Put A Bird On It

Hello strangers!

These last few weeks have flown by with fall finally here.  As I am a few weeks away from having my baby, I have been scrambling to get my house ready for the new member of the family to arrive that I have neglected my blog.  I am here now and hopefully will squeeze in another post before I'm busy all over again.

Halloween is less then a week away and I hope you are having fun preparing what you will be this year.  Our family is going to be Minions.  Our son loves the movie so we thought he would love us all being Minions.  It's a simple costume, yellow shirts and overalls.  I have a wonderful friend who knitted us hats that are the Minion's faces.  So we will be all decked out next Monday.

I love bird art.  I think it is a simple beauty that birds often are, except for maybe during the Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds".  For me personally, I think it has a lot to due with that often fun question, what superpower do you wish you had?  I have always said, to fly.  So, birds fascinate me, especially bird art.  I am not the only one who has found bird art pretty.  The trend a few years ago was to put a silhouette of a bird on nearly everything and called it art or cool.  Birds were popping up everywhere and not real ones, just images of birds.  Me being a fan of bird art anyway enjoyed the new trend.  Yes, it has become cliche enough that the popular show, Portlandia, did a skit about it.  I have put the skit below for you to enjoy and laugh at.






In my home, I have many different and unique things hanging on my walls.  All have a purpose or story.  I am not a fan of hanging something without meaning on my wall just to fill space.  Two pictures I have come from my Grandma's home.  After she passed many years ago, we went through what she had and took things we wanted to keep to remember her by.  Two of the many things I kept were two bird art prints.  I have kept them in their original metal frames and have had them on my wall for a few years now.

They are simple but pretty and hold a special meaning to me.  So, if you are feeling fun one day, put a bird on it!

Christmas is coming quickly so, if you are starting your shopping, do not forget to check out my Etsy shop HERE

Wall Art

What have you been doing now that Fall is finally here?  I have been enjoying this lovely weather while gearing up for all the fun activities to come.  This time of year is an endless parade of holidays and wonderful memories to be made.  In the next few weeks we will go as a family to get our pumpkins from a pumpkin patch.  Then, soon get ready for our baby on the way while still enjoying a Thanksgiving meal.  Finally, we will get a tree and decorate for Christmas, my favorite holiday.  So many wonderful things coming while the weather helps make it all bearable.

As we have been preparing for our next little one to arrive, we have been moving our son out of what was the nursery into his very own big boy room.  I spent last week painting one of his favorite things on the wall to make his new room his very own, a train or as he likes to call it "choo choo".  When we got the nursery ready for his arrival a few years ago, I knew I wanted it to be Winnie the Pooh themed.  I feel foolish being an artist and not painting something myself on the wall.  I just can not imagine buying a stick on image when I know I can paint it myself.  How much more special will it be for my children growing up knowing that their mother painted their room just for them.  Here is the Winnie the Pooh in the nursery:

I knew I wanted to keep the theme going especially knowing we are having another boy. The room is blue and ready to go.  I also knew that this room has been pretty used to having Pooh on the walls...all kinds of poo.  

As I finished painting the train in our son's new room, I knew that it made the room just for him.  I painted the train like the one we are planning on getting him for Christmas to make it that much more special:

I simplified it because after sketching out the actual train I knew it would take me forever.  It is close enough to look like the train set he would get without being over the top.  

If you can, I recommend painting something on your child's wall.  Making something personal for your child and taking that time to do it, is so sweet and memorable.  Your child will look back on their life and remember that their parents gave them something unique as a sign of their love for them.  

Have a good week or a few, depending on when I manage to get back on here to write again.  Always remember, to be the best artist you can be!!

Perspective

School has started and fall is just around the corner, it's time to get into the routine of the year again.  I don't know about you, but I have been having trouble getting into that routine. I hope your doing better then me!

As usual I found myself looking at art online and found some really awesome sidewalk chalk drawings.  What makes these drawings so amazing to me is the perspective.  These drawings only look good from one vantage point.  When drawing the artist has to be extremely knowledgeable in knowing where the drawing will look correct and correct measurements to accomplish a complete drawing.

 Notice how the drawing changes when you move where you would be standing.  The talent of knowing how to make a drawing look 3-D on a flat surface.

If you want to try making a drawing like these, tell me how!  I have never been great about perspective and anyone who is good at it, have always amazed me.  Here is the link to the website I found these pictures and their are many more for you to enjoy, Click HERE

Do not forget I have an Etsy shop and if you would like to see my paintings or even purchase one, you can look HERE

Bee Have

Do you feel that?  Can you?  That slight, slight drop in temperature?  It's coming!  It really is coming!  FALL!!!! After being a hermit the last few weeks with this blistering weather, I have emerged from my cave to feel that slightly cooler weather.  It has been wonderful and just in time for school to start.  It feels like we can finally have fun outside without dying.  Which it is just in time for all the festivals to start, this is my favorite time of year living in a place that actually has a fall.  I hope y'all are enjoying the little bit of cooler weather too.

As I just keep putting off finishing my painting, I decided to get some sketching done.  It is so important to sketch as often as you can.  I am very guilty of not doing it more often.  Sketching to an artist is like working out for an athlete.  It keeps your skills fresh and you begin to perfect your technique and style.

After wading through all the junk mail we recieve, I found an informational letter on the decline of the bee population.  I know they are important to our environment like really, all living things.  I have thought about one day having some beehives and processing my own honey.  The only thing is my mom is deathly allergic to bees.  So, she might not get to visit if they were buzzing around.  So, I can just imagine having bees instead of actually owning some.  So, whats with all this bee talk?  Well, I decided to sketch a honey bee.  After sketching it, I had a whole bunch of ideas flood into my brain about what my next project will be.  I am excited to get started BUT I need to finish my painting I already have in progress.  So, maybe the excitement for this next project might get me to finish my current one.

I hope everyone is enjoying the last bit of summer you do have before school begins and activities start.  Keep sketching and working on your art, do not let it slip away. Remember to be the best artist you can BEE!!

Christmas in July

We have been traveling quite a bit this summer.  For the last three months we have gone to Texas three times.  I am from Texas so these were all family trips.  After the third time, I told my family we were done for awhile.  Now I can sit and enjoy summer here in Kansas with my family.  Now that it is July, the weather outside can be described as close to the temperature of hell.  So, spending summer time with family has been restricted to indoor activities until that wonderful Kansas Fall arrives.

Since most places like to have a sale for Christmas in July, I thought I would partake as well.  I need to make room in my house and in my Etsy shop for new artwork so time to slash prices and move some product.  Please visit my shop HERE to see the discounted items**.  If you know me personally, you can always contact me and I can wave the shipping fee and just hand deliver the artwork.  I hope everyone is staying cool this summer!

**Please note, all items have been discounted 25% except photograph prints.  Some items have been discounted before and the original price before any discounts have been made can be found in the description below the item.

Art or Science

I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July!



My husband likes to share new and different YouTube videos with me.  Whether I like them or not, I watch them, especially when it's a silly song that will be stuck in my head forever. Last week he showed me Ant Hill casting with molten Aluminum.  This video is fascinating but brings up the debate whether this is actually art or science.



My personal opinion is that this is science.  Just because you use an expensive material and mount the finished work and find it in a museum, does not make it art.  Art to me is something that you created with your hands and with your imagination.  This is taking something that is already made and using it for your own enjoyment.  I am not saying that these Ant Hill casts are not cool, because they are.  But, this practice is a great way to study and learn about Ants and their home.  I find this so interesting and hope they use this method in scientific studies of Ants and their way of living.



So, what do you think?  Is this art or science?

Middle Ground

I hope everyone is having a great summer.  Sadly, it is almost halfway over.  School will start and the pools will close.  At least the benefits to it all is cooler weather.  

I started working on the second layer to my painting, the middle ground.  Most paintings consist of three layers; background, middle ground, and finally, the foreground.  Luckily, I did not need to go back into my background to fix my middle ground work.  

I am not too happy with what I painted but, luckily, paintings are made of paint and paint can be layered and covered up.  Being able to edit yourself is a wonderful thing in painting.  Here is what I have done so far and will keep you updated as often as I have a moment to write my blog.  

I hope everyone is having a good summer and have been finding some time to create art.  So remember, to be the best artist you can be!

Layering

Hello readers!  I know I have been away for quite some time but summer really does keep this girl busy.  In our house, summer is the busiest time of the year.  We have graduations, travel, classes, and fun that keep us busy.  I hope you are having a great summer and staying busy in all the good kind of ways.

As I talked about previously, I have been planning on working on some new paintings.  My goal is to walk you through that process to help you understand how I work and maybe help you organize your thoughts as well.  I talked to you about sketching and researching and planning.  Well, once that all is done and ready to start, how do you start your painting?  With this particular painting, I plan on layering.

What I mean by layering is working on one part of the painting at a time.  For example, I will do the background first, next the middle ground, and finally the foreground.  I layer my painting from bottom to top.  What is great about painting that drawing can not always provide is correction.  If I mess up on my middle ground and ruin my already done background, I can take my paint and fix it.  Paint is a very forgiving medium to work with.  If you have watched any of my painting videos you will know this process of layering is not one I used while creating my "Orange" painting.  I painted as if the painting was all one layer because I was using texture that I did not want throughout my whole painting.  Working as if you are on one layer is what most water-colorist do as well.  Watercolor is not as forgiving as acrylic or oil paint is.  Once you make a mistake, their is no going back, you can not cover it up.  That is a lot of the reason I do not like watercolor.  I like having that option of correction.  I hope you are enjoying creating some artwork and finding more time then I have been this summer to create.  Here is the background of my painting and hopefully, I can get the next layer done soon.

As always, I am here to help you be the best artist you can be!!

(My prayers are going out to the families of those lost in Orlando this past weekend)

Recycling an Old Post

I wanted to share an old blog post I wrote nearly a year ago that you might enjoy again.  Go ahead and check it out!

CLICK HERE


I hope everyone is having a good day and week!!! Take care!

Sketch a Little, Think a Little

What a time this has been!  When the weather is this nice, good times are to be had!  We enjoyed a festival this weekend and a bunch of outside time.  Just before I put my son down for a nap we played in the water outside.  He has a little squirt bottle he enjoyed chasing me around with while he squirted water at me.  I hope you are enjoying your time with family and friends!  Also, happy belated Mother's Day!  It rained here so we didn't get to do what my husband wanted but I still didn't have to cook or clean all day!  Now that was nice!  I can not wait to see what he has in store for me now that it is nice out.

To continue on from last week's post about research, I hope you are sketching away on your ideas.  I worked a little today before my son starting chasing me around.  Here is an example of how I work:

This sketch isn't complete but a good start to what I am working on.  I think I want to do a mini series of butterflies but monochromatic in theme.  When I was talking about research I meant learn about the subject you plan to draw or paint.  I spent some time learning about butterflies and now I am sketching them.  The hard part about butterflies is that they are symmetrical which makes painting them with their wings open hard.  I might throw in a few closed wings to make that process simpler.  Notice the notes I take along with the sketch.  It helps remind myself of the thinking process I have as I sketch and brainstorm my finished product.  Problem solving through a painting starts at the very beginning and goes all the way to the very end.  Just watch some of my painting videos and you will see....I still kept working through problems.  

I hope you are enjoying working through your projects and having fun with this weather.  Remember to be the best artist you can be!

Research

I love this weather but the down side to it is having my car windows open.  It doesn't make sense does it?  Let me explain.  Right about lunch time I found myself driving around town with my windows open.  I passed a restaurant and BAM!  I smelled the delicious food cooking inside.  That is the downfall to this weather, I can smell all the wonderful cooking going on.  We have a rule in our house.  We can only watch cooking shows while we are eating.  If we are watching a food show about burgers and have not had dinner yet....we want burgers.  It has happened so many times that this rule we made went into effect.  I hope you have better self-control then we do when it comes to food.

Have you ever thought about what an artist does before they sit down and paint?  Or do you think they can just pop something out like it is nothing because they are an artist?  Many times people just write off my art like I can just create something at the drop of a hat.  It really is not that simple.  One of my favorite paintings I have created took months to do.  That does not just include the painting process.  I have to do studies.  Studies being pictures of the subject I want to paint, sketching over and over again to get the subject done just right, and thumbnail sketches to prepare the whole image before I put it on canvas.  A thumbnail sketch is pretty much what it sounds like, a small sketch of the intended finished product.  A lot of the time I will scale down the image's intended size so I can create the proper ratios in the image.  So, when I scale the image back up to the intended size, the dimensions and ratios look correct.  (Who would have thought an artist can sound all technical?).  Artists are problem solvers.  That is why art is so important for children to experience.  I find myself trying to solve problems in my art all the time.  How can I make this look right?  Why is that color not looking bright enough?  I need more space in this image, how can I achieve that?  This is why researching your painting before you paint it is so important.  I find myself thinking and working through an idea for months sometimes before I even sketch it out.  That is what I have been doing lately.  I find myself thinking of exactly what I want to do and how I am going to do it.  No artist starts a painting without some sort of planning and research first.  Do you have an idea?  Plan it out.  Research the subject.  Sketch.  Sketch some more.  When you think you sketched enough, sketch some more.  Then, start you painting.

I wish you luck in your research, and remember to be the best artist you can be!

Hold on to Your Hats!

Living in Kansas has been fun but when it comes to weather, it changes so much, it's hard to have fun.  When we first found out Kansas is where we were going to end up, we forgot that it was still a state.  Nothing happens in Kansas that usually makes big news.  We farm, we have tornadoes, and its the place Dorothy was from.  That was all we knew.  After being here for almost 5 years, I have learned what it was like to be a true American.  Being from Texas, you are Texan first and American second.  I was and am still a proud Texan.  You do not cover Texas history every year and then take it for a whole year not to be proud of your state.  I forgot what it was like to be proud of my country like Kansans do.  I will say though, weather here is something I will never get used to because it doesn't last long enough for you to get used to it.  Today is one of those days that scare me.  We have a storm coming that might bring tornadoes, well most likely will bring tornadoes.  As a huge fan of the movie "Twister" this can go either way for me.  I have always wanted to see a tornado but I also never want to see a tornado.  God's creation is astounding but can be scary at the same time.  Just before I sat down to write this blog, I got a bunch of stuff together to take if the tornado sirens sound.  I pray for safety for all my friends out there if anything happens.  Hold on to you hats!!!!

Since, wind is a fact later today, I was thinking about all the things that will be blown away.  I personally would love if all the weeds in my flower beds would blow away but since those suckers are in there good (trust me, I know), what will blow away?  I was admiring this picture yesterday and thought with my luck, I would paint this and the wind would blow away my fence.

Painting on empty spaces can be beautiful and add just that little bit more of beauty to a dull space.  This time last year we put up a fence around our backyard that needs some color.  I am 80% tempted to go out this summer and paint something on it.  If I do, I might end up having to paint everyone else's fence too.  I'll see what happens but first, I need to see if my fence will survive the storm.

Take care friends and remember to be the best artist you can be!!

Why Buy Local Art?

Today feels like spring.  It is just beautiful out!  I can not say it enough, this is my favorite time of year.  This week is an exciting but sad week.  My son is turning 2!  I am so excited at the little boy he has become.  The energy that never ends, the curiosity about everything, and the smiles he gives when he sees me or accomplishes something new.  But....he is growing up!  He is not staying my little boy forever like I would love.  This time two years ago he was on his way into my arms and now he is too big for my arms.  Oh how time flies!!!

I am pretty sure I have covered this topic before, but it is an important one to talk about as an artist.  Local art is more then just something pretty to hang on your wall.  It is funding someone's passion, encouraging their love of creating.  The rare times people purchase my art, I get so motivated to create more thinking that someone out there likes what I am doing.  The argument will always be that artist create art not for money but for the love of art.  This statement is true but no artist would deny that excitement they get when someone purchases their art.  A few weeks ago, I sold a painting.  It was the first in a long time.  I did not realize how much I missed the feeling of wrapping up a painting to deliver to someone else.  It is a wonderful feeling.  To know that my painting that was stored away in a dark corner of my house got to see the light of day in someone's home.  Local art can bring personality to a home that no commercially made art can.  I refuse to hang commercially made art in my home.  To me, it makes my home a house that might as well have anyone living in it.  I loose that personality that my family has created for our home.  Every piece of artwork has a reason for being on my wall, a story.  As an artist, I would love to be a part of your home's story.  So, go out and buy some local art.  I am not trying to force you to buy mine.  What I am trying to do is encourage you to buy something someone out their worked hard to create.  Something someone gave a little of their soul to make beautiful just for you.  Are you willing to let their story be a part of your's?

Remember to be the best artist you can be!

Here is my Etsy shop in case you want to just at least look at what I am selling.

Rangoli

Spring is finally here!!  This is my favorite time of year, when everything seems to wake up from a long sleep.  I love the beauty and the life that is Spring.  Living in Kansas, it is usually windy.  Since it is Spring, the farmers have been control burning their fields to prepare for the new crop they will plant.  Since, it is windy, is smells like smoke....most of the time.



The other day I found myself watching a woman practicing Rangoli, and as I watched and heard the wind outside, I knew that this is a form of art I could never practice in Kansas.



Rangoli is a form of art or cultural practice done outside or in homes.  It is a design created with colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or flower petals.  It is usually done during Indian festivals to bring luck to whoever it is created for.  I have always loved learning about other cultures.  Learning what traditions others keep make me appreciate my own so much more.  I doubt many can argue against the complex designs that India produces as being extraordinary.



Even though the art I create is usually heavy in texture, I love delicate designs.  Using sand to create something so detailed and yet so delicate is fascinating to me.  I hope you enjoy the video I attached and the few pictures I found of many other Rangoli designs.



Do not forget I have an Etsy shop, you can see what I have HERE



Remember, to be the best artist you can be!

Water

I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break last week!  We took our son to Legoland and the Aquarium for the first time.  He had a blast but I really think he liked the Aquarium the most.  I hope everyone also has a lovely week in preparation for Easter this Sunday.  It is such a special time for us as we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus!  Have a joyful time with your families.

My husband informed me yesterday that today is World Water Day.  A day to remind others that not everyone has fresh and clean drinking water.  This is something that I am thankful for as I do simple tasks as brushing my teeth or washing my hands.  We are a rich nation and I hope that we can solve the lack of clean water for the world.

Since we are talking about water, I was going to share some images I found of Japanese watercolor paintings.  If you are an avid reader, you know I am no expert on watercolor.  I love it, it's beautiful but I am not good at using watercolors.  It takes a lot of control over your medium and I am just not good at it, simple as that.  Even if I am not good at something, does not mean I can not enjoy it and admire those who are.  My sister has loved Japanese anime since high school.  So every once in awhile we would find ourselves admiring Japanese art together.  So, here are a few images I just happened to find:

I would also like to take the time to mention Brussels today.  My prayers and thoughts are with the families and friends of those who were hurt or killed in the cruel attacks that happened there today.

Publication

Happy Spring Break everyone!!! I hope everyone is having a great time with family this week.  The weather looks good enough for everyone to enjoy outdoor fun.  It is a little windy here today so, we are taking a break from the outdoor activities.  It is a good thing too, we have been going outside and playing and going on walks so much, an indoor movie is just what we need today.  Happy Spring Break friends and Happy St. Patrick's Day on Thursday.  I am Irish and we do not take St. Patrick's Day lightly in my family.  Growing up, we had parties and corned beef and cabbage every year so, of course, we had some corned beef and cabbage this year.  We had it early this year so we could share with friends because what is corned beef and cabbage without sharing it with friends.

Today, I have a few things to share with you, so hold on to your hats.

An important part of being an artist is getting your work out there.  Some artist use online sources (me), galleries (I tried it once), and publication (I have done that too).  Grant it, I'm not the most successful at any of these things BUT I have tried them and so should you.  In high school, I entered a local art contest.  The contest was to illustrate a lullaby.  I chose "Indian Lullaby".  I had never heard it before but the lyrics were very visual, perfect for a painting.  Here are the lyrics:

Indian Lullaby

Bed is too hard for my tiredness.

Give me a hill soft with leaves.

Tuck a cloud up under my chin,

Lord, blow the moon out, please.

Rock me to sleep in a cradle of dreams.

Sing me a lullaby of leaves.

Tuck a cloud up under my chin,

Lord, blow the moon out, please.

Isn't that just beautiful?  So, I painted what I saw as I read the lullaby.  Let me first tell you what was going through my head during this time.  I was busy with another contest that I wanted to win so much more, so I worked harder on another painting.  The lullaby painting I popped out quickly and did not give a whole lot of thought to it.  I am not trying to toot my own horn, I'm just saying that sometimes the things you pay the least attention to, become the most beautiful and noticed artwork.  Well, my painting got noticed.  I won second place, prize money, and a publication in a book of lullabies. I can not find where you can buy the book currently but here is a picture of the book and my painting inside it:

So, I am a published painter.  But, college came along and another opportunity presented itself for me to be published again.  I was currently working with the Anthropology department cleaning, labeling, and cataloging artifacts.  The school year ended but I needed a summer job.  My boss knowing I was an art student minoring in photography, asked if I wanted to photograph grave stones for the History department.   Needing a job, I said yes.  That summer, in East Texas, being....HOT, I went and photographed headstones and took video with a group of history majors and graduate students.  I can not remember all the pictures I took or all the cemeteries I went to, but it was fun and informative and well, sad.  Seeing all those forgotten headstones and going to a children cemetery, it was a rough summer but, very fulfilling.  At the end of it all and by the time Fall came, my photographs were published in a small booklet.  Here it is:

Honestly, if you flipped open a page and asked, did you take this picture, I could not confirm or deny because it was so long ago and so many pictures.  I was not the only photographer so, it could be anyone.  I know my photos are in it though and if I looked up my saved pictures on my computer, I can remember better but here it is.  

The lesson to be learned here is to keep working hard and stay open to many opportunities for your work.  Some unique situations may arise and I would advise to take them.  You can grow as a person and an artist and even more so, your resume can get just a little bit longer.  

Before I go I do want to share an artist with you who my in-laws shared with me.  Just check it out for something unique HERE.

So remember to be the best artist you can be!!

Just in a Cocoon

So, I know...I know.  It's been awhile since my last post.  I have been dealing with some personal stuff and last week I was ready to blog a new post.  I just had to clean my office first....well by the time it was done, I was done.  Now, here I am in a clean office ready to blog away!!!

We finally got rain today...FINALLY!!!! It has been awhile and it was getting just a little too dry around here.  Luckily, today we have been getting a steady rain and my son and I have been snuggling and watching movies.  I hope life is going well for you dear reader.  I just love this time of year.  Spring is when everything comes alive again after looking dead for so long.  I hope your home is looking beautiful now.

Speaking about things transforming....I came across a article showing the transformation of caterpillars to butterflies!  What a perfect thing to talk about while everything is changing around us.  I know it has been a long time since I have posted last, and this post will be short, but I hope it is a good start to a lovely Spring!

Check out the article HERE !  Number 16 is my favorite, the Glass Winged Butterfly.  I like it so much, I'll add the picture here.

Valentine's Day

Love is in the air!!!  At least for most.  For those who refuse to celebrate this holiday or have no one to share it with, I do hope you find a way to make this day special.  I remember hating Valentine's day in my single days but I always found a way to have fun.  My single friends and I would exchange gifts and watch chick-flicks while eating a ridiculous amount of junk food.  Now my husband and I just try and find a moment of quiet while our son sleeps and watch a goofy comedy and eat a ridiculous amount of junk food.  Have a wonderful day with friends, a loved one, or family.  

Since, many people have dates planned this coming weekend, I wanted to honor one of the many things that happens on dates, getting to know each other.  If you are a new reader to my blog, I want you to get to know me.  Way in the beginning of starting this blog, I explained what I do know and my education in art.  What is just as important as that is, what art really means to me.  What happens when I see something I love in a museum or gallery.  So please read what I have written over a year ago explaining what art is to me:

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.  

Patience

Happy Groundhog day everyone!  From what I've heard, Phil predicted an early spring so lets hope he is right.  As much as I want snow for my son, I do want that lovely spring weather so going outside will not be so freezing!

Patience is something everyone has trouble with.  Standing in line at the DMV, waiting for water to boil, or to an artist slowly working to get that finished product.  Well, if you think to yourself, I am a fairly patient person, let me introduce you to Lorenzo Duran Silva:

This artist does leaf art, and not just any leaf art, intricate cuts into leaves found on the ground.  Lorenzo collects leaves, cleans, dries and presses them.  Draws out a design and lays it over a tiny leaf.  He works on the design ranging from a week to a month.  At the very end, he pulls his drawing paper off the leaf so carefully as to not ruin that month of work to reveal a detailed, intricate design.

So, how patient are you?  On a scale of a toddler to Lorenzo Duran Silva?  After looking at this man's work, I think my patience is closer to a toddler's patient level.

I hope you enjoyed learning about this artist and remember to be the best artist you can be....patience and all!!


Here are more images of Lorenzo's work and here is the website I got my information from: HERE

But Is It Any Good?

Greetings from middle America!  Living in the middle of everything has its perks and downfalls.  Later this week we will experience the perks to having everything happening around us, like cold weather.  We will be enjoying some warm winter weather in the 60's while others are sadly buried in snow.  The weather just seems to pass over us and head on out to other corners of America.  Shockingly enough, I would love some snow this winter.  Our son received a sled for Christmas and I would love for him to use it for the first time this year.  We just need snow!  To all my readers who are buried in snow and can not go anywhere, I wish you safety and warmth!  Maybe we can switch places for just a minute so I can take my son sledding.

Abstract art....is it any good?  I know most art museum goers find themselves saying under their breath, "I could do that....and that is worth millions?  I'm in the wrong profession!" A simple paint streak across a canvas may seem like simple work but, when it comes to art, it really might not be.  Some of my favorite classes to take have been in Art History (minus the cave drawings, I enjoyed the more current work).  Understanding the work and knowledge behind that one paint streak is a lot more complicated than you might think.

I was on Pintrest late one night, which is most nights, and found a great blog discussing this exact topic, Is It Any Good?  Let me share with you this blog and this might help you see abstract art a little differently, and hopefully, know you might not be able to do it yourself.

Read HERE!

I hope everyone has been sketching away and bettering themselves in your art ability.  And as always, be the best artist you can be!

Sketching

On this cold cold day, I am held up inside because it is toooooooo cold outside.  Its the kind of cold that cuts you to the bone no matter how many layers you manage to put on.  The kind of cold that takes minutes not seconds to warm back up once you get inside.  The kind of cold that makes you mad at how slow your car takes to warm up.  Can you guess that I am tired of being cold?  It is even harder when you have a little one who is still in a car seat.  Little kids can not or should not wear a winter coat while in the car seat.  So, you wrestle your child into the coat inside, walk a few steps, then wrestle the coat off your kid in the car, lather, rinse, repeat.  So, yes I am ready for spring already.

The last few days I have realized something that was missing in my life.  I can list many things but lately, the one that I have been focusing on was my art.  I write about it and sometimes do a craft or two with friends but not like I used too.  In college, I would spend late nights in the studio working on my latest piece.  I used to forget eating meals until I finished just one part of a painting.  But, I have not made a painting in awhile.  I think that most artists go through that period where life happens or an art road block occurs in your mind.  So, how do we fill this void to keep the juices flowing and our talent alive?  Sketch. When I say sketch, I mean anything.  A shoe, a word, a circle, a dream, anything.  That helps collect your thoughts into a book that eventually will bring you a work of art.  I have countless sketchbooks strewn around the house with sketches that are now the paintings hanging on my walls.  I have forgotten that.  I have forgotten to spend time in a sketchbook doodling my thoughts.  I think that is why I have hit a road block when it comes to creating paintings.  I need to work through my thoughts to find the one that is worthy of a painting.

My challenge for you is just that, sketch.  Go buy a sketchbook or make one by binding some blank pages together and sketch.  Get your thoughts down onto paper so you can work through them and find your next masterpiece.  I wish you the best with this because I will be with you doodling away.  If I have anything worthy or well anything, I'll share with you my readers.  If I like it enough or even you do to, let me know and I'll make it a painting.  If you want, please share your sketches too.  I would love to see them.

As always, be the best artist you can be!

Re-Visit

Hello again friends!  This week I decided to do something different and just leave you with a link of an older blog post I wrote in the past.  A re-visit to a topic I covered in case you missed it the first time.  I'll have us re-visit my En Plein Air blog.  You can read it HERE!!!


Also do not forget to visit my ETSY SHOP to buy some of my artwork.

Have a great week and remember, to be the best artist you can be!

Adult Coloring Books

Hello friends!  My first post of the new year!  How exciting to have been writing this blog for over a year now with wonderful friends to read what I have to say.  A lot of the time it is not very much, but I do hope that what I write is educational and informative.  With that said, let us dive right into our first topic of 2016!

What is on trend these days?  Adult coloring books.  They are everywhere!  I even got a couple for my Christmas gift.  These books, if you have not heard of them, are complex designs for you to color, mostly directed towards adults or older kids.  The reason these books have appeared is because coloring is relaxing, and as most adults know, being an adult is not always kicks and giggles.  Life can pile up and become stressful.  Tuesdays are like that in our house, for some reason.  My son usually has a bad day on Tuesdays, my husband usually has a bad day on Tuesdays, and guess what, I usually have a bad day on Tuesdays.  I am sure each and everyone of you has one of those days every once in awhile.  I just hope they are not as often as every Tuesday like in my house.  So with all that stress looming, adults usually try to find a way to relieve it.  Now we all know their are a lot of unhealthy ways to do that, but finding a healthy way to relieve that stress is important.  So, why not color?  Sitting down to focus on a complex coloring design is healthy and helpful.  Now, you know I am no doctor, far from it.  But with some knowledge in Art Therapy, adult coloring has brought a lot of people comfort.  Yes, you guessed it, adult coloring is a form of Art Therapy!  Creating art can give you relaxation and focus.  A time to get your mind off those terrible Tuesdays and on to something simple, coloring.  Go and try out some of the coloring pages I listed below to bring some peace to your crazy adult life.  No one ever said being an adult would be easy....well, maybe a kid who has no clue yet and thinks being an adult is eating whatever you want whenever you want (which is true but still its more then that). So as always, be the best artist you can be!

Check out these coloring pages for you to print out at home:

Owls

Elephant

Mandala

Do not forget to visit my Etsy shop for the latest deals on my paintings!  

Click HERE