A Break from Business Cards

As I wait for my supplies to arrive (I got an email this morning they shipped!!) I thought I would work on making new business cards.  If you want people to remember you and have you paint art for them, then you must have something to leave with them.  I like to design my own, so I know what information is placed on them and where.  The problem about making your own is the headache of it.  I buy a box of 100 business cards and never seem to get that many after I print them because of printer, word processor, and user (meaning me) issues.  Hopefully, I can get some done so I can start handing them out!  Just remember to have some for people to get your name out there or to even attach to your artwork when you sell it.

I stumbled upon this article today and thought it was worth a mention:

Remodeling of Houston MFA

I am from Texas.  As most Texans say, "I am Texan first and American second".  I love Texas, and it offers so much and I miss it all the time now that I am living in Kansas.  A lot of that has to do with my family and friends are still there.  I grew up in Cypress which when I was little, was small, and downtown Cypress had a catfish farm where you could fish if you wanted.  Then they built a highway and a Walmart and the little town of Cypress was history.  They filled in that little catfish farm and stuck a Lowe's on top of it.  Every time I visit my home I do not recognize it.  Cypress used to be on the outskirts of Houston, well now it basically is Houston.  Okay now that my rant is over....lets get to the article I posted.

I grew up venturing into the grand city of Houston to shows, museums, and ball games (Go Astros!).  I still love going to the Museum of Fine Arts.  In an earlier post I shared with you what art is to me and about a painting I love so dearly in the MFA's permint collection.  You can re-read that post here:

What Art is to me

This museum has been the same since I can remember it so hearing that they are going to expand it is great news!  I love that people with a lot of money are giving it to the museum so the visitors can experience even more art!  I get my inspiration by looking at other art so the more that the city of Houston can display, the better.  So, as the article reads, plan a trip to Houston in 2019 and visit the newly renovated MFA.  

Now, back to those pesky business cards that I am determined to finish! Happy creating viewers!

Houston MFA

Supplies

Now that the new year has begun and I plan to hold to my promise, I will walk you through my process of starting a painting.  First, you need to think of what you want to do.  What is the painting you want to begin and what supplies does it require?  This weekend I plan on ordering my supplies and gathering what I need to begin.  In college my professor liked to order our class's supplies from Utrecht.  They have great prices and you can order large amounts of product.  You usually only can buy certain sizes from your local arts and craft stores so, this is a better and cheaper option.

My series that I want to start will involve a lot of texture.  If you have read previous posts, you know this is something I love to accomplish in my paintings and have admired past artists who have done this as well.  I plan on ordering Extra Course Pumice Gel and Modeling Paste.  The Pumice Gel is a pumice stone that was ground up and mixed with an acrylic medium.  A pumice stone for any of my lady readers is often used for pedicures.  It is a course stone that is also very brittle.  That is what I plan to use for a lot of my texture.  My painting professor suggested using sand which is much cheaper.  The downside to using sand is that I would have to clean it and let it completely dry before use.  Well, if you are like most of the country now...it is hard to dry anything in this cold weather.  I would have to clean and dry it inside and with a baby crawling around in my small home...that just won't do.  So, I plan on spending that extra money to have a prepared textured medium.  Now Modeling Paste is a thick gesso like product.  It drys thick and hard so that helps create texture.  Think about wall puddy or stucco for walls.  It drys thick and you can build off it for texture.  That is another way I will add texture to my paintings.

I also need to get some kind of material to put my painting on.  Since I plan on using heavy material I will use wood.  I want to get a large piece of plywood that has a smooth surface that will not interfere with my intended texture.  The plywood needs to be a decent thickness so it will not warp because I do not plan to add a backing (reinforcement).  I will see what the lumber store has for my options while keeping cost in mind.  Most lumber stores will also cut the plywood for you.  Since I do not have a table saw this is great and useful.  So when going into the store, make sure you know your measurements.

When doing all of this preparing for your artwork always think about money.  How much are you willing to put into this artwork and how much are you wanting to get out of it in the end.  If you plan on painting to paint go for it!  I do plan on painting to paint but I also know I will put this up for sale.  So I need to be aware of how much money I put into the paintings and how much I would like to sell it for that is still reasonable for the buyer.

I hope this all is helpful as you start any new artwork for the year.  I will continue to take you through my process to help you achieve what you set out to accomplish.  Once I sit down and begin painting, I will try and post YouTube videos to show you how I paint!  Thanks for stopping by!

Also remember my current paintings are for sale at my Etsy shop.  I am keeping them at the discounted holiday price for any buyers.  I sold my first painting on Etsy this week so lets keep those orders coming so I can make room for more paintings in my shop!  Do not forget to also follow me on Twitter! @BrennaDaileyArt

Brenna Dailey Art Etsy Shop

Art Supplies at Utrecht

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