“Bird in a Dream” Acrylic on Paper. 7×10′
Some birds live in trees. This one enjoys the dream.
Kickstarter campaign to get the book into people’s homes and hands.
…..HELLO…..Exciting News!
Yesterday, I launched a Kickstarter campaign in production the past 3 weeks to raise funds for the deluxe hardcover book of the 365 paintings. This book was in the proposal cycle for a traditional publisher, however that cycle is long one and this book has momentum.
WHY KICKSTARTER?
The book was envisioned from the onset of painting daily in January 2013: 12 months, 12 different themes with strong narrative drive to make for an entertaining visual narrative. But when subscribers, followers and customers began coming to me asking for help… really craving to carve out creative productivity in their very busy lives—when they wanted to know my secrets, the structure and how I dealt with the challenges and organizational battles—that’s when the book of painting stories took on a life of it’s own and became a resource for life design.
People are craving a bit of reflection and self expression in their days. I realized I was their lab-rat and this fascinated me, so I began to pay more attention and take extensive notes.
Now I have a book in progress and I need funding to make it happen. It’s a lovely book. A deluxe edition coffee table art book, over 200 pages. A memoir and structure for readers who are making something special in their life, even if only to change up some habits to be a better friend or parent. The structures and principles I discovered and developed work for anything you want to do. Especially if it’s something that really matters to you that you never seem able to get to on a daily basis.
So please spread the word. Let’s get this book funded together. The rewards are big and fun. Check it out on Kickstarter. Whether you decide to pledge your support or not, I do hope you will pass it onto people in your life you feel just might be. Networking makes this all pretty special. Thank you!!! Creatively yours, Niya.
#343/365 Paintings
from “Dear Luna” by Sage Cohen
this is what love does:
travels to the lowest ground,
then collects in the
carved out places.
…..
Isn’t Sage’s poem gorgeous?
This week is a series of prose, poetry, fiction excerpts from a few of my dear and talented friends. This style of working is out of my comfort zone. So I do hope I’m able to give their words the visual staging they deserve.
I’m learning so much right now about layering and visual centering in complex information sets. It’s great. Oh, and the first piece in this month… Edith Wharton quote won first place in an art/author quotes contest on Saturday. I was delighted.
312/365 Paintings
This is how I imagine Ming the clam lived before researchers meddled. The snail takes her job seriously. As innocent and peaceful as the fish on the right look, she’s ready to defend the oldest living animal in the world. At least she was, until forces larger than herself took over.
Thank you WM Rine for bringing this to my attention. I generally can’t accommodate requests, but this one tugged too hard on my heart strings.
REQUEST: “Your fish have been enlivening my mailbox each day this month. Before we’re done with the month, I’d like to make a request for your lovely art on behalf of Ming the clam, who, until some researchers got to poking around it to see how old it was, was the oldest living animal on earth. I’m sure your magic would make this less upsetting.”
#311/365 Paintings
Aggressive? But they are so pretty and feed on plankton and mosquito larvae. What I find striking is how they puff out their beautiful gills to appear more impressive to the opposite sex. But the same behavior is used to start a fight. Hmmm… the Freudian brain can get a little crazy on that one.
I want to thank Dennis Gentry for the inspiration for this one.
#258/365 Paintings
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always dreamed of being a red rabbit superhero. Powerful enough to hop over water in a single bound. Then to balance on a sea-pod while spotting a young fish on her first big jump who is balancing on seaweed. And look at the rest of the critters, simply enjoying the fun of watching their comrade learning her first tricks. It’s a great day when it’s the other gal!
#257/365 Paintings
This weekend I moved into a lovely home with an art studio that I could easily eat, sleep, work in—it’s that inspiring! My feet have no feeling. They passed the stinging phase yesterday. My hands are hot pink and swollen and don’t really work anymore. When hands don’t work anymore, they make super unpredictable art. I think she’s half human and half work-mule. Boxes galore and look at that sweet house with the ‘kind of’ blue door.
Ice cream tastes super good right now.
Happy monday!