I am so in love with life, you guys! EVERYTHING is manifesting all at once and I know this is just the beginning of it all. I'm so grateful.
Because I'm so preoccupied with a bajillion things now, I don't have time to doubt myself anymore. I'm simply putting my determination into motion. I was at the gym at 5 AM this morning!
Here's a second preview of DMT:
I decided I'm going to dedicate a tab on my website to Michelle and title it 'MUSE'. She is the most gifted writer I've ever met, who's able to capture an audience's attention in a way that I cannot. Her words are so heartfelt, captivating, wise and humorous...all at once. It's a profound experience when someone's writing has the ability to make you cry and feel such intense emotions.
Inching closer and closer to my YouTube debut!!! AHHHH!!! I love you 2017. Much love guys!
When doors begin opening up, take a moment to look back on how far you've come, before continuing forward.
My life is beginning to blossom and it's an amazing feeling! I'm falling deeply in love with my career and I know this insane passion and drive is going to take me to a type of happiness I'm unable to even comprehend or imagine.
I specifically remember the day I discovered Rachel Brathen (aka yoga_girl on Instagram) when I was a sophomore in college. She had 17K followers and it was the first time I saw photos of Aruba. I laid in bed and marveled at her page. I became enamored by her beautiful, tropical lifestyle and thought to myself "I'm going to have that one day too."
I have extremely high expectations for myself, in all aspects of life. I never want to stop growing! I'm currently in the process of creating a YouTube channel and it's something I've always wanted to do. :) This chapter of my life is coming to an end and I'm replacing it with something extraordinary on the next page!
My yellow brick road is FINALLY leaving the dark forest. I can see the light. ☀️ I just want to run into it, embrace it and never let it go. I'm ready to embark on this adventure and spread my wings. I found the key to unlocking doors...all I had to do was look inward and grab it out of my heart. 🗝
Than I stumbled upon my senior-level professor, Louise Freshman Brown. My Glinda. The woman I had the honor of taking three classes with, who approached me shortly after the semester started and whispered that I have the ability to draw people. Louise detected the magic within me, years before I did. Thank you for transforming your classroom into the building blocks and foundation of my life's work.
Lastly (for now), my brother @ramblinmannino aka my advisor. The soul I resided in when I was at rock bottom, who patched me back together and helped me rediscover the person I was meant to become. ❤
Start surrounding yourself with exceptional human beings, people who elevate you, push you out of your comfort zone and encourage your growth. Keep your distance from everyone else. You're destined to encounter dozens of flying monkeys and maybe even a witch or two, but just throw some water on that bitch and laugh at your haters. They haven't discovered their yellow brick road yet and want to knock you off your own path.
One day you'll look back on your adventure and realize all you had to do was click your heels three times. But where's the fun and inner growth in that? I can't count the number of all-nighters I've pulled over the years, in order to meet deadlines...or the countless times I was left in tears by temporary defeat. Sometimes when we're in the darkest places, we find the brightest light.
That light exists! It's in all of us!! I can see the tiny shimmer of hope now and it's glowing brighter and brighter. No matter where you are in life, understand that you can overcome any obstacle or circumstance. All you have to do is work hard enough and get back up every time Life knocks you down and you call it the wicked witch.
Being an artist in this world is so difficult. It's the riskiest major to choose from in college for a reason.
The moment little 21-year-old me walked into my advisor's office (unknowingly at the time), I knew I was taking the first step on my yellow brick road. You may not notice how significant the choices you're making are right now in the present moment, but they'll all make sense eventually. Everything happens for a reason. Listen to what your heart is telling you to do.
Just like Dorothy, I want to find my rainbow through the tornado called Life. Hawaii is beckoning my heart, just like my heart was being led into that office years ago. Something is there that I have to find. Maybe it's this weird word people talk about, called happiness.
But what's true happiness, at its purest form, if it can't be shared with others? I'll never understand people who horde their success and riches, instead of raising the world with them. #greedisevil #DavidRockefeller
I won't get there unless I create a team. I need my scarecrow, tinman, toto, Glinda, lion, etc. Each so different in possessing their own skills and qualities, yet a key factor in Dorothy's adventure. Mich, thank you for being my toto. My best friend and light--grasping my hand as I went through some extremely dark forests in life, without ever letting go.
I have been more productive these last two weeks, than I ever have in my life. My heart feels like it's exploding with the excitement of endless possibilities that are at my fingertips. I finally feel like my dreams are within reach and I can't wait to grab them and never let go.
I'm elated to announce that my Facebook art page just hit 1,000 followers!!
AHHH!
As my way of showing gratitude for all the love, I'm giving away a free print from The Consciousness Series! It's my first giveaway and I've been looking forward to this moment for so long now.
All you have to do is 1) follow my FB page @JeremyManninoArt 2) share your favorite piece from the series and 3) tell me why you resonate with it and I'll pick a winner. :)
The contest is now LIVE for the next 72 hours! Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor.
Within these last two weeks, I completely revamped my website and altered my marketing strategy. I want to use all this abundant creative energy surging through me, to connect with as many people as I possibly can! I'm embracing my photography outlet and I just can't wait to show this world what I have to offer!!!
It feels good to be alive. I don't say that enough. I'm here to help change this world and I would have given up on my special purpose here on Earth if I decided to return home early. Promise me you'll never give up. Seek help if you're suicidal. We all contain magic within us and it needs to be spread across the world. This world is facing a very real war. Our planet is dying and we need to be warriors of Mother Earth and protect her. Our animals are being tortured, our foods are poisonous and evil cannot win. This world must go vegan and legalize marijuana in order to heal. The Universe selected me for this mission and I have to wake the world up through my art. It's my turn to shine. I'm ready...because I no longer fear life, I love it and I'm learning to embrace every single moment.
The moment I discovered what Ayahuasca was, I became fascinated. The search to learn more about this foreign medicine led me to different websites and YouTube videos, where I stumbled upon people's testimonials and documented trips in Peru. For example: http://www.kirasalak.com/Peru.html
Ayahuasca is an Amazonian plant mixture that is capable of inducing altered states of consciousness. Ranging from mildly stimulating to extremely visionary, Ayahuasca is used primarily as a medicine, typically in a ceremonial session under the guidance of an experienced drinker.
The main ingredient of this jungle tea is a vine, Banisteriopsis caapi, which like the tea itself is also called Ayahuasca (which means ‘vine of the soul’). The secondary ingredient is either chacruna (Psychotria viridis) or chagropanga (Diplopterys cabrerana), plants that contain a relatively high amount of the psychedelic substance DMT.
Upon ingesting, the medicine purges the body through vomiting and purifies the mind through the psychological experiences or visions. Although not unique to Ayahuasca, there are many fascinating reports about people who have been healed from comprehensive problems, like addiction or depression. Ayahuasca brings unconscious and seemingly other-worldly processes to the surface, which enables you to work with it while the effects last.
The primary ingredient of chacruna and chagropanga is a neurotransmitter found in every human being and plays a key role in all kinds of extraordinary states of awareness. This neurotransmitter is called dimethyltryptamine, or DMT for short and is found in the brain, blood, lungs and other parts of the human body. There is strong evidence pointing towards the pineal gland (located in the center of the brain), as the main factory of human DMT. Apart from human beings, DMT can be found in every mammal and in a variety of plants, like Ayahuasca.
Basically, every time you go to sleep, a part of your brain produces this chemical and the product that we endure is our dreams. DMT is the drug which causes your dreams at night. How cool is that?!
This is why I felt compelled to transition into my next drawing, which is titled DMT.
I feel like my brain is moving faster than it ever has before and I need to write all these scattered thoughts down, so I can see it in a physical format and proceed in a more focused manner.
So I decided my next step is to create a YouTube channel!! I'm officially going to begin filming myself as I draw, from here on out. I'm so excited to use this new platform, as a way to connect with new people and get some more exposure. Speaking of exposure, my brother has basically become my Advisor and he told me to boost my FaceBook photos. I initially was going to invest in a scanner, printer and Photoshop, but realized very quickly that I'm getting ahead of myself and that's not the wisest decision to make at this point. Instead, I boosted each drawing from The Consciousness Series for 48 hours and specifically chose the audience that would see each piece, based on other pages they like on FB. For example, when boosting Mushroom Forest, I targeted every person who likes Alice in Wonderland and psilocybin mushrooms (amongst other things). The promotions ended last night and I got very good feedback. I ended up spending $75 ($5 on each drawing) and didn't get any sales, but I know why. This test run revealed A LOT, simply through the people's reactions. I'm going to heavily promote the drawings that got the best feedback.
But before I do that, I have a few things I need to change/fix. These are the things which I believe, didn't create any sales over the last two days.
Landing Page
Sales Copy
Lack of Promoting
I'm changing my landing page, which is currently Etsy. Etsy forces the buyer to create an account in order to purchase an item from a shop. That's a MAJOR sales killer. So instead, I'll be creating a shop to buy prints directly on my website. Plus, this will look more professional. Next, I'm going to add sales copies on each of my drawings, to engage with my audience. I'm in the midst of writing one for each of the drawings and explaining what each piece means/represents to me, why I was inspired to create it, how I thought of it, etc. There's a story behind each piece, which gives it significance and value, extending beyond the visual. The more deeply people connect with my art and what it stands for, the greater the chances they'll want to make it a part of their lives. Rather than purchasing all the equipment I listed above, I'm going to continue photographing my art using my DSLR camera and I bought Pixelmator to use as my photo editing software.
Once I finish creating my new landing page and sales copies, I'm going to continue promoting. Once I hit 1,000 likes on my Page, I'm going to hold a contest. I'm going to engage my followers (as a way to celebrate my 1K), by asking everyone to share their favorite piece from the Series and once the contest ends, I'm going to randomly chose a winner and ship them the print they shared. :)
I'm just trying to balance all of this out. Filming, drawing, learning how to work Pixelmator, my camera, YouTube, work, blogging consistently, yoga, meal prepping, marketing research, posting to social media daily, meeting my deadlines, etc.
Lately I've been telling myself to just relax and enjoy this beautiful process. I'm in the middle of a massive change and I know my life is about to catapult into greatness. #LevelUp
The first thing I remember was that I was moving to another house in my neighborhood. I was most upset because I'd miss the backyard. We have an awesome backyard, that my parents really maintain and keep super zen. My cats are always on our back porch, observing the sounds and animals. That's their playground. Beyond our fence is a canal and a huge hedge, which shields a golf course, connected to a gated community. (see pic below)
That was where I got high with my high school friends haha this canal brings back so many amazing childhood memories for me. It also makes our house feel really private and surrounded by nature. I love sitting in the sun everyday, while listening to music and drinking a smoothie. It's so peaceful and rejuvenating.
This is what I've been putting in my smoothie everyday:
MAKE IT.
The next thing I remember about the dream was being in a new location, that I've never seen before. I also realized it was nighttime. It's crazy how your mind has the capability to create new places, by combining different things you experience in your waking life...and alter the time of day! My new home was across the street from a beautiful Mosque. The building was bright gold and the roof curved, almost like the frosting on a cupcake!
I watched a group of people, as they were either entering or leaving the building and noticed how beautiful the women looked. They were wearing long, flowing dresses. The outfits were so stunning, which made me think someone was getting married. I was across the street, watching them from the sidewalk. There was a fence to my left and a patch of grass on both sides of me.
It was daytime again. I squatted down and began filling a red solo cup up with water, using a mini water fountain. Like the one for animals!
Poof...
Than I was in a restaurant. The walls were dark brown and the whole vibe was very fast-paced. The lights glowed a soft orange hue and I stood there and watched, as couples ate their food and talked to one another. A middle-aged man walked past me in a hurry, gave me a slight tilt of his head and said "get back to work", without slowing down his pace. I looked over my shoulder and watched his legs scurry away, as he sped down a red carpet that had gold stitching embroided along the sides of the carpet. He jolted around a corner, holding something in his hands and disappeared. In the distance was a dining area. I was so confused haha all I could think was "who the fuck was he?" and looked around again. I felt like I was playing some strange video game and it was my mission to investigate the surroundings and look for clues as to where I was. To the right of me was a wall, which extended down into another large eating area. It looked really boring, so I turned my head to the left and saw stairs. I don't know why I was gravitated by these steps (there was only a few) haha but I was and walked up them.
They led up to another section of the restaurant, which was slightly more raised than the lower level. It also felt more cozy and private. To the right were two more tables, with couples sitting at them. In front of me was an employee station and to my left was a winding path, on an incline. I could only see about ten feet up to the path, until it twisted around into the unknown. I walked into the service station area. It reminded me of those little nooks on airplanes, that flight attendants use to prepare the meals. There was a sink, a little touch screen computer, an area to leave dirty dishes and a mirror against the wall, with a small light above it.
For whatever reason, I glanced over at three, dirty drinking glasses, sitting next to the sink on the mini counter. I grabbed one and began running it under the water, to clean it. The marks and imperfections wouldn't disappear. I got annoyed, so I left the station and continued walking down this path. I entered the center of the hallway. The floors and walls were both maroon. A few moments later, the hallway ended and there was a pair of swinging, double doors to my left.
I entered the room and it was super, brightly lit. I was in the kitchen of the restaurant, accompanied by other people, who were focused on the tasks in front of them. I felt invisible, in a badass kinda way.
I was so fascinated by how meticulous the chef's movements were, as they carefully handled the food to the plate. I looked over and saw a bowl of fruit, with a banana hanging off the top. I wanted it haha
The moment I touched the banana, it catapulted me outside and onto the sidewalk. Next to me were a group of people, waiting to cross the street. One of which was a Russian chick my age. We immediately made eye contact and smiled. She hugged me and than warmly gripped the sides of my arms and smiled again. She was so pretty and had beautiful, long brunette hair. She held my hand and we began walking.
It was nighttime again.
I sensed that she was lost as well, trying to find others, even though there were other people around us. It reminded me of this music video, in the sense that we didn't feel like we fit in with anyone else around us:
The two of us walked down the street, like Dorothy and the Scarecrow, taking off on their adventure as newly, aquatinted friends. We met up with a few of her other friends and we began climbing up a loading dock together. The ramp was on a fairly steep incline, with metal guard rails to our right. Beyond the rails, I noticed something that made me feel very at peace. It was my canal!This time I was on the other side of it though.
I reached into my pocket and told the flashlight on my phone to turn on. A light beam shot out of the center of my iPhone and I continued walking with the group.
Once we got to end of this ramp like structure, the others began jumping down over the ledge and onto the grass below. It was about a four-foot jump. The guy in front of me leapt down and injured his ankle upon landing. I started getting paranoid. I sorta scaled the wall and plopped down softly. We continued walking, as the stars lit up in the sky above us. I could feel the wind blowing against my skin and the big bushes to our left, began to sway gently.
I aimed my phone light down and revealed a baby iguana staring back up at me, with innocent little puppy eyes. It took off at lightning speed and a moment later, I heard a faint splash coming from the canal. I unknowingly aimed my phone back up, in front of me and one of the girls began screaming. A large black silhouette emerged and began getting larger and larger. It looked like a dog's shadow, except it was massive. Like the size of a 400 pound pitbull.
We all started running back up onto the loading dock and appeared in the back of a white van. It was daytime again. None of us had enough time to jump behind the wheel, before it crashed into another car. I floated through the van and time went into reverse, as I remained floating in the street. The cars reconstructed themselves and flew backwards. Than time unfroze and I watched the accident occur again, except this time, right in front of my face.
As the vehicles collided in slow motion, I made out the features of the person driving. It was a young male in his mid-twenties, with dark hair and skin. His body began to dive forward in a fluid motion, as his airbag deployed from within his steering wheel. It was fucking crazy. His passenger window shattered into a cloud of tiny glass fragments, that shimmered against the sunlight. I put my hand up and everything stopped. Instead of the glass shards shooting into the guys neck and head, they fell to the ground next to him. His face reemerged from the airbag, unharmed. He flicked us off and kept driving, as if nothing had happened. I felt like QuickSilver, from THIS scene in X Men.
The moment he drove past me, I was standing on a sidewalk, next to a beautiful house. All the vehicles disappeared. Everything was calm and quiet again. There were tropical palm trees and colorful plants all around me. The scenery reminded me of Hawaii. A wave of peace and relaxation came over me. I felt the sun against my face, as it sat up in the light blue sky.
I hit my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY at work two weeks ago. The job has become so mindless and dull due to the repetition, but until I can support myself from art and blogging, I can't leave. Wah I'm trying to make the most of it and stay positive! I've never mentally said "I don't want to be here" more times in my life though. haha Whatever life is throwing at you, stay focused and grounded on your goals.
I just want to move to Hawaii, work out everyday, prepare the healthiest foods, draw and blog, toke up, go to yoga class and fall more deeply in love with life, than I can possibly imagine. Is that REALLY too much to ask? haha
Right here would do:
Just casually blogging, poolside
It'll happen one day because...
I SOLD MY THIRD PRINT!!!
Sale #3: Make a Wish
AH!! You want to hear the coolest part?! Another blogger bought it! I feel so much love and support right now. All I can say, from the bottom of my heart, is thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am so grateful.
In efforts to really get these sales ramped up and the ball rolling, I made some fancy shmancy new business cards to start handing out to people!
What do you guys think? I love the black card against the bright, colorful drawings. It's simple, yet sophisticated, just like me. haha I'm just hoping that the images appear crisp on the cards and intrigue people enough to check out my social media. If you click on the image to enlarge it, they do look really blurry, but I'm hoping that's not the case when they arrive.
I have a list of places around town that I hope to display them at. For example, a vegan cafe, a raw juicing place, environmentally friendly restaurants, a hippie boutique, a yoga studio, a head shop, a metaphysical store, a vegan bakery, etc.
I'm so excited!!!!
Also, my tapestry arrived in the mail a few days ago!!
I N L O V E
I'm heading up to Jacksonville for my buddy's wedding, but I can't wait to come back home and finish this beauty.
I'm dedicated to staying on track with my deadlines, which means I'll be finished with this piece on the 15th!!! I added the watercolors and it looks SO DOPE. This series is turning into more than I ever could have dreamed of. (Hint for the next drawing) ;)
Last night I drew until 6 AM. That's how hard I'm trying to make it as an artist. I'm 110% committed, because this path will bring me to my enlightenment in this lifetime.
I woke up so late, like noon, just as my sister arrived at the house after her six mile run along the beach. After making a superfood shot and a smoothie for the two of us, we went outside to talk on the back patio. We began talking about my art and work, particularly about my decision to work three days a week now, which will result in my loss of health insurance. I don't care. I'd rather have an extra day to spend doing art, yoga, meal prepping, reading and blogging. Happiness is more important than health insurance.
But something my sister said to me during our quick conversation, really made me question her authenticity. She said:
"Jeremy, nobody wants to buy art with a random girl on it."
This series is my everything and I know she's wrong. It was a harsh thing to say, which made me realize how little she and I connect. She returned both of the framed drawings I drew for her and completely ignored me when I asked if she wanted to choose her favorite print from the series, to hang in her apartment or office.
“Don't be discouraged if people don't see your vision, your harvest. All they see from their perspective is that you're watering a whole lot of dirt. They don't SEE what seeds you've been planting with blood, sweat, tears and lack of sleep. Make sure you don't abandon or neglect it because "they" don't see it. You have to KNOW and believe for yourself. They don't see the roots and what's budding under the dirt. But it's okay, because it's NOT meant for them to see it. While you wait, MASTER it. You continue to do YOUR work and have unwavering faith! Remember why you started planting in the first place. Your harvest WILL come!” ― Yvonne Pierre
Shortly after that convo, I went to work... Today was the first time I ever witnessed someone in the act of stealing. It's a twisted experience. I had just gotten to work and I was assigned to a register my first hour. About thirty minutes into the shift, a couple stepped up in line to pay for their items. I said hi and began ringing their shit up. They looked like people who ride motorcycles and eat at Cracker Barrel five nights a week. They immediately started making small talk with me and I, just as quickly, sensed bad vibes. The man started his speech by informing me how much they love the store. He was like "I could really picture myself working here as well. The people are so friendly and I worked at Publix for twenty years, so I have plenty of experience." I agreed halfheartedly and pointed behind me towards the help desk, where a manager could give him an application. As soon as he came back, he tried covering a box filled with chocolate bars, that was sitting on the end of my register counter. I watched him lower the box into his bag and I immediately went into defense mode. I looked at him and asked "oh, you're taking those too?" His rebuttal was that he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. BS. The moment they walked away, I told two managers, to ensure they don't hire his ass. That speech was probably just a ploy to distract me and he never actually had any interest in getting a job. HE PROBABLY NEVER WORKED AT PUBLIX EITHER. haha No candy for you, bitch...so get on your motorcycle and eat your shitty meal at Cracker Barrel. If they were genuine people and desperately needed food, steal something substantial like peanut butter and trail mix. I am so over retail haha SO. OVER. IT.
On a positive note, Sunday is the only day of the week I get to work with my FAVORITE COWORKER, Nikita! She works 12-8 and I work 2-10, so we try to take advantage of the six hours we have together and just enjoy the retail experience for what it's worth. She's not funny, she's fucking hysterical. We were on register one and two together, when a gorgeous man walked through the doors and stopped at the spinning card stand, right by the entrance.
Simultansouly we whisper/scream "cards!" to each other and erupted into laughter for a solid fifteen seconds. We both feel like there's so much more out there in the world for us, so I sent her my resume (I applied for a creepy personal assistant job last year) and we met at Barnes and Noble on Thursday for her to make one and start sending it out. I'm going to miss her so much when she leaves.
Us hiding in the bathroom hahaha
Today is also Michelle's birthday!!!! If you're reading this all the way from New Zealand, I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jezebel made me post these!!
It's in these moments, where I feel complete bliss and happiness. Life is about finding people who love you! Have fun. Be goofy! Laugh a lot! Undress people's minds! Grow together and get excited about life!
I love you guys!
If you feel inclined, comment something so I can interact with you all!
I decided that my current job is no longer serving me like it once was. When I first got my job a year ago, I was in a very dark place and was in desperate need for money. But that's not the case anymore. My job is physically laboring and I'm exhausted after I get home from each shift. I'm moving, lifting, cleaning, talking, stocking and facing products for eight hours straight. I'm exuding so much energy at work, leaving me so drained and unhappy when I get home.
The assistant manager who was writing the schedules, recently passed that responsibility to another. The next time I see him, I'm going to tell him that I can no longer work four days a week. It's too much for me. I'm trying to work there 30 hours a week and draw a MINIMUM of 30 as well. If I do this, I will lose my health insurance, because I won't meet the yearly hour requirment to qualify for it. I know my dad is going to be upset and dissapointed (because my health insurance is really good), but I've never had to use it and I'm sick of thinking "what if you get hurt and need it?", rather than living in the now and doing what makes me happy.
So I'm giving myself a time frame, because you all know how much I love structure and deadlines. I'm allowing myself eight more months there, before I put in my two-weeks notice on November 1st. I'll be out of there mid Nov., just before busy season picks up again.
There's a fire within me that I've never felt in my life! Now that I feel this immense spark and drive, I need to run with it and focus on what's ahead. Besides the money, the other best attribute my job offered me, is a new level of confidence. I put myself into an environment that forced me to socialize with strangers, which used to be a massive fear of mine. Now I do it all day haha This skill will come in handy when I'm traveling the world and selling my art.
Speaking of which, I got some new art supplies! Shipping supplies to be more specific. My order of 100 plastic sleeves and 50 bubble mailer envelopes arrived in the mail today! It feels so legit now! Thankfully this investment will significantly cut down on my shipping expenses, enabling me to profit more on each print.
Along with those items, I also ordered some books that I can't wait to sit down and start reading!! The only downtime I really have is during my 30 minute meal breaks at work (I tend to stretch it to 45 though haha).
I also bought this BADASS tapestry!!
This 5'x7' beauty will look stunning on the wall behind my bed and bookshelf. :)
Michelle and I were texting on WhatsApp the other day (a free app for texting people internationally) and her beautiful mind came up with the most brilliant idea. I had been going about the YouTube thing all wrong.
Lastly, I'm considering applying for Graduate School. I feel an extreme urgency to move out of my parent's house and regain my independence. Under two circumstances, I would need a stellar scholarship grant and I would only apply to schools in California, Oregon, Hawaii and Colorado. Yes I know this idea is farfetched, but if it ever manifested and I miraculously received a scholarship, Michelle would move with me and find a nannying job nearby. We would continue our series and I would turn them in as my assignments...and than sell them on my Etsy shop, like I'm doing now. Furthermore, I would try to enroll in Entrepreneur/Business classes to educate myself on selling and branding myself.
Whatever happens, I know the Universe is guiding me every step of the way.
Someone pinch me! I feel like I'm seeing the light, at the end of what felt like, a never-ending tunnel. My life is blossoming right now (out of nowhere) and I haven't been this happy in a very long time!! Things are finally coming together, y'all!
Thank you GC!! The first person to purchase a print was a fellow blogger! The moment I logged onto my Etsy account and realized I sold a print, I shot out of my chair and started dancing.
Sale #1: Dragonflies
I feel so fortunate to have this blog, allowing me to reach out and connect with so many cool ass people. I am so blessed. The second sale came tonight when I was at the movies, seeing Get Out with my coworkers Arielle and Nikita. One of our other coworkers Karla bought a print, to give her best friend as a birthday gift! My art is being gifted as presents!?!?! WHAT. Seriously? So dope.
Sale #2: Terrarium
Even my GM at work asked if I would do a commission for him, of his family. He needs it by next month for his wife's birthday, but that would completely interrupt the timeline I created for my series. Ugh I don't know what to do...
I was able to video chat with Michelle for an hour on Tuesday, for the first time since she left for NZ! She gave me a tour of the family's property that she's nannying for and it's stunning. STUNNING. They have so much land that stretches on and on, into the horizon. Seeing her face and how happy she looked, just reminded me and fueled me to kickass this year, for us. She's the biggest blessing the Universe has ever given me and it's my responsibility to step up and work harder and smarter than I ever have before. We're going to video chat every Tuesday and talk art! :)) My three secret weapons for manifesting art ideas are: pot, music and yoga. In that order haha
I contacted High Times Magazine and asked them for an address, so I can send them a print of The Garden of Weeden! They have 1.6 million followers on Instagram. I'm also waiting to hear back from Charlo Green the Weed Queen, who I first sent that print to. It was supposed to arrive today :)
Speaking of my coworker Nikita, we went to YogaFest together on Saturday. I got to meet more of her friends, who were all so cool, unlike the weather that day. haha I feel like I would have had a much more enjoyable time, if it wasn't so damn hot. The festival was located in this huge park, with vendors and booths along the perimeter. I went to the website and it said early admission for a booth is $350, so I'm definitely selling my art there next year! Anyways, we got there around 11 and browsed the area and laid our mats out on this huge, open green. I have never done yoga with so many other people surrounding me. We were literally smack dab in the center and it was so magical to flow and practice with other people all around us.
Also, this incredibly handsome dude who comes into my work, just followed me on Instagram tonight! :) He plays soccer at the University nearby and he might be one of the most attractive human beings I've ever seen. I still have quite a bit of insecurity about my acne scars though, which makes it really hard for me to talk to him when he comes in. So when I got home from the movies tonight, I bought a chemical peel off Groupon! Original price was $125 and I got it for $47. I'm so excited to book the appointment and try this out. I was looking at before and after photos on Google and the patients look noticeably more healed in the after pic.
A chemical peel is a technique used to improve the appearance of the skin on the face, neck or hands. A chemical solution is applied to the skin that causes it to exfoliate and eventually peel off. The new, regenerated skin is usually smoother and less wrinkled than the old skin.
Here's a sneak peek of my next drawing, which will be done in two weeks!
