I can't believe the month is almost over!

blue dress

I have to thank Misty Mawn for challenging us to the 31 days of art in January.
January is a long cold month. I usually experience a let down after the holidays, and all I see ahead is long, grey days.
Because of this challenge I have been much preoccupied. My days have been filled with Quinacridone Burnt Orange and Yellow Oxide and Titan Buff.
I have experimented more and I believe grown more than I have in a year.
I will take from this the knowledge that hard work will get you everywhere.

I believe in February I am going to slow down just a bit. I will be attempting "Art Every Other Day"

Then who know? In March I would like to go back to art every day.

We'll see.

day 25

look closer

one week left

feathers

day 23 (for another 30 minutes)

gems

22

palms

day 21 - invisible

what would be day 20

this should be day 20 of art, but alas, I have done none today.

I started a new semester of school today, so I was anxious...

Anxious about my classes.

Anxious about starting a new schedule and breaking the little routine my family and I have set up for the last month and a half.

Anxious about not being home as much.

Anxious about the sitters (my brother and his girlfriend) who will come to our home two evenings a week.

Anxious about art getting pushed to the bottom of the priority list.

and on and on

Some of my fears have been laid to rest already.

I LOVE my classes. Media & Techniques in Art and Fibers & Textiles.

The fibers class sounds like it will be a 16 week long communal quilting bee. Eleven students sitting around a table sewing, dying fabric, paste papers, embroidery, felting and more.

Media & Techniques is an Art History class but we get to do art projects in it. Yay! One painting, a drawing, printmaking and something else I forgot. Field trips to galleries and demonstrations in class.

I will only be gone Tues and Thurs 3 - 9, so still home the other 5 days a week.

I think it will all work out.

So, no painting today, but I will begin again tomorrow, and I WILL keep it a priority.

Day 19

I can't believe this is day 19 and I'm still with it.

This has been harder and easier than I imagined.

I feel like my art has taken some unexpected turns and instead of feeling out of ideas, I am excited to be trying lots of new things.

pink

Continuing with the color theme, and I'm using glazing again.

pale yellow

i used a texture called "blended fibers" on the background, it gave a wonderful bumpy surface where the paint could move forward and back.
I did a glazing treatment on her face, using primarily yellows, what a fun experiment!

i have to say, i never thought i would like yellow so much

red - day 16

Misty Mawn's prompt for the day was red, I had to accept the challenge, I don't think I've ever used this much red before!

Her dress was a flash back to my Brownie days, I was suddenly inspired to to a basket weave with my monoprinted vintage papers. Remember making those placemats out of construction paper?

I think it also fits the Illustration Friday theme, because she looks quite pale and lovely against the vibrant background.

Days 14 and 15

Day 15 - White

Day 13

virtue

IF: Contained and Day 12 of Art

My excitement can not be contained!
I can show you my latest illustration for Lipstick Magazine





buy prints here or here

day 11

I didn't post anything yesterday, but I did paint!

daily art - day 9

eclectic

new sculpture

for sale on etsy!

day 8 of art

7 stripes

6 days

this girl

day 5

4th day

wonder

Two posts in one day?

When I was in highschool I entered a competition at our local art museum. Actually our teacher was supposed to chose one student to represent out school. She chose me. What I remember from the event is we were instructed to find a piece of art, draw it, and write a short essay on what the piece meant to us. We had a few hours to complete the task. I chose a Mesoamerican god sculpture that kind of cracked me up. I drew him with dollar bills in his clenched fists and wrote about how he was the god of greed.

We (all the students) then ate a brown bag lunch while we waited for the panel to judge us.

I didn’t win anything that afternoon, but was given an interesting and lengthy written critique. The judge liked my drawing and rendering skills, but was actually taken with the essay. She offered that perhaps I should go into writing.

I laughed ruefully, as I had heard that before, and promptly put her advice out of my mind. Writing was easy. Art is hard.

As readers of this blog may notice, I resist the urge to blog verbally. I cringe when given papers to write at school. I can barely squeak out thank you notes after given gifts and am notorious for being delinquent on leaving feedback.

Writing takes up valuable time that could be better spent on art.

I wonder sometimes if I was/am ignoring my actual talent and choosing instead the thing I fight with, agonize over and obsess about.

Art hard.

But when it works, nothing gives me greater pleasure.

IF: Resolve - In two parts

I resolve to take better care of my body this year. This means exercise!

I ALSO am resolving to make 31 days of art this January. Wish me luck!

painting on ebay now

Two days and two paintings

Maybe this could become a trend?


Sold


Sold

while I was out...

I spent the afternoon making soap with my sister at her house.
My husband was at home taking care of the kids, and apparently spoiling them in ways I never dreamed of

glow

on ebay later tonight

December Issue

YAY!
The December issue of Lipstick Magazine is out with my new art
see see see

Harmony

for sale on etsy right now!

IF: Similar

Different yet similar...

IF: Balloon

I hope those arrows don't pop the balloons

IF: Opinon

"In my opinion..."

IF: Pretend

IF: Wise

a mother's wisdom

fall

Full Color Glossy

I'm in another magazine!
This lovely magazine "Lipstick" out of Birmingham AL contacted me a couple months ago to see if I would be interested in doing some illustrations for them.



Apparently they had seen the cover I did for "Underwired" in June.

http://www.underwiredmagazine.com/past-cover-art-mainmenu-38.html

I readily accepted and the issue just came out.



It makes me so happy to see my work in full color glossy

IF: Repair

Her home is in good repair

electricity

for sale on etsy

IF: Late

Her lunch date is late...
again

IF: Strings

The strings may not be readily apparent.
I dipped yarn in paint and dragged, rolled and speckled to create my background.
Can you see them now?

archon 32

Archon was in all estimations an unqualified success. I sold all five paintings I brought and got lots of good feedback. when I left on Sunday morning, I was in the running for best of show and best non-pro. Not sure where I placed, but it was an honor to have people vote for me regardless.

It was also wonderful to see all my friends that I never get to see.

It was a nice break to get two evenings away from my kids. I love them, but having time without worrying about does Lila have poop in her pants or talking to Paul about Jango Fett was refreshing.

Unfortunately, I was not the party animal I usually am. I couldn't make it past midnight either nights. And I would wake up at 7:45 am on the dot. I guess not having slept in a single morning in two years kind of conditions the body.

I'm already looking forward to next year, and have new ideas about how and what to show in the art show.

The next step is to look into juried art shows.

leaves

Many Colors

Oil Painting

Portrait with Crown

on Ebay now...

Wood Box Frame

12.5" x 9.5"

Mixed Media = Oil, Acrylic, vintage papers, charcoal

still life

my life has been anything but still, never enough time for all I would like to accomplish, but just enough time for what is important.

I've been "rendering" in my painting class, I felt like I needed to further my instruction in technique, especially in regards to color theory. The teacher has allowed this, and is encouraging even, gotta walk before you can run and all.

This is one I've been working on, I took it down on Wednesday, so unless I do more touch up at home I'm calling it done.



The piece of pottery is one of my coil pots from ceramics last semester.

Pink Leaves