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Ask Selma. Go Ahead.The hardest lesson is to love what you already have.
Page to the left is from my sketchbook: Kathy Crabbe, Ask Selma, 2013, ink & gouache on paper, 5 x 7”. Shop here.
Ask Selma via Kathy here (scroll down).
Yup, that's right...I draw...people, faces, figures, cartoons to keep me company, & lots of em! You can check them out here:
Lefties
Aliens
Goddesses
Fairies
Mermaids
Cartoons (new)
**To purchase prints or originals please click here for my Etsy Shop.
Kathy Crabbe, Queeniel, 2013, ink on paper, 5 x 7”.
My intention this month (at the New Moon) was to connect with a community of creatives for encouragement and networking, but I wasn't too specific about what kind of creatives, although the person I really hoped to connect with was Vanessa Davis, a cartoonist I just discovered who is very much a part of the vibrant cartoon community that exists in the United States. I've been super inspired by her interviews, podcasts, videos and artwork which can be found on her website: http://www.spanielrage.com/contact/
But the realllly interesting thing is that I sketched a cartooney face that looked very much like Vanessa just two days before I discovered her online. I was visiting Los Angeles for the weekend and purchased a small sketch book and some Asian brush pens whilst in Little Tokyo and was really inspired to start sketching right away especially after visiting the Japanese American Museum for the Giant Robot Biennale 3 show where I especially loved the cartoon-ey art of Saelee Oh. I was also inspired by the artists and toys I found at Q Pop Shop. I wrote this about the whole experience:
Looking back on this trip I feel as though it freed me up...to be me, to just dream and not worry about it...but also to think about everything differently and to realize and respect all I do know and all I've learned along the way during my 47 years on Planet Earth.
The drawing that looks a bit like Vanessa is posted above and I do believe it helped me find her and then befriend her on Facebook where we just started a conversation today - woot! Gotta love the internet at times like this.
**To purchase prints and original drawings by me please click here for my Etsy Shop.
Kathy Crabbe, Kathy says..., 2013, ink on paper, 5 x 7”.
I attribute my recent work, in part, to the awesome art materials I picked up in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles at Kinokuniya Bookstore. I'm using a Boku-Undo Co. 11mm fountain pen and Kuretake (Bimoji) brush pens in sizes 0.5-1.5mm and 0.3-1.0mm in a 5x7 inch New Soho series sketchpad (for watercolour). Pens are like clothes for me and new pens make me feel extra creative.
I was also inspired by the work of cartoonist, Vanessa Davis and especially liked this comment from her mom as told in an interview with Vanessa: "Don’t second guess yourself. Leave that to everyone else."
Oh ya, the other really interesting thing is that the first drawing I did in my new sketchbook (while in Little Tokyo) was a woman's face that looked remarkably like Vanessa Davis, third eye and all! I may post it later after I connect with Vanessa and see what she thinks.
Spartacus by Kathy Crabbe. Magic Powers: Computer genius Flies-by-night Musician
Today is the New Moon (in 21 degrees Capricorn) so if you're an astrology buff you might want to check to see where that lands in your natal birth chart and if you don't have a chart I offer several Astrology Reports here on my site. For an interesting and informative astro-read I recommend the blog of Emily Trinkaus, a Portland area astrologer who I've had the pleasure of meeting and hearing speak.
I created a deck of oracle cards called the Lefty Oracle cards and if you want to 'pull one' for the New Moon please be my guest! I pulled the one below which relates to the recent transits I've been undergoing: Uranus Opposition and Uranus conjunct my Ascendant. Uranus relates to Kundalini energy which relates to the snake.
Kathy Crabbe, Sue got real cozy with her inner serpent, 2012, mixed media on paper, 8.5 x 11”.
**To purchase the drawings above as originals or prints please check out my Etsy Store or email me.
Tips for Wannabe Girl-Hero Artists (inspired by the movie Beasts of the Southern Wild)
As a culture we are so done with watching evil and gore and violence in movies...we are ready for love and truth and courage and history.
Draw what means something.
Pick your themes and then write and draw daily.
What do you remember (about your life) that was important?
Blog for fun (and commercially). Paint seriously.
When you believe, others will too.
Stuff I learned from a podcast with artist, Lisa Congdon: Don't just release everything you do, save it up for a show, a book, a bigger project. It may look as though you're doing nothing (online) but that's okay.
Favorite Quotes from Beasts of the Southern Wild which was just nominated for Best Picture, Actress, Director and adapted Screenplay for the 2013 Oscars - WOW!:
When you're small you gotta fix what you can.
It didn't look like a prison, it looked more like a fish tank with no water.
When an animal gets sick...here they plug it into the wall.
The brave men stay and watch it happen, they don't run.
I want to be cohesive.
Once there was a Hushpuppy and she lived with her daddy in the bathtub.
**To purchase the drawing above please click here for my Etsy Shop.
Email : kathy@kathycrabbe.com
© 2024 Kathy Crabbe