Just Keep Swimming

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I can't remember if I shared, but back at the end of May, I sent my portfolio to Disney Fine Art. I had been spamming their facebook and email with pictures of my paintings so much that they finally gave in and asked me to send my physical portfolio.

Annnnnnd, that's the last I've heard of that.

So, I thought to myself. How do I get through to them!? How do I get my paintings in front of them? I don't even know if they even got my portfolio!

If there's somethin' strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call.....Ellen DeGeneres!

I love Ellen, she's hilarious, kind-hearted and way more down to earth than Oprah (though don't come between me and the OWN channel!). Not only has she helped so many people when they've written to ask for her help, she also has ties with Disney as the voice of Dory in Finding Nemo and the soon to be made, Finding Nemo sequel. So, I decided to paint Dory and send it to Ellen, with a letter begging for her help to get me into Disney!

Here's how it turned out:

I was pretty nervous about being able to paint Dory exactly not twice, not three times but four times. I started by sketching her on a piece of cardboard so I could trace her in the 4 squares and have her shape come out pretty much the same. I noticed the bottom right Dory wasn't tilted after I took this picture and felt my heart drop when I knew I had to erase and try again. It is sooo hard to get even a half-clean erase on a canvas. Which is why I put it off until I painted all 3 other squares, naturally... Its un-tilted body taunting me from its bottom right corner home.

So, now's when I'm thinking, "Oh sure, the first one was so easy. Now, I have to make sure I paint all the rest in just the same way. Greeeeeat."

Sweaty palms and shortness of breath, commence! I'm starting to think painting might not be so good for my health...

3 down, 1 to go!

And finally............

"Dory"
18" x 24" original acrylic painting on canvas

Alright, Dory done and now all I gotta do is ship it out, right? Noooo, turns out, Ellen only lists a Po Box for an address, and FedEx/UPS doesn't ship to Po Boxes. Crap. So, instead, I've emailed, tweeted and snail-mailed my letter and a picture of the painting to Ellen. Hopefully, one of her minions will get it over to her and somehow she'll see Dory and help me! If you can, send some thoughts and prayers my way, this is my dream!