Deb Trotter, Cowboy's Sweetheart

Cowgirls know how to have fun.

So do Linda & Opie O’Brien.

Linda was recently tagged and tagged me in turn.

After I picked myself up off the floor from laughing at Linda’s post, I must list my own. (God, Linda. How do you follow a hurricane? Up until now I thought I was the craziest person in the world. But YOU Are! I bow to the Queen of Loons! Did I mention I love Loons?)

Here are the Rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.  2. post the rules to your own blog  3. share six non-important things about yourself  4.  tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs  5.  let each person you tag know by leaving a comment on her site.

Here are my "Silly Me Facts" ( In cowgirl lingo, that’s "Let ‘Er BUCK, pardner!" )

1. I majored in two of the worst subjects in the world if you want to find a decent paying job -  Drama & English. Ever since my freshman year in a certain person’s English class (I shall hereby refer to him as Professor Dumbledore) I have been obsessed with subject/pronoun/verb agreement. This is the reason I throw a can of tomato soup every night at Brian Williams (whom I otherwise love) when he says, "EveryONE has THEIR own opinion about ….blah, blah, blah." Professor Dumbledore would roll over in his grave should he imagine such a thing (the singular subject with the plural pronoun, not the tomato soup).

2. I used to be thin. I mean really, really thin. Like, size 2 thin. And I didn’t have to work at it, either. I was too physically busy to know I was hungry. The skinny kid who would only eat banana popsicles and watermelon. The skinny high schooler who was a demon-majorette and loved nothing more than 4 hour drills out on the football field. The skinny actress who tap danced her way through Cole Porter musicals and Tennesse Williams plays (sorry Professor Dumbledore, that was an ambiguous sentence – of COURSE I never tap danced in a Tennessee Williams play – DUH). The skinny school teacher who was so busy teaching her Drama kids how to tap dance and her English students how to use proper subject/verb/pronoun agreement that she had no time to eat – food never entered her mind – except for half a pack of cheese crackers and a diet coke at lunch. Why is it, then, that as an artist I am obsessed with food? Eating and not eating. Drinking coffee. Eating some more. Painting. Drinking more coffee. Snacking. Painting some more – you get the picture. Art has been good for my psyche but not my waistline.

3. You know this already – I am a Coffee Hound. You don’t know this – I got a new coffee maker for Christmas, so now I have two coffee makers. On the right counter I have a Gourmet Coffee Maker that grinds gourmet coffee and brews it at the perfect temperature. One the left counter is my new Keurig Coffee Maker which brews delicious, piping hot coffee with individual little coffee containers, all in 10 seconds. It will also brew tea and hot chocolate. Clean up is a breeze. Just throw out the little individual coffee K-cup, and you’re done. No coffee pot to clean. No coffee filter. No nothing. Just delicious, perfect coffee every time – in a gazillion flavors, no less. I think Keurig should send me free K-cups for life for this free advertising. I can see it now, "Keurig. The Artist’s Choice." And a picture of ME in my studio, only photoshopped to look like I have Jessica Alba’s Body and Julia Robert’s face and Dale Evan’s cowgirl boots!

4. I have never met a stranger. I can talk your ears off (and that’s on a bad day – on a good day I will have you begging for mercy). Thus, the first three facts about me look like they were written by William Faulkner instead of Ernest Hemmingway. (I’ve never liked Hemmingway. Much. Stupid Big Fish!)

5. I am a woman of contradictions. On one hand I am NOT a girly-girl. I dislike pink, ruffles, rhinestones, and high heels. I appreciate frou frou when others do it. They know how. It’s just not my thing. The same goes for home furnishings. I love old pine and walnut cupboards. Hardwood floors that don’t shine, but smell of lemon. I like big, chunky couches with giant pillows. Leather chairs. Suede, fringed curtains. Simple roses and ferns in nice, ample, utilitarian pottery. No silver. (And ask me what I got when I got married? About thirteen silver trays, silver bowls, silver coffee urns, silver… well, you get the idea). When it comes to jewelry, though, I prefer silver. I like my silver and wood aged with patina. I go crazy with burnt umber on my canvases – I want to age everything! Bring the colors down a notch – make them richer. I love fashion and get a kick out of "What Not To Wear," but I still go for comfort. It’s sad but true. Lord help me, my favorite shoes are boiled wool clogs and my favorite cowgirl boots are low heeled and crepe souled. It feels good to be real.

5. At the tender age of 57, I am finally uttering the words I never thought I’d say… I HAVE BECOME MY MOTHER. When my son finally learns a lesson and makes the mistake of telling us about it, I nod my head, lower my eyebrows, and say, "What did I TELL you?" When my husband can’t find something in the refridgerator and asks me where it is, what comes out of my mouth? "It’s right here. The same place it always is." And when my husband can’t figure out why one of the dogs minds ME and not HIM, I just say, "Discipline. It’s all about discipline." Thanks, mom!

6. I go nuts over new art techiques and mediums. I take a class. Buy $500 worth of materials, and then I never use them. What’s wrong with this picture? (That was the Ernest Hemmingway version of "What makes this artist wacko?")

Ok. So much for that. Now, aren’t you glad you read through 15 minutes of non-educational, "what was THAT all about" information about me?

I tag Deryn, Shirley, Tuna, and Maija.

Thanks for the tag, Linda! You rock!

Happy Trails!

Posted in Western Cowgirl Art | 11 Comments »

"Horses In Their Hearts," 12" X 9" canvas, now on EBAY

Just a quick note to say I have some artwork and several Buckaroo Bags up on Ebay. The prices are great (practically a steal, pardner), and there’s no reserve. Check it out if you get the chance. An art crawl I had planned to attend has been delayed indefinitely, so I’m in the mood to lighten up my inventory. Out with the old and in with the new!

The auction for the artwork ends this weekend, so hurry on over.

Catch ya later, pardner!

Happy

Posted in Western Cowgirl Art | 8 Comments »

Here we are – you and I. Visual artists who love what we do and look forward to every little dollar we make (or not). So – Why us? What makes us a prime target of scam artists?

Yep. They’re at it again. Scam Artists who prey on artists like us.

I received an email the other day. (Some of you may also be "lucky" recipients of this scam.)

Hope this message finds you well, I came across your web page while searching for good artworks. (OK. Dead giveaway! Who the heck says, "artworks?")

I must tell you that your artworks touched me instantly. (Ah. The old "touched me" line! Now he/she is appealing to our need to "touch" others with our art). I’d been searching the web for art, and everything seemed so one dimensional, except for yours. Beautiful! ( Hmmm. Excuse me while I laugh. Is there really such a thing as ONE dimensional art? I thought art was two or three dimensional).

I will like to buy some of these creative artworks directly from you which I think will be perfect for my wall which are BIG RED, BIG RED’S HAT, LATIGO PIGTAILS, MIDNIGHT EYES. ( Ha! The works she/he mentions are my SKETCHES! They aren’t even for sale! Can you say STUPID IDIOT?)

I will be happy to have these selected artworks in our new home. (I think he/she will be even happier to take my money!) What are their prices exclusive of shipping cost? (So, now he/she wants free shipping?) We are moving from our Alabama home to our new apartment in London, (funny, since this email came from a UK address, and is likely even a Nigerian email. And why Alabama? Why not New York? Or Florida? Or California? Or even Wyoming?) I will appreciate an earlier reply. (An earlier reply? That would be as opposed to what? A later reply? A sooner reply?) Thanks. Best Regards  Eve (I don’t know why the name "Eve" strikes me as funny. Perhaps it’s because the whole email is one big joke!)

For those of you fortunate enough to have never received such an email, this is one of the biggest scams out there. The scammer asks you how much the art is. You tell him. He says he will send you a check for MORE than the cost of the art. Let’s say your art costs $1000. He will send you a check for $5000, and he wants you to cash the check and to please send the difference to another address or PO Box which his "agent" will pick up. So you do what he asks. 10 days or so later your bank calls you to tell you that the check was no good, and you owe the bank $5000!

I receive emails like this all the time, but this one was especially clever – appealing to artists who are so quick to respond to compliments and to that, "everything seemed so one dimensional, EXCEPT YOURS." We want our art to be special, unique, moving. And when someone tells us it IS and they want to buy tons of it, we get all fluttery and emotional. Then he moves in for the kill.

Don’t let a scammer get you.

Be wary. Be sensible. Be smart.

Happy Trails.

Posted in Western Cowgirl Art | 10 Comments »

Where has my head been? Muddled, I reckon. Too much going on for this old brain to handle – which COULD by WHY I forgot to mention our other "new member" of Art Pub, Kristen Robinson!

Kristen was invited into the Pub almost a year ago, so actually she’s not really "new" – it’s more like her membership was delayed… she had so much going on in her life (she’s an artistic whirlwind, that one!) that we put her "on hold" until January 2008. We are so lucky to have her at Art Pub – and I’m honored to call her friend…

Check out Kristen’s Art Pub blog here.

While I’m posting (and before my brain turns to mush with all the things mulling around in my head), I have to share a "husband" story. It’s a wonder he is still alive (I could have killed that rascal) after the "man thing" he pulled on me today. It was just a little thing, but soooooooooooo annoying. (I have a feeling some of you will relate)…

We are in the kitchen. I am making coffee. He is pouring juice. I am loading the dishwasher. He is gargling with mouthwash and spits into the kitchen sink!

Now, I ask you – WHAT WAS HE THINKING? Can you think of anything more disgusting – I mean other than hawking and spitting for absolutely no reason?????

But WAIT! I am not done.

I look at him and say, "WHAT are you DOING? Do you know how disgusting that is?" And he looks at me and grins… THEN…

He goes to the front door to bring in the paper. Walks back into the kitchen. (Please note that I am standing next to the trash compactor. And right now, so is he.) He pulls the protective plastic cover off of the newspaper… AND HANDS IT TO ME! I kid you not – he hands it to me, so that I can dispose of it, when he is standing right in front of the blasted trash compactor! I mean, really – how flipping HARD can it BE to open the door, put the plastic wrapper in it, and push the trash compactor closed?

What am I missing here!???

I should know by now never to be surprised when he pulls one of his "man things!" LOL I do LOVE that man to death – but boy, can he push my buttons!

Happy Trails & Trash disposal!

Posted in Western Cowgirl Art | 4 Comments »

Yee Ha, Pardners! Can you believe it’s February already?

In honor of this "month of love" and the One Hand, One Heart Giveaway , I am giving away the above Cowboy’s Sweetheart piece. You’ll have to visit my Art Pub Blog in order to enter your name for the drawing. It’s easy – just click here for the details.

Pilar Pollock is our Artist of the Month for February, so while you’re over putting your name in the pot for the giveaway, be sure and read about what an amazing artist and woman she is (as if you didn’t know already!)

I’m off to get acquainted with a new cowgirl who just recently entered my vintage photo collection. You’ll meet her soon enough.

Happy Trails!

Posted in Western Cowgirl Art | 4 Comments »