Working Out The Kinks...

This week I've been working on sketches and starting some "study" paintings for the next group of desertscapes.  A couple of the rough sketches are below, but I'm just taking my time to work on the compositions so that they can get stronger before I commit to larger canvases. 

      

I also have about 27 other NuArt Minis that I will be working on for the next couple of months, so I'll have 50 in that series when it's completed.   

This week...

Has been slow too...just like last week, but that's ok....I guess my creative battery is charging up.      :)    I've been getting ready to dive back into to desertscapes, but I'm having issues with the compositions.  Tonight, I plan to get some sketches done so that I can move forward with things this weekend.     

This Week...

Has been very slow...after girlShow last week, I've felt the need/urge to switch directions a bit and focus on the surrealistically styled works.  I've also been finishing up several NuArt Minis, so they will be added tomorrow.       : )

7/05 Painting Session

Today was very productive.....I was able to finish up all of the NuArt Minis and the remaining Thorns & Thistles.  Tomorrow I'll be putting everything into my painting catalog, so I'll post how many paintings were created in each series.       This evening, I'm just posting the NuArt Minis #12-23.

 

7/03 Painting Session

It's been a rainy day today, but I was able to get a lot done, even though I had to fight the urge to go and take a nap several times today. 


Here are some little NuArt Minis that were finished this evening....they're so cute. (I can't believe I just said that about my own art...)

6/29 Painting Bonanza

Still working on these paintings for the upcoming "girlsShow 2010" and hoping to get everything done by the end of this weekend. I need to put in the thorns & thistles and symbols, so I'll probably start doing that tomorrow night. BUT, if I'm tired like I am tonight, my line quality won't be that good, so I may need to wait till Thursday. My goal is to get to bed early and recharge my battery some tonight.

6/26 Paint-a-thon

WOW...it was a long day in the studio today!! For as long as I worked, the before and after pics don't show that a whole lot got done, but major progress was made. I will be able to finish up several of these in the next 2 days and then start focusing in on the smaller wooden paintings that will have some of my NuArt symbols/ imagery in them. The next show will be on 7/10, so I have to be done with all of my painting by next Saturday night so that everything is thoroughly dried. It normally takes a week for my paintings dry, so that last week leading up to a show is spent naming the new paintings, updating my art catalog, photographing the new paintings, getting my show inventory list done, making price tags, pulling out the show setup gear and getting some much needed rest....if possible.

6/22 Painting Session

Introducing the NuArt Minis...these little paintings (2.5in x 3.5in) are the first in a new series that was started to create smaller price point paintings for sale at the artfests and such. All NuArt Minis will be 5in x 5in or smaller and will vary in design. Since they are so small and I will be doing quite a lot of them, I've decided not to post them to the regular website, but I will have them with me at the art shows. I think the price will be $9.00 each, but I haven't finalized that just yet. ???

Here is a new set of Minis in the making along with a few other Thorns & Thistles...

Just To Share A Little...

This week I plan to get back into the habit of posting pics of my works while in they're in the creative process. Things have gotten so busy, but I need to continue with the discipline of recording my journey so that I can look back and see the distance that has been traveled.

This year has been incredible for me…artistically speaking. I’ve been so blessed to participate in several shows, some large and small, but all of them have been awesome in their own way. This past week in particular has been super busy…I had 2 small showings and I’m getting ready for a larger show with ALM (girlShow) in July. As a result of all these opportunities, a demand for changes in my life, art and art processes has arrived too. Since I’m learning as I go, I wanted to share a little of my journey with you.

** The Recession – has helped me to get out of the box by working a little smaller than usual in order to produce less expensive artworks for patrons who are being more cautious with their budgets. The quality is the same as the larger works and there has been a good response to the newbies so far. AND, since everybody loves a sale, I’ve also discounted some older paintings. (I can’t eat these things….)

**Art Inventory – I read a quote by O’Keeffe in which she advised that every serious artist should have 3 shows worth of work on hand at any given time so that they could be ready to take advantage of opportunities with little advance notice. WOW, that’s awesome advice, but very challenging. I only have about 1.5 shows worth of work on hand, so when opportunities arise, I get stressed and wonder if what I have left over from a partially sold series will work. IF I had a large enough inventory, I wouldn’t have that problem. What are some other benefits of having 3 shows of artwork on hand?? It keeps the artist busy producing new things, which should help advance skill levels and concept development, plus it shows a diehard dedication to your craft to patrons/collectors. What am I doing about it? In the past 2.5 months I’ve created 38 paintings and have sold some here and there. (Most of the newbies are small and are not on my website yet.) My goal is to have another 20 paintings completed by the end of September, so I’ve been sketching like crazy.

**Getting Focused – For me, this means less TV, less talking on the phone, less time on the computer, less time hanging out here and there and more time behind the easel or drawing in the sketchpad. These days, I don’t mind saying “no” in order to stay home and create, so this has been a huge leap, because I love to serve and help others, but establishing boundaries and knowing when to take time off is essential if goals are to be achieved.

5/31 Skies & Sketches

I've been learning more about the benefits of patience today. In the past, I have rushed into paintings and then when things didn't go right later on in the painting process (because of poor pre-planning), I would get upset and ditch the artwork or paint over it. So what am I doing different now you ask? Well, for starters, I decided to take more time to during the concept development and sketching stages and not go with the first few "AHA" ideas, but push them further and sleep on them. In the past, the excitement of a new idea or theme got the best of me and I would jump right in, but today is a NEW Day and I will have 4-6 art sessions (3-4 hours each) of doing nothing but sketching and getting my skies ready, so that my compositions can be stronger for the paintings that I plan to do this summer. YAY!!!

More on patience....The skies take a while to get ready because they each consist of 4-8 layers of paint to get the peaceful look I like best, so I have to be patient with those as well while they are developing...layer by layer by layer by layer by layer...and on it goes.

Another new thing for me to do is to post sketches. These are very rough, but it's a good start and I'm looking forward to the next group of sketches. (Please pardon the bad camera shots...I guess you know what's on my Christmas list, huh?)

5/30 Painting Session

***I'll be painting LIVE and displaying art on 6/05 at Chase Oaks Church***

Art Where You Live (A Coffee House & Art Event)
Location: Chase Oaks Church, Plano (Off of Legacy close to 75)
Time: 7-10PM Saturday, June 5th

It's been a Busy, Busy, Busy day! I finished up the Thorns & Thistles series today (for the time being) and will be diving into the desertscapes tomorrow. YAY!!!! I'm excited!!

I found another great (and free) theology resource today: the teachings of S. Lewis Johnson Jr (A conservative evangelical pastor and theologian who taught for many years at Dallas Theological Seminary.) I started listening to the Christology section today during my painting session....Wonderful info; check it out!

RELAX & Painting With Music...

This week has been a slow week, artistically speaking. I painted on Monday & Tuesday, but decided to take a last night off and relax. Relaxing is awesome once I'm able to turn off that voice in my head that says "you should be working on something...not just sitting watching tv." Isn't that always the case? Something ALWAYS needs to be done, but taking one night off (4 hours) a week won't kill me...if anything, it will help me.

I was asked the other day what kind of music I listen to while painting, so I think now is a good time to talk about that here. During every painting session I will tune into The Word (Christian Talk Radio) for a while, then KLTY (Christian Music), I will also get into to my CD collection (mostly Praise & Worship & Joyce Meyers) and then listen to different books of the Bible on CD. This helps me to learn, stay up with current events, and get inspired while I work. Definitely a Win/Win situation for me! I never paint in silence, but I will turn down the volume very low occasionally, depending on my mood or level of concentration. I also try to keep the tv off when I'm working because it's too much of a temptation to turn around and look at what's going on. How about you?

5/24/10 Painting Bonanaza!

Tonight was a great painting night... After work, I had a lot of energy to get in several more glazes on these Thorns & Thistles paintings. Once these are completed, I'll put the series on hold so that I can move into the surrealistically styled works for a while, but I'm sure I'll make exceptions with a few abstractions here and there.

5/23/10 Painting Session

The past week has been very busy with work and getting ready for a show, so I haven't been able to paint or post as much as I would like to do, but today is different! Today I was able to get a lot of work done. I'm really enjoying the Thorns & Thistles series and watching the paintings develop as I go along. That's probably the best part about working in a series...seeing the growth of the theme and enjoying the journey in the process. The paintings above and below are almost completed. They will be getting their final clear coats tonight and tomorrow. I still have about 6 others in progress that I'm planning to finish up by the end of the week, so more posts and pics to come.

5/09/10 Painting Session

I was able to finish up the 3 paintings above today and got some work done on a couple of others. I still haven't done those sketches that are in my head yet, but I may get a chance to do that this evening before bed. ???? It's been a busy weekend and in between the madness, I've been trying to think of what paintings I want to take with me to the show next weekend...Hmmm...??? I finally have a name (theme) for this series of 5x7 paintings: Thorns & Thistles. I will do my synopsis on the theme sometime this week and post it.

5/02/10 Painting Session

Today was a BUSY day!! I went to the Cottonwood Art Fest with my buddy Sheri Poston from church. Afterwards, we went to an art show reception in Irving where my great friend and Sista Gurl Glenda Williams won Best of Show !!!! YAY Glenda !!!! She's been working very hard the past year adding to her body of work and has some stunning pieces...you can see her work by clicking HERE.

The four paintings pictured above were finished today. (My little camera doesn't take the best pictures, so you'll have to trust me that the colors are rich.) I have 4 more little paintings to finish, but still don't have a clue what to call this series yet... Hopefully, I'll be able to start those surrealistic sketches this week so that I can get going on the other 5 paintings that I almost have the skies done on.

5/01/10 Painting Session

I finished these 3 today and got a lot of work done on 6 others that I didn't take pics of. I'm not sure what to call these little paintings just yet...hmmm...

4/27/10 Painting Session

The painting session was a little shorter today than usual. I'm going to be dog sitting tomorrow night, so when I got home from work a few hours ago, I thought that I should try to get a few glazes on these little paintings in between packing up all my stuff. I hope to get behind the easel on Thursday night when I get back home, but it will depend on how much energy I have.

4/25/10 Painting Session

I had a VERY productive day today. In addition to the paintings above, I have 5 others in progress. Most of these paintings are going to be abstractions, but 5 of them will be surrealistically styled landscapes. All of these paintings are small: 5x7, 8x10 and one 9x12. I still haven't gotten around to doing those sketches yet, but I think I'm going to do that this Tuesday after work so that I'll have them ready once the skies are finished on the landscape pieces.

4/23/10 Painting Session

Well, I finished up these 2 today (The pic isn't that great) and worked on several others that I have in progress. I'll take pics of those tomorrow. Right now, I'm waiting for my brother and his family to come over. They are going to spend the afternoon with me and we're going to try to "fix" the painting rack I put together on Wednesday night....it's just a little too wobbly. (sp?) Anyways, I'm not much of a woodworker/craftswoman, so I'm really surprised that it's standing to be honest. :)