My family has a new member! Oh, no… I’m not pregnant. I don’t even have plans of having a child – well, not now. I’m talking about my new puppy, Spock! He’s a cute-docile-lovely 3 months old Maltese, that we brought because Dexter (our 1 year old Shih Tzu) was needing a friend companion. I should have posted it before, but I didn’t have time for blogging, sorry. Spock arrived 15 days ago – I guess – and he’s doing pretty well in his new home!

Differently of Dexter, he’s quite restless. And, living 3 months in a kennel, he didn’t have the same Cesar-Milanesque education we (Nando and I) gave to Dexter. Then, Spock was bossing his older brother around, but not being aggressive at all. He was just stealing food, water and toys. Dexter, instead of defending his stuff, walks as if he’s saying “ok, never mind” and lies on his spot. It was very difficult to make him eat his food again. Fortunately it didn’t take so long and now they are great friends!

By the way, when Spock arrived home, Dexter thought it was the wold’s most wonderful thing. He couldn’t stop to follow and lick the little one! We told this story to the veterinarian and he said that “Dexter will be a good father”. So, all that licking thing was just to stimulate Spock for doing pee and poo (which he was holding).

As a nice mom I am, I don’t like to compare my “babies”. But certainly there’s a good difference between both dogs. Things we were missing in Dexter, like stay on lap and being kinder, we found in Spock. Well, of course our tiny maltese (he’s really tiny) has some defects too. I’ll not cite them, because my angels’ defects are qualities! Particularly, I’m loving this personality difference. The mess is double, and they drive me crazy, but I’m not regret! Dogs are cool!

My husband and I are totally nerds (and geeks). Our conversations are 90% about comics, movies, books, tv series, Apple stuff, web and everything unusual for normal couples. Last week, for some reason I don’t remember, we were talking about super heroes and instinctively I started to doodle this illustration: Dexter wearing a Batman costume!

Isn’t my baby the cutest Shih Tzu ever?

Yesterday afternoon a friend of mine, Fabio, invited my husband and I to go to the beach. Nothing so special, at least for me. Ponta Negra is not a good beach. There are pollution and everything else… But, for Dexter, our 1-year-old Shih Tzu dog, it was amazing, because it was the first time he saw the sea!

So, I’m sharing some photos for those who love dogs or Shih Tzu fans.

Well… Do you have a dog too? Or would you love to have one? Do you like pets?
Anyway… Everything (thoughts or photos) you want to share with me, you can use the comment box bellow or just message me!

Hi there! I’m Tatiana Maia (aka Tati), a brazilian illustrator, graphic and web designer, painter, blogger, nerd and housewife. This blog is made to share a little of my work and things I love…

My life is divided into housekeeping, painting, illustrations, loving my husband, Fernando, and my cute Shih Tzu dog called Dexter. I’d like to be a super woman, because it’s very difficult to manage this multi-life!

If I tell you that I live in Brazil, it would be a vague information, because… you know, that’s a big country! So, precisely, I live in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, at brazilian northeast. It’s a very sunny and hot city! It rains sometimes, but even so, we rarely have a cold weather. Honestly, I don’t like this place, and that’s not a good suggestion for spending your holidays – there’s nothing interesting here. Fortunately, maybe this year-end or next year, we’ll move to João Pessoa, Paraiba. Yeah, this one I really recommend!

What else about me? Well… I am very nerd. Nerd and geek! I love comics, mainly graphic novels, japanese and european comic books; I’m Apple-Head and totally support open source projects – I own a Macbook White, dual-booting Mac OS X and Linux Ubuntu; My hubby and I watch TV series and movies all the time (The Big Bang Theory, Friends, Lost, Dexter, Battlestar Galactica, Dr. House, etc, etc, etc….); And, the most important: I’m one of Bruce Dickinson’s biggest fan; Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that I LOVE BLOGGING!

Since I was a kid, I am completely in love with my art. And since then I try to keep it alive. I have only one dream: spread my art to the world. There’s no place for me in brazilian design and art market… I want and need something bigger than this country can offer. So, that’s why I am learning english and using internet to make my dream come true.

A little more about me as professional… First of all, check out my gallery and shop! Hehe! I am a self taught artist and designer. Everything I know I learned working (since I was 16), studying in my bedroom and having friends’ support. Nowadays I am 100% freelancer, but in the early years, I had jobs in Print Shops and Web Design Agencies. My first job, actually, was being Arts and English substitute teacher… and I can’t forget: Cyber Cafe attendant too. Yeah, my resumé isn’t so interesting… But it doesn’t matter, because today I only work with illustrations.

I am going to university next year – hope so – to study English Language and Literature at UFRN. I really love languages, and I have plans of learning Spanish, French, Italian, etc, etc.

Well, that’s a little about me.

Hugs!

19th January was Dexter‘s birthday, and unfortunately I didn’t have time to post about that. Yes, my little dog is 1 year old already, can you believe? He’s now an adolescent! Really! Well, one dog’s year, as I know, is something like 15 human years. But, I don’t care: he’s always my baby!

Then, I am posting some doodles of him that I did in my sketchbook. Drawing him and his toys is very cool. My house is a mess, a lot of toys scattered on the floor and I gave up of trying to organize them!

The weather here is very, very hot! I am not kidding!!! So, my husband and I decided to cut his fur. I know he’s a Shih Tzu, and has to have the Shih Tzu’s style… But, he’s feeling great, agile, running and jumping here and there! Even without all that fur, he’s still cute, looking like a large dog puppy. This picture above I took when he arrived from the Pet Shop. 4 days after (today), his fur is growing back a little and Dexter is looking prettier!
Dogs are so lovely! If you have a dog too, you can speak about your best friend on comments.

One of things I want to do is selling t-shirts painted or printed by myself. I just didn’t know how: hand-painted or screen-printed.
Then I researched about them on internet and watched great tutorials on YouTube – you can learn everything you want there! Paint tees is easy (it’s just paint a t-shirt with fabric paints), but it’s a hard work, you have to create unique pieces, and charge a little expensive price for it. Hand-painted t-shirts are good for commissions, I believe. Screen-printing is the best choice, but unfortunately there’s no space in my apartment for all those frames and equipments… So, googling more, I found something very interesting: Stencils!
This stenciling technique seems to work more with spray. However, I can’t use sprays on home, because of Dexter – he follows me everywhere (even my canvas paintings are protected with liquid varnish). Using paints on stencil is messy. The paint can’t be wet and there’s also an special brush for that. I bought this brush, but it didn’t work too – or I didn’t use it correctly. Then, I tried a roller and it worked perfectly! To make my stencils, I am using laser film – I had a job years ago in a Print Shop, and got some of those transparent paper -, and I cut my designs carefully with a craft knife. Don’t think it’s hard to do… actually it’s funny!

Stencils are recommendable for t-shirts and walls. I tried to paint with acrylic on paper, but… Ok, no more experiences! If you’re interested to learn, search on Google or YouTube for “Stencil Painting” or “Stencil Printing”. You’ll find a lot of how-to-do sites.
Well… It’s time to print some t-shirts! I can’t wait to post them here!
[edit] I just found this video that shows exactly the roller technique I am “blogging” about.

Today is the last day of 2009! This year was really important to me, because it was a year of learning. Now, 2010 is going to be a year of change (life and art)… Hope so.
Dexter, Qua-Quack Duck and I want to wish you a Happy New Year! \o/

This cute dog is Dexter, my 11 months old Shih Tzu. Fernando and I don’t have kids; we’re still a young couple and aren’t feeling ready to have a child yet. So, we got him when he was just a 45 days old puppy and since then we know the real meaning of love. And… Yes: his full name is Dexter Morgan!

Oh, and today is still 29th… Why is 2010 taking so long to begin?
I’m so excited because I love New Year’s Day and that’s our first celebration with our baby Dexter!