Blooming Cacti

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I've had a few cacti blooming lately - my Rhipsalis pilocarpa, Schlumbergera truncata, and one of my two Gymnocalycium friedrichii.  Here are some images of the beauty!  Unfortunately I don't have a good photo of the Gymno because its bloom was infested with aphids - in spraying it with neem oil, the aphids have died but the bloom is also not doing so hot.   I'll get a photo to share at some point, though!

 Interesting things to note about the below two plants: the R. pilocarpa flowers apparently have little scent but what there is smells like a musty basement; the S. truncata is a very difficult plant for me to grow and this is the first time I've gotten one to flower; the S. truncata was purchased on sale without flowers and I did not know it had two different bloom colors.

Carl Safina’s Beyond Words Is on My Reading List

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I've recently placed an interlibrary loan request for Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Dr. Carl Safina based on both the Jezebel interview and the New York Times review; I've always felt that while there may well be alien life in outer space, there's certainly alien life here.

Golden OPEN Acrylics

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I am not a fan of using normal acrylic paint in a fine art context.  Obviously other artists use them well, but I find they dry way too fast and permanently for my liking and additives like retardant and unlocking sprays don't do enough to mitigate that.  I've always loved watercolor paints, and also am quite fond of oils, so I used to think I just wouldn't work with acrylics and that'd be that.  

Then I started doing short-term artist residencies.

While some of my residencies had subject matter perfectly suited to watercolor, others had subjects that seemed to call for a more heavy-bodied paint... but the timeline of the residencies meant that oil paints wouldn't dry prior to transportation.  I happened to have been gifted a full boxed Modern Colors set of Golden OPEN Acrylics at the 2010 College Art Association (CAA) Conference from a very nice representative, and so while on residency in 2014 when faced with one of these subjects that wanted a more substantial paint, I tried the OPEN Acrylics out.  It was a revelation.  These acrylics feel like what I always wanted the medium to be: they dry much more slowly than normal acrylics but much faster than oils, and yet still have the ease of normal acrylics, too - they can be thinned and cleaned up with water.

My previous dislike of acrylics was so strong that it took a while for this new world order to sink in, but there's really no denying it now - OPEN Acrylics are one of my favorite mediums.   

This is not a sponsored post.

The Saga of My Most Recently Commissioned Amphiuma Painting

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Recently, I was hired to do another commissioned painting of an amphiuma - an aquatic salamander with vestigial legs that looks like an otherworldly sea serpent or eel.  My patron saw my first commissioned amphiuma painting done for Dr. John Pojman (it hangs in his office above his amphiuma Chrissy's aquarium) and wanted an original piece for herself.

The new amphiuma commission.

The previously commissioned portrait of John's amphiuma Chrissy.

Unfortunately, after mailing the new piece off to my customer and tracking it through delivery, there was radio silence.  I worried that she didn't like the piece but also considered that she may have just been waiting to open it on a specific date (an upcoming birthday, for instance) so I made a mental note to send her an email in a week or two to check in.  Before I could, she emailed me, and it transpired that the package was, in fact, not delivered (or possibly, not delivered properly and stolen off communal property).

Queue multiple weeks of back-and-forth with UPS, but finally the insurance paid out such that I had been paid to make the commission and my client received a refund on never having received the commission, so we were both made mostly whole again.  Even though it's possible it's now lurking in a box in a UPS subbasement or was pawned for the value of the frame, I like to imagine the painting is hanging in a place of pride over a drug lord's couch somewhere.  Since I do have the digital image, though, I can at least run off reproductions, so it's not completely lost to the world.

Received a Merit Award at the ANA 21st Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition

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The Artists of Northwest Arkansas's 21st Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibition recently let me know that my painting Balancing Act won a Merit Award!  In addition to the honor and prestige, winning awards helps offset the expense of applications and shipping costs so they are much appreciated on multiple fronts.

Octopodes

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I learned about the existence of the word "octopodes" yesterday and had to go on a research spree.  Here is what I've gathered: octopuses, octopi, and octopodes are all acceptable pluralizations of octopus.

  • Octopuses is the English pluralization.
  • Octopi stems from a popular misconception that octopus was originally a Latin word - it's actually Greek - and used to be considered grammatically incorrect but has since been used enough to become a viable option.
  • Octopodes comes from the original ancient Greek pluralization.

I have also just learned that despite the accuracy of the above statements, my spell check firmly denies the existence of both octopi and octopodes (and, in fact, pluralizations).  Nevertheless, I'm going to be testing out octopodes as my preferred pluralization for a while.  It has a nice sound. 

Halloween Makeup: Double Features

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A video demonstrating how to do a "double vision" makeup went viral a few weeks ago, and I agreed that it'd be a good look for Halloween!  Here's my version:

This took about an hour and a half to do, but I could've used another fifteen minutes to touch it up - I had to go to work* though, so this was the finished product!  The only items I had to buy for this project were the false lashes and lash glue; for the rest of the makeup I just made do with what I already had even if it wasn't absolutely ideal.

*I'm publishing this post on Halloween proper, but I actually dressed up yesterday (Friday, October 30th) to celebrate Halloween with my fellow professors and students at USM.

Employment Options in the Arts

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I have a number of students ask me what careers they can pursue in the arts.  This list is by no means exhaustive and includes some careers best served by dual majors, but here are some of the possible employers/roles in no particular order:

  • technical/medical illustration with the military, medical publishing, engineering firms
  • commercial illustration
  • graphic design/web design/user interface design
  • game development
  • animation
  • 3D animation
  • running CAD systems
  • film
  • concept artist
  • product design
  • advertising/marketing
  • printmaking studios
  • photography studios
  • ceramics studios
  • jewelry studios
  • metalsmithing
  • furniture restoration/design
  • textile studios
  • personal studio practice
  • portrait artist
  • caricature artist
  • art festival circuit
  • Etsy/Amazon Handmade/online vendor
  • tattoo parlors
  • sign companies
  • galleries/museums
  • art theory/writing
  • scene design
  • interior design
  • faux-finishing/mural work in collaboration with interior designers
  • staging store window displays
  • cake decorator
  • special effects/makeup artist
  • art teaching positions at K-12 private schools (public typically requires additional certification beyond a BA in art)
  • community arts center/camp/craft instructors
  • teaching adults at those "Painting and Pinot" type night/weekend classes
  • private art lessons

With graduate school, additional options open up like art therapy, higher education, and more.

Discouraging News on the Conservation Front

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The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Zoological Society of London (ZSL) just released a new report detailing a 49% decline "in the size of marine populations between 1970 and 2012."

This follows their 2014 report which states in part that over the past 40 years:

Populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish have declined by an average of 52%.  Freshwater species populations have suffered a 76% decline, an average loss almost double that of land and marine species."

Autumnal Porch Guest Lorraine the Spotted Orbweaver

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Meet Lorraine! 

Lorraine is an adult female Neoscona crucifera spider who has made a number of webs on my front porch this fall.  I had noticed her presence a few times in the evenings as she hunted around the outside of my living room window, but we really made each other's acquaintance when she tested out a new web location a few days ago strung up between a potted plant and my front storm door; after I damaged it going out of my door in the morning and then again a second time coming back in later that evening, she took stock of her options and has since restrung her web off my porch railing and my hanging sweet potato vine.  I'm interested to see if I'll be able to spot Lorraine's egg sac if/when she lays it since I'm looking forward to trying to witness her offspring hatch next spring.

New Business Cards!

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I just redesigned my business cards and ordered a new set from Moo.  Since Moo allows printing of multiple back designs with a fixed front, I printed two different options.  I was concerned that the one with the Balancing Act snails detail might be too much, as it can look it when you see both sides at once, but in person it works quite well.  I'm liking both types enough that I may continue to order the mix... until I decide to redesign the card all over again, of course!

Eastern Comma Butterfly

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I've been walking around more than usual lately due to the beautiful fall weather, and I happened across this gorgeous Polygonia comma basking on some dead grass on the edge of my neighbor's lawn.  Leavenworth is in the western part of their habitat, which covers most of central to eastern United States.  Its coloration seems very seasonally appropriate.

Polygonia comma Eastern Comma Butterfly

Aspire Magazine Coverage on Summer Achievements

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The University of Saint Mary not only issued a press release a little over a month ago on my summer exhibitions and awards, but also just published an article about it in the Fall 2015 issue of Aspire Magazine.

My Artwork and Reproductions for Sale at Rusty Elegants

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A new hybrid store has opened up in downtown Leavenworth, KS - it's a composite vintage-inspired clothing retailer and antiques shop that also has a section devoted to gallery space and home decor.  The clothing part is called Lavender Moon, and the rest of the business is run under the name Rusty Elegants.  They will be selling my artwork and reproductions of my artwork (currently greeting cards and postcards but likely prints and other reproductions), so if you happen to be in Leavenworth you should stop by!  

The address is 700 Cherokee Street, Leavenworth, KS 66048.  Store hours are as follows:

Mon-Thurs: 9:30 am-6:00 pm
Fri: 9:30 am-8:00 pm (Sangria and snacks are provided on Friday evenings)
Sat: 6:00 am - 8:00 pm (during Farmer's Market season, otherwise 9:30 am-8:00 pm)
Sun: 12:00 pm-4:00 pm

Shelby Prindaville greeting cards

Upcoming: Stone House Gallery Annual Area Artist Exhibit

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Another exhibition is coming up!  I have a couple pieces (Confident Lamb and Ring of Lambs) in the Fredonia Arts Council's Annual Area Artist Exhibit at Stone House Gallery.

Exhibit: October 1st - October 27th, 10:00am - 2:00pm M-F
Special Opening: Saturday, October 3rd
Location: Stone House Gallery, 320 N 7th St, Fredonia, KS 66736
Contact Number for Appointments: (620) 378-2052

KNCK Radio 1390 AM / 94.9 FM Interview

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I just recently completed a radio interview about my career thus far with host Loren Swenson on KNCK Radio 1390 AM / 94.9 FM for the CHS Alumni Moment series.  (I attended Concordia High School from 2000-2004.)

I can't directly link to the piece, but if you're interested, visit KNCK Radio's website and then in the black header in the upper center of the page there's a button titled Alumni Moment.  If you click on that, you can find my interview!