A PAINTING A WEEK

 

Happy New Year!  With the year 2014 upon us, I have decided to make a few new resolutions dealing with my creative side...well, it is not so much a resolution as a REVOLUTION! I am revolting from my old ways, and attempting to change my habits to grow creatively.

 

First, I have decided that I am not progressing in my painting.  While my drawing skills have developed over the past year, I miss working with paint, and bringing large color into my life.  So I will be doing a painting a week (inasmuch as my life will allow it: with an ailing mother-in-law, and a lot of trips north ahead of us, I will do my very best!)

 

Second, I have been rather scattered in my art time.  I will be scheduling my time better, and making it a priority in my week.

 

Third, I will utilize my studio.  Lately I have gotten very lazy with my drawing, and have been working at the dining table or even (shocker!) in my easy chair!  That does not place my art in the priority level that it should be.  I will be working in my studio, where I will feel professional, and not such a hobbyist.

 

I am hoping that these changes will help me to focus.  I am trying to redefine my own idea of art.  What do I want to say?  What is art to me?

 

I am a procrastinator...or just plain lazy, but I know that somewhere deep inside me is an artist with a lot to create.  Over the next year, I will be exploring, developing, and creating that which is hidden away.  I am reminded of a quote: "She was like the moon...Part of her was hidden"  I am searching for that part of me that is hidden.  I welcome you to come along and help me to discover it!

DRAWING STUDIES FOR TOYS STILL LIFE

I am working on some sketches for a possible still life painting.  My oil paintings are always a major event in my life, because they are so involved and the drawing and perspective gives me panic attacks!  I don't do many of them, obviously!  I love using antique childrens' toys in my still lifes, as they seem to be timeless and joyful.  The Fisher Price jalopy is one of my favorite old toys, but his head is bent at a funny angle, after so many years of use, and the composition is going to be key in getting the right emotional response from it.  I have a lot more drawing to do!

ART JOURNAL PAGE: THUMBNAILS

This is a page from my sketchbook of notes and thumbnails for an upcoming painting.  I quite like the process as much as the finished product.  I do wish that I was as organized as those artists who are publishing books on their art journals.  Every page they create is so beautiful and inspiring!

SPIRIT DOLL DESIGN: TEA AND COMFORT

This spirit doll design is based on my passion for tea and comfort.  I will sculpt the face of clay, use a sugar spoon for the body, and add tea leaves like a halo around the head.  I plan on using some peppermint and rosemary sprigs for the back, and add teabag papers and possibly a tiny antique tea infuser.  My mama always told me that anything can be cured with a good cup of tea, whether it be a broken heart or a headache.  My belief in her and the tea ritual finds it to be true, for the most part!  Thanks, Mom!

SPIRIT DOLL DESIGN: STRENGTH

I am working on some designs for spirit dolls this week.  I plan on making them after the holidays, when it is too cold to go anywhere, and I am needing a project.  I love the idea of gaining strength from an object that you have put your heart and soul into.  The dream catchers of the Native Americans inspire me.  I thought that I could work on a spirit doll that would encourage me to rely on my own strength, so this is my first attempt at a design.  I will sculpt the face from clay, make the body from oak twigs, and add a sort of wing made from a post oak leaf.  We have some red buffalo grass in the area, so I will use that as well.

CHARCOAL DRAWING OF GLASS CANDLESTICK

I am posting a drawing that I did in 2003, just to see if I have been improving, or remaining stagnant in my artwork.  The glass candleholder was a real challenge to draw, but I had more uninterrupted time to get it done.  These days I am distracted and not as focused, so I am really unsure as to whether I am better, or not.  Maybe I just need a lock on my studio door!

INK ANTIQUE SPOON DRAWING

Bored tonight!  I couldn't find anything interesting to draw, so I found an antique tea spoon that my mother had given me.  I don't think that the bowl of the spoon came out right, as you can't tell if it is coming or going, but I really like how the handle came out.  Also, don't you think that I gave it a bit of a bend where there shouldn't be?  It would have been nice to take some of those graphic design classes in college so that I could be more accurate in my drawing!

TINY ACORN SKETCH: INK

Should you do a drawing simply to fill a particular frame?  I drew this acorn in an attempt to get something specifically for a 1" frame (that's right...1"!  So cute!)  It is still too big, as the acorn grew into being an inch and a half in size.  It seemed to have a mind all its own, and refused to cooperate with me at all!  Maybe I should draw something smaller...a ladybug?

BIG OOPS! IN THE STUDIO

I only added this sketch to my blog as a reminder to those fellow artists to NEVER have your sketchbook, your water bottle, and your cat on the same surface!  I lost half of my sketchbook, and never did finish this particular drawing.  Now that I have learned my lesson, you should see more drawings in the future!

SQUIRREL SKETCH: ABSTRACT

I loved the face on this squirrel...a study from a photo I took along the coast.  This is not the usual midwestern squirrel, as it has a more streamlined face, and a thinner tail.  I do love doing detail and abstraction together.  It simplifies and captures the essence of the animal, I think.

HUMOROUS SKETCH

Laugh if you want, but an artist will draw just about anything...even her own unshaven legs!  In an exercise in foreshortening, I drew my chubby little feet, and it actually came out fairly true to perspective.  Embarrassing, yes, but not something I plan on selling!  What kind of 'unpublishable' sketches do YOU do?