And it begins...

Boxer Note card, one of the many new designs available at www.juliesillustration.com

I am about to begin to start unveiling the new sites.

New products such as dog breed note cards, key/luggage chains and magnets will be available, as well as holiday cards, and other animal note cards. These will be featured on the "Boutique" page at:

www.juliesillustration.com

It will take a little time to upload all of the designs to their respective pages, so please be patient with me while I complete all the changes. The site has had a complete make-over, so I'd like to get it up and running asap, even if all the products are not loaded yet.

I am still offering pet and people portraits for those interested, and my pricing has remained the same as it was before. I am also showcasing some of my fine art and photography, trying to broadening my horizons in the art world.

My design site at:

www.julies-art-design.com

has also gone through some changes, so please see the rates page for more details. I am still focusing mainly on real estate design, so if you are an agent in need of feature sheets, please visit my site above.

JRTCC 2009 Nationals - Paris, ON

They were calling for rain the entire day, so I was skeptical about how things would go. As I drove in at 7:15 in the morning, the closer I got to Paris, the darker the skies got, bringing threats of an umbrella and rain-coat clad day. But low-and-behold, it held off and turned out to be a mainly cloudy, rather nice day to play at this national event.

I situated myself at the agility ring, and spent the entire day there. I got some nice shots shots of a few of the dogs running, but gave up after a while. It was too much to volunteer, run a dog, and photograph. Have I ever told anyone that I am uncoordinated?

And that uncoordination followed me into the ring, trailing behind me like a wet piece of toilet paper stuck to the bottom of my shoe without my knowledge.

Describing our runs as spastic, entertaining and crazy at most, is being generous. To be completely honest, they were flailing and erratic at best. The little dog was slightly nutty, cooler weather and grass will do that to Brandy, unfortunately. But I'm loosing my mind on course. I know it's my fault, I wish I could blame the little dog, but I can't, and she'd talk her way out of it some how anyway. Reviewing the runs in my head, all my turns were off, my signaling, well, picture a jelly fish trying to signal to someone to make a left turn. Chicken with it's head cut off comes to mind when describing these runs, and my timing was like that of a broken clock with no second hand.

That all being said, the little dog pulled up her shorts and managed to take the Small Dog Steeplechase Challenge, a new event added for this years nationals. A 1st place ribbon and wonderful gift basket was a great surprised after the less-than-perfect runs that we produced. I feel I say that phase far too much - I think it really needs to be removed from my vocabulary. Re-thinking my strategy and game plan for agility may be in order. Unfortunately, no pictures of Brandy running this time, as my "personal photographer" was not with me at this event...a shame it was her birthday.

I'm not in it for the fame and glory, I'm in it for fun, so even botched runs are ok with me, though Brandy may have a differing opinion.

Over all, the day was a blast, volunteering with the ladies that run the event was lots of fun, and entertaining in itself. The weather held out, I got to talk to people that I hadn't see in a while and I got to spend the day with my favorite little dog. What more could I ask?

My little child is getting old...

That's right, my little baby child is 20 today!! Actually, she's not really mine, I can't take credit for her. She is my parents little baby child, but she feels like mine. And, she's making me feel old.

She is my mini-me, my protegee if you will. It scares me sometimes how similar we can be; perhaps more than sometimes. But she is a very talented little thing, and I say she got it all from me - the good looks and the fantastic abilities!

She reminds me a lot of Brandy in many ways, and I suppose that Brandy is her mini-me ... though it is a very odd resemblance at best. They are just both brats I suppose, both brats that are getting older, and making me feel like life passes too quickly. But they are both brats that make my life complete, and I couldn't imagine being without them.

Life is great when you have a Q and a B (don't ask, she'll know what I'm talking about and for now, that's all that counts).

Happy birthday Gabe!!!!!!

To see her photography and art, please follow the links below:
http://deano-art.smoothfolio.com http://gabrielledeansphotography.smoothfolio.com

Coming together ... slowly

Progress is slow, and sometimes tedious, but progress is progress none-the-less. I can now say that things are coming together for the re-vamp and progressing (I know, too many progresses) at a better rate than before. I've managed to get a lot of drawing completed over the past couple weeks, and it looks like I may be able to roll this out sooner than later - we'll see.

And the mighty printer, you ask? Well, it really is quite something. I'm still learning, and probably will be for the next 20 years, but I think I've got the hang of a few things on this beast, and again, the quality that it produces is excellent. So, needless to say, I'm pretty excited.

So keep an eye on the website in the next week or so for the new changes. But first, Brandy and I will be attending the JRTCC Nationals this coming Sunday. The event is being held at the Paris Fairgrounds, in none other than Paris, Ontario. The weather network has been toying with my emotions for this event, rain then no rain, cloudy with sun, then rain. Please, no rain, please...my little dog doesn't compete well when she's wet, and she looks ridiculous. It's no excuse, but it's the truth.

If you want more information about the nationals, please visit: www.jrtcc.com

Printer Trials and Errors

The super fantastic Epson R1900 arrived at my house on Monday, about 2 hours after my post. It's huge! I'm not sure what I was expecting in the size department, but the thing is enormous. This makes me very happy about my Ikea desk addition purchase that was bought and assembled on Sunday, making my desk about 3/4's of the size of my office.

So, I am now in the testing phase. This printer is much more complicated than your average desktop unit, housing 8 individual ink cartridges, including a gloss optimizer for stunning output. I'm slowly learning what this beast can do, and so far, am extremely happy when I the pieces fall together. The prints are full of rich colour, fantastic detail and the single piece of art that I printed last night (after a half hour of trying to figure out settings) looks perfect!

To learn more about his printer please visit:
EPSON R1900

Epson Stylus Photo R1900

Yes! I finally made a decision on which printer would be best for my needs. The number one manufacture all along for me was Epson, and I was up in the air between the 1400 and 1900. Well, I bit the bullet, opened the old leather wallet, and got myself this new, stylish, professional quality, pigment ink printer.

I'm very excited about this printer as it allows for 13" wide prints (44" long), can handle fine art stock and, depending on the paper used, has a great archival quality - perfect for fine art prints (both photographic and hand produced), greeting cards and more!!

This bad boy is part of my "re-vamp", and I should be receiving the new gadget this week. I realize now that I have inherited my father's "more computers, printers, scanners and cameras" disease, but it's a disease that I enjoy.

Visit often for more information on the "new" business, what products I will be offering and upcoming events!

Web Site Re-Vamp

Slowly, but surely, I am coming along with my business/web site re-vamp. It is taking longer than I anticipated as I am very picky about how I want things displayed and what I need to include. Overall, I am taking a more gallery-business type of approach, so bare with me, and visit frequently to see how the changes are progressing. Though, I'm thinking it best not to ease into it, but rather jump feet first and make a big splash. So perhaps keep an eye out for a brand new site, rather than just changes to the old one.

I will still be offering Pet and People Portraits, however, I will also be offering fine art - originals and prints - for sale and some new products available in my boutique. And, as always, I am still available for design work.

So, with that said, I'd better get back to work. I'm hoping to be fully operational in about two months.