Euphrosene Labon

Much of today was spent trying to understand vector and bitmaps. Some cards I had uploaded to a popular American greetings card company were pixellated and no matter what I did, the automatic system rejected them.

As I have been drawing a whole series of cartoons, to which will be added my new Wise El font, I wanted to see how feasible it would be to keep the fine line style (and not get the annoying message). Hence the detour and learning curve.

I think I CAN keep my original style, but will need to change how I upload - to TIFF and not JPEG for a start (too techy for me to explain why). I am also looking at possibly buying vector conversion software. (I have done too many to use an online conversion service.)

There is already an improvement using TIFF to upload and, if necessary, I could vectorise some of the artwork, though I don´t really want to lose my slightly edgy artwork either. All things I hadn´t really thought about ie realised. Seems a bit late in the day to be addressing these concerns!

Yesterday was spent forking out for art marketing, renewing subs. Today, a freelance writers´ forum I have paid a voluntary sub to, though not last year, is talking of making it obligatory.

I agree with one poster that it can feel a tad too touchy-feely, with a rather massive EQ ambiance. The camaraderie is admirable, if a little cliquey. Less admirable is the lack of journalistic balance. Anyone with even a modicum of cynicism is frequently shot down, and soon leaves or rarely participates.

Equally, some of the praise doled out to mildly serviceable articles borders on the fanatic. Or those with a PR mindset. Perhaps they hope that exaggerated flattery will attract more commissions to themselves. It sort of lowers the bar.

As I haven´t actually got any leads from it, I need to figure out why I would now pay.

Unfortunately for the owners, some of those in favour of paying to use the forum are not, in my opinion, particularly good adverts, so I have stepped away from adding anything apart from my suggestion to have an ad wall to replace the missing directory.

Maybe running out of food (being delivered tomorrow, fingers crossed) has lowered my already low threshold of tolerance for blinkered remarks.

Or having allergic dermatitis on my neck from wearing woollens that rub. At least my face and eyes have been spared, unlike last year.

Meanwhile: No matter how optimistic I try to be, `other people´ add their bit of bile to increase blood pressure and pollute any happy vibes. I was going to list them, but it only needs a swift read of the news (any newspaper, not just the right-wing varieties) to see who I would sweep off this island (and possibly planet) for regularly being life´s de-harmonisers.

Euphrosene Labon Mind Body Spirit Artist Author Writer

Euphrosene´s Gallery of Contemporary Spiritual Art & Cartoons

allergic dermatitis

Tuesday 1st

April Fool’s tricks work best when they make the reader annoyed enough to be proactive. Write a letter. Start a petition. Protest at waste etc. So it seems odd to publish a serious report on April Fool’s Day. Still, anyone who needs the House of Lords’ Report to tell them that our current massive wave of immigration is the dog’s dinner, was probably already a fool. Most thinking people had already worked that out for themselves.

Even if we were not a very small island, it surely must have been fairly obvious that resources like education, health and housing would take a hammering. And that is before pandering to those who also expect to be taught English by the taxpayer!

Meanwhile, Prudence Brown’s solution to the credit crunch is apparently to borrow more to spend more. Lord knows who will clear up the mess when he has gone, though.

In the recession of the late 80s/early 90s, because jobs came and went and I had massive debts, I did have to live intermittently on credit for a while. The cycle took nine years before I was debt-free - and that is only because I was a successful salesperson (ie I earned a lot of money and spent practically none of it until I was cash-rich again.)

This career as an author-artist-writer also involves belt-tightening when I am in creative mode.

Re the latter, I wonder if it is a mistake to apply for regular contracts, instead of pitching umpteen ideas every week to every mind-body-spirit, health and business publication, card publisher, corporate and book publisher? I am sure people wonder if I can do their work and mine. Yet I do subscribe to that aphorism (if you want something done, ask a busy person).

Re that latter, the difference with being busy pitching, and fulfilling a regular contract, is that it is easier being creative knowing there is money coming in to pay the bills. Pitching is only fun when there is plenty of moolah around.

When you live in the sticks, getting to places is not as easy as it once was. Before, you could either jump into the car, and find plenty of relatively cheap parking places. Or let the train take the strain. Neither are really viable options now. For trips into London, there is only the train, and that has to be planned like a military operation.

‘Train Clothes’, for a woman, (this woman), are usually different from clothes worn at other times, specifically if the return journey is late at night. Layers, unsexy shoes, dark colours… anything that does not draw attention and will also keep me warm as the temperature drops. All of which is a drag if you actually want to impress in even a minor way. Which is a longwinded way of explaining why I did not go to the cartoonists’ meeting today.

Spam Gripe of the Day: ever got one of those membership reminders - the ones that say you will be removed from their lists if you do not re-subscribe? I get mine with unfailing regularity, despite never subscribing let alone re-subscribing. Someone else to plonk under the Spam Mountain.

When Ma eventually dies and any money is dispersed, maybe lasting harmony might then find its way into our family.. once the fireworks of estate management have died down, as I know they will.

PS I totally disagree with Brian Keenan on forgiveness. He reckons it can only start with an ‘act of contrition’. If you take his example, he cannot forgive the men who kidnapped and imprisoned him in Beirut. I would not be able to forgive my father - and so on.

Wrong. Forgiveness can take place at any point in time and space and does not need the other person to be physically there, repentant and contrite. To err, as the poet said, is human; to forgive, divine.

PPS Oh good. I am not normally a fan of landscape art but have just seen a wonderfully talented (and successful) artist who has tweaked my insecurity button. Then I read that schizophrenics have their brains reversed. “In comparison to the general population, women’s brains seem masculine and men’s brains seem feminine,” says Adrianna Mendrek.

Since even my bestest friend would agree I have a rather ‘yang’ personality, should I section myself now? (Sit down at the back!)

April Fool, immigration, credit crunch, recession, Spam Mountain, forgiveness, forgive, schizophrenics