13th Annual Mosaic for Mental Health art exhibition & sale

I almost forgot about this wonderful fundraiser. back when I was selling at Alderney landing I came across a booth that was selling some of the past years tiles and I talked to them about the tiles and said that I would be more than happy to paint a tile for such a good cause. Then 2 months later, I'm like -oh crap, the deadline is approaching!

So I gathered the papers and the tile and started working. I have a great sketch done for it, now it just needs to be painted. The theme is courage, and I plan on calling mine, "making new friends". It does take courage to meet new people and to make new friends. I should know, I still have a hard time approaching people and making new connections, but I'm getting better at it! I'm not as shy as I used to be, which is great, especially since I'm trying to get my work out there.

So anyways, the deadline is September 21st, and the gallery will be open at the Craig Gallery at Alderney Landing from October 13th to October 30th. I can't wait! Tiles will be for sale for $25, and it's going towards a great cause! And there will be a ton of other artists paintings tiles too!

Here's a picture of what I have so far!

Sky Maiden

As promised a post about the new acrylic paintings that I have worked on from the past few weeks.

Here is a process picture of Sky Maiden. Though about a quarter of the way I stopped taking pictures. I just forgot about it and was just too into it to keep snapping pictures of different steps.

She's the biggest painting I have done yet, 16"x20" ans she's looking for a home. Let me know if she'd be a perfect fit in yours. :) Details here: detail 1 detail 2

Busy Little Bee

I wish I could keep this blog up to date more often.

I have quite the plate full right now of work that needs to be done in the next few months.

Now that the Art vs Craft fair is over, (and I must say it went really well for my first time organizing one!) I have more time working on my own work again.

Right now my main focus is to work on my dear cousin's wedding invitations. She wants them done by Christmas, that way when she comes home for the holidays, her and her mom can put them all together and what-not. I'm super excited to do this for her, as I always wanted to design wedding stuff. :)

I'm also planning on selling my paintings and illustrations at a few craft fairs in November and December. Plus I have a table at Hal-Con. Which I need to work on a few more fantasy paintings and sci-fi stuff, plus some fan art.

And then I want to start planning my next craft fair. I'm hoping to have the next one in March. I have to call around and see if I can get a space for then. I learned so much from the first, that I hope my second will go 1000 times better.

Then I have a few odds and ends to finish and work on. A graduation present for my sister, flyers for a friend, and to design a few things for myself.

Keep an eye out for the new blog post, which will be soon, as I will be posting pictures of my newest paintings.

Oh, and if you're interested, you can check out the photos from the craft fair here: Facebook page pictures.  We were filled to the brim with so many talented artists and crafters and everything in between! I loved it. :)

Art vs Craft

It's tomorrow!

Getting super pumped about it! I have everything done for it yesterday. Which means I won't be going balls out tonight trying to get stuff done.

I have 4 new paintings done just for this event. 3 are 8x10" canvases and one is my biggest painting yet! It's 16x20"!

I will also be selling my fruit buttons, bookmarks, and prints of all of my digital work.

I also have greeting cards for sale which have photographs printed on them that I have taken in the past.

Besides me, there will be 40 other artists from around the area who are setting up shop! Want to take a peek of who will be there? Check out the twitter feed for it. I have been tweeting about everyone and have links to their webpages, blogs and facebook pages. http://twitter.com/#!/artcrafthalifax

Be sure to come out! It's at the Halifax Forum in the Maritime Hall from 11-6pm. One day only!

Cheers!

Events!

April M Designs will be selling at a few different events this year!

First up, Boardwalk Artists at Alderney Landing at the Dartmouth waterfront. It's on July 1st! I plan on creating new illustrations with a nautical theme! Being on the waterfront and all. :) Since it is in a month's time and super short notice, I'm going to be crazy busy! Because I have nothing done for it! And I just heard that my manager is going on a mini vacay next week. Which means I work full hours every day next week. Which is great, but holy poop, I'm not going to have a lot of time to do my own work.

Next, Art vs Craft Halifax! That's the art and craft fair I am having on August 20th! Not only do I have to create new things for myself for then, but I also have to organize the whole thing! So far I have got a lot of great response! Lots of people want to sell their work, and a lot of people support me! :) But I still have quite a few tables left that need to be filled. So let all of your friends know about it!

Next up is Hal-Con! The Sci-fi/fantasy convention! Which is November 12-13th at the World Trade centre! I have big big big ideas for it this year! Which I need to work on too! O_o So much stuff to do. I had a table last year, and it went pretty well, so I hope this year it will go even better! And maybe I'll dress up too in a costume. Which would be another thing to work on. lol.

Then! I miiiight have a table at Have Yourself  a Gothic Little Christmas. Which is December 3-4th. I met the lady who organizes it the other day, and she is like the sweetest little thing ever! Plus she is also organizing another craft fair around the same time. So she said I would have a table at that for sure! And since I don't really have anything gothic or steampunk or anything like that, I need to work on illustrating something that will fit those themes! But, once she plans the other event, I'll post a link up here.

I also have my work being sold at the cutest little shop in Dartmouth at the Harbourview Marketplace. Their shop is called Toxic Blossom, and they sell a lot of wonderful things! From locals, to all over the world! If you;re into cute, loltia, Japanese street fashion, that is the place for you! Plus they just relocated to a bigger area, and they now have a dressing room! Exciting!

And if you don't live anywhere near Nova Scotia, you can actually purchase my work online! Though, right now my online store is being overhauled, so you'll have to wait for a little while before you can! But it will be back up soon! :)

And I think that is everything! Please check out all of the links. Tons of great event and shops to check out!