Still Painting

Another painting as I explore . I don't know how I feel about it, but it's interesting !

Royal Bird

I was able to paint this morning . I was very discouraged over a piece of bad art but I am learning that the best way to get past it is let it go and just keep painting . I liked this piece .It is very colorful and fairytale like . The princess doesn't have a face because she didn't want one;)

I honestly don't think I would be painting if not for Wyanne's class . I am grateful that I am, wherever it leads .

Pumpkin angel

I painted ! Me , who hated paint !! Thank you Wyanne . I started painting pumpkins and this little Angel just showed up . I sketched her out and painted her . I thought she was a fairy at first but I think she's an angel .

It's a beginning ..

Goals and Goings on

Image by Carla O'connor
I was inspired by Kelly Berkey ,who recently did a Vlog on her blog(wow, that sounds like a Dr suessism) about what she was working on and what her aspirations were. I thought I would share mine. I am very involved in Wyanne's Paint free class . I am discovering some important things about myself . I remember when I signed up for her class that I thought " I don't like paint but I do want to discover my style so Ill just use what she teaches with a different medium " but I have actually painted and am looking forward to painting more. I am starting to see a color palette emerge . I have discovered that I like canvas better than paper to paint on . I also like to paint on larger surfaces . I recently painted on an 11x14 and I felt it was to small .I am feeling less frustration with paint. I really cant put all the things about this I am feeling into words but hopefully eventually it will show in my artwork .I am keeping the things I am painting strictly in the Paint free class to keep the process intact but I am in that class with some incredible ladies . If you want to register for the Oct 25 class , I highly recommend it . It has been worth every penny so far and we are just starting the third week.

I am also working on my drawing skills . I signed up here and I am going to make it a goal to sketch everyday and I am practicing value .

I am also making it a point to study anatomy . My goal is to render the human form in my art and I also love faces . I ordered this book . I think it is important to know anatomy if you are going to draw the human figure .

I am really trying to learn the " Language of art " and get to a place where I have the knowledge to express myself more freely . The land of art is very vast . I am only just beginning to discover it and what it has to offer .

If you would have told me 20 years ago that art would become a passion of mine , I never would have believed it . I feel very small in the land of art . I have so much to learn and I am surprising myself with the things I am drawn too and how little I know . I am studying art history, when I can . I am ashamed to say that I know very little of some of the great artists.

Things I thought I didn't like I am being drawn too. I recently discovered Virginia Cobb and Carla O'connor . They paint in abstraction . I found myself wanting very much to explore that . So really I am at a very exploratory stage . I have no idea yet what my favorite medium is or where I plan to go . It is exciting and scary at the same time . I am like a baby discovering a new world. I am obsessed with learning right now and I think sometimes that's where the frustration comes from I want to run before I can crawl , so to speak . I can see small improvements and thats a good thing .So what about you ? what are your goals and aspirations?

Paint Free

Hi all , I am laying in bed sick . I hate being sick . I really don't feel up to doing anything at the moment so I thought I would Blog . I wanted to share with you how much I am loving Wyanne's new class "Paint Free" . We are only in the second week and I am learning things about myself. I think it is the most active I have been in a class and I love the energy coming from the other classmates and Guess what ? I painted and I actually liked it . I hated painting remember ? I actually put paint on Canvas and enjoyed it !! Wyanne has me excited at the discoveries I am making. If you are looking to find your unique style then you NEED to take the class.

I want to leave you with a little inspiration that I found online :

EVERYBODY KNOWS ...
You can't be all things to all people.
You can't do all things at once.
You can't do all things equally well.
You can't do all things better than everyone else.
Your humanity is showing just like everyone else'
You have to find out who you are, and be that.

You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not to compete with others,
Because no one else is in the contest of "being you."

You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due,
And you'll be a most vital mortal.

DARE TO BELIEVE ...
That you are a wonderful, unique person.
That you are a once-in-all-history event.
That it's more than a right, it's your duty, to be who you are!

Visit Annas place , it's inspiring.

Fab Fabric

Danita is teaching her first online class !! You can register here . I love that you get a kit of supplies on registration, it makes it easy!! Congrats to Danita , I think she is great! I also love this Love Note pillow Tutorial by Alisa Burke. I can see so many ways to use this idea.For the bride and groom, you could make pillows of their vows , or how about pillows with letters from those who are no longer with us or some of your children's first "love notes" to you or you to them :) A great idea for Valentines day .

Stuck .

I am feeling stuck . Stuck , you know that place where frustration takes over and you want to pitch your art supplies ! It's like wanting to speak in a language you haven't yet learned to speak . I struggle to draw . I feel comfortable using pencil but as soon as I try to move beyond that medium frustration sets in . I have been trying to sketch with charcoal to get something down on paper to use my beautiful pastels but when i hold charcoal it just feels unnatural to me , different than graphite.I love the look of loose lines but I seem to have trouble producing them . I just need some direction .Sometimes I feel lost. What do you do in times like these ?

Stretching to sketch Week 1

The Sketches are up for Week 1 at Kelley Berkey Designs . This is my sketch . Go check out the others they are amazing. I hope you will join in the challenge:)

Strike a Pose...

Kelly Berkey posted about wanting to draw the human form . She set up her camera to catch still shots of herself during her ballet workout. I loved some of the poses. Kelly has a beautiful dancers body and I think she is capable of holding some beautiful poses. Alot of us don't have access to live models to draw from . So Kelly is going to start a weekly challenge . She will post a pose and we can all draw from it . I think this is a fantastic opportunity for us to learn together . I hope you will visit kelly here and participate in the challenge . We can all inspire each other .

Pastel play ..

I was inspired to make this piece by this post . The text says "Strength, between the Tears and the Truth " .I am just playing with some pastels . I don't have many but I plan to remedy that;)

Hope you are having a creative weekend.

Silly Sunday Winner!!

Here are your random numbers:

13 

Timestamp: 2010-09-05 12:07:26 UTC

( Excluding any double comments)

send your email to : jlyne@frontiernet.net

Anne Marie - Toronto said...

I do love to be silly and boy, do I ever need it right now!!! I just ordered Carla's book, but this seems right up my alley. What a generous giveaway! I haven't blogged about it yet, but I will either this evening or in the next couple of days. Thanks for the opportunity!

Congratulations Anne Marie !!!

Carla Sonheim and my silly giveaway ..

I went to Borders Tuesday and picked up this book . I took the last copy they had that day . I've been seeing some of my fellow bloggers doing the exercises . I thought it looked like fun .

I have to say that I did a little research on Carla Sonheim and I could really relate to her . Did you know she took her first art class at the age of 30 ? I listened to her blogcast interview here .

I really like her and I am looking forward to her silly 2 class. I want you to join me . I really thought more people would want to play with Carla . So , all you have to do for a chance to win is just leave a comment under the silly Sunday giveaway post (below) . Thats all . Just say you want to win , Thats it ! I will be drawing a name on Sunday .

Silly Sunday Giveaway ..

I have been wanting to do a giveaway for awhile .I decided to give away 30 days of silliness! I saw this class by Carla Sonheim and I knew this was it! For 30 days you get a daily dose of silliness sent to you in an email from Carla that will include a link to a downloadable pdf inviting you to loosen up and play . We can all use a little silliness in our lives . All you have to do for a chance to win is blog about Carla's Class and my giveaway and then leave me a comment. Lets get silly together! I will draw the winner next Sunday, September 5th.

Good Luck !

(if you don't have a blog you can still enter just leave me a comment letting me know.)

Tonights play..

Actually I didn't feel like playing tonight but I did it anyway . I decided to try a technique that Jane Royal from Painted heart Studio was kind enough to post a step by step on . I love the texture from the tissue paper . I went a little crazy, but oh well . I will definitely try this again . Jane , thank you and I love your work .

And Guess what ? Tomorrow I am going to do my first ever Giveaway . I have been wanting to do something for awhile but this just seemed right , so come by tomorrow for details!

Are You an Artist?

Today I read a post that sat like a rock in my gut . It brought up alot of feelings and thoughts . The post I read, was from someone who attended her local art fair and was struck by the lack of "real" art. Which led me to wonder what real art is ? At what point can you call yourself an artist? The post talked about the journey of an artist to overcome self doubt and failure only to have no guarantee of making" real" art . So what keeps a person striving to create ? What measures your success as an artist? Her belief was that art is also about communication . I agree with this but even if you as an artist can communicate your idea onto a canvas there is no guarantee how your viewer will perceive it. Our perception of our world differs . What we perceive as art differs. I asked my 15 year old what her definition of an artist is . She responded with total confidence that she herself was an artist. I responded " but you don't draw " she replied "I am an artist because of my love of music and I write songs and we all are artists inside". She said this with such belief in herself. So at what point do we begin to doubt our abilities ? Do we need an art degree or do we need to sell our art to become a "real " artist? What is" it" ? I signed up for my very first art class here at home . I will be going once a week starting next week to learn some of the fundamentals . I am doing this so that I can progress in my artistic ability . I am a beginner who only started to draw for the first time ever this year . When I create I really do work to the best of my ability with the knowledge that I have . Is that not enough ?

So leave me a comment . I want to hear your opinion on this .

The Secret lives of Princesses and a sketch ..

My sketch for tonight .

This evening as I was sketching the Ups truck came and I was expecting a few supplies that I bought on ebay. I went downstairs to get the package and on top was a Barnes and Nobel box.I thought that was odd since I have a nook and hadn't ordered a real book in a little while . I opened the box to find a gift from my mom and her partner .An early Birthday Present!! I was surprised ! I am usually hard to surprise because I buy my own gifts and have even been known to order my own birthday cake .

You want to know what it was? it was this . Just look at the illustrations. The book is even more beautiful in person .It is a treasure trove of inspiration ! I love the illustrator. Anyway , I thought I would share .

My sketch for tonight..

A sketch ..

I have been trying to spend a least a few hours sketching every night. I loved doing this one because as I have said before I could sit and just shade and shade. This sketch was actually inspired by a photo of someone I know .I actually like it:)

a place to call your own

"I wanted a place where I could wake up and look out a window and see the mountainside across the clove, a place that felt like a secret tree house, a place all my own." - Sandy Foster

Oh , how I can relate . You have to read the Fosters article here . I really loved the story and it reminded me how a dream can happen even on a limited budget. I loved the photo of her in those pink wellies , I think it shows her spunk .Her blog is here . I am so in love with this little cottage. My husband and I are working on getting our house on the market . We have 5.5 acres near our present home . We are wanting to pair down our lives some without a mortgage so that we can both do more things we love. When I saw this cottage an idea was born . I have seen many little cottages I like and used to save pictures on my computer . I have a perfect little spot in the woods for a cottage on our other land . Wouldn't it be a wonderful place to read and draw ? I love solitude . What about you ? Wouldn't you love a little space of your own ?

Do what you love .

image courtesy of Kat Ostrow
"You could be doing other things,but do those things that you want to do "

Last night I sat at a table painting a background for a class I was taking online. I was slapping acrylic paint onto the watercolor paper when I realized , I am not enjoying this . I stopped . I thought, why are you doing what you do not enjoy ? I asked myself "What do you enjoy "? The answer came easily , I enjoy sketching in graphite . I love the shading process. I pulled out my pencils and did a sketch using my pencils . No , it wasn't great but as I was sketching I enjoyed it . I took out a few conte crayons added a little color , smudged with my fingers and still I felt joy in the process. As you know from previous postings I have taken and am taking online art classes with a variety of teachers . I always learn something . Most concentrate on mixed media techniques and wet media . Sometimes wet medias frustrate me . I, like alot of others, seem to be searching for a niche . A little place in the art world . A place where we can find our own style . As I processed all of this last night , I thought about why I create art . I thought about what I want to express and what would make me feel like an artist .The Answer - To create something that I am pleased with . If I were creating or forcing a process for someone else, I don't think I would want to create. Then a sentence that I have heard from many artists over and over entered my mind "it's about process not product" . I get it ! when I was told this the first time , I thought yeah right , whatever, but for the first time I understand this.

Then I thought about other artists who's work I am drawn to and why . One that came to mind was Kat Ostrow . I remember the first time I saw her work online . I loved her work and as I think about why , I know that alot of it is the freedom and impulse I see in her work . I love all the lines . I wrote her once and she was so kind . I expressed to her how frustrated I was and how I wished to find my own style . I remember that she told me that if I could ever just let go and draw from a reaction to what I see I would probably find what I was searching for . Smart Lady Huh? I hope you will visit her to see more of her work and I love the way she shares process on her blog. Last night I also googled other artists who worked in a style I was drawn to . I was led here . I found her because of one of her portrait images . Again , I thought, "what is it I am drawn to in her work?" . It was about the softness , the lines . I also emailed her and got a very kind email from her that was very helpful . I want to say how wonderful I think it is when an artist will actually reach out and answer your questions . I know it takes time and I am very grateful . So based on this I have decided that I am going to spend more time exploring semi dry mediums and doing what I enjoy. Maybe if I take the time to listen I will find what I am looking for . What about you ? Are you enjoying what you are doing ?

p.s I am heading to Dick Blick to indulge myself a little (maybe alot) ;)