Monday, June 22, 2015

Projects, parties and inspiriation





Sometimes in my commission work I get to switch things up. Instead of doing a beautiful face in colored pencil I just finished a graphite portrait of this lovely home. I really enjoy working in pencil once in a while. It takes me back to focusing on light and dark values. Value is king after all. If you don't have the values down the work won't be successful. I'll be mailing this piece out to the client this week and soon will have another house to do for her and I also have another people portrait to do soon. I love my time at the drawing board!

This week I'm also prepping for the Friday Painting Party. We've been in the middle of a wicked heat wave so my brain went to the beach hoping my body will follow- hence this month's project.....


This is from a photo I took at last year's beach trip. I love to lie under the umbrella and watch these guys skitter across the sand, pecking and poking. To stay updated on Painting Party info please visit my Facebook page. I'm usually posting links to cool artsy stuff I find online too.

The photo below is from the park where I walk in the morning. Because of this very hot weather we've been having I go to the park as early as 6:15 so I can finish my miles before I melt into the concrete. I really don't mind because I love to see the early morning light on the trees. Sometimes I even get to spot an eagle looking for breakfast. This tree is the eagle's favorite look out spot so every time I pass it on my laps around the lake I look up to see if he's sitting up there. This particular morning the orange light on the tree trunk and the moon peeking through the gap made for an interesting shot. You know this is going to show up on a canvas sometime. I might even play with gold leaf on this one- we'll see. I'll share when it gets going.


What's inspiring you lately?






Sunday, June 7, 2015

Challenges and getting back to the drawing board


My favorite place to walk in the morning- Tuscawilla Park. This morning there was a breeze, the sun was shining, the crows were squawking and the ducks were mumbling to themselves when I walked by (you know how some words just don't look right when you spell them correctly? I had to look up squawking and it still doesn't look right to me LOL). Anyway.... it felt good to be out again. I did a very slow 2 miles today, much less than and much slower than I usually do but that's ok. 

For the last week and a half I've been fighting off a rheumatoid arthritis flare up. I've had the condition for many years and it's always been very mild- very, VERY fortunate that way. For some reason the first half of this year has been a little different. This is the second really bad flare I've had since the beginning of the year and it's been an extreme challenge. That's never happened before and this one took the wind out of my sails. Not being able to walk pissed me off but even more frustrating was not being able to paint or draw. I would look at the work sitting there- calling my name- the desire was there but the energy and physical ability just wasn't. 

Finally, yesterday, I was recovered enough to get back to the drawing board to work on this commission of Connor. Wow, did that feel good to be back. Got my Netflix shows going (Orange is the New Black) and I was able to hold and work the pencil for a few hours. If I could I would have gotten up and done a happy dance! :D

I'm excited about getting this little guy finished and I have several more commissions lined up. The next one being a house portrait in graphite. That'll be a little change of pace- looking forward to it.



Do any of you out there have similar issues with a chronic condition? I'd love to hear from you. If you're an artist how do you deal with it and your studio time? It can be pretty scary to think about the possibility of not being able to work. An artist friend of mine has had some severe vision problems and she's talked about turning to sculpture if she ever lost her sight. For me the fear is losing the use of my hands so I guess I'd have to come up with some creative way to hold a brush and pencil. We're artists right? We're creative. We can figure out a way.

So for now.... I'm back to work and not going to dwell on the negative possibilities because I can't even imagine a life without painting.

Take care everyone and have a beautiful Sunday.