Happy Birthday, George

Our guitars aren't the only things weeping.
Happy birthday, George. We miss you.

Jealousy.

That one little word can destroy the world.
Your heart, soul, mind, body, and life can be destroyed by the simple seed of jealousy, planted unknowingly by a fleeting glance, a single word, or an overactive imagination.
If untended it can grow into hate.
And hate, when it is fully grown, has the power to kill.
To destroy.
To burn.
To cause wars.
To harbor bitterness toward an innocent person,
or to inflict the darkest of moods upon yourself.
Hate. It festers, and smolders, and burns and nags.
Hate can cause you to murder.
Hate can cause you to kill yourself.
Hate can cause you to utterly ruin the one you love most.
Or the one they love most.
Hate and Jealousy are the wicked stepsisters of our imperfect fairy tale lives.
They are wicked, dangerous things.
Oh, how none can tame them.

Currently listening to Am I Not Yours by Cursive. Listen here.
Picture above is by Norwegian expressionist artist Edvard Munch circa 1896.

-v.

Shepard Fairey in Tyler, Texas?

Hahaha. Haha. Ha. ha. No.

But I spotted an OBEY sticker on a traffic light downtown, and the clouds were just too perfect to not take a snapshot of it all. Click on the image for the ultra closeup detail of the shot. Nice to know there are some paper bombers among us.

The beautifully demented mind of Katy Towell

Do yourself a favor and watch this. And then watch everything else. Then stalk her site, because absolutely everything by this woman is pure creative genius.


I first found out about Miss Towell way back in 2007/8ish, and fell in love with this little flash animation when all she had (to my knowledge) was a "DeviantArt" page. Since then, she has elegantly upgraded to a very well done website, and even has a much anticipated book, Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrow, coming out late this August. Can't wait!

Her unsettling storylines and adorably macabre art really drew me in at first sight. My second favorite animation by her, would probably have to be Never Woke Up. It gives me chills every time, though I've probably watched it a hundred and six times.

-Savage V.

Hare Krshna (Krshna, Krshna, Hare, Hare)...

I recently picked up a little book called "Chant and Be Happy" from the Vedic library series. Picked up from my boyfriend, who picked it up from a little booth promoting charitable causes in New Orleans.

Its a little book about chanting the Hare Krshna to heighten your spiritual awareness, and bring about positive energies and happiness. Those who know me know that my religion is a complicated one. I was raised Christian, and as I grew older I still held fast to a largely Christian mindset, but incorporated more Hindu and New Age practices into my spiritual repertoire. Simply put, if you took the love child of Jesus and George Harrison, and named it a religion, that is the church I would fall into. (I have more reason than the average person to not get into discussions about religion.)

Moving on, this book covers the basics of Hare Krshna, what it means, and why its important. It includes exclusive interviews from John Lennon and Yoko, as well as extensive interviews from George Harrison about how he first came to learn about the Hare Krshnas, and how chanting the mantra has really affected his life in a positive way. Its a very interesting read, and a great introductory book for those who want to learn about the Maha Mantra.

Within the book is a how-to on making your own Japa beads, which are beads designed for meditation so that you can chant the Hare Krshna at your leisure and have a way to focus on something physical, (to make the chanting more real, in theory). Just as the Catholics have rosaries, the Krshnas have Japa beads.

I created my own set using glass beads in white, baby blue, teal, and an indigo/purpleish color. I wanted the beads also to serve as a reminder to keep my chakras properly aligned (chakras are energy centers in our bodies; there are seven running along the base of our spine to the top of our heads), and the fifth, sixth, and seventh chakras are represented by the colors blue, indigo, and violet or white.
The beads feel great to the touch, they can be cool or warm depending on the weather, and they are all different textures and shapes so they are stimulating to the nerve endings in my hands, enhancing the effects of the chanting and meditation process.

As you can tell, I am very excited about these beads, so I thought it was only right to take a picture of them.


Regardless of your religious background, you can't deny that this is a pretty string of beads.

-Vixen

September in Fur

This is an older one, but here is one of my painted ladies from several months ago. I call her September in Fur. I have decided to bring myself to the possibility of parting with her, by posting her for sale here.

A barrage of new Folk Art

All of the following paintings are acrylic on 5 x 7 canvases, you can take them home by clicking on their names following the pictures.


Sly the Fox.


Fawna the Fawn.


Owliver the Owl.


Howlin' Wolf.


Pastel Fox.

Shy Squirrel on Etsy

5 x 7 canvas; acrylic painting of a squirrel in my new-found folk art style.Purchase here.

Peppermint Schnapps+Scops Owl=.....

This is a fleeting idea I had for a series of prints, thought I'd test it digitally on a couple of real photos of Scops Owls. What do you think? I think they're adorable.

Radiohead's New Record: Puts you to sleep, but never boring

After a long day of work, a jog in the park, and painting the backgrounds for nine canvases, I needed a chill soundtrack to fall asleep to. I streamed Radiohead's newest, "King of Limbs", and was (predictably) impressed by their newest output. I've always been a big Radiohead fan, and they once again did not disappoint. I am convinced that was one of the most restful night's sleep I've had in a long time, though I only slept for about six hours.
I want to get the Newspaper album, which includes 2 10" LPs, "Many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together", and more, for the very reasonable price of $48 bucks, for purchase here. I want.

More detailed review of the album to be added soon. Just take my word for it, and buy it. Or at least listen to it. You won't regret it.

If I could catch a cloud....

...I'd probably sew little eyes and a smile on it, but since that's highly unlikely, I went ahead and just made my own decorative cloud pillow. He sits on my couch, the couch that's covered with an authentic antique patchwork quilt (handmade) that I acquired for free from a lovely lady at an estate sale who didn't want to part with it unless she was sure that it had a proper home that would truly appreciate it. Anyway, my little cloud is soft and fluffy, and doesn't rain in the house:)

The Savage Vixen is now on facebook!

Like me! Please! This is a preliminary site, but its going to get much much better, and this is a way I can connect with you all even more! I sometimes wonder if anyone actually reads my blog, now you can fan me and make me feel special! ^_^ Pretty pretty please with sugar on top! I may even start doing giveaways and contests with prizes as incentive to get the word out on my art... hmm...
<3 <3 <3,
The Savage Vixen

Fickle Texas Weather.....

Its amazing that I am sitting here in shorts and a tank top with all the windows in my apartment open, drinking iced coffee, when just a few days ago it looked like this outside:




I'd never seen a snow like that. I stepped out of my apartment, early in the morning, and everything was white and covered in snow. The world was still and quiet. I was the first person to walk outside, it seemed, because I was the first one to put footprints in the snow. Even the streets were pure powdery white. It was breathtaking.
Wolfie thoroughly enjoyed watching the snow fall past the windows.




And later that same day:




-vixen

Adorable Great Horned Owl Picture

Found this AdOrAbLe picture online of a sick great horned owlet wrapped in a towel, so with a quick edit, I turned it into a digital get well card for my friend who isn't feeling well :)

Folk art- Feather on 5 x 7 canvas

Newest painting! I am really enjoying these folk-art style paintings lately. Something about these just feel so appropriate for Springtime. Here's a picture to enjoy, also its up for grabs in my Etsy store here.

Valentines Day 2011

This Valentine's day, we decided to keep things simple. Went out for a nice dinner to one of our favorite restaurants in town, Julian's. They serve excellent Asian food and the atmosphere is very chic.


He cleans up so nice, doesn't he?







We ordered the coconut curry shrimp, superb, and finished off with delicious chocolate covered strawberries, yum! The evening was topped off with slow dancing to records and a romantic massage. Perfect.

- <3 V

Bright Eyes- The Peoples Key

Anyone who knows anything about me, knows that if I was forced to choose a favorite band it would be Bright Eyes (but don't make me choose!). The new record dropped on the 15th, just a mere few days ago, and my wonderful boyfriend went to saddlecreekrecords.com and ordered me the album bundle that comes with all the goodies I could ask for:
Limited Edition 180 gram deluxe packaging LP w/CD
Exclusive bundle only t-shirt (American Apparel)
11" x 17" album release poster.
I can't wait for it. See, he could have bought me a giant stuffed bear and a chocolate heart for Valentine's Day, but that'd be just silly when this option is available.

Hellogodbye at House of Blues

I'm long overdue for this post, but on Jan 25, I accomplished one of my life dreams and saw Hellogoodbye at the Dallas, TX House of Blues. My boyfriend and I made a day of it by heading down to Buffalo Exchange and picking up a few nifty finds, then heading to Imax to watch Tron (Holy F I want everything in Jeff Bridges hideout!).








Then we hit up the show where 3 opening bands were set to play before Hellogoodbye finally got onstage. They played tons of material from their new "Would it kill you?" album, which sounded even better live, and of course, the old hits; Bonnie Taylor Shakedown, Baby its Fact, Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn, and -after a hearty encore- Here in Your Arms.





The guys were really cool, it felt kind of like we stumbled onto their jam session and they welcomed us to listen. It was a very informal, garage band feel. I loved it! The keyboardist was one of those love-to-hate douchebags. Everyone's got a friend like that: The super nerdy guy who acts like a dick because he's absolutely sure of himself no matter what, and doesn't care who he offends in the process. There was this one chick in the audience, some scene kid who had obv snagged some shots from her daddy's liquor cabinet before she came to the show, who was shouting out, over and over, "YOU GUYS F*CKING ROOOOOCK!!"

Keyboardist, telling the scene kid off.

The first time she said it, the keyboardist said "Hey, this is a family show! Watch your f*cking language!", and everyone laughed. The next time she did it, Forrest (lead singer) said "Thank you." very graciously. The next time, they both were like "Yeah, yeah we know. Ok you can stop now" like getting angry at the situation. Thirty minutes later, the next time she opened her mouth, keyboard guy said "LEAVE. Shut up or get out." It was hilarious because she was really getting on everyone's nerves. Pretty funny.

All in all, they were perfect live, sounding exactly the way they do on their album. There was a lot of crowd interaction and banter onstage where it seemed they were just goofing off and having a good time. They even started to play a few Weezer covers, and at one point, Forrest went to adjust his amp, and the feedback made him say, "Sounds like a whale, doesn't it? Alright for the next 8 minutes, I will be playing you whale sounds." And proceeded to do just that for a couple minutes at least. It was great.

Whale sounds.

Merch tables were full of goodies, I bought my first 7" record on yellow vinyl and some buttons. I wanted a certain shirt that they were already sold out of in an XS, and I'd rather order online then settle for a L.

Merch table.


Daniel and I.

Best of all, got to meet and greet the band, bringing my goal of seeing AND meeting Hellogoodbye full circle. Couldn't have planned it better. And to think, I almost didn't ask off from work for it.

Ukulele player (with a British accent ! )

One of the guitarists.


Forrest Kline, lead singer. Adorkable.


-S.v.