-10-17T16:51:00.001-07:00

6 x 6" oil study on panel

Pear 3

2009-09-26T19:07:00.001-07:00

Another of the 6 x 6" oils........

Purple Landscape

2009-09-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

6 x 6" oil on panel

Pear 4

2009-09-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

This is a 22 x 24" acrylic painting on canvas.

Girl

2009-09-06T08:14:00.001-07:00

Another of the 6 x 6" oil paintings on panel. This will be posted in eBay for auction tonite!

Sunset

2009-09-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

Another of the 6 x 6" oil studies on panel.

Calla Lily

2009-08-27T15:07:00.001-07:00

Another of my 6 x 6" oil paintings on panel. Photo is a bit blurry online, but you get the gist!

2009-08-25T16:49:00.001-07:00

Mixed Media Workshops Logo

2009-08-24T19:14:00.001-07:00

Magic Painting Shirt

2009-08-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

Most recent commissioned shirt. Interesting how the colors here are not at all as vibrant as the real thing!

Rabbit

2009-08-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

Rabbit is one of the daily paintings that I did several weeks ago. This is a 6 x 6" oil on panel with a rough surface. Sand was added to one of the coats of gesso on the panel.

Apple

2009-08-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Another of my daily oil paintings from the challenge we are having in our Ning group. It's going very well and I just completed my 7th week of the challenge!

pitcher

2009-07-20T12:21:00.001-07:00

Oil on panel.

Cow

2009-07-05T20:37:00.001-07:00

Another of the daily paintings from my challenge. I've now completed 3 weeks of these miniature oil paintings in the 6 x 6" format on gessoed panels. Some of these little beauties have really come out well and I am enjoying my painting process a great deal!

Glass of water

2009-07-03T03:23:00.001-07:00

This is one of my Daily Paintings from the challenge that I have been working on for almost 3 weeks.

Oil painting

2009-06-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

This was a painting that I did a couple years ago in a class that I took. I used Alkyd oil paints on this one. I am currently working on a Daily Painting project using oils to improve my painting skills. It all looks so easy, but doing Alla Prima work requires much more knowledge than I currently possess. Or experience, or both.

Magic Painting Shirts 5

2009-06-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

A video of my latest shirts.

Magic Painting Jacket

2009-05-24T16:32:00.001-07:00

Flamingo

2009-05-05T16:06:00.001-07:00

Mixed media collage/painting on hardboard. 24 x 24" Commission. Sold.

Caribbean

2009-04-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

Have you Googled yourself yet?

2009-04-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

Unless you have a last name like mine (Company) you can obtain some useful information on how far out into the world you are reaching by simply Googling your name or user ID. I have checked on this periodically over the years that I have been online so as to keep tabs on my progress or lack of.

On Etsy, YouTube and eBay I have always used debcoart as my ID. eBay still seems to come up with the highest rankings in the search when I use that ID search criteria. I'm still hanging around 5,000-6,000 'hits' even though I closed my eBay store. So I'm not making a lot of progress with my online presence.

It's handy to be able to abbreviate your last name, but with a word like company...millions and billions of items come up when I Google search Deb Company and Deborah Company. It would be absolutely fabulous to have MY personal name come up millions of times...all pointing in the direction of my websites and stores, but it looks like it's going to take some time to get to that point yet. LOL!

We all need to continue dreaming BIG! Projecting confidence, when inside we don't really feel it. Pretending is a valuable skill. Pretending, daydreaming, imagining, envisioning are all a necessary part of our lives as artists.

Each of us creates our own universe in which to exist. Sounds deep, doesn't it? It's like being a little kid again and playing. It's only when we take life too seriously that we become something other than ourselves. Artists and art lovers are very special people. Thank you for being here.

Vino

2009-04-12T04:27:00.001-07:00

Mimi

2009-04-04T14:37:00.001-07:00

Beezer

2009-03-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

Doom & Gloom

2009-03-27T19:42:00.001-07:00

Many of us get into the Doom and Gloom of it all....the economy, poor art sales, woe is me. I do have those experiences myself, still, although I snap out of it rather quickly anymore. It's more than just the power of positive thinking, or the law of attraction, or good karma....it's about SURVIVAL.

We will never make it in this world and have an enjoyable time of it if we don't take responsibility for our own thoughts and for creating the kind of existence we want for ourselves. You really can't do a lot as far as controlling other people, or their existences, only your universe. Which isn't very bloody little after all.

I've had people tell me that they 'can't control their thoughts' and it all just keeps happening like a gigantic slide show. Fire your projectionist! Tell that fellow to bugger off and take charge. Forget the anti-depressants and mood enhancers, alcohol, recreational drugs, caffeine, nicotine, and pain killers.

Life has ups and downs and that is the simplicity of it. Trying to feel blissful and joyous ALL the time doesn't seem like a realistic goal to me. But for heaven's sake, don't wallow in self pity or become a permanent resident in the Slough of Despond.

Have a positive experience occur in your life? Blog about it.

Have a happy accident which lead to a new artistic breakthrough for you? Blog about it.

Had a horrible morning/day which you then turned around into a good one? Share these things with the world.

Help yourself and others to look on the bright side of life (whenever I say that, I think of Monty Python and the Holy Grail LOL) Each of us CAN make a difference in the world simply by creating some positiveness and happiness and spreading it around.

The Adam Lambert Tsunami

2009-03-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

After last night's American Idol performance of Ring of Fire, this fellow has become the hotly contested topic of discussion for today.

To say that this guy will become super mega in the entertainment business is redundant and unnecessary. He was in my Top Four favs when the voting first began this season and now he's light years ahead of the others, but that is only my opinion. The Country Western folks are today trying to untwist the knots in their drawers. At least Randy Travis had the grace to smile and applaud after Adam's performance last night, while his wife looked like she had gone into the final stages of child birth.

Blogs and discussions are piling up on the internet about this new phenomenon. And everyone has an opinion...a strong opinion.

Pop Art

2009-02-28T14:31:00.000-08:00

Magic Painting Jacket

2009-02-25T10:53:00.000-08:00

Third Eye painting

2009-02-17T13:18:00.001-08:00

Valentines Day

2009-02-07T11:01:00.001-08:00

The truth of the matter is that this painting has nothing to do with Valentine's Day. But since I recently finished it and it has a heart on it and V Day is fast approaching.......

I made a video of this painting. Wherein the story of the symbolisms is explained. Click on this link to see that video.

Valentines and hearts

2009-01-23T17:42:00.000-08:00

I thought I had already downloaded this painting in my blog, but tonite I am unable to locate it. This is a small acrylic painting on Gessoboard. 8 x 10"

New Magic Painting Shirts

2009-01-15T12:14:00.000-08:00

This link will take you to my newest video about the Magic Painting Shirts, which is my latest obesession. The shirts, that is.

I have developed a new style for them which involves hours and hours of work. I am selling them in my Etsy store at the moment. Also taking custom orders.

Soon I will have a large 4' x 6' painting completed in this Urban Graffiti style. I'm having a lot of fun with this new craze of mine.

Playoff season

2009-01-04T10:36:00.001-08:00

After not watching football for over 10 years, since my best friend died, I have once again gotten involved in FOOTBALL. My sister did this to me when she was here visiting 3 months ago. She was standing in front of me one night going beserk and got so excited about a football game that she nearly knocked my front teeth out on her forehead.

She and I were raised in a household where sports was the main activity. My Dad and brothers watched every sport known to man. They also played many sports, so we were all raised in that type of environment. Dad would have his 3 tv sets and his radio playing different games simultaneously on any given Sunday.

My best friend and I used to watch sports together and have a whee of a time until she died. I didn't have the heart anymore to watch sports after that. Soloing thru games is not nearly as much fun, but I am finally beginning to adjust after my long hiatus.

Yes, in the summers I am glued to the tv while watching Le Tour de France, but that is different. That was a sport that my Dad and brothers never got involved with, but one that was near and dear to my heart after living in Boulder, Colorado for 17 years and watching the sport develop there for the US.

And this is the best time of the year for football....playoff season. Yeah, baby! I don't have a favorite team. I'm just enjoying watching many different ones. And enjoying the fighting the guys get into on the various tv stations over who is doing what to whom. I like to see the guys get passionate about this thing that they love so much.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-17T03:32:00.000-08:00

Obviously I haven't been blogging much lately. What are you supposed to do when you run out of things to say?

Well, that's not really the case here....it's more a case of something GOOD to say. That is what is in such short supply for me. When did I become so hypercritical?

Anyhow, enjoy your holidays!!!

Redo of Florida painting

2008-10-11T12:24:00.001-07:00

A new technique

2008-09-30T07:05:00.001-07:00

I had originally started this one back in 2003. It was one of my Oil Pastel pieces, but I wasn't happy with it so I put it in my collage bag to use pieces of it on something else. It was in there for a couple years until one day I used a hot glue gun to outline the color blocks of it.

Then it took on more of a batik look and I thought it had possibilites, but still wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. My sister was visiting me recently and pulled it out to admire it and oohed and aahed over it. This gave me a fresh viewpoint of it so then it was very easy to add the acrylic colors to it to finally finish it off.

I'm not planning to sell this one because it has been more of an experimental art piece. Nor do I know if I will make more of these in the future. I thought I might try using some beeswax to make outlines on a piece of paper, then put color over it and iron off the beeswax to see what that looks like. I still enjoy doing experimental techniques a great deal.

I need a bailout!

2008-09-28T12:24:00.001-07:00

Here is the video that I made asking for a bailout:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLVUj1g_d64

Mermaid 12

2008-08-31T02:15:00.000-07:00

Mermaid

2008-08-11T23:05:00.000-07:00

Mermaid 10

2008-08-02T12:05:00.001-07:00

This little 11 x 14" mermaid is on canvas panel painted in acrylics. I had so much fun painting this gal because it has been a while since I did a mermaid in this style. I had done a series of these last year and I got the call today from my muse "Create another mermaid". So I did.

Another old Florida painting

2008-07-31T00:57:00.000-07:00

A recovered ACEO

2008-07-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

I had mailed this ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals) off to Somerset Studios almost a year ago along with ACEOs from another 7 artists from my collection. I JUST got them all back last week along with a nice little rejection letter from Jenny Doh that this material is not fitting in with their current subject matter. Or something to that effect.

When I did my mailing last year, I sent in two different sheets of ACEOs for their consideration. Somehow the batches got separated and sent to different divisions at Somerset Studios. The other batch was also rejected and had been returned to me within 3 months. I wasn't expecting to ever see the rest of my submission and had thought my original artworks were lost forever.

Although I was disappointed that the ACEO subject matter had been refused by Somerset Studios, I must admit that I was pleased to get my art collection items back! It was only a cost of $100-150 for those other artists' works, but I bought them because I loved them so much.

Now they are safe and sound again. So if you plan to submit anything to Somerset Studios, be prepared for a loooong wait. They must have a humongous backlog of submitted artwork to look at by now! Everything was in perfect condition when it was returned, so they obviously value our work. Nice!

Doodles 124

2008-07-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

This is an ACEO (Art Cards Editions & Originals) in the 2.5 x 3.5" standard size format. It is done in pen & ink, pastel and colored pencil.

Florida 59

2008-07-15T16:19:00.001-07:00

This painting was completed and videoed last weekend, however today I made some changes to it and photographed it. One of my YouTube friends said this: "You captured the feel of a tropical night with the warm gulf winds!"

I was thrilled to hear this because when I was making this painting I was trying to capture the view as it would be from a balcony with this palm tree just a little removed from the balcony. You are almost looking down on the palm tree because of the height of the balcony. So when he made that comment above, I knew I had depicted the image in my mind. YAY!

Viacom vs Google

2008-07-10T11:26:00.001-07:00

The big news on YouTube at the moment is the Viacom and Google debacle. We all knew this was coming at some point and several geekazoids predicted it over a year ago, but Viacom sued Google for copyright infringement on the YT site.

$1 BILLION dollars. And Viacom won. What is interesting is that this is a similar situation to what Napster went thru years ago with people's copyrighted music downloads being free and all that. Napster said they couldn't be held responsible for what people did and the courts disagreed. So why Google thought they could pull a fast one and do the same thing, I don't know.

The $1 Billion is chump change for them, so that isn't even a biggie. They should be policing their website more frequently and ensuring that people aren't copying other peoples' videos and music and stuff. The bitch is that very often those types of videos will get Featured on YT's front page! And they get millions of views. Maybe now they will act more responsibly towards peoples' copy rights.

The bad news is that because of this and the court ruling, YT now has to turn over the private information of all of the YT users. This has people up in arms since it's a complete violation of our privacy. People are boycotting Viacom's tv channels and such and raising a huge ruckus on YT.

But from my viewpoint, we have long ago given up our privacy rights when online. It's very simple apparently, for people to capture your info and hack your computer and do whatever they want to do with that information. A friend of mine was at his computer the other day and noticed that the cursor on his computer was moving when he didn't even have his hand on the mouse. And it clicked on something! So he emptied out his computer and had to redownload all of his programs and stuff again.

I think this happened to him once before, if I remember correctly. And supposedly I had a trojan in my computer in the past, too. there is always going to be a risk involved in these activities and you just can't escape it. I have a router and other gizmos hooked up to shut down my computer should anyone try to enter, but nothing is foolproof.

Heck, eBay had a huge scandal last year and videos were showing up on YT proving that hackers had busted their system.

Besides, I just don't get too worked up over these political situations anymore. I'm too tired to care most of the time! LOL

Tour de Chaos

2008-07-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

This year's Tour de France is very unpredictable but that makes it interesting. I had been wondering why last year's 1st place (Contador) winner and 3rd place (Leipheimer) racers were not in this year's Tour. So I visited the VS/OLN website today to read the bulletins and posts from the viewing public.

I am never disappointed in the viewing public because we all have so much to say. When Discovery pulled their sponsorship on their racing team, the riders and manager went in various directions. The manager did end up taking on another team, Astana, and he got Contador and Leipheimer to join the team.

Astana had a couple racers last year that got publicly busted for drug abuse, so that team was not invited to participate in this year's Tour. Sadly, this kept 2 of the top guys out of this year's race. Leipheimer is racing in a Bend, Oregon, race currently. Okay, it's not fair...but the cycling officials are trying to change the doping trend which has blighted this sport for many years. Team owners and managers are being held responsible and accountable.

Will this stop the doping/drugging? Nope. As in any sport, athletes will continue to use performance enhancing substances so long as they can get away with it. Cycling is the only one that seems to air its dirty laundry openly. If drug testing were used in the main sporting events here in the US, we would have major scandals. So they don't do it.

Back to the Tour. The live in-car coverage during the individual time trial created a huge stir when the team manager used the F-word on the air live. It was hilarious. VS will be fined for this surely and there is some doubt that they will try the live in-car cam again.

Phil Trautwig has disappeared from being a commentator, and I miss him. Some other people do and some don't. It can't be an easy job to be live on the air and trying to keep up with the action and never make mistakes.

The guys that post on the VS website bulletin board are a wealth of information for the most part. I usually rely upon a few of the guys there to keep me informed on what is happening in the cycling world. I don't miss the days of Armstrong and I like the fact that we now have an opportunity for other people to win the race. The lead this year has changed hands several times already and that makes it fun and exciting.

I don't have any favorites.

Sharky & Chicks

2008-07-09T12:47:00.001-07:00

This is the artwork that Texasgirly1979 won in Pet Video Contest #11.

LOOK WHAT I GOT !!!!

2008-06-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

Arte y Pico Award

As hard as it gets being an artist, and for as many times as I've thought about quitting, something always keeps me coming back.

It could be an idea that just has to be expressed, or something beautiful that must be shared, or the thought that my keeping on helps keep (and start) others on. To inspire others is part of what an artist gives back to the world.

The bloggers at Arte y Pico (this is a Spanish language blog, so if you don't read Spanish, get your Internet translators ready) created the Arte y Pico Award to honor artists who create, design, and inspire regardless of language or culture. It's an international award for a global community of artist-bloggers, acknowledging that what we create helps make the world a finer place.

I have the honor of giving this award to five of my peers, and was myself awarded by Heather of Bad! Kitty Art Studio. Thank you!

Here are the rules for the Arte y Pico Award:

1) Award five blogs that contribute to the blogging community through creativity, design, and interesting material, regardless of language.

2) Name each of the five blog authors and provide a link to his or her blog.

3) Award recipients must show the Arte y Pico Award image and the name of the award-giving blog author, as well as the award-giving blog author's blog link.

4) Award recipients must provide a link to the Arte y Pico blog.

5) Award recipients must show these rules.

Here are my five choices for the Arte y Pico Award!

Michelle Wiebe
Michelle is a constant inspiration to me. She's crazy-talented and raises a family of three kids with her husband on top of making gorgeous art!

Deb Company
Deb is one of the most generous artists out there, with expressive artwork that celebrates freedom and creativity. Check out her YouTube videos!

Gail Schmidt
Gail creates beautiful pieces through collage and altered art. Her work is dreamy and romantic, warm and soft like a sweet summer day.

Jessica Torrant
Jessica is another talented painter and design queen! I love the liveliness and quirkiness of her art. Watching her paint through video is an added treat!

Baiko & JW
I feel such peace when I see Baiko and JW's ethereal photographs of their sublime ikebana (Japanese art of flower arrangement) sculptures. Go and see for yourself.

New Florida painting

2008-06-09T16:31:00.001-07:00

Finding old images

2008-06-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

Since switching over to the Mac several months ago, I have been digging thru old paintings and photos and looking at them again. This is one.

Carrie Underwood

2008-05-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

I had never seen Carrie perform until very recently because I'm not a huge Country music fan. But when she smoked out on the American Idol stage with that Last Name tune a couple weeks ago, I was completely hooked.

That song could have been my Theme song back in the 70's...lol. But I'm not going to go into any more details than that. Some stories are best left in the past...and we had some fun back then, let me tell you! I rarely knew anyone's last name.

Today, it is an entirely different story. I don't always know my first name, let alone my last name. And it's not because I drink or do drugs...anymore. Did I burn up too many brain cells? Or is it simply being an artist space cadet that has caused this interesting and sometimes annoying phenomena?

Last week I made a video on YouTube and was so pleased to mention this other artist and how she had explained her use of crackle in her artwork. And I named the wrong artist. Sigh.

It's a good thing to not take life too seriously when you get at this stage, because you could make yourself miserable quite easily. I'm safe if I have things in writing and always carry a list of To Do items with me.

Today I am finally wrapping up the artwork and video for the Winner of Pet Video Contest #10. I almost had the artwork completed 2 days ago, but doing the videoing and editing really adds a lot of time to the process. People really enjoy the time lapse videos a lot, though. I watch dozens of the artist videos a week and always learn new things from them. It's wonderful that people are so willing to share!!

It's time for a new blog!!!

2008-05-28T15:50:00.000-07:00

I've been using my Blogger account for almost 3 years now and I have never been able to make changes to it the way that I want. So I set up a new account to see if this will help me???