Nurturing self, and loved ones...

Finding balance...

Enjoying the things...

Removing the others...

Writing to find...

Organizing for sanity...

Exploring to renew...

Creating for joy...

Encouraging to teach...

Reaching out for help...

Solitude to recharge...

This weekend I will buy a new news print sketch pad for the gesture drawings and a heavier sketch pad for longer poses.  I should also get a few different types of charcoal sticks and some pastels to experiment a little too! 

Not sure if there will be a major goal in mind for the co-op besides going out, drawing on a regular basis, improving skills and having fun.  What more is there at the moment?  It will help get back into a working mind set for this winter when I will pick up a formal class.

Let's start with the good news, I did a drawing with a little bit of watercolor in my deconstructing the box sketchbook.  Nice to get some real drawing from life done!  I spent about a half an hour drawing a head of garlic and it turned out nice.  In hind sight I think I should have warmed up with some gestures drawings, next drawing session I will include at least ten quick drawing.  Setting up a sketch book just for that will be helpful. 

I also worked on a long narrow piece of printing paper and drew the same head of garlic but it was on its head and some lemon wedges in pen.  I am going to be adding some acrylic paint and maybe some collage elements to the drawings.  I will be also adding one more element to it, not sure what yet and I am not sure if I will be cutting the piece up or leaving it whole.  At the moment the composition is not great but as I add elements this should change.  Go figure, I am drawing food, but I am planning on using these drawing as illustrations on my food blog at some point!

Now to lessons learned, I have a feeling this will be hard to write but here it goes.  Biggest problem is distraction, or allowing myself to be distracted.  Everything from internet to dishes seems to distract me at the moment.  I tried to get most of the stuff I feel I need to do before I start my art making but there always seems to be more to do.  I am not sure if this is procrastinating ploy or I just am being A.D.D. or what.  I have a feeling it is a bit of both.  Problem is I don't have a neutral place to create art at the moment. 

I also find myself wanting to do to much at one time, gets overwhelming and paralyzing when that happens.  I need to look at the task at hand an run with it until I need to move on. Work on a piece until it tells me it needs to live and only then move on to other projects.  I think work is the culprate that gives me this problem because I am always multi tasking at work, putting out fires and doing things that need to get done NOW NOW NOW for this reason or that. 

There is more but I think I will leave it at that for now, more fodder for future posts!

As a testament to this, the amount of posts that I have been doing in the past few days should indicate this new movement, and I am committed to continue with the direction no matter what.

So I was going to state what is in the pick then I thought better of it so wait and you shall see!

With that said, I am trying to have more quiet time lately, especially in the morning.  I am making a point of not turning on the radio, which can be a huge distraction and directs my thoughts to the stories that are being covered, yes, I usually listen to talk radio (MPR).  I have a 40 minute drive so I would like to utilize this time as idea generating time and to enjoy some of the natural sites that I encounter.  The mornings are often beautiful with the sun rise and cloud formations and fog on occasion in the outlying areas that I have to go to but I digress...

What does one think about?  I wonder that a lot, when people think, what do they think about.  As for me, I like to think about the projects I am working on and projects ideas for the future.  Meaning of things I see and what I hear.  Inter-relationships of seemingly unrelated objects, ideas, events etc...

I do bounce around a lot though, it is a problem I have and I have talked a lot about it over the years, that one word that is ever allusive "focus"...  I guess I get bored easily and find myself jumping around.  Even this post seems to be all over.

I am curious though, what do you think about?

I am also hoping to get some artsy illustrations done for my food blog www.fromthefryingpan.com. Some of the thought behind doing the illustration work is A. getting some nice custom art on my site B. to hone some of my illo skills while developing a working style that I like and that I can start to market into the publishing world. Killing more than a few birds with one stone is a good thing!

Big picture will be to get back into good studio practices and work creatively more often. Create a solid portfolio within the context of my other projects and maybe take a few continuing study classes to enhance and drive the creative end game. I am thinking of a print class and a multi-media (maybe something with Photoshop and Illustrator) class to start off with. Then I could move into some classes about art/design marketing and other classes that I never got to take when at art school.

Oh, I also have to restock my studio. Not that I do a ton of acrylic stuff but what I have is all old and some of it is dried up, hard to work with a limited pallet, it is good to do as an exercise once and a while but not all the time. Also need to restock my oils and some brushes. I would also like to get some gauche and play around with them too. Ok, maybe I will do a little at a time, not I need to (what have I said about focus before?)
All over the place~

Could this be a part of the "play" concept of an earlier post?  Yes, however, with a different focus and purpose behind it.  It seems more formal form of play perhaps.  For the artist it is the use of new tools to archive your goal perhaps?  Or better yet, use of old tools in new ways.

 I have been looking at the world and wondering how to translate what I see and feel into the exploriment concept.  I am quickly finding out that it cannot be just one thing, idea, goal, work, event but a clan of ideas and techniques.  In other words, it's not just line or shape or word, but a combination of all of these and more at the same time or in conjunction with one and other, maybe even in different places and times but all tied back to the central concept. 

In relation to the concept, I feel there should be a "public" aspect of this.  How so?  I have ideas, will have to exploriment about it! 

Free form writing/ doodling/ creating might be a good starting place to start.

</exploriment>

Is there a genre of memoir art?  The liking of the novel but memoir through the use of art alone, believe me I know art has a lot of personal reflection of the individual artist but what about really looking at the creation of art as memoir in itself?  This might be a concept I explore within the greater context of this new project. 

My goal is to write up a more detailed concept within the next few weeks detailing the scope and concepts that will be explored, subject matters and what outcomes may be expected, and what to do with the unexpected outcomes.  Where will this be shown?  All that jazz.  Studies and prep-work shall be an ongoing activity from here on out as well. 

Some themes that will surely come up are disease, alcohol and alcoholism, dyeing, coping with abuse (inflicted by self and others), social awkwardness, self esteem, love, obsession, other stuff and a combination there of. 

(mind is flowing with ideas at the moment, excuse me as brain starts to explode over everything, god what a mess)

quote credit banksy

I work with the intent of creating these accidents.  I like using drips and splattering paint as a vehicle to achieve randomness and unintended patterns, layers, color combinations.  I use it as a way to build up, mute back and alter areas of a painting that is not quite working for me.  It lets me see things differently, where I can improve and where I might need to fix things.

Other things I like to do is to turn the canvas around and work on it from a different view point.  It is amazing all the mistakes you can see when the painting is upside down or you are looking at it in a mirror.  They just jump out at you!

Now not every accident is happy, so be open to accidents causing grief sometimes, but you can always go back and fix it, after all its only art!

Some things that brought me down that I should have used my art for recently was the lose of my employment, the illness and final passing of my beloved father (I did a little bit but not as much as I should have), going out and drinking to much, lack of motivation, and letting others get in the way of what I need to do for myself.

Some things I am going to do, write every day, start up an new figure drawing group, set up a food blog, blog here more and finish updating this site, oh and MAKE MORE ART...

let me know what you think!

chicken, red bell peppers, cellary, carrots, ginger, scallons...

if you want a custom jack o lantern for your self, I could be talked into doing some extra!

more soon...