Over the Rainbow: Dreams You Dare to Dream Really Do Come True

Someday I’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
A dark cloud has been looming.  Not only did this month mark the anniversary date of my life-altering accident, but fertility continues to elude me, and a few weeks ago, I discovered a dreadful lump.

To read more about my personal scare with Breast Cancer, you can check out this revealing Facebook post – Sugarluxe Loves Boobs.

Since that time, I’ve had surgery and I’m on the mend.  I am so thankful that we were able to detect this sizable mass early enough to eliminate it before it became unruly.  I feel extremely fortunate.

It’s no use screaming at a time like this! No one will hear you… Help! HELP!
But honestly, even the little stuff adds up.  Like when the unique building that housed my big, fabulous studio was condemned this summer and we were given less than two weeks to completely relocate and try to remain operational. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but unexpected and exhausting.

If you were really great and powerful, you’d keep your promises!
Or the following month, when I realized that the publisher of Rare Magazine, Taylor Perkins, was going to be in willful breach of our contract – essentially stealing money right out of my pocket and making the huge miscalculation that I would sit back and take it.

Little men behind the curtain, bad, mean witches and flying monkeys aside, I try my hardest to stay focused on following my own yellow brick road. 

This is why I love the Wizard of Oz. Like the movie, life itself is an epic journey. And I, like Dorothy, am a dreamer. I believe anything is possible.

Yet, there is no doubt – to overcome your detractors, to survive, to be successful – takes heart, requires brains, and massive amounts of courage.

That’s the beauty of this tale:  You don’t need to be given these traits; you just have to find them within yourself. They’re already there.

—————————————————  70th Anniversary Celebration ————————————————–

And it’s why I so thoroughly enjoyed creating this Sugarluxe interpretation over the last few months.  In the midst of any turmoil, I find refuge in painting a world filled with hope and happy moments.

I’m thrilled to complete and present my piece for the Warner Bros. Anniversary celebration. 2009 marked the 70th Anniversary of this classic movie and as the year draws to a close, I’m excited to unveil my tribute to the wonderful Wizard of Oz.

In fact, over a month ago, while I was still working on the conceptualization of Dorothy and Toto in my signature style, I decided to play a game on Facebook with Sugarluxe Fans.

It was so much fun and Tiffany Bymaster was our big winner.  I’ve since learned more about Tiffany who is an incredible pro-celebrity/movie makeup artist in Los Angeles.  How fitting that she would win the piece dedicated to one of the most beloved movies ever made!

She has also waited patiently to receive the VERY first signed and numbered piece. And now that it’s on the way to her, I finally get to make these giclee artist’s prints available to you, too.

• Title:  Dreamgirl
• Collector’s Edition: Signed, Dated, and Numbered Limited Edition of 70
• Media:  Pigment and Metallic Inks with Watercolor on Archival Museum Grade Fine Art Paper

Can be ordered as ready to frame in black or white mat:
8 ply (very thick) 16 x 20, Beveled Edge, Premium Mat with Acid-Free Mounting Board

If you love the Wizard of Oz like I do, or know someone who does, this vibrant 70th Anniversary Artwork will be sure to please for years to come.  Exclusive to Sugarluxe, you can find out more details at www.sugarluxe.com.

Until next time…I’m off to find some place where there isn’t any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place?

Win Weekly Giveaway #3 – Introducing Sugarluxe Big Wall Graphics

That’s right my friends!  The Sugarluxe Big Wall Graphics have finally arrived.  And NOW I am ready to introduce them to you this week as part of our 4 Year Anniversary Celebration.  Just imagine this 4 foot long Sugarluxe Girl on one of your walls! And you actually get a whole bunch of extra goodies for FREE.

Plus, we are not just giving away this gigantic graphic – we are giving away TWO.  So, there will be two lucky winners who will have their choice of the brunette or the blonde!

I’m so excited about the giveaways this week because this particular product has been part of my secret Sugarluxe plan for some time.  It took almost two years to find the right partners.  At the onset of the vinyl wall applique craze, you could find cheap wall stickers from every sign printer on the planet.  I was asked by a handful of these big manufacturers if I would license some of my work.  But I just wasn’t compelled to jump on the bandwagon for three simple reasons:

1. I like to work with companies who appreciate art.
2. I wanted my work to be on the absolute BEST material available.
3. The color output had to be as close of a match to the original artwork as possible.

Most vinyl graphics companies gravitate toward one type of vinyl because it costs less and is easy to find.  But I wanted to work with a higher quality material so that I could be sure it was top quality like our other product lines.

Sugarluxe Big Wall Graphics are:

1. Printed on Top of the Line Premium Media – Removable Adhesive Fabric
   
2. Printed with environmentally conscious, but still totally vibrant Eco-Solvent Inks
   
3. Truly Repositional + Will Not Harm Walls  (check it out below…I just put one up in my studio)
   

This week’s BIG GIVEWAY PRIZES are brought to you by my excellent partners and producers of this super cool product – John and Tavia Doffing of START Moving Pictures and Jason Weisenthal of WallMonkeys.

But get this…

While working on the test phase, John realized that there was extra space when we did the layouts. Instead of being wasteful with the materials…the team decided to utilize that space to give customers more for their money.  That’s where the additional FREEBIES come in.

If you check around online…you will see vinyl laptop and iPhone cover art pieces often sell between $30-$40 just by themselves.  But with the purchase of Sugarluxe Big Wall Graphics (or this week – when you win) you get these extras for FREE.

I love that.

I love adding value and I love being able to create things that you might purchase for yourself…but then you also get a little extra goody you can give as a gift!

Those of you who were with me on Facebook during our final layout phase will remember our night of online design collaboration.  That was fun!

We went through a series of uploads and a few design choices for the iPhone covers specifically.  After tons of awesome feedback…we finally decided to give away three different iPhone covers (thanks to everyone who participated and gave such wonderful input to help finalize the process!)

So, here’s what you WIN on your big 50″ x 36″ sheet:

• One Superstar Sugarluxe Girl Graphic (48″ x 32″)
• One Laptop Cover Graphic (10.4″ x 8.5″)
• Three iPhone Cover Graphics (4.5″ x 2.4″)
• Small Sugarluxe Flower Graphic (3″ diameter)
• Medium Sugarluxe Flower Graphic (5″ diameter)
• Large Sugarluxe Flower Graphic (7″ diameter)
• One Sugarluxe Logo Graphic (5″ x 7″)

Plus, I added the flowers so that you can put them in her hair or maybe on your bathroom mirror.

And here’s a close up of the iPhone graphic decals so you can get an idea.  They won’t stick forever and they aren’t shiny (because I didn’t want shiny for your walls)…but I think they might be a fun, free way to dress up your iPhone.

And – I get to show off two designs that we don’t currently sell anywhere else:  Seafoam Seaweed and Mushroom Lava!  You like?

In a few weeks, these two lovely Superstar ladies will be available for purchase on the Sugarluxe Shop Website. But for now – you can win them here this week!  Or if you can’t wait to see if you win…you can head on over to visit my fabulous partners at WallMonkeys and START Moving Pictures.

If you go over to their sites, you will see that for the initial launch…they chose two additional artists  who also happen to be really amazing guys that I totally respect.

Legendary Spray Can Artist – Vulcan

and

Famous Urban Artist – Justin Bua.

So, there you have it…

I know my post is much longer this week than in the giveways for Week 1 and Week 2 – but I was just so pumped to share the story behind how these things come to be.  I hope you are pumped about the possibility of winning!

Oh yes, and this photo gives you an idea about the size:

Who wants to win?

Now look at my big, big smile…That’s because it’s so fun to hang your new wall graphic!   (Actually that’s me trying to keep it from falling on my head – you should have two people to do it right!)

If you want to win, make sure you are subscribed via email and that you leave a comment telling us what you think about the brand new Sugarluxe Wall Graphics.  Retail Value is $69.

Find out who the WINNERS were of last week’s FREEBIES.

Because I didn’t get this posted until today – entries will be accepted until midnight on Sunday, February 22nd.  And this week’s winners will be announced next Monday afternoon right before we post the final week’s grand prize giveway.

P.S. Even the top cool hunter in the country thinks these ROCK!  See what Josh Spear says about these new Big Wall Graphics.

——————————————————–  WINNER’S ANNOUNCED ——————————————————–

UPDATE February 23, 2009:

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

This week’s winners were chosen by a computerized random number generator.  Every time you left a comment, blogged about Sugarluxe or promoted the contest to your friends, you earned extra numbered entries.  That means your name was entered once for each comment you left last week and up to ten times per any blog entry you’ve written this month highlighting the Sugarluxe Giveaways.

And with that – I’m pleased to announce this week’s lucky winners of the Sugarluxe Big Wall Graphics are:

1. Lisa M. of Tulsa, OK
2. Darby R. of Austin, TX

Please use our Contact Form to send your blonde or brunette selection and shipping information!

Your new Sugarluxe Girl will be shipped to you by our friends and manufacturers - WallMonkeys – based in Fanwood, NJ.

Thanks so much to everyone who participated. I hope you’ll check back later this evening to see our GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY.

The Blanton Museum of Art Hosts Sugarluxe

Less than 3% of the artists in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art are women, but 85% of the nudes are female. - Guerrilla Girls

Now, I’m not saying the Guerrilla Girls would feel compelled to rally behind Sugarluxe, considering its basis in mainstream glam. But perhaps they would applaud my own unique FEMINIST pursuit to increase opportunities for marginalized female artists.

The word Feminist…or the “F” word as it may be to some – is to me about equality. Always has been. And fundamentally, those who know how to look beneath the surface of my art, already know that.

So, how do I combat the sad fact that females are more likely to be on display in museums as a nude rendering than as a talented artist? Well, surprisingly enough…it was with one little belt buckle.

Even acquaintances of mine have seemed surprised when they started seeing Sugarluxe paintings, my permanent installation at the Hotel Des Arts, or my reproductions on canvas in the gallery sections of home decor stores.

“Oh, I had no idea that you were going to do anything besides belt buckles.” said one girl.

Never underestimate the power of the inconspicuous. For me anyway, a bigger plan is always at play!

That’s my advice to any aspiring artist who actually wants to make a living doing what they love.

We have to move past the antiquated, traditional assertions of what art is and define it for ourselves, for our generation and for this chapter in history. Make it accessible, no matter its form. Art is Everywhere!

So, when I was asked to do a signing and trunk show at The Blanton Museum of Art, I felt I must.

Now here’s where gets a bit sticky…

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