Inspiration: Exercise done for my Figure Painting class. We had to begin this figure by breaking it down into 5 values and then we had to blend those values together. This was a odd way to paint but I like the outcome. Below is the 5 value breakdown that I did. Kind of like a paint by number. Kind of.
Size: 35.5in x 23.75in Inspiration: The long explanation is in my last post so the abridge version is that I was inspired by the way the ocean meets the sky. This was a very fun relaxing painting to do.
Last night I gessoed three 35.5 x 23.75 canvass and today I toned them with a nice even mixture of burnt umber and ultramarine blue. I am going to be using this toning technique in my upcoming classes so I figure I might as well get some practice in before class starts. I usually tone my canvass in acrylics because they dry so quick but this time I tried using oils. I like the idea of toning in oils because it forces me to commit to doing the rest of the painting in oil but the dry time is excruciating. I am inspired. I want to paint but instead I am sitting around twiddling my thumbs waiting for paint to dry. Boring and annoying.
My original inspiration for these paintings was the point at which the sky meets the earth during a sunset as I was driving up the Pacific Coast Highway. The way the orange of the sky and the blue contrasted each other was beautiful then also the way the orange near the horizon transitions into the light blue of the sky. So beautiful. Then the next day at about noon I was driving back down PCH and the same sky meeting the ocean looked so much different then it did 19 hours before. So I was inspired to create a series of the horizon at different points in the day.
My goal for these is for them to not be overly realistic but more abstract, simple, and relaxing. I want to remind the viewer of how vast and amazing the sky and the ocean are. Since I really learned how to use oils I haven't played with them. I have only done realistic pieces. I have played with acrylics plenty but oils not so much. This is going to be my chance to just play with oils and enjoy the medium.
I know I have said a lot and it is because of how excited I am to do these paintings. There not for school, not for a friend, and not a commission. They are for me and my enjoyment. I haven't painted large scale just for me in quite a long while.
I am glad to feel inspired again. I hope these paintings turn out as I intend them to and I will be sure to post them here when I finish. :)
Size: 9x12 Inspiration: Watching HSN there was a woman hawking her watercolor sets and had pre drawn flowers for purchasers to color in. I thought, "I can do that," so I did. The image is from a calender my mom got for Christmas. Not my best work but I was nice to paint. In the actual image the colors are a bit brighter.
It is quite a rainy day today. I am having flash backs to the crazy island winters. This is supposed to go on for a week or two. I hope the hills don't fall down. On another note, I got my art supplies! Yeah! Now art can be created. I am excited for next semester in school. I am taking Drawing Heads and Hands, Figure Painting, Art history thru the 19th Century, and Comparative Religions. After this semester I have 17 classes left so if I work really really hard I can be done by Fall 2011. 6 years to get my bachelors. Go me! Thats what I get for taking a year off.
Size: approx. 30x17 Inspiration: I went to the zoo this week with my best friend and did a quick sketch of a flamingo. When deciding what to do with the sketch I thought it would be cool to draw the flamingo balancing on a ball, and then though what if the ball was in a kiddy pool filled with water. Thus you get what you see above. I used pastel because the same friend who went with me to the zoo was cleaning out her apartment and had these pastels she didn't want so I took them. I haven't used pastels since 2002 in high school art class. I think I like using them. They blend really nicely.
School begins soon. I am excited but it is going to be stressful. We still haven't found the perfect house so I am going to be setting up my art studio in the basement that we are currently living in. It should be interesting. Wish me luck.
p.s. I changed the name from A Creative Dump to A Creative Spot. "Dump" made me think of poop or of trash and my art is not either of those so a name change was needed.
I feel like this is best read out loud because it kind of has a poetic quality to it so if you get a chance please read this out loud. Thank you.
Life is Work
Life is work. We begin life with guesswork. Is this how I talk? Is this how I walk? Then, like clockwork, comes schoolwork, which turns into homework that is just busywork. They tell us they are creating the framework for our lives.
In secondary school we find part time work to fund the nonwork things we like to do. After school, when we are all grown up, there is housework and with housework comes yardwork.
As an artist my work is to create artwork with beautiful brushwork. When I finish a piece I stand back, admire my handiwork, and hope there is nothing I have to rework. To sell my work I need to network in order to outwork the competition.
By the time our masterwork is completed we are overworked.
Inspiration: Walking into my In Law's house they had this beautiful rose bush. I took tons of pictures of the roses and decided to draw this one. It is done in colored pencil because all of my painting supplies are in boxes.
The lack of art would be due to the fact that I am in transition. I moved internationally about a month and a half ago and so almost all of may art supplies are pack up and on there way. We haven't found a house yet so that would be another part of being in transition. I am ready to be settled. Hopefully it will happen soon.
Inspiration: I decided I was tired of following the art rules and I just wanted to relax and let go. I began by losely putting paint on to the canvas and then I started throw paint at it for fun. Not my best most inspired piece but it felt good to relax and not care what it ended up looking like. This will probably be covered over and turned into something else.
I had lots of leftover paint and so decided to painting another canvas.
Title: Jessica
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size:9x12
Inspiration: I saw a painting in a magazine with this sort of idea. I had my little sister in mind as I was doing it because tomorrow is her birthday. The numbers of lines all have something to do with her. The top 9 are her birth month, the right 12 are her birth day, the bottom 19 are her age, the left 7 are her first name, the 4 horizontal are her middle name, 7 more for her last name, 7 for my name, and then 3 for how many years part we are. I like this one much better then the other one.
Last night I was lying in bed trying but failing to fall asleep when the most amazing thing happened.
The first few lines to a poem popped into my head.
Mind you, this hasnt happened in years and I mean years so I had to jump out of bed, find my sketchbook and a pen, and write it down.
Once I was writing it all just kept flowing out.
Here are the poems in the order I wrote them.
They are still rough and probably have a lot to be worked out.
_
Before 23
Were you at all like me
Before you turned 23?
Did your help you Mom through cancer
making you become stronger then you thought you would ever be?
Did you move across the country
When you were just 18
And begin a new life
In a place like you had never seen?
Did you find true love
and end up getting married
to the one you knew you would be with
until you were buried?
Did you move to an island
In the middle of the ocean blue
Where everything you experienced
Was absolutely brand new?
Did you fly on a KC-10, KC-135, C-5
and get to watch in flight refueling
or get to sit in the cockpit
for a landing?
Did you travel to Germany,
Luxembourg, Portugal, Italy, and Spain
and even to England
with only 4 days notice to get on a plane?
Did you think you knew all of life's answers?
Like who and what you wanted to be.
Were you at all like me
before you turned 23?
_
Inspiration: I know this poem sounds a bit like bragging but it is more meant to be a reminder to me about all I have accomplished. I just turned 22 and I was not to excited about 22 at all. I was telling my husband this and he reminded me to think about what I have done before I turned 22. That made getting older not feel so bad.
_
Creativity
builds up
boils over
until it can
be contained
no more
spills out
releases itself
from the confines
we create
to tame it
explodes
expands
consumes
when it
is let out
_
Inspiration: I wanted to describe how it felt when creativity hits.
_
A Visit
A quiet night
all alone, every-being is asleep
the rain falls down
the wind pushed through the trees
I lay down to rest
close my eyes
my head is filled with
thoughts
plans
worries
then it strikes
the perfect few lines
I must find paper and
pen quick
to make sure
these great ideas stick
Creativity has struck again
welcome back dear old friend
_
Inspiration: I wrote this to describe exactly what happened to get me out of bed at 1AM.
_
Even after I had these all out of me I still couldnt sleep.
I feels really cool to have some inspiration and creativity back.
I strove all summer to feel creative and it randomly hits at 1AM.
I have changed this blogs name from a Painting A DaytoDrawings, Paintings, Thoughts- A Creative Dump.
This will now be a place for me to share my art without any constraints.
I am taking a creative writing course and 2 art history courses this semester so you will probably be reading some of my writings too.
Now for your viewing pleasure some sketches I have done in the past few days.
Title: Doorknob
Medium: Pen on Paper
Size:8.5x11
Inspiration: Sitting on the couch, sketchbook in my lap, I wanted to draw something. This was the prettiest thing in my line of sight. Partially done in the dark as the sun was setting while I was drawing and I didnt want to move to turn the light on.
Title: Resting Backie Dog
Medium: Pen on Paper
Size:8.5x11
Inspiration: Again sitting on the couch, my dog was laying there sleeping looking so cute I had to grab my sketchbook and draw her. This is how far I got before she moved. I tried to draw my Pomeranian but she has some 6th sense that whenever I look at her she knows and so doesnt sit still.
Inspiration: Over a year ago my friend Shawna asked me to do a portrait of her Aunt who has breast cancer. I have been really afraid to work on/ finish this painting. I am really intimidated. I think the more I work on it and the more it comes along the more I will like it. I like the way the uncle is looking , Auntie needs a bit more work but she is coming along.
Inspiration: Over a year ago my friend Shawna asked me to do a portrait of her Aunt who has breast cancer. I have been really afraid to work on/ finish this painting. I am really intimidated. I think the more I work on it and the more it comes along the more I will like it. Originally I was going to do this in acrylic but when I started it I didnt like the way the colors were working so I decided that I would finish it in oils. Below is the step before this one where you can see more of the acrylic underpainting.
Day 87 Title: Drips Medium: Watercolor on Yupo Size: 9x12 Inspiration: I wanted to see what it would look like if I dripped paint down onto a piece of Yupo. I was hoping it would splatter but instead in just pooled into dots. I made those dots into flowers and connected them with a branch. Then as it was drying my dog dragged her face through it so I decided to make it drip. It was a very organic process and I really like the result.
Day 74 Title: Blue Medium: Watercolor on Cardstock Size: 8.5x11 Inspiration: Watching TV felt like doodling so I grabbed a piece of card stock and started doing a blue wash. Card stock is a bit different then watercolor paper in that once you put the color down it cannot be easily moved. I started doing the tree with a big brush and then moved to a smaller line brush for the branches, the birds, and the swing. I imaging this to be somewhere near a beach so while swinging you can hear the crashing of the waves and watch the sun set over the horizon.
Day 72 Title: Vixen Medium: Watercolor Size: 9x12 Inspiration: Browsing images on DeviantArt.com I found this image from twittey and thought it would be fun to paint.
Day 69 Title: Serenity Medium: Watercolor Size: 9x12 Inspiration: Sketching in my sketchbook I drew this and decided it would look nice painted. This was quite relaxing to paint.
Day 67 Title: Peacock- Pavao (Work in Progress) Medium: Oils on stretched Canvas Size: 19.5x23.5 Inspiration: Peacock on a farm that Ali and I went horseback riding at. There was another step between this one and the last one that I forgot to take a picture of.
Days 34-66 I was in a bit of a funk. Ali was out here so I was having too much fun with her to paint. Then she left and I was a bit sad so I didnt feel like doing anything. Then it was 4th of July and I was quite busy and then a really good friend of mine moved away so I feel into my funk again. I have had no motivation or inspiration to paint. It felt like my creative juices dried up. I just got back to this painting 2 days ago. I didnt post because I didnt feel like it at the time. I was/ am a bit ashamed at my lack of painting. Hopefully things will get better as I recover from my funk and complete this painting. I have 13 days to complete 2 comissions. This should be intresting. :/
