theartofcmaine

[theartofcmaine]

Shop Opening!

My web shop is officially open and has a sale from Aug 11-17!

Use code SHOPOPEN for the discount on my website or Etsy.

Come stop by to see what art prints and handmade goods you can pick up for yourself or gift to some friends. There’s even some limited quantity original art for sale, first come first serve on those and once they’re gone, they won’t be coming back, so best grab one if you really want it.

[theartofcmaine]

My other story "The Black Dog of Gimmald Taer" apparently won one for the month of June, I really need to start paying better attention when these come in haha

Here's the link if you'd like to read that one as well

I post all my short stories on Substack

I made a video teaser for my latest short story.

A haunting tale of desolation, promises and curses, and the cost of obsession.

Read it on Substack

[theartofcmaine]

My short story "The Crown of Glass Fang and Thorn" was awarded a feature medallion on Top in Fiction for the month of July and I completely missed it!

If you'd like to read the story yourself, the link is in the linked post

I made a video teaser for my latest short story.

A haunting tale of desolation, promises and curses, and the cost of obsession.

Read it on Substack

[theartofcmaine]

Exciting news, I've created my own shop on my revamped website! It officially opens on August 11th with an art print sale, so mark your calendars if you'd like to get something.

There will be art prints, limited quantity original art, my ebook, and various other goods.

I’ll have another announcement this weekend as reminder.

Some of the purchases are able to be bought straight from me (the art prints) while the other offerings are hosted on Etsy of Ko-fi (eBook) for ease.

[theartofcmaine]

I extended the sale because over the past month I've taken a real pleasure in being entrusted with your memories.

Every token I've made is a journey you took or something important to you and I love hammering that important thing into metal, immortalizing it for you.

https://theartofcmaine.etsy.com

I started making these Memory Keepers and Travel Tokens to remember the places I've been. Hung them all up on a keyring to carry the memories of the places I've seen, the important moments I've lived, and the dates they hold.

Now I make them so anyone can start their collection.

These mementos aren't just for Travel, they're for everything and anything important that you want to remember and carry with you.

The Names of the ones you cherish, the Dates of important events, Kind Words to hold onto. Whatever you need to remember, these will hold.

Keep them or Gift them and spread the love.

I hand stamp every single ring letter by letter and ink them if you'd like. Each one is unique and personal and right now they're on sale until August 31st.

So go make memories, I'll be here when you're ready to immortalize them.

[theartofcmaine]

I got into travel tokens as memory keepers awhile ago. Little metal rings strung up on a keyring to carry the name of every place I've been.

But they can hold any important thing. Names, dates, words.

Now I make them & they're on sale (link in bio)

Etsy Shop

[theartofcmaine]

I made a video teaser for my latest short story.

A haunting tale of desolation, promises and curses, and the cost of obsession.

Read it on Substack

[theartofcmaine]

Taking a hiatus from here. I have too many socials and not enough brain space to juggle every platform

Find me on Substack, Insta, and Cara

[theartofcmaine]

“You’re much too serious, Grey,” Hedge sniffs, her narrow nose twitching as it catches scent of yet another large purple bloom. She plucks it delicately and tucks the flower in her wicker basket with a satisfied noise.

“Is that so?” the large fox muses, his dark fur shifting in the breeze. 

“It is. You may be lord of this glen, but that doesn’t mean everything is business. This was your home first.”

Grey turns his amber eyes to the sky, his tail swaying somberly beneath the navy tailcoat he chose for today. It has been a long time since he heard the word home. A long time since he’s thought of this wondrous glen as anything more than the place he must protect and provide.

His old friend squints up at him from beneath the brim of her large gardeners hat, smiling. The spines along her back click gently with each step, two of hers for every one of his. She slips her latest prize from her basket and lifts it up to him.

“Don’t forget to live.”

[theartofcmaine]

Art isn't my only source of release, I also paint pictures with words to create stories and make sense of a world that often doesn't. I've published one book so far which you can get for free as an ebook if you sign up to my newsletter, but I have many more stories and worlds to discover.

Right now I'm spending time untangling one such world and one such story that introduced itself to me about five years ago. Yet the path became winding and confusing, I found myself doubling back over places I'd already walked or found too many places where the trail ran cold and lost.

So now I've been spending time unraveling this world, trying to see where it was meant to go. I've not worked on it consistently in these five years, there's been too much going on and I lost focus of a path that was already unclear. But now I'm slowly picking my way through what's important, trying to find the way forward again. Trying to glimpse the ending that will serve as guide if it does not change somewhere along the way.

If you like posts like this one, I have a once a month newsletter that touches on subjects like this. This post will actually be talked about further when the newsletter comes out at the end of this month. So if you'd like to sign up and receive my first book as gift and thanks, then here's the link or you can check the one in my bio.

I have a love hate relationship with socials, so you might hear from me a bit more over there, but I still try to put up some art or something here once a week. Hope to hear from you soon!

[theartofcmaine]

In my group’s second campaign, the DM of our first campaign is a player, and this is his first PC with our group. 

Theodore Heffalump is an interesting gentlephant, a Loxodon of exquisite taste and distinction, he is a brewer by trade, a connoisseur of beer and ales. The Heffalumps are a proud and distinguished family and Theo is no small exception to the respected name. 

In search of the most unique ingredients and recipes to craft his extraordinary brews, Theo took his search in a rather curious direction.

Is it odd that black toxic magic can be shot out of his nose or that on occasion he hears voices in his sleep? Or that perhaps, every now and then, he wakes with a little touch of madness? Not in the slightest.

There’s certainly no greater being lending him aid in return for questionable favors, merely a good business partner who like to keep to himself even if that self is somewhere within a great void and Theo’s never exactly met him face to face, only ever in those pesky nightmares. 

[theartofcmaine]

One of the most memorable moments from my group's first D&D campaign was finding a stick of wild magic in a thrift shop run by a little old tiefling lady.

Suffice it to say, there was chaos and unintended (but thankfully temporary) consequences

[theartofcmaine]

My very first gouache painting! 

Landscapes and background painting has never been a strong point, and yet fantasy has. So rather than give up right at the start or abandoning my roots to try, I combined a weakness with a strength in the hopes I would create something that wouldn't feel like a trial during painting and that remained true to my interests. 

Of course this meant I had no photo reference to help other than the miscellaneous sketches I made and the few images of stormy clouds and water that I didn't rely on as much as I thought I would. 

Ended up allowing myself a bit of freedom to experiment even if it didn't match reality and in the end, it still came out well enough to enjoy

You can see how I made this painting in my latest newsletter

[theartofcmaine]

The first newsletter is out in the world and I’m going to go avoid all internet for the rest of the day now so I don’t keep checking on this post like an obsessed creature wondering if anyone will like the little thing I put a piece of my soul into. I know it’s not about the attention, it’s about the work, but I still gotta break the habit and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

Here's the link to read it

https://theartofcmaine.substack.com/p/the-fear-of-starting-something-new

And if you'd like to get these one a month in your inbox, there's a sign up link in the post.

If you read it, thanks for giving me a chance and if you join, thanks for your support! It really does mean a lot

[theartofcmaine]

"You were Always Broken, Percival"

One of the most memorable quotes from the first season of Critical Role, the haunting of Percy and the answer he perhaps always knew. Bound to a pact with a demon, the names of his enemies inscribed on the barrel of his gun, Percy hunted his demons and nearly became one himself.

[theartofcmaine]

I thought longer on the newsletter idea and realized that my survey asking all of you across all my socials about it, then only being answered by a very small handful was reason enough. There simply is no reach anymore, even among people who have chosen to follow you. Whatever changes have been done to socials over the years has broken the relationship between creator and follower to the point where even if you choose to join someone on their journey, you still might not see anything they post unless the algorithm decides so.

This has been a losing game for awhile and I was never interested in playing by the ever shifting rules even before they got as bad as they currently are. If I'd had the realization of attempting a newsletter earlier, I probably would've done it. Because making a newsletter steps out of the game and allows those who want to take that step with you come along without obstacles.

So here we go. I'm going to start small with one newsletter a month so as to not crowd your already busy life and if it grows from there then great and if not, then it'll be like a letter in the mail every now and then that you can read at your leisure without fear of having to save it before your feed refreshes.

This newsletter will of course hold all the socials updates that you may have missed as well as be an additional platform to write and share. I hope this is a better way to connect and to grow without having to squeeze life out of the unforgiving structure of socials like a plant reaching for life through a crack in the sidewalk only to be trampled.

No Longer A Blank Page is going to be a cozy, low pressure newsletter that touches on art, writing, and life in the margins. Join me in exploring and creating new worlds, growing and learning new skills and crafts, and whatever new interests may find their way.

I've not yet sent anything out, but if you'd like to pre-sign up so that first newsletter goes right into your inbox, here's the sign up link.

As thanks, you'll also receive a free ebook of my first novel!

See you soon!

It's been evident for awhile across all my socials that the algorithm is no friend.

Most if not all of you don't see a single thing I post and because I'm not active daily, it only gets buried further.

So, would you be interested if I changed things up? Had updates sent directly to your inbox instead of here?