About 15 years ago a wonderful woman (Barbara) asked me the question, “If you could do anything you wanted to do, what would you do?” Without thinking or any hesitation I immediately answered, “I would design or make something that would be sold all over the world so that when I die there will be little pieces of me left all over the world.” As soon as I said that Barbara looked at me and I looked at her. We were both stunned at what I had just said. I had never said these words before, and I’m not sure if I had ever even thought them. Where they came from I’m not sure, but I do know that was a life-changing moment for me. After what seemed like a very long silence Barbara finally said, “that is the best answer I have ever heard”. Then her next question was the really stumper for me, she asked, “how are going to make that happen”. At that point I could only laugh and say, “I have no earthly idea!”
Ever since that day I have thought of that statement almost every day. I knew that is what I wanted to do, I knew that was my goal in life, but I just couldn’t figure out how to make it happen. I have spent years looking for the path to help me reach that goal. I have researched and worked on one avenue after another with each avenue turning out to be just another dead end. The search has been very frustrating, but for some reason I never gave up. As many times as I tried to give up, something always kept pulling me back to the search. Because I could never give it up I knew that this is why I was here on this earth and someday it would happen.
Then one day I found this website called Zazzle.com. I immediately feel in love with Zazzle. This is a place where I could create my art and put it on products that people could enjoy. This was great! Every day I work on my store, creating new art and designing new products. The ideas for new art are coming so fast that I can’t create the art fast enough. I work on my store and designs from the time I wake up in the morning until I go to bed at night 7 days a week. I have never had so much fun doing the thing that I love the most in my life.
I knew that Zazzle sold products worldwide but for some reason I never really made the connection in my mind of somebody in another country buying one of my products. That is until today. Today I made my first international sale. One of my products was purchased from a customer in the United Kingdom. To say I was excited would be a gross understatement! After I was able to curtail my excitement just a little bit, I thought about my conversation with Barbara so many years ago and I thought to myself, “I can now answer the question of ‘how am I going to make that happen’”. I realize that I am finally achieving the goal that I had set for myself some 15 years ago.
Many people have Zazzle stores and there are some that are making a very good living off of their stores. Of course that is one of my goals as well, to have my art be my sole source of income and for that sole source to be a very good income, just like everybody else. However, for me, it is so much more than that. For me it is to have my products sold all over the world so that when I die there is a little piece of my heart and soul left behind in countries all over world.
Goes to show that you just never know how things are going to turn out. So if you ever have a dream, hold on to it even though you don’t have a clue as to how you are going to make it happen, because one day, in a way that you might least expect it work out, it just might happen!
This is the first international product sold. It is from the Sassy Shoe Collection and it is called “Hip Granny Boot”. Would I have ever in a million years guessed that this would have been my first product sold internationally? Never!!! But it was!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Traffic Jam
I don’t know if it is because of my architectural background or not, but I love geometric shapes. I know that they say that to be an artist you have to know and understand shapes because all drawings are nothing more than a combination of shapes to create a figure or anything else. I realize that, but that is not what I am talking about. I am talking just drawing a bunch of random shapes on a piece of paper without giving it any thought and seeing where they fall and what interesting design they make. Traffic Jam is nothing more than one of those doodling play times for me.
I first started out with the triangles overlapping each other. Then I added series of circles. At that point I wasn’t really too impressed with it so I added the checkerboard winding strip. Perhaps that is a rule of thumb for me, “if something isn’t working throw in some checkerboard and it will make it all better”. Once I had the design drawn it was okay but I still wasn’t sold on it.
Most of the time when I get to this point if I don’t really like the design it just goes into the trash, but this time I kept going with it. I decided to add some color. When I finished, (and much to my surprise) it wasn’t so bad after all. It definitely wasn’t on my top 10 list but it was worth keeping.
I actually created this design about a year ago and not knowing what I was going to do with I just added it to pile of “maybe for some other day” drawings. Then one day when I was trying to figure out a new product design I started going through some of my older drawings to see if there wasn’t something that I could pull from and maybe rework. That is when I ran across this old friend and thought it might work on a couple of products.
In this case I didn’t rework any part of the design, I just started creating products with it. Much to my surprise the products looked pretty good. The more products I made the better I liked the design.
Why the name Traffic Jam? I named the design Traffic Jam because to me the checkerboard strip looks like a freeway and the circles look like cars all moving in unison with each other. The triangles are the buildings along the freeway.
This just goes to show that as an artist, you might not like the art you create at the time you create it, but that is no reason to throw it away because there will come a day when it is just the piece you are looking for.
I first started out with the triangles overlapping each other. Then I added series of circles. At that point I wasn’t really too impressed with it so I added the checkerboard winding strip. Perhaps that is a rule of thumb for me, “if something isn’t working throw in some checkerboard and it will make it all better”. Once I had the design drawn it was okay but I still wasn’t sold on it.
Most of the time when I get to this point if I don’t really like the design it just goes into the trash, but this time I kept going with it. I decided to add some color. When I finished, (and much to my surprise) it wasn’t so bad after all. It definitely wasn’t on my top 10 list but it was worth keeping.
I actually created this design about a year ago and not knowing what I was going to do with I just added it to pile of “maybe for some other day” drawings. Then one day when I was trying to figure out a new product design I started going through some of my older drawings to see if there wasn’t something that I could pull from and maybe rework. That is when I ran across this old friend and thought it might work on a couple of products.
In this case I didn’t rework any part of the design, I just started creating products with it. Much to my surprise the products looked pretty good. The more products I made the better I liked the design.
Why the name Traffic Jam? I named the design Traffic Jam because to me the checkerboard strip looks like a freeway and the circles look like cars all moving in unison with each other. The triangles are the buildings along the freeway.
This just goes to show that as an artist, you might not like the art you create at the time you create it, but that is no reason to throw it away because there will come a day when it is just the piece you are looking for.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
When Tuscan Meets Debi
Do you remember the old Reese Cup Candy Commercials? “You got your chocolate in my peanut butter.” “You got your peanut butter in my chocolate”. That is what my coffee cup collection reminds me of.
I love Tuscan/Mediterranean architecture and décor. I love the stucco and plaster as well as the open spaces and rounded features. I just really like everything about it. Having been an architectural drafter (professionally) I have designed many Tuscan/Mediterranean “dream” homes that I would like to live in.
When I was thinking about creating the Coffee Cup Collection I knew I wanted to do it in the Tuscan/Mediterranean style. I first created the backgrounds which was easy to do in the Tuscan style. But then when I went to design the individual cups something happened. You see none of my art style is of the Tuscan style. About 90% of my art is bright tropical colors with whimsical designs, (not at all typical of traditional Tuscan design). At first I started to scrap everything and start over, but instead I decided to preserver on and see what happens.
After I had completed the designs and I was looking at them and it was very apparent to me there were two distinctly different styles of art in each piece. That is when the old Reese Cup commercial popped in my head. I thought to myself, ‘well I guess this is what you get when you mix Tuscan Design with Debi Payne Designs’. At least I can say I don’t think this version of Tuscan has been done before.
I love Tuscan/Mediterranean architecture and décor. I love the stucco and plaster as well as the open spaces and rounded features. I just really like everything about it. Having been an architectural drafter (professionally) I have designed many Tuscan/Mediterranean “dream” homes that I would like to live in.
When I was thinking about creating the Coffee Cup Collection I knew I wanted to do it in the Tuscan/Mediterranean style. I first created the backgrounds which was easy to do in the Tuscan style. But then when I went to design the individual cups something happened. You see none of my art style is of the Tuscan style. About 90% of my art is bright tropical colors with whimsical designs, (not at all typical of traditional Tuscan design). At first I started to scrap everything and start over, but instead I decided to preserver on and see what happens.
After I had completed the designs and I was looking at them and it was very apparent to me there were two distinctly different styles of art in each piece. That is when the old Reese Cup commercial popped in my head. I thought to myself, ‘well I guess this is what you get when you mix Tuscan Design with Debi Payne Designs’. At least I can say I don’t think this version of Tuscan has been done before.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Trick-or-Treat
I am not a huge fan of Halloween. I don’t like the creepy, bloody and gory things that you see during Halloween. I am especially not a fan of all the horror movies! However, on the flip side I do like all the cute things about Halloween. How cute are all those little children dressed up in their little costumes. Scurrying about from one place to the next looking for that next piece of treasured piece of can while stumbling on the costume or trying to carry their bag of goodies along with any other accessories to their costume. I do like how for one day you can dress up and pretend that you are anybody (or anything) that you want to be.
When thinking about what product designs I would use for Halloween I had a difficult time coming up with something. I do like Jack-o-Lanterns and I am often amazed at how some people can carve them so elaborately.
I wanted to make a Trick or Treat bag and I thought that I would use some cute Jack-o-Lanterns. As I began sketching out the pumpkins I got to thinking about the words Trick-or-Treat and decided to name my pumpkins Trick and Treat. Since none of us like to be tricked, I gave Trick a sad face, and of course Treat got a happy face.
After I was finished with the pumpkins and I was looking at them and it was funny because Trick and Treat reminded me of Laurel and Hardy. So I guess you could say that I have Laurel and Hardy Trick or Treat Jack-o-Lanterns.
When thinking about what product designs I would use for Halloween I had a difficult time coming up with something. I do like Jack-o-Lanterns and I am often amazed at how some people can carve them so elaborately.
I wanted to make a Trick or Treat bag and I thought that I would use some cute Jack-o-Lanterns. As I began sketching out the pumpkins I got to thinking about the words Trick-or-Treat and decided to name my pumpkins Trick and Treat. Since none of us like to be tricked, I gave Trick a sad face, and of course Treat got a happy face.
After I was finished with the pumpkins and I was looking at them and it was funny because Trick and Treat reminded me of Laurel and Hardy. So I guess you could say that I have Laurel and Hardy Trick or Treat Jack-o-Lanterns.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Fishy Fish Friday
Since the Fishy Fish collection has been so popular this week I decided to make this Fishy Fish Friday on Twitter and continue the theme here on my blog.
The Fishy Fish Collection was one of the first collections that I created. When I started designing the individual fish they just kept coming. When I was finished I had a total of 23 fish plus the Happy Kahuna.
I gave each fish a name and over time in working with the fish in different designs they have each started to develop their own personality. Nadeen thinks she is the queen of the fish (but she’s really not… she just thinks she is). Chester is just so cool! He is like the Elvis of the gang.
The Fishy Fish have also met some fun friends in the ocean. There is the Octopus that they visit for their daily exercise workouts and there is the Seahorse that they love to play games with. Over time I am hoping that the Fishy Fish will be able to meet more new friends in the ocean.
Another element of the Fishy Fish Collection is the Ocean Flowers that you see on the bottom of the ocean. Personally I have never been to the bottom of the ocean, but to me, that is what it must look like. All the beautiful, fun, happy flowers each in bright and vivid colors. What a joy it must be for the Fishy Fish living in such a beautiful world.
The Ocean Flowers grew to such a large collection I made it a collection all its own which I will talk about at another time.
If you would like to get to know all the Fishy Fish you can visit them in my Zazzle store. I hope you enjoy them as much as I know they will enjoy you visiting them.
Have a happy Fishy Fish Friday!
The Fishy Fish Collection was one of the first collections that I created. When I started designing the individual fish they just kept coming. When I was finished I had a total of 23 fish plus the Happy Kahuna.
I gave each fish a name and over time in working with the fish in different designs they have each started to develop their own personality. Nadeen thinks she is the queen of the fish (but she’s really not… she just thinks she is). Chester is just so cool! He is like the Elvis of the gang.
The Fishy Fish have also met some fun friends in the ocean. There is the Octopus that they visit for their daily exercise workouts and there is the Seahorse that they love to play games with. Over time I am hoping that the Fishy Fish will be able to meet more new friends in the ocean.
Another element of the Fishy Fish Collection is the Ocean Flowers that you see on the bottom of the ocean. Personally I have never been to the bottom of the ocean, but to me, that is what it must look like. All the beautiful, fun, happy flowers each in bright and vivid colors. What a joy it must be for the Fishy Fish living in such a beautiful world.
The Ocean Flowers grew to such a large collection I made it a collection all its own which I will talk about at another time.
If you would like to get to know all the Fishy Fish you can visit them in my Zazzle store. I hope you enjoy them as much as I know they will enjoy you visiting them.
Have a happy Fishy Fish Friday!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Cheers!
As a Fine Art artist and when I was display my art in various art galleries I created the majority of my works in Polymer Clay mounted on canvas. During that time I created a cocktail glass design that I had originally planned to create in clay. The clay piece actually came to be however I liked the design so well I have incorporated into a digital illustration that I can use on products. The design was originally name Cockeyed Optimist. The Cockeyed come from the olive/umbrella at the end of the straw which is actually an eye. The Optimist comes from the glass being half full as opposed to the glass being half empty.
The really fun part of the overall design is the mysterious concoction that is inside of the glass. I don't know exactly what this elixir is, but I know it is fun and it makes me happy. I like it!
The really fun part of the overall design is the mysterious concoction that is inside of the glass. I don't know exactly what this elixir is, but I know it is fun and it makes me happy. I like it!
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