Art of April VanSickle

Moving...

2009-07-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

For now, I've decided that the best place for my art journal is on live journal. But I'm keeping this account open to comment on blogs and also because I may use it as a cross posting place in the future. Not sure on that yet.

Anyway, to keep reading my art updates, you'll need to visit:
http://aprilvansickle.livejournal.com

Or you can use the Add to Any button below to get it via email or however you prefer!

Zazzle!

2009-06-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

I'm slowing uploading new products to my Zazzle store in case you are looking to buy my art on products I don't produce myself.

Acorn Cottage

2009-04-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

This was painted digitally using mostly Painter. The theme was Fall and it was painted specifically for a fall themed art show. There are things I love about it (the pumpkin and the window) but other parts that I'm not so thrilled about (the tree feels rushed). I have to say, it was a little shocked to see this painting on my new monitor as it looked better on my old CRT monitor. The thing that stands out most to me is how different the green on the door looks. When I painted it on the older monitor it seemed to have a lot more rich variations of tone and looked more like old paint on wood. Now, it seems kind of flat to me in tone.

I wanted to make it available for viewing to keep track of my progress, but I'm not so happy with it that I want to make prints of it and offer it on my site. However, if you happen to love it and want a print, drop me a line at my website and let me know. :)

New Monitor, New Layout

2009-04-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Alas, my poor old CRT monitor finally started having so many problems with powering up that I had to replace it. I prefer CRT monitors for their superior graphics, but they are harder and harder to find (not to mention monster sized on your desk!) and so did some research on LCD monitors and found a good mid-quality LCD screen for better graphics. Although I'm suspecting my gaming quality might be less than desirable according to the reviews I've read, but graphics were a more important choice for me. I ended up purchasing a Dell 2408WFP (24" LCD screen with a VA panel). I love how much less room this monitor takes up on my desk. I love also that it is widescreen and I can have two programs open side by side (great for web work!). But what I did not love was how my website looked on my new monitor. It looked very minuscule on the screen:

So, I did some tweaking and came up with a fluid layout that would look good on a larger variety of monitor sizes:

I don't think I'm done yet. Are we ever done though with tweaking our sites though? ;) But I'm much happier with it now. I am thinking of adding a few more little PHP doodads to the site to make it more visually interesting, but for now this will do.

Blog Staying!

2009-04-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

Well, a quick update. I took a poll and it seems that more people prefer blogger to a wordpress on my website for many reasons. One that was named many times was 'following'. I don't use the following feature and hadn't given that much thought because I subscribe to blogs via RSS feeds, but I can see how following would be useful to those people that don't want a feed reader. It's a lot like a friends list on Livejournal it seems.

So, while I LOVE wordpress and would for my own geekiness prefer to keep a wordpress on my website as my art journal, I can see how blogger holds more charm for many readers. So, I will be moving back to blogger. I'll put in the help ticket to livejournal to reflect my choice to move back here so the livejournal syndication feed will continue to work and be updated. :)

And a quick note: As I said before, I prefer reading journals via Google Reader instead of 'following' which means I can't see myself using the following feature here on blogger....but its there for you if you want to use it. :)

Edited to add: I decided against the 'following' gadget in my sidebar since I have decided not to use the following feature for myself (as I do RSS feeds), but I did find in the blogger toolbar at the top of the screen is a "Follow Blog" button that gives you the option to follow me (without the widget being active) if you are logged into blogger. So, please do feel free to follow me that way if you wish. Thanks!

Well, I was emailed and the 'follwing' gadget was missed and so I added it back to the sidebar for anyone who prefers to 'follow'.

CafePress

2008-03-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

Clicky the mermaid to visit my cafepress shop to find apparel, mugs and other items featuring my artwork! :)

The Christmas Star

2007-12-14T15:59:00.000-08:00

My newest piece painted to use for the image on my Christmas cards this year. :)

Illustration Friday - Grow

2007-10-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

My contribution for this week's theme of "Grow" for illustration friday.