Onward, I Say!!   Life Between Comic-Cons

Life rolls out a lot of shit.  By the time Comic-Con was open I was still working on paintings that should have been finished way before June!  That's how life rolls.  Shit happens.

"I Have A Coupon" - © Cindy Rodriguez

While setting up at the Comic-Con art show, a lady approached.  She said that she'd previously bought a print of "I Have A Coupon".  She had hung it in her dining/kitchen area.  That made me very happy.  

I asked if she noticed what store the bag represented, wondering if the message was effective.  She did know!  I told her how my daughter's tale of retail horrors inspired me to do this painting.  She laughed and said that she was familiar with those horrors too.

It was so good to hear that people get it.  I often wondered about that.

As we continued hanging the paintings, she decided to buy one of the newest paintings "Interdimensional Trumpocalypse"  This was great!  I should have taken a picture of us together, with her holding the painting.  Why does this happen?  Why do we always think of something after it is done and the opportunity is gone?  I am pleased that this painting was sold.  If you are the lady who bought it, please contact me!  I'd love to have a picture of you holding the painting!

"Interdimensional Trumpocalypse"   2016 © Cindy Rodriguez

 San Diego Comic-Con 2016 - Art Show - Cindy Rodriguez

San Diego Comic-Con 2016 - Art Show Cindy Rodriguez ©  

San Diego Comic-Con 2016 - Art Show Cindy Rodriguez ©

San Diego Comic-Con 2016 - Art Show Cindy Rodriguez ©

 San Diego Comic-Con 2016 - Around the Exhibit Hall -  The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead exhibit - Comic-Con 2016 (rrgargh)

The Walking Dead exhibit - Comic-Con 2016 (batter up)

San Diego Comic-Con 2016 - San Diego Convention Center

San Diego Convention Center - Comic-Con 2016

More Sights inside the Exhibit Hall - Comic-Con 2016

Underworld - Comic-Con 2016

Freddy Krueger - Comic-Con 2016

Friday the 13th - Comic-Con 2016

Bastet? - Comic-Con 2016

Warcraft - Comic-Con 2016

Dark King GOT - Comic-Con 2016

Warcraft - Comic-Con 2016 (where's Travis Fimmel  !!)

No Face - Comic-Con 2016  I got a gold (chocolate) coin for my soul

The life in between Comic-Cons

So, until next year when Comic-Con returns, this is the in-between zone where artwork is frantically worked on for the next.  I'll be painting more until next year's Comic-Con 2017!  

And, I'm also working on paintings for February 2017.  I'll be doing  The Amazing Pet Expo in San Diego County Fair Grounds (aka Del Mar Fair Grounds).  More information to come!

Contemplating Life

I've been retired now for a little over 6 months.   Relaxing, like Penny the cat, has become somewhat  easier.  Letting go has been easier.  When I hear about problems at my former workplace, I am reminded of how fortunate I was to retire early.

All this extra time on my hands has lead to contemplation on my direction in life.  The elephant in the room being mortality.  Not to be morose, but, my shelf-life is over half gone.  As with many instances in life, this depends on the expiration date.

I do enjoy waking up and realizing that I don't have to rush to get up.  I don't have to race to get ready for a dreaded commute to a mind-numbing cubicle in an office.  All my life I'd felt like a prisoner in those cubicles, pressed into a life that I had to endure and did not enjoy.

So, my joy should be overwhelmingly uplifting!!  Right? So WTF is wrong with me??  Is it the increasing self-doubt in myself as an artist?  Although I feel joy while painting, I also feel sadness.  Shouldn't I be happy enough?  I don't know.   Why do I get these despairing feelings of futility?  Why should or why do I keep painting?  Sometimes I'm not sure anymore.  I have come to points where I am working on a painting and I just stop.. because I can't see the reason for continuing.  Or even worse, the horrible feeling that all the years I've painted have been futile.  Not just because of the lack of monetary success, but because of the time.  Time I feel may have been wasted pursuing what I thought was the essence of my life.

"A Slight Breeze Began to Blow"
 © Cindy Rodriguez  

Oh, big Boo Hoo Hoo!  I know I should just suck it up and get on with it.  I used to be able to plow through this feeling.  To reassure myself,  I'd read up about other artists and confirm that I was one among many who've had meltdowns in self worth.

Lately, though, I feel like I should just stop completely.   Thoughts of selling all of the art supplies and other belongings that I own have crossed my mind more frequently.  Start completely over by ridding myself of stuff.  That was my intention when I retired, but the purge wasn't including all my art stuff!  Am I entering another phase of life?

Outside of the window I can see a crow has perched on a tree branch.   The branches on the tree are swaying gently in the wind.. The crow turns it's head, looking around, observing the surroundings.  The leaves are dancing in the breeze, specks of sunlight warming them. The crow opens it's beak and caws loudly.  In an instant, it ruffles its wings and flies away.

So, for now, I will be like the cat and the crow, and just contemplate..

Tuesday, January 12, 2016   7pm to Midnight

Bar Basic - 410 Tenth Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101

I'll have a few postcard 4" x 6"  paintings for sale  -  Hope to see you there!

The best things..

Penny & Penny 

I love to paint.  The most relaxing time for me is when I'm painting or drawing, no other activities nagging at my brain for me to do.  You know that little voice in your head that insists the laundry, dishes, and cleaning up has to be done NOW.   When I can get past that ... when I just paint, I can often get to a point where I don't care about the other stuff...mostly because I lose track of time.  Those are the best.

Zombies, Fun With Makeup... rrrrrghgg

Halloween.... how to get back into the swing of things

I have had mixed feeling toward Halloween for the last 25 years.  This year I've put all the bad memories of the day behind me and will look forward to every day as a new beginning. The best way to do that, for me to let go of  bad memories?  Un-die and live again by becoming a zombie!! 

With the help of YouTube, my love of the Walking Dead (books and TV show) and all things zombie, I tried my hand at some zombie makeup.  I had a blast!  

I started out with my arm.  Using putty wax, color makeup stacks, two types of fake blood, regular and coagulated, and a couple of tea bags I had fun destroying my arms and face.  

Then with some other zombies, I went to lunch.  It was hilarious since three of us are vegetarian.  I got the Indian curry veggie special.  yummm.  It was deeeeelishouuus.

More creative things to come! Check out my Etsy shop for zombie art and other paintings and be sure to sign up to follow my blog. :)

Comic-Con 2014 The Odds Were Not In My Favor

I had signed up for the Art Show and had three panels to hang art on.

Walking Dead - Comic-Con 2014

A series of unfortunate events began months before July and hit a crescendo on the days of set-up for the art show.  I completely missed out on displaying this year.  So close but oh so far.  The paintings were sitting and waiting for me to bundle them up and attach their little name tags.  Alas... The odds were not in my favor.  Let's just say that whatever could go wrong, went wrong.  A never ending stream of bad juju attached to me and I had to let it all go.  Zen.  Have to be zen.

I did have fun at Comic-Con though.  Even with all the crowds and navigating the hordes while shuffling along with my cane, I did enjoy myself.  The tickets were for Thursday and Sunday, not the holy grail of all days, but I probably would've collapsed if I did all the days now.  Many thanks to my sister for her amazing computer skills in getting the tickets. I'm in awe that she got them. We were reminiscing on how it use to be so different at the convention years ago when our children were small.  It wasn't an impossibly complicated mission like it is now.  And, you could actually see the events and attend some panels!  Comic-Con has just become so huge.

 I actually did fall and roll on the sidewalk near my place before we even got to Comic-Con!  I am just that graceful.  I was so happy I didn't break my glasses or get holes in my clothes, because that would've pissed me off.  I got off  with some beautiful bruising and scrapes on my fingers.. always on the dominant arm/hand. Because that's the way "I roll"... hehh    I'm extremely grateful that my head narrowly missed landing on the cockroach carcass that the ants were feasting on.

My daughter, niece, and sister were all able to hang out on Thursday.  We were able to be the true nerds that we are.  All in all, I did see some amazing art and of course I enjoyed all of the exhibits.  I got my picture with zombies and Klingons.  I checked out the Elio car that will be able to go 84 miles per gallon. 

And yes, all of the paintings will be newly listed on my Etsy Shop in August, so please check back.   

Next year hopefully, the odds will be in my favor and I will live long and prosper. :)

Clearing Out the Cobwebs and Simplifying..

After much thought, I finally closed my AbsoluteArts and CafePress shops.

Not a big deal really because after about fifteen years, I rarely made any sales.  I kept telling myself that maybe one day they would generate something to fall back on so that I could just paint.  I finally let it go.  Letting go is good!

I will continue to use the Etsy Shop because I still like how it works so far.  I've only had a few sales there too, but maybe I won't feel so scattered. Besides, I like Etsy, still handcrafted and from the artist.

I hope that I can manage to work on that and not let myself become overwhelmed by self-doubt.  A big problem right now.  That and apathy.  Having no energy.  Being a lump.  Not being able to retain any thoughts in my head.  Not remembering  how things are done.

Technology has not been my friend, or friendly to me.  So when I'm trying to grasp something in my mind and I can't get it, it usually fades away and I don't do anything at all.  At a standstill for so many years.

But lately I've found, in my frame of mind, it is difficult to even paint.  It has been difficult to do anything at all.  On my days off from work, I stay in my pajamas and mostly in bed.  That's the whole three days.  I live like a hermit in a cave.  The medications I take  have helped with my pain but my outlook on what I use to enjoy in life has been rather dim.

I do feel like a burden has been lifted off me, a weight that I finally was able to cut out of my life. Simplifying is good. 

With one health issue or another always seeming to get in the way it became more than I could bear to even check the sites, let alone up date them!  Kind of like my blog here!  Tossed aside like a used and crumpled tissue.  Pushed aside like the pile of mail on the table spillling onto the floor.  Piling up like my laundry and dishes.

The cat is staring at me again, so it is time for me to clean the litter and feed her again.  Then I'll attempt to do some of the dishes since there is no room in the sink and there's nothing clean to use anymore. Tomorrow I'll attempt to haul out part of the laundry to be done. bleh.

Or, I could binge watch "Fringe" again! or cat videos!!  Getting rid of my TV hasn't helped there!  Binge watching stuff on my computer is so much easier. And who knows? Maybe my doppelganger in the parallel universe is doing much better.  What's the crazy lady babbling about? If you haven't watched Fringe, you should.

•  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1119644/   
•  http://www.tv.com/shows/fringe/

I'm sensing a pattern here.