the deevine miss m

the deevine miss m

check out my entries in the Artists Wanted competition!

I Have A Dream....

This will be short and sweet - getting ready to go with friends to "do something." but I've been wanting to post this. This is my GOAL. This is what I look forward to when I wonder what I'm gonna do with the rest of my life. Cause I'm surely not gonna just sit around and wait to get old. So, by June of 2013 I will be 70 and my car will be paid for. AND I'm determined to be able to make a living from my art, so... MY DREAM! (So y'all better start buying some of the wonderful artwork I do!)

Help An Animal Find a Forever Home...

My sweet Sadie went to sleep forever on 11/11/11 and since she was a rescue dog, I've decided to honor her by supporting Safe Animal Shelter. I got her when she was a year and a half, and she left me when she was 15. I still look to see if she's awake when I get up in the morning. She brought unconditional love and many blessings into my life.

So my deal is I pick a dog each week, do a digital painting and showcase it on my blog, my website and Facebook. 10% of all my art sales will be donated to the shelter - and while that's not much right now, hopefully it will increase.

The first dog I picked was Harlequin. I love his mask and he's a very sweet dog.

My second dog is Zena. I picked her after reading about the difficulty in placing black dogs. Her pictures show a dog with a lot of spirit and energy!

Whoever adopts one of these dogs will get an 8x10 portrait to take home with them. Please think about adopting before going to a pet store. There are so many dogs put to sleep each year for no reason except no one wants them. How sad to have to be euthanizied because no one wants you! And remember - "euthanized" is just a gentler way of saying "killed."

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." C.S. Lewis

Sunday was yet another new beginning for me. With pencil and paper in front of me I began trying to get a grip. For quite a while I’ve felt completely lost in every area of my life, so I thought maybe a picture really could be worth a thousand words! The plan was supposed to be related to my art business. But as you’ll see, it took a different direction
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My dog, Sadie, has had a serious cough for the past year, due to a collapsing trachea, and all we could do was try to make her comfortable. I adopted her in 1997 when she was a little over a year old and she has been such a wonderful companion.

About the same time, I began seeing the doctor for constant pain and fatigue. I thought the pain was due to arthritis and the cause of the fatigue. Add clinical depression, a blood platelet disorder, heart problems, an abdominal aortic aneurysm - and all I could think was - “What the hell?”  It was like I went to sleep one nigh only to wake up in someone else’s body. And it was a wreck!

During all this I was trying to continue my art and figure out how to make money with it. I knew this shell I’m living in couldn’t hold down a real job. Then an amazing thing happened – I met the Word Chef. And let me tell you, she’s my hero! I will expand on my admiration for her and her project later, but I’m trying to keep this story fairly cohesive.

The Word Chef, Tea ((pronounced Tay'ah) Silvestre started an online marketing class and I was fortunate enough to be selected for the first one. And I was lost from the very beginning. I couldn’t stay up past 8:30 or 9:00 at night, and needed a 2 or 3 hour nap everyday. I tried to do some of the homework, and worried the whole time that I would be dropped from the class. But I kept plugging away, refusing to give up for fear that if I gave up on the class, I might as well give up, period.

Finally, after a lot of research, my doctor and I decided I have fibromyalgia. That explains the pain, fatigue, depression, absent-mindedness, difficulty focusing, etc. Actually, it was a relief to finally be able to put a name to it.

Then, came the final hurt – Sadie was so sick, I finally decided to put her to sleep. 14 years of absolutely unconditional love on both sides made it a very painful decision, but the best one for her. Although it was a sweet, peaceful process with a beautiful burial spot next to my best friend’s dog, my heart broke. I will never forget that sweet loving face, but on Friday, November 11, 2011, she crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

I think I will continue the new beginning on the next blog. Thanks to everyone who helped me through this painful time in my life. And I know better things are ahead.

The Dee-vine Miss M, Pet Artist

OK - It's official - the Dee-vine Miss M, Pet Artist! Commissioned pet paintings from photos. The Grand Opening presents... Hurley, the world's coolest chee-wah-wah! Here's our "before and after..."

My biggest problem with marketing my art has been that I'm all over the place - lighthouses, flowers, airplanes, cars and motorcycles, sea gulls, tugboats.... so after much thinking, and an incredible amount of coaching, nudging, and more than I can even describe from my marvelous teacher/marketing guru Tea Silvestre,  The Word Chef, and everyone in the Test Kitchen group, I've decided pets are the way to go.

So, currently I am trying to put together a plan that will include a new website, blog, and a special Facebook Page for my sweet Sadie. (But that's another story!)

For now, I just wanted to introduce the new direction for the Dee-vine Miss M. Keep an eye out for more... and e-mail me for more info if you'd like a personalized pet portrait!

My Art Is Going To The Dogs.

September's Art Walk theme is "Pet Walk" so, instead of lighthouses, flowers and birds, I'm working on dogs right now.TodayI worked on Hurley's picture. Hurley is my daughter's Chihuahua and we all absolutely adore him. I'd already done one picture but wanted more. So here is my Matisse-style painting of the star of our home.

Love Them Red High-Heeled Shoes!

I got a new Red High Heel Shoe yesterday. Besides being part of the Deevine Miss M's logo, my inner being wears red stilleto shoes always. And - I had a bad tattoo (someone's initials) I needed to get rid of. So I did - I stomped on it!

(And yes, I photoshopped around the edges to get rid of the redness and swelling! If ya got the tools, use 'em!)  :P

My love of shoes is strong, but on the Today show this morning they interviewed a woman who makes me look like an amateur. Professional poker player Beth Shak  owns 1,200 pairs of shoes. Everytime she wins, she goes shopping for a new pair! They are valued at close to $500 million. WOW!

Here's a picture of just one of her three closets - however, instead of envy, I find myself thinking about having to pack all those shoes if I decided to go back to Tulsa! Not to mention, I don't think my seester would let me store them in her shed - she's funny likie that!

So, for the time being I'm content with my one new RED SHOE!