New Year, new art.

Hello friends!!!

It's been a while since I've posted anything new on here. The blog really got neglected in 2017. I've been itching to get back into it. And I think that kind of happens around this time every year. I get so excited about the coming months in January. All the things I'll get to do, all the events that's coming up....it all gets me hyped and I feel like I need to do more new things. I've been branching out and making a real effort to establish an art community and participate in the ones that are already established. Recently, I've excepted the fact that by nature I am very shy. There were a few good years that I tried to convince myself otherwise and it put a lot of stress on me, and I would continuously question why I struggled so much in social settings.....I get it now....I'm a fucking introvert. I have social anxiety and I've committed myself this year to working on it, while still giving myself a little grace.

I'm also thinking a lot about my style and skill when it comes to my art. I'd like to challenge myself more this year and make a real effort to improve on my skill instead of just drawing and painting the same things over and over. I've really been enjoying talk to other people on what inspires them, their techniques and their goals. I feel like just talking to people, and letting them talk is so educational. We have to learn to listen. And I suppose it's my introverted nature, but I love listening to people and just letting them steer the conversation. That could be from my lack of ever knowing what to say or the fact that I just love hearing stories....I haven't figured that one out just yet.

This year already, I've also learned the importance of being firm on the issues you care about. If you feel strongly about a situation, stick to your guns. I'm coming to the realization that I need to have a backbone and stand up for what is right in all situations. What's right is right. And I can't allow myself to waver.

My resolution of 2018 is to be stronger than I have been in the past, to be the woman I know I can be. I want that to reflect in my art, my day job and my personal life. I want to spread happiness to all those I encounter and bring light to all I touch.

What was your 2018 resolution??

xoxo. h.

THE SHOP IS OPEN!!!

Hello friends,

I am so happy to say that my Etsy shop is finally reopened!! It's been far too long, but I'm so happy with everything that is up in there now. I would love it if you checked it out. There's a few original pieces of art, a ton of jewelry and a couple pieces of home decor. Follow the big link below to take you there! Thanks again for taking the time to support my art and for all the love! ❣❣

❣❣❣Etsy Shoppe❣❣❣

love you guys! 

xoxo. holly erinn 

Life According to Instagram // Vol. 2

hollyerinn on Instagram

Bryan aka ChainsawPGH on Instagram

Ohiopyle State Park

Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Charm & Chain Band

Kennywood Phantom Fright Nights

Psychedelic Siren on Etsy

Hello friends, 

Life has been nothing short of a whirlwind lately. With massive schedule changes, new work locations and a handful of music festivals, it's safe to say we've been busy. But through all the chaos, I've been making it a point to stick to my priorities....and that means art, but most importantly, Bryan. I also recently made the decision to cut off all of my dreads and most of my long hair. Now, my hair (like you can see above) is above my shoulders. It feels so light and I feel like so much weight has been taken off my head....which is totally has been. I came to this decision because I concluded that the reason I have been getting sick in the sun is most likely due to how thick and un-breathable my hair was. I wasn't getting any air through my hair and I was just getting overheated. It's all off now though, and I truthfully feel a lot better. I plan to make a video talking more about it soon. 

I've done a few big festivals recently too. At one of them, I met this amazing band, Charm & Chain. I was vending at the North Side Chalk Walk and they invited me upstairs later that evening during their show, after they bought the painting after it. I was not only so honored to paint during their set, but to have them actually buy the painting after was kind mind blowing. You should totally check out their facebook page, linked above, to hear more.

On top of everything that's been going on, we've got Phantom Fright Nights coming up and I could be more excite....and unprepared. Then again, I'm never prepared for PFN. I'm very excited about this year thou because the park has graciously given The Hobos their very own puppet show during the new Kid Friendly portion of Halloween at Kennywood called Happy Hauntings!!!!  It's gonna be a blast! In between all my chaos of work, Fright Nights and trying to get my name out there, I have been consciously making time for art. If I didn't, I would never get anything done. Recently, I've also been working really hard on my Etsy Shop which will be open this weekend (hopefully). LOL ya'll know how life gets some times, stuff just gets away from you. But, I've got a ton of new stuff that will be going up in the shop that I'm very proud of.

So, prepare for some really super spooky stuff. There'll be a flood of scary makeups, Halloween inspired art and I plan to participate in #inktober and the plan (which is kind of a stretch) is to do an ink sketch every single day in October. I mostly likely wont achieve that but, I'll at least do as many as I can, with the intention of doing one every day. I hope you guys are enjoying pre-fall as much as I am!

xoxo. holly erinn

ps. do ya'll have any plans for fall fun?!

The Oracle // Process of a NEW Watercolor Painting

Hello friends,

I wanted to share a few progress shots of a recent painting I started. I've been working so much with acrylics lately and haven't broken out the watercolors for a while. This piece is far from finished, I still have a lot of work to do. I really wanted to do something just for fun instead of focusing on work that were commissions or for shows, something just for me. I think I'll eventually make prints of this once it's finished because I'm just loving this so far. Sticking with my idea to keep this blog strictly art related, I wanted to show you how a painting like this starts and the levels of progress it goes thru as I work on it. Most of these shots are from my Instragram. I use that platform the most and post there most frequently. So if you're interested in seeing stuff like this more in real time, check out my page and give me a follow!

Til next time folks!!

xoxo. holly erinn

Rethinking The Purpose of This Blog

Hello friends,

I love this blog. It's been something I've been working on for about 3 or 4 years now. There's a lot of old posts that are no longer available on here, but just know this blog has been running for quite a while now. Over the years, I've tried to fit into that mold of bloggers that I see out there doing well in hopes of my blog some day getting to their level. But, anyone that knows anything, knows that's not how you get yourself to the top. You can't just follow someone else's path or formula and expect to get anything in return. I've been doing a good bit of thinking about what makes me happy when it comes to this little corner of the internet and what works for me. And, I've noticed thru stats and data recently that you guys don't really care about those cookie-cutter fluffy curated posts. The posts that seem to be getting the most views, the most attention and feedback are the posts about what I'm doing with my art....which is the stuff that I just love posting.

Ever since I started writing those curated fluff posts it has felt more like work than something I really enjoy. I've gone back and forth with this idea for a good while now. Why do I keep going back to those posts? Why do I feel like they're going to do well, even when the data shows me that they're not? You guys don't want to see them, I don't want to write them. Why the heck am I pushing them?!?! The world may never know....

But, I'm starting to realize that both of us, you and I, just want to talk about art and stuffs. So, that's what this blog is going to focus on from now on. Enough of those crap fluff posts that just take up space and take up my time. I'm done with them. OOOOooooooVer it! So I just wanted to pop in and let you guys know what's on my mind and the direction I want to take this blog.

Loooooooove you all! Thank you for being even remotely interested in what I'm doing and taking the time to read these long-winded posts about my own psychosis LOL!!!

xoxo. holly erinn

Let's Talk About My Book

Hello friends!!!

So, I don't think I've mentioned this project on my blog here at all since I've started it. Man, what a dummy I am!!! Yea, so as you already know (by the title) that I am finally writing my own children's book. It's not the typical children's book your thinking of, one that is only about 10 pages, with more illustrations than words....it's quite the opposite. This book is going to be one that you can read to you 'older' children, I'm writing it to be an experience you can share with your child. My target age range is between 6-13ish. It's simple enough to read to your younger ones, but interesting enough and has deeper meaning for your older ones. This is a book you're going to have to have a conversation about.

The idea for this story came to me on a drive home from college a few years back. It was fall and there's always a good bit of fog around that time of year. Being from Pennsylvania, I am no stranger to hills and valleys. On this day home from school, I was coming down from a rather large hill and towards the bottom I noticed a giant fog cloud just sitting in the middle of trees. There was such a separation between where the fog was and was not. And, this got my gears turning and ever since then (roughly fall of 2013) I have been dreaming up this world within the cloud. Something about seeing that weird little fog cloud instantly had my mind just swirling with thoughts and I couldn't shut it off. I tried a few years before that to write a children's book, but it ended up taking a turn for the 'sad' while I was writing it and I couldn't finish it. I was writing it around the time that my mom got really sick and I think that some how crept it's way into my writing. Since taking a few years to clear my mind, I'm back at it and I think this time around the story is really good. I've learned a lot in between then.

Let's talk about this book....I don't want to give too much away. I'm still writing and I haven't even started on the illustrations or layout yet. But, I'm really happy with where it's going so far. The main character, Helen, is thrown into a new life after a terrible family accident and decides to find a new path on her own. She braves the unknown to find peace and understanding that her new extended family is unwilling to give her. So, Helen runs away and eventually finds Cloud Town deep, deep in the woods where she eventually finds a community that is just as diverse and outcast as she is and they welcome her in with open arms!

I'm hoping to have the entire story, the illustrations and everything done, printed and ready for sale by next spring! It may even come out sooner depending on how quickly I get thru this writing process, that's what is taking me the most time. I feel like I can't really illustrate every thing properly until the story is finished. Now, I must admit...I am no professional writer, I'm a damn illustrator, but I'm doing my best to write the best story I possibly can. And, I have a few friends that are writers that I eventually plan to ask them to help me edit and make the story a million times better, or at least fix my spelling errors.

The story has a lot of under lying themes that aren't right in your face, things that you have to think a little extra about and have conversations about to really understand. A big focus of this project is to gently force you to talk to your kids and provide opportunities to have deeper conversations; instead of just reading a book where the morals are so blatantly in the foreground. I know those books are good for really little ones, but for the older kids, I feel it cheapens the meaning and is an insult to your intelligence. I want you to think and I want you to grow along with your children. Books are meant to be shared and talked about. And I hope this one helps open up more dialog between you.

If you would like to help me make this book and get first looks at the progress and a deeper look at the story, I invite you to check out my Patreon and consider becoming a patron. You'll get small snippets of storyline, first looks at character development and first looks at other projects I'm working on. You can pledge as little as $1 to help out with the book. Every dollar you pledge not only helps me get this book to where it needs to be but it also helps me bring you more content, and you get prizes! It certainly is not an obligation, but if you find it in your heart to help out please do. I appreciate all the support and love each and every one of you that have expressed interest in this project.

I can't wait to officially share this book with you, let you read it and have it just out in the world. This is definitely a passion project and something that has been in my head for a really long time. So, it is a wonderful feeling to finally see it becoming a real thing. Thank you for taking the time to read this incredibly long winded post, and thank you for your continued support and love! You guys don't know how much it means to me that people are even remotely interested in my project. Sending love your way!!

xoxo. holly erinn

Current Projects // Clay Jewelry // Wearable Art

Hello friends, 

Today, I wanted to share something that I've been putting a lot of hard work into recently. I've been trying my hand at sculpting of recent and it's been a ton of fun to try my hand at something new. Now, it's not really all that new to me, but I've never sculpted pieces that were this intricate. And, I've never really sculpted faces before...so that's pretty new. I wanted to make a collection of pieces that are more than jewelry. I wanted to make pieces that were more like a wearable piece of art than anything. They're something that I want people to stop you for and ask where you got that. There's a over 30 pieces in this collection, so these are just a taste of what I've been working on. Not all the pieces I've been working on are this elaborate, some are quite small and simple. But, the collection as a whole is very impressive....or maybe I'm just tooting my own horn, but I'm pretty proud of everything. 

I'm not quite ready to release everything yet. I just sculpted about 22 pieces this week and they all need painting and glazed before they're ready to be strung on cord and thrown up in the shop. Once all these pieces are finished I'm going to reopen my Etsy Shop and all of them will be for sale online. There's a lot of food themed pieces, a few woodland inspired pieces, and about 3 or 4 large detailed faces. And honestly, I would have made more but I ran out of clay. 

I hope you guys like these. I can't wait to throw them up in the shop and release them out into the world. Would you guys like to see more pieces like this, and would you like more physical pieces of art instead of just prints and paintings? Let me know!! 

xoxo. holly erinn