Dracula · Work In Progress

I was able to paint a bit last night after a whirlwind of dog rescue madness. Long story short, these pups still don't have a home and we need to find out what to do with them fast. Trying to get in touch with rescues that may be able to foster them. In the meantime, we've taken them to the vet to get scanned for microchips (no luck) and get basic exams. Fingers crossed that if they are indeed abandoned (which is becoming increasingly likely), we'll be able to find a new loving home for them as soon as possible. That way, I can revert what little free time & energy I have back to painting :)

This Castlevania-inspired Dracula is a work-in-progress. I've been setting aside at least one hour every Wednesday so he'll be complete before Halloween! Here's what we've got so far:

Murphy's Law Mondays

Usually Mondays are Miniature Mondays. However, this Monday is a Murphy's Law Monday. My phone crashed this morning and has to be restored later. I lost a good amount of my work-in-progress Speed Paint Challenge photos for this post-- boo! I'll be posting finished pictures later today, though I do have these photos from 1 hour in:

This weekend we had some furry new friends follow us home from a morning walk. Sunday, my day for painting, was hijacked by these two cute (and destructive) surprise guests:

Since the weather's been so bad and we can't let them inside, we ran to Lowe's to buy a tarp and made a temporary rain fort with bungee cords and ground anchors. Each time I sat down to paint, I'd heard thumping or banging and would have to break up a tug o war with a shoe or digging or rolling in the mud... the list goes on! 

Shoe! Yum! (Notice the abandoned tennis ball sitting right next to the black pup)

Since these two stray buddies didn't have collars, I'm doing everything I can to try & find their owners while keeping them safe & dry in the meantime. Another storm's blowing in today and I hope their fort holds up! Our backyard is now an undeniable mud pit. Yikes! More miniature Speed Paint Challenge pictures to come this evening... 

[updated] a crazy storm blew in and it was all we could do to keep the pups safe & dry. The lil black pup chewed through our internet cables and air conditioning unit. Rough 48 hours. On Tuesday before dawn we're taking them to get scanned for microchips. I'm dipping into my miniature savings money to have them examined so we can find a rescue who will take them. Speaking of miniatures: here are front & back final shots of our Speed Paint Challenge dwarf, inspired in part by our friend's quirky character from our D&D Halloween-themed adventure! He took about 2.5 hours and I had a fun time painting his funky purple beard. I think I'll name him "Murphy".

Dreaming of Desks

Two nights ago I had a dream where I took the time to prepare a proper painting space. I even had a "consultant" come in (cue @MonkeySloth) who told me what pieces of furniture to buy and how to arrange them. (I later told him about it and he sent me a picture of his own active workspace-- I'm not alone in my creative mess!) Yesterday I started to re-evaluate my painting set-up and wondered if I could make it better. 

Lately, I've been gravitating toward a table surrounded by windows since I prefer to paint in natural light. While I often paint at night after work under a lamp, I enjoy painting on the weekends for long periods of time in the middle of the day. I've also accumulated enough mini stuff and loose paints where I've taken over the dining table. Now, it's not much of a table-- it's an unfinished pine 3x4' IKEA desk I bought for $70 four years ago that matches the previous Chair of Shame. Still, I shouldn't make a habit of spending every meal sitting on the floor at the coffee table. 

In another room I have this this cute shelf/desk combo (see below) which was a gift from my MIL-- a four-drawer unit with wings that prop up on either sides and I can park my chair under one side or the other. However, I've found that my immediate painting set-up has outgrown the side panel. I think I need to move it away from the only tiny window in the room and consider some wall shelving. 

Here's a wall in our sparse second bedroom occupied only by an outdoor bench with laundry-yet-to-be-folded, a dress form wearing a Florentine flag, and a framed picture of a young Bob Dylan. It's embarrassing:

Now just think, with the proper lighting, a good portion of this wall could be dedicated to painting & storage. There's only one problem: I can't have my back to the door.

It sounds ridiculous, but I just can't compromise when it comes to having my back to the door. I absolutely can't stand it. It gives me the creeps and I'm always glancing over my shoulder at every little noise. I'm an easily startled person and there's nothing more detrimental to my in-the-zone focus than having the dog suddenly bump into my chair-- I scream bloody murder and my mini goes flying through the air in slow motion. (Trust me, it's happened. Twice.) So really, it's less of a quirky preference and more of a conscious decision to spare the sanity of myself and everyone else on the block. 

That being said, I'll need to get creative and maybe incorporate a little basic Feng Shui. While I'm not going to hang crystals from my ceiling, buy a small waterfall, or park large live plants next to my desk (besides, the cat would just pee in them), I want to find solutions for:

1. Unpainted mini storage 
2. Safe display area for completed minis
3. Organization of supplies (paint, brushes, etc)

This weekend I plan on wandering around my local home improvement store and doing my research on cost-effective ways to improve my current set-up. I'll share my findings with you on Monday!