Resolution

New year is always the time that many make resolutions.  Exercise, diet, clean more, get healthy, do this or don't do anymore of that.  How often are these resolutions kept?  Well, I am going to make one and do my best to stick to it.  I think if I make it vague, the more likely I will keep it.  Yes, I plan on doing the typical ones, keep a cleaner home and budget our money better.  But, this year, I promise to paint more.  I promise you, my readers to provide more paintings, ideas, and inspiration.  I have some ideas floating in my head that I need to get down on canvas.  I was originally going to not paint anymore paintings until I sold some.  Well, that's not happening as fast as I would like and my creative bug is getting antsy (pun not intended or was it?).  So, I promise you, my readers/followers/fellow artist that I will give you paintings!  I might even post some YouTube videos for some quick tips (that is still in the works).  So, keep coming back and reading to see what new things I am doing.  Also please, if you want help with something, anything artistic, let me know in the comments below.  I will do my best to answer questions and give you help with whatever you are working on.  I am here to help you be the best artist you can be!  So Happy New Year everyone!

Also, do not forget my paintings on Etsy are on sale.  I am putting them back to their original price after the new year so get them now while they are on sale!!!

Shop My Artwork Here!!!!

The Night Before Christmas

I want everyone to enjoy this week full of family and friends.  To those who have no one to celebrate with, know I am thinking of you too.  This is my son's first Christmas.  I want it to be all that it can be for him.  Full of memories, laughter, love, and tradition.  I am on Pintrest, are you?  Well, anyone who knows Pintrest knows it can be a tad addicting.  I love looking at all the ideas people have and share with others.  As I was cruising through the many great ideas, I saw a family tradition someone had, pictures of the kids the night before Christmas.  I thought what a sweet idea!  So starting this year, I am going to take a picture of Oliver the night before Christmas as he sleeps.  I want to put the pictures into a photo book I plan on calling "Dreams of Sugar Plums that Danced in Their heads".  I hope when Oliver grows up, he can look back and remember and maybe do it for his children one day.  I plan on making the pictures black and white.  To me photos in black and white bring up feelings of sweet, solemn, deep memories.  So with that, I hope to capture his peaceful sleep as he dreams the night before we wake up and open gifts, have a large breakfast, and in our case, Skype with family.

What traditions do you have with your family?  Please share in the comments below.  I would love to hear what sweet memories you create with your family and loved ones this time of year.

I want to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas.  I will see you again next week for some fun inspiration and motivation in your art or continuing education in art.

Photo: Google Images

Google Doodle

Have you been on Google today?  You know how every once in awhile they replace the "Google" logo with something else.  A lot of the the time it has to do with the holidays or something historical going on.  Well today they are celebrating artist Wassily Kandinsky's 148th birthday with the following image:

Who was Wassily Kandinsky and why is he of any importance?  Well, he was a law professor turned painter in Germany who used abstract art and unique color applications in his work.  

As I was thinking of what to write about, I knew I wanted to talk about an artist who has influenced me.  I was thinking Cezanne, Turner, or even Picasso.  While I was trying to decide, my husband sent me a link to today's Google Doodle and said why not write about this guy.  Well, he didn't know that I knew this painter and enjoy his work a lot.  I love his use of color and abstraction.  But, that is not the only reason why I like him.  What makes Kandinsky unique is his work is meant to be his visual interpretation of music.  What he sees and feels as the music filled his studio.  We all can say we have been moved by music.  How it makes our heart flutter, blood pressure rise or brings tears to our eyes.  I love the Beatles.  My mom sang their songs to me as a lullaby or my dad would sing (so very off tune) in the car on long trips across the country.  To this day, as I hit play on my CD player (yeah I know I'm old school in comparison to today's standards) my heart becomes happy and everything melts away as "Here Comes the Sun" fills the room with its guitar plucking and "do da doo doo".  So in a class my freshmen year of college, a professor had my class do an assignment on just what Kandinsky's known for, making music into art.  I will not share what I made mostly because I have no clue where I stored my finished work but, we all can relate when it comes to music.  What I would like to do is have us all relate with art as well.  

Wassily Kandinsky also was one of the first to use Art Therapy.  Have you heard of musical therapy?  Well, their is such a thing with art.  So many people in the world have gone through difficult things, and it has affected their ability to translate their emotions.  Well art therapists work with them, using art to bring them back emotionally.  I considered this a career path and even did a research paper on the subject in college.  The only reason I did not go down that path is because I love art too much and wanted to study it instead of getting a M.D.. 

Below is a link to the website I learned about today's Google Doodle.  But I did know a bit from what I have studied.  I will also leave you with some of Kandinsky's artwork for you to enjoy.  Have a good day and go listen to your favorite song.

Wassily Kandinsky Google Doodle

Composition X by Wassily Kandinsky 1939

Composition VII by Wassily Kandinsky 1913

Photography

No doubt that most of you are taking your Christmas pictures right now.  Whether it is for Christmas cards or just a family picture for fun, you are dabbling with photography.  Here are a few helpful hints in this field of art.

First, let me explain my background in photography.  I have a minor in photography but, what does that mean?  I have only taken three classes....one was strictly film photography which as we all know (and I personally miss) is obsolete.  The second class was how to incorporate photography into painting such as, printmaking, photo transfer, and collage.  The third class was digital photography.  You are probably thinking okay she knows what she is talking about...nope!  My professor used that class to teach photo editing, Lightroom, and Photoshop (both photo editing software).  She never taught us about the actual camera we were using.  But, I do know how to edit!  I purchased a "nice" camera, an Olympus with a glass lens and digital screen.  But you know what I did....set it onto "auto" and clicked away.  So when I give advice on photography, you know my background.  I do know some things but not much.

Yesterday, I spent the morning setting up a mini photo studio and took pictures of my son's first Christmas.  I hung Christmas lights, threw some ornaments around and put a cute outfit on him.  I used my mom's advice (no she is not a photographer but a forever teacher) and took TONS of photos.  Then I uploaded them to the computer and found three that were decent.  That is the advice, take a lot and find the few that work.  I did turn my flash off while taking the pictures to capture the Christmas lights.  I was even daring enough to set my camera to "night portrait" mode to try something new.  I have the somewhat knowledge to know that because the Christmas lights are dim that I needed my shutter to be open longer to capture them.  The shutter speed is the speed at which your camera's shutter (the device that opens and closes to let light in to take a picture) functions.  (See I do know some things...).  I currently do not have Photoshop or Lightroom which are great software to edit photos with so I looked online for some free editing software.  Here is the link below to what I used.  It is very similar to Photoshop but without as many bells and whistles.

http://apps.pixlr.com/editor/

I managed to get my photos edited and sent off to Shutterfly for Christmas cards.  I usually use Walgreens but lately I have been bored with their selection so I have been using Shutterfly.  They are expensive but I had tons of coupons so it worked.  And no they are not paying me to say that.

Here is the photo I edited and sent away for cards.  I just love it and of course my little boy in it!

One more piece of advice, something I am always trying to remind myself.  When looking at photos on a computer you have to remember your light source.  It comes from behind the screen which illuminates the photo.  Well when you go get them printed out the light comes from the room which tends to make the photo appear darker.  So lighten your photos a little more then usual before sending them off to print so when you get them they look just right.  

Have fun taking pictures!  Come back again to see what new advice I have to give.

Also remember my paintings and photos are on sale now for the season click the link below to look at them and possibly but them.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BrennaDaileyArt

HOLIDAY SALE

Sorry I am a little behind in the "Cyber Monday" world but I have discounted my items in my Etsy shop.  Everything is discounted 25% off!  I also have two "nude" drawings that were $250 that I now discounted to $50.  WHAT A DEAL if I do say so myself.  Sorry that wasn't very coy but I am excited to see if discounting my items will help them sell and make it more affordable for you to shop this holiday season.  Check out the link below to find my shop and SHOP, SHOP, SHOP!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

www.etsy.com/shop/BrennaDaileyArt

Black Friday Sale Coming Soon!

Looking to give some original artwork for Christmas?  Well check out my Etsy shop Black Friday for some great deals during the season on my artwork.

etsy.com/shop/BrennaDaileyArt

Color Theory

Fall is here with a mix of winter here and there.  Are you living in a place where winter has started before you even had your thanksgiving turkey?  Here in Kansas we had a random week of snow and now we are back to cool crisp fall air.

As we paint or create our artwork we tend to use certain colors to convey a mood or intention.  With proper knowledge of color theory those intentions become easier to illustrate.  Violets and yellows, reds and greens, and blue and oranges are as most know complimentary colors.  But use of them together in your work shows your understanding of color theory.  

I have a way for you to study color at home.  Start with one color.  I'll use a blue for my explanation, Cerulean.  Paint it on a piece of paper.  Now cut it into 2  1"x1" squares.   Set aside.  Now mix your cerulean with a little bit of green.  Paint onto a piece of paper.  Cut that now into a 4"x4" square.  Now mix some more of that cerulean with more blue.  Paint onto a piece of paper.  Cut that into a 4"x4" square.  Paste the two 4"x4" squares side by side.  Paste one of the 1"x1" squares on the blue cerulean and one on the green cerulean.  Step back and look at what you have done. 

See how the same color, cerulean, looks totally different with the two different cerulean's?  You have just done a study in color theory!  When you study the effects of a color on it's surroundings it can help you understand your artwork better and maybe even improve it that much more.  So many artists have no to little understanding of color theory and it shows in their work.  If you are going to use color, why not understand it as much as you can.  

So go out and look at the weather you are experiencing and you might just see nature's knowledge of color theory.   Or your understanding of nature's use of colors and how we developed color theory by it's example.

Palette Knife

How do you like to paint?  Do you like to use a brush, palette knife, collage, or even your fingers?  I prefer to use a palette knife.  It creates texture in a way a brush can not.  It even adds a thickness that other materials can not.

The best way to start a palette knife painting in my opinion is with a brush.  This is what is so great about painting is that you don't start with lines like a drawing but blocking in shapes instead.  Just like our eyes do when they are trying to focus on an image.  I like to start by looking at what I am about to paint and see the shapes and start from there.  I build the painting with shapes so it looks like what your eye sees but out of focus.  Next, I like to take my palette knife and add the detail but in an abstract way because that is what I prefer to accomplish in my paintings.

What is your favorite way to paint?  Please share!

Thanks again for stopping by to view my blog!

En plein air

          The weather in Kansas has dropped quite a bit, enough to keep me inside with a cup of hot cocoa and a good movie.  But, the outside is beautiful, enough to make me throw on my coat and venture outside to see what I can capture.  Are you in a place where the leaves have been turning gold, red, and orange?  Get out and do some plein air painting!

En plein air:

 is a French term that means "in the open air" and is used to describe the act of painting outdoors. 

Many artists used this technique to create some of the amazing paintings we have come to know and love.  One of my favorites is Vincent van Gogh's, Cypresses:

Cypresses

Saint-Remy, June 1889

         As we all know, Vincent van Gogh had some problems with an ear...so he was committed to an asylum.  But not to the degree of other inmates, he was free to roam the grounds.  He painted the walls that contained him until he saw the landscape beyond the walls.  There were cypress trees and olive groves, a no man's land.  

        The painting above I had the joy of seeing in Houston many years ago when it came with a touring collection from the Metropolitan Museum of Art from New York.  The paint was thick showing the many layers of paint applied and the thickness at which it was applied.  Art restorers have found bits of bugs embedded in the paint showing that when he painted this painting it was a windy day.  How great is that to know Vincent van Gogh was sitting painting en plein air on a windy day.  So what is our excuse to not venture out on a windy, cooler day and paint a masterpiece?!  So lets all grab our brushes, palette knives, pastels, or pencils and capture the world outside our walls as he did.

Sources: Van Gogh. Metzger, Rainer and Walther, Ingo F.. Taschen. 1998.

             

               Google Images

Links

Wondering what my art looks like?  Well, here are links to my Etsy shop, my website, and my twitter:

-Etsy Shop: Brenna Dailey Art
etsy.com/shop/BrennaDaileyArt

-Website
www.brennadaileyart.com

-Twitter
@brennadaileyart

Please take a peek at what my artwork looks like and please follow me on twitter to hear what I'm talking about!

What Art is to Me

Now that you know my intentions with this blog, let me tell you a little about myself.  I have a degree in art from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.  My degree is in painting and photography, of course, my two passions.  I currently live in Kansas with my husband and my son.  I hope that information about myself can help you understand why I have started this blog and that I do know a little something about what I am talking about.

Today, I want to talk about my favorite artist and his influence on me and hopefully your art as well.  As a child I fell in love with Impressionism.  Its beautiful and the movement and colors created a fantastic dream world I can live in.  What is impressionism?  It is a style and movement that art took after artists wanted to show movement in artwork to make it feel like the world was still moving even when it was captured in a painting.  The world is constantly moving, growing, and changing so why not capture that in a moment, in a painting.  So with that of course my favorite artist is Claude Monet.  His paintings appealed to me as a child and still do to this day.  Anytime I visit a museum that has one of his paintings I get butterflies as I study the work with intensity.  I grew up just outside of Houston, Texas so I visited the art museums there on a regular basis.  There is a Claude Monet painting there that he painted in his later years that defines art to me.

The Japanese Footbridge, 1912-15 Claude Monet

You are probably thinking, that is not the footbridge I know of...well your right.  This version he painted later in his life when his eyesight was failing.  Monet had an eye condition that made everything have a red hue to it.  Why I find this version the most fascinating is we are truly seeing through his eyes.  We are seeing the world as he saw it, red.  THAT is what art is to me.  Showing the viewer the world through the artist's eyes.  So let me show you my world through my eyes.  

Welcome to Brenna Dailey Art Blog!

I would like to welcome you to my art blog.  I want to start this blog off with a mission statement, an explanation of my purpose and goal:

This blog will serve as a tool for fellow artists or enthusiasts to learn and grow.  To further their knowledge in this complex field of interest.  This blog will provide materials, inspiration, and growth for all who desire it.  

I will keep you, my audience, informed of my progress as I grow as an artist.  I do hope with my growth you too can grow along with me. I am not a writer so please excuse any poor writing.  I will do my best to get my point across.  My true method of explaining has always been through art which I plan to provide.  I hope all who join me get something out of what I provide through this blog.  So please grab your paintbrush and join me in this journey!