Tati, the Artsy

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!

Hello, I’m Tati, and that’s my Crazy Radio!
Oh… Okay, this isn’t a radio nor podcast. This is text. I know…
Anyway, from now on, I am publishing some quick posts, sharing some things I like, thoughts, etc. You know… the same I did on Twitter, but more classy! I LOVE SHARING! Of course I’ll keep posting my sketches, illustrations and drawings as usual. Oh, can you see Qua-Quack Duck at left side? Yeah, I’m sharing my mood too.
All right… Take a look at my crazy playlist below and be sure that I have a very bad taste for music! XD

Coheed and Cambria – The Running Free
Bruce Dickinson – Acoustic Song
Beirut – Elephant Gun
Era – Madona
Lady Gaga – Bad Romance
Old Crow Medicine Show – Wagon Wheel

Nothing special… Just to keep this blog updated. I’m here, in my studio/home, with my husband and dog, listening to Bossa Nova. Well, that’s the tiny-painting I’m working on. I took this picture yesterday, but I just finished it. Soon (this week, I hope) it will be available in my shop. Since I got my easel, I’m feeling like a real artist. Oh, the painting behind is the next one I’ll work on. And, below, my sketchbook which I always doodle using the remaining paints – yeah, I mix too much paint on the palette!

Okay, a little less artistic thing: this is something that I love to do in my kitchen, we call it “Brigadeirão de Microondas”. It’s like a chocolate pudding-cake made on microwave. DE-LI-CI-OUS! I made it last week, and I’m going to make it again. Nhummy! You know what? I GAVE UP of diet!

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.

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!

This is Globby – the Purple Thing. And he would love to hear you saying “Hi, Globby” in front of your computer right now. Come on! Don’t be shy… Ready? So, let’s say: “Hi, Globby”!
Emmm, he can’t hear you. Can you say it louder, please? Ok… Let’s do it together: “HI, GLOBBY”!
He’s just one of my failed experiences, trying to mould with a kind of epoxy resin called Durepoxi. It’s not easy as I thought… Actually my intention was to do something really cool: one of my characters, a doll, etc. Then, I gave up and decided to make a… thing. Well, we can imagine he’s Blue Thing‘s brother, anyway.