Oh boy, life has been hella interesting lately. My computer caught a nasty virus. Long story short, I ended up having to just salvage all my important files and wiping the hard drive to install Windows XP again. Much thanks to my amazing and wonderful Audi for helping me out. I LOVE YOU, BEBE!

Now, while the situation might sound really bad, I think it might have been a blessing in disguise. I basically got a brand new computer out of the deal. Sure, I have to now re-download and re-install a lot of programs that I lost, but none of my photos or files were lost. I am now going to be EXTRA careful on the interwebz.

The only downside is that I didn’t have a computer for about a week, so I lost a lot of precious time that could have been spent working on my commissions. I’m right back in the groove now, though, and I’ve been working on the group shot. It’s almost done, actually. Right now I am in the process of finishing up the details. The hair has been the most aggravating part, but I have a feeling they are all really going to love it. Sorry, ladies!!

I’ve applied to work at Publix and at Gamestop. Both are pretty much in walking distance, so if I get a job at either, I’ll at least be earning a steady income. I’m going over to my cousin’s house tomorrow, and she said she’d print out the Job Application Form for Gamestop. I’m mostly visiting though for my grandmother. She’s been missing me a lot and has been asking when I’ll be able to pass by again. Awww. Hehe. So, I’m sure she’ll be very happy to see me tomorrow.

Ohh! And I played the demo for Bayonetta. HOLY MOLY!! That game is the very definition of the word EPIC. Now, I REALLY want to get a job just so I can have enough money to buy the game. Haha. So nice to see I have my priorities straight, huh? Forget the light bill and the rent and food… THE GAME. Haha. I’m nuts, huh?

Anyway, I am off to work on those commissions some mo’. Ciao!

Art, Audi, Family, Job Art, Audi, Bayonetta, commissions, computer, virus

Well, the commission for my friend Carolina and her buddies is thoroughly kicking my butt right now. I’ve been sick with a head cold all day, so I haven’t worked on it that much today, but I was up all night on Wednesday/Thursday. I haven’t slept in over 24 hours, save for the little unscheduled nap I took in my computer desk chair. TEHE. I’ve been pretty much just watching tv, lying in bed, and randomly surfing the web… the stage that I’m at with the commish is laber-intensive: painting blonde hair. UGH, kill me. Dark hair is SUPER easy to paint. Block out the shape of the hair, and then just ad highlights. But lighter colors take a lot more work. You have to account for all the highlights, lowlights, shadows, etc etc. Regardless, I think it’s coming out pretty kickass so far.

My hubby is currently housesitting for a friend, so he’s not gonna be around as much for the next week. Poo! =( But, our neighbor invited us to hang out with him and his girlfriend this Saturday in honor of her birthday, so that should be a lot of fun.

I’ve met a really awesome person recently, apart from Jenest (she already knows she rocks my socks), named Amela. She’s just frickin’ amazing. And it’s so strange. The more I chat with her, the more we realize how similar we are. It’s like she’s my doppelganger or something! Everything she says, I find myself saying, “OMGZ ME TOO!”… So yea. Pretty cool and creepy all at the same time.

Oh, and I’d like to share these amazing remixes of Lady Gaga that I found on Youtube:
Lady Gaga – Bad Romance (Grum Mix)
Lady Gaga – Paparazzi (HeartBazz Remix)
Lady Gaga – Poker Bass (DJ.JINREI Industrial Dance Remix)

Enjoy! Ciao!

Life

Yes, indeed it was a very busy day today. I woke up around 11am. Of course, this was after taking a 3-hour nap, being awake for 7 hours, then taking another 3 hour nap right after… Heh. My sleep schedule is fucked, I know. I installed the part I’d bought from my friend Dave, and… the car still accelerates on its own! Apparently, changing the mass air sensor did NOT fix the problem. So, that means that it might be a vaccum leak, or a problem with the fuel injector. I really don’t know anymore. My uncle suggested just taking the

My hubby and I also finally ran those errands that we’d been putting off for days. He sent some Magic cards to a friend in Miami, and I sent a package to a buddy of mine that I know through deviantart.com. She had bought a Fella doll (Fella is the site mascot and they sell stuffed toys of him on the site) and sent it to me. I in turn would send it to her for MUCH cheaper shipping than what deviantart charges. I only paid $11 to send it to her in Romania, whereas deviantart charges almost $60!! It’s highway robbery.

Thank goodness though… we have less things to stress over now.

Our friends Arthur and Ellen invited us out to the local county fair. We drove over to their house and then we all went together in their SUV. The fair was actually a lot of fun, and nothing like the fairs I am typically used to. I didn’t get any souvenirs or anything, unless you count the ticket stub. We also didn’t ride anything; we mostly just went for the sites and the food. They were also giving the H1N1 vaccine for free in one of the main buildings, so all of us except Ellen got the vaccine (she’d already received it previously). Considering the vaccine costs $20 and the entrance was $15, we basically got a $5 discount on the vaccine shot. LOL.

I put up a new website layout a few days ago, and I also re-arranged some of the information and images on different pages. It was time for some clean-up and TLC. I figured now would be the best time to do it, since I am going to be very busy in the next few weeks with commissions.

I also put up all the prints that I’d gotten through deviantart up on my walls. I made a sort of mini-gallery right behind my computer. You can see it below:

My goal now is to get even more prints so that I can make the collection more impressive.

I can’t think of anything else to discuss, so… ciao!

Art, Audi, Entertainment, Friends, Fun, Life

So I wrote all this in my deviantART journal, but I figured it would be good to post this all here, too. A lot of good news coming my way, and here’s to hoping this year is just as eventful and fruitful as 2009.

 I was contacted by a metal band from Nottingham, UK called Martyr Defiled about doing the art for their upcoming August CD release. They want the front cover, back cover, a 12-page booklet, and the front and back design for the CD. I’ve already sent them my price, so here’s to hoping they say Yes.

I’ve been in Miami since Sunday visiting my family, and while I had plans with one of my best friends that got canceled, it actually turned out OK, anyway. A friend of mine and some of her gal pals want some very witchy portraits done of them. So, what I’ll figure I’ll do is create a series out of it. I’ll be going over to my friends house on Wednesday to take all their photos.

I got the part I needed to fix my car. Thankfully, a good friend of mine who works at NAPA Auto Parts was able to get the part for half the price I found it for everywhere else: $50. Now, I can finally have a working car!

Someone bought my 2010 calendar recently, and it allowed me enough money in my deviantART.com dollars to buy the very last Birthday Gold t-shirt available in Women’s Large. Now, large is too big on me, since I’m a small/medium up top. My mom can just make it smaller for me, so it’s no big deal.

Art, Family, Friends, Job, Life

I can’t think of a title, so… that’s the best I got.

So we’re in the new year, whoop-dee-doo. Same shit, different year, I say. It’s becoming harder and harder to get a job, especially where I live. It doesn’t help that my car is still out of commission until I fix it. Thankfully, my uncle came by the other day and checked out my car. He found what the problem was… an over $100 problem. I’m hoping that our friend who works at an auto parts place can get the part for cheaper. Once we get that, the car should be good as new.

I’ve been really active on deviantart.com lately, and I recently received Senior status. Senior status is given to those artists on the site who have given a lot back to other artists, have created exceptional work, or have just been a driving force and powerful influence in the community. I was shocked and honored to have gotten it. However, every positive is balanced with a negative, it seems. I entered a contest run by the site’s staff for the new videogame that’s coming out soon, Darksiders: Your Last Days. I was quite disappointed with the entries that were chosen. In fact, I was completely dumbstruck. Some of the entries had almost nothing to do with the actual theme, or were poorly done, or could have been replaced with MUCH stronger entries. Even my hubby, who is brutally honest… even to the point that he says things sometimes that hurt my feelings, agreed with me. Whatever, is all I can say.

I just finished another commission recently, and I’ll be uploading it to my website soon. It came out pretty damn cool, considering I used all my own stock and painted a lot of it.

I’m still hungry, so I’m gonna go get a late night snack. Ciao.

Art, Life, Rants Art, commission, contest, darksiders, new year

I kind of have been Gaga-fied lately. I’ve been working on an entire series of photos based on Lady Gaga’s music. Each photo shows off a different make-up design inspired by different songs. You can check out the photos at my deviantart gallery or at in my Facebook gallery.

I’m gonna be driving down either the 22nd or the 23rd to Miami for the holidays. I’m really hoping things start picking up for us. I’ve been feeling pretty useless and miserable without a job, and it doesn’t help that the commissions just aren’t coming in fast enough, even with being DIRT CHEAP. *sigh* It sucks. A lot. If there was ever a time when I needed another book cover deal, this is it… hell, a few book cover deals would be even nicer, but I’ll settle for just one. LOL.

I just finished contacting a few publishing companies to see if they are in need of any artwork for upcoming releases. An acquaintance of mine from dA said she did that a while back, and I had no clue that you actually could. So… here’s to hoping one of them writes me back with some good news.

I’m gonna go to bed now… my hubby is beckoning me away from the computer to watch Bladerunner with him. Heh. Ciao.

Audi, Family, Life Audi, lady gaga, money, publishers

Bet you’d never see those two names in the same vicinity, huh? Yea well, I’ve been surviving on a healthy dose of both those lovely ladies for the last few days. I’ve been going through a rollercoaster of emotions lately. One minute I feel really happy and satisfied, and then the next I feel fucking blah. Not sad or miserable or anything, just… not as happy, I guess. It sucks. I’m sure it’s a product of the season. For example, our friends in Miami are doing a Secret Santa thing, but Audi and I had to opt out of it simply because of our current financial situation. Of course, they were very understanding and said it was totally fine, but it still leaves you feeling pretty crummy, you know? *shrug*

I just finished another of my commissions, I’m working on one currently, and I’m waiting for a third person to send me their photos so I can get started on their second. The nice thing is, this cheap commission thing has gotten me quite a few bites. Seems people are willing to pay small amounts for more work than a big amount for only one work. Makes sense to me. Hehe. What’s also nice is that I’ve been able to beef up my commissions section on my website. Once the newest Amelia Atwater-Rhodes book comes out, I can add that one, too. Pretty damn cool if you ask me.

Even though, I probably won’t be able to get any gifts for my family and friends, I’m still looking forward to Christmas. Ever since moving out here, I’ve needed company, and since we’re going to be driving down this time (hopefully, if all goes well), then we can go visit whoever we want. I’d really like to hang out with Dustin and Carolina, since we haven’t seen them in quite some time. Carolina even wanted to hire me for a commission, to make her into a good witch. ;D More mula, baby. haha.

So yea, getting back to Lady Gaga in particular. I found out that she’s going to be performing January 2nd in Miami. GOD I WANT TO GO SO BAD. You don’t understand, I’m so PISSED that I can’t spare the money to buy a ticket. It kills me. I worship that woman, and knowing she’s going to be performing only 2 hours away from me is driving me nuts. Think of it this way: Pat Benatar is my #2 favorite artist of all time (right behind NIN), and I’ve seen her perform three times. So… you kind of get the picture. XD I’ve already done a few art pieces inspired by her music. You can check some of them out here:

Monster
Telephone
So Happy I Could Die
Bad Romance

Anyway, I am off to go watch more Lady Gaga videos on Youtube like the starcrazed loser that I am.

Life

My car is pretty much kaput until I can take it to a mechanic. And since I don’t really have the funds for a mechanic, it’s basically sitting out in front of my apartment, collecting bird poop and falling leaves. Hooray. The problem with it is that it accelerates on its own. After much research through forums and websites, it turns out the problem could be one of many things; the fuel injector is malfunctioning and giving too much power, or the Cruise Control is stuck, or a vacuum hose is leaking, etc etc etc… All I know is, I’m not a frigging mechanic.

I’ve been doing some cheap commissions lately, since we really kind of needed some income badly. I don’t regret turning down that job with Olan Mills, because I know I would have HATED getting up just to go stand at the front of K-Mart to convince people to buy photos. No thanks. Let the little old lady who’s retired and bored and had her interview right before mine have THAT job. So, basically, here’s how the commission prices go:

Commissions for <b>$5</b>:
- Photo retouching (Using a photo of you, your friend(s), or a loved one and making it look professionally taken; Image MUST BE High-Res.)

Commissions for <b>$10</b>:
- Portraits (Using a photo of you, your friend(s), or a loved one and making it special; Image MUST BE High-Res)
- Digital Art Piece (A simple digital work in a style of your choosing; dark, surreal, fantasy, etc…)
- Tattoo Designs (If you’ve got an idea for a tattoo, I’ll draw it out for you.)

Commissions for <b>$15-$20</b>:
- Uber Portraits (Using a photo of you, your friend(s), or a loved one and making it extra special; Image MUST BE High-Res)
- Specialized Digital Art Piece (A work based off of your own personal idea or concept, done in my style)

So, if anyone’s interested, just email me at neugotisch(a)hotmail.com. I’ve added three of my latest commissions to my website, in case anyone is interested in seeing what kind of results you’ll be getting.

As far as personal stuff, things are fine. I’m going to be heading down to Miami for Christmas, and I hope that these last few days of the year are kind to both me and Audi (as well as everyone else, of course).  I seriously can’t believe a DECADE is so close to ending. Cripes, where does the time go?

Anyway, I guess that’s all for now. Ciao.

Art, Audi, Family, Friends, Life Art, Audi, christmas, commissions