Growing My Own Branch

After reading "Steal Like an Artist" by Austin Kleon, I am now on a secondary mission - collect artsy fartsy books.  Let me clarify...

Steal Like an Artist and my current read, "The Art Spirit," recommend studying the great art masters as well as more modern artists you admire.  Research your favorites first and then their mentors and then the mentors of their mentors.  Kleon calls this your creative lineage - climbing up your (artistic) family tree.  That's ridiculously clever and I love it!  Study each of them intently, copy them (strictly as practice - as study of technique) and keep climbing until you have a conglomerate of "teachers" helping you improve and define your talent and style.

I've started out with Edgar Degas, Edward Hopper and John Singer Sargent.  There are a bazillion, or at least a few dozen, more I want to research.  I should start with just one, but it was simply too difficult to just pick one.

Our library is great.  However, it has a finite art book collection and I'm spending enough on my art tools.  Soooo, if any family or nearby friends happen to read this particular post, keep your eyes peeled for cheap or free books about any artist who draws, paints or sculpts in a semi-realistic to realistic style.  Also art instruction books - figure drawing and such.  I bookmarked a list of recommended older art instruction books that I will be keeping an eye out for.  If you ever notice an artsy book for a quarter at a garage sale, grab it.  I'll reimburse you, take it home & decide if it's worth space on my shelf.

A Case of the Why's

Bear with me dear reader, as I ponder a bit today.

Why draw?  Why paint?  Why care?  Why blog?  Why? Why? Why?  On a ridiculously regular basis I ask myself why I started this trek and why my art, or art in general, should matter to me or anyone else.  Sometimes I remember the answers and sometimes not.  Sooooo, here are the top 10 wise me pep talks to grumpy me:

1) Drawing makes you focus on the details - really seeing things/people (regardless of how lovely or crappy the end result is).  A side bonus is a more vivid memory of the moment - weather, smells, sounds, conversations - because your brain tosses them back to you each time you return to that sketch.

2) There's something much more personal about creating your own view instead of snapping a photo.

3) I have a gift, regardless of how much or little talent I really have, there is some, and it's a waste to ignore it.

4) Creating/viewing art is simply therapeutic.

5) After reading the post about my artistic style, my sister commented that I do have a certain style in both my handwriting (which is horrid) and my art, no matter the medium.  I replied "sloppy?"  She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it's something to do with upbeat, uplifting... something up.  Maybe I paint in the style of a messy optimist.  Someday I'll be famous & they'll write books about the Messy Optimism movement.  Ha!

6) While we're on the subject of my supportive sibling.  I was ruminating awhile back on what useful purpose there could possibly be, other than my own selfishness, for this blog.  Then I read her post on Fierce & Nerdy - let your light shine - where she linked to my blog as an inspiration.  I can be inspiring!  Woot!  Maybe not to a whole herd of people, but to a few and that's better than none.

7)  Blogging holds me accountable - 1 reader or a bevy of imaginary readers or just me - we've come to expect a post now and then and they can't all be about quotes or art book reviews.

8) Sometimes what I create can affect another person's life.  The last lesson of the virtual watercolor journal class was painting man made objects.  I challenged myself by painting glass & plastic.  These items were reminders of Dad.  I added journaling and posted it on Mom's Facebook page in hopes of making her smile.  My aunt (Dad's sister) then commented how it touched her as well.  I was delighted to make a small difference with my dabbles of paint.

And then there's this.

9) This was my first and only oil painting.  18-year-old me painted this in the spring of my senior year.  It hangs in Mom's sewing room.  My daughter took this photo with her camera phone a few years back and posted it for all her friends to see.  There were several "She should do this all the time!" comments.  Granted, it's no master.  However, if I could do this once as a teenager, it seems important to explore what I might be capable of now, if I just stick with it!

10)  Milo seems to think every photo session is really meant for him to paw-test the sketchbook.  He has come to expect this and it's just thoughtless to disappoint the cat.

If only... is now

Literally a moment ago, while scanning the blogs, I had one of those feelings.  You know, when your brain dives down into "If only... " and your arms get all sad & clunky.  The artist blogger mentioned perusing his sketchbooks from when his children were young and how glad he is that he took the time to sketch them.

*Sigh* (really BIG sigh) . . .  

*SIGH* (super sized humongous sigh)

You can't go back.  You can live in the now - sketch in the now and encourage your slacker self to move that dang pencil every single beautiful day.

On the up side - it's not time travel, but we do have mountains of old photos to sketch from.

(insert loud sing-song voice here)

IDEA!!

"Making the Most of an Emergency"

One of the artist blogs I follow is James Gurney.  He recently reviewed a new book of John Singer Sargent watercolors.  If you're at all interested in art/artists or more specifically watercolor painting, do check it out.  It's on my wish list.  Mr. Gurney includes this quote from the book:

Sargent used every trick in the book in his watercolors: glazing, wax resist, gouache, impasto, lifting off, scraping, drybrush, and ox gall. As he worked, he muttered "Demons, demons," and he famously described painting in watercolor as "making the most of an emergency."

Isn't that fabulous!?!  It's so completely and utterly fitting as I finish up the watercolor journaling class with Jane LaFazio.  Though I still struggle some with the looseness and imperfection of the genre, my comfort level with this medium has increased tremendously.  The watercolor sketchbook is half full - plenty of blank pages for bravery.  I plan to continue watercolor journal style.  However, maybe at some point, just sorta' maybe, I'll give a go at the detail of Sargent's beautiful emergencies.

April Snow - May Flowers

Back to the flowers of week four.  April should be the perfect time to sketch flowers.  Not this April. What a roller coaster!  Constant fluctuating from summer temperatures to winter storms.  We just had 4 days of 80's, but today's blustery high maybe hit 40° with snow expected tonight.  Happy May Day!

Back to mid April.  The tulips were on the verge of blooming - just in time for this lesson.  THEN a cold front moved in the first day I had time to go outside and sketch.  I planted the bulbs last fall and didn't have the heart to cut the stems just for my lesson.  So, I did what any normal person would do.  I bundled up in multiple layers and plopped down on the front porch in finger-numbing weather with my sketchbook, pen & paints.  Cars rolled by and the occupants would glance over and do a double take.  Crazy lady.  Other than my fingertips, it really wasn't too bad, but then, I'm a winter lover, so you can take that with a grain of salt.

Part of the fun of this class is combining the watercolor with a bit of journaling.  Lovin' the mix!  I hope hope hope to get in the habit of doing this often.  It is more memorable than snapping photos and more interesting than just writing.

Later that week, I took advantage of a balmy day and a spare moment to sit on the porch and sketch and paint.  Bonus inspiration from the class.  These more stylized tulips were created with a Pentel pocket brush pen in the little Moleskine.  The pocket brush has a flowing, yet somewhat unpredictable line and I'm still learning to go with its flow.

Painting Souls

Week five.  Yeah, we're out of order now, but I just finished the first part of lesson five in the watercolor journal class yesterday, so we'll get back to week four later on.  It was a good one - adventure in the cold, lessons learned, and a bit of inspiration.  You'll see.

This week's assignment was shoes.  I have  boring shoes - mostly browns and blacks.  Yawn.  Imelda Marcos I am not.  These three are the least boring.  When the last shoe was between ink and paint, I realized I never take any in-process photos.  *click* (with my camera phone)  Now I have one oddly-lit in-process photo.

A few close ups because I like to see other people's close ups and study their brush strokes.  Though now I'm paranoid about everybody scrutinizing my brush strokes...

The TOMS shoe took the longest and was frustrating at first - until I had to stop for a bit.  Stepping away and taking a fresh look, plus allowing areas to dry before adding more shadow - good things.  Patience is a virtue.  I used to drive my kids nuts with that saying.  I need to listen to myself.

Other than the tennis shoe (propped on a couch pillow) falling over each time I got up to let the dog out, feed the cat, answer the phone, feed me, answer the door.... other than all that making it nearly impossible to get the shoe strings right, this page was quite a bit of fun.  

Getting way more comfy with watercolor.  (woot woot)

Itty Bitty March

We painted flowers for week four of the virtual class and I'll share soon.  In the meantime - my tiny daily calendar continues.  Here is a bit of March.  I stayed home the 19th & 20th to clean and reorganize the junk storage guest room - drawers, shelves and closet.  My daughter used the closet to stash anything she didn't know what to do with when she cleaned her room.  Many forgotten "treasures" were found.  The closet now houses a stack of drawers for my art supplies! ... and a few prom dresses... and a letter jacket ... and a few dance costumes... but the majority of the space is all mine!

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner

What is my style?  Do I have one definable style?  Can it really be defined at this point or ever?  I suppose so, to some extent.  Upon seeing some of my work from the watercolor journal class, a friend said "So, your style is kind of folksy?"  Say what?  I wanted to burst into laughter.  That is probably one of the last words I would've used, but seeing the direction of this particular class, I get how she thought that.  Plus, maybe I do have that look and don't even realize it.  Unnamed friend, if you're reading this, don't worry, I really do understand and I appreciate your interest.

Why does it bother me when someone tries to define my style?  Perhaps the perfectionist in my bones wants to hear "Your style is perfect."  That's just silly (says my inner smart person).  Perhaps it's because I can't seem to settle on one medium or technique.  Perhaps I don't want to be limited, or expected, to draw and paint a certain way.  (Cue Roy Rogers - Don't Fence Me In.)  When someone grabs the specimen frame and tries to pin down my style, I wriggle away and want to prove whatever they just said is wrong.  Why?  Perhaps it's just human nature.

Okay, so here's the deal world - I don't want to paint (or draw) myself into a corner, so don't plan on putting me there.  I'm breaking out - trying new things along with "perfecting" the old.

Now, where's that Dirty Dancing soundtrack?

Fun with Lines

Virtual lesson 3 . . .

This week - contour drawing in pen, without lifting the pen, then paint.  The results can be "wonky" as our instructor says.  There's no sketching, erasing or redrawing, so the shapes are a bit more abstract - a challenge to the perfectionist in my brain.  The first go round, we drew with our usual drawing hand.  My subjects were a pitcher and an old cookbook of my Mom's.  My classmates and I submitted photos and shared feedback.  It's amazing the wide range of styles and skill levels.  Some have been artists for years and some are drawing for the first time.  Let me tell you (you "I can't draw" people), the newbies are catching on quick!

Then we moved on to contour drawing with your non dominant hand, still in ink -  YIKES!  Talk about no expectations of perfection.  I tried this a few months ago as part of my 30 day challenge (um, still not done with the challenge, oops) and found it freeing and fun.  This time around was just as fun, maybe more so since I'd tried it once before.  These angels really lent themselves to the imperfect lines.

You should try it.  It makes you laugh and the  wiggly results have a definite carefree feel.

An Illustrated Interruption

I should be drawing right now.  I'm not because I'm blogging.  Okay, I wasn't blogging a few moments ago.  I was in the virtual classroom commenting on my classmates' artwork.  I think that was a worthy use of time.  I'm enjoying the community of this online class.  Many of us are hyper critical of our own work.  The numerous fresh perspectives of those who've never seen your art are tremendously helpful, not to mention the professional input of the class instructor.

Before the commenting session, I was reading a newly acquired completely brilliant book.  Before that I was perusing art blogs.  Before that was supper.  Before that - exercise & kicking some cholesterol butt.  Before that - laundry & dishes.  And before that was work.  You get the picture.  Today was not an art creation day.  It was, however, an art observing day.  The aforementioned book is An Illustrated Journey by Danny Gregory.  It is basically a sequel to An Illustrated Life.  Along with my pushy daughter, this book was one of the big inspirations to stop procrastinating & get busy art-ing.  An Illustrated Life emphasizes that everyone should use sketching (skills don't matter) to record life.  I agree.  I can't seem to convince anyone else, but I agree.  The second book is all about using sketchbooks to capture trips and vacations - near or far, short or long.  More inspiration.

Now I'm done blogging and ready to hit the hay, but not before I draw an itty bitty illustration in my itty bitty calendar.  At least there will be one tiny bit of art today!

Wait - a bit of whimsy before you go.  This drawing suit, with anti internet headband, is on my life wish list!

Patchwork Doodles

What to do when you're feeling under the weather and don't want to read, watch TV, cook, draw or think?  You (I) doodle.  This is in the mandala book from my generous daughter.  You're supposed to color the shapes while your mind goes where ever.  Most of the mandalas in this book are circular.  This one seems all quilty - hence the random doodle patches.

    I started on this a couple of weeks ago when the Micron color pens I ordered arrived with my virtual class supplies.  I like the fine points and bright colors.  (A little less bright than they appear here.)  Little blocks of doodles seemed the perfect thing to break them in.  I just did a few squares at that time.  Yesterday presented the perfect opportunity to mindlessly complete the page.

Clouds, raindrops and leaves - a totally unplanned coincidental happy doodle accident. 

While not thinking a whole lot, I didn't want to repeat patterns.  Looking at this, I just realized I duplicated the bubble circle pattern in red and green... right next to each other.  

Fighting...the urge...to..."fix"...it....

 Objects are closer than they appear - the spaces are actually 1/2 inch squares.

 Flowers and blood cells and windmills, oh my.  : )

And the center?  Doodles?  Lines?  Words?  Too much thinking.  My brain zoned out and my hand started poking at it - dotting the middle with all colors - crowding the edge for some 3D.

Your turn!  Grab some paper - any will do.  Scratch out some squares and start doodling.  While building this page, I also chatted and listened to the TV off and on.  Multitasking! 

Being Green

Report card, week 2...

Lesson two was slow to get going.  With family here, I squeezed in a late night study of greens - mixing yellows, blues, greens & browns.  That was the first step.  The next was to paint a few leaves journal style and I finally tackled that task last night.  That is, I tackled it after getting Milo to stop tackling my subject matter.

The love/hate relationship with watercolor is improving stroke by stroke.