Tag Archives: artist’s life

Life, Art and Kids

I am on my 3rd day of 3 as teacher for an art mini term. I often get asked to teach art. I am self taught as some of you may know so I am well aware that teaching art and creating art can be two very different things. I have learned by exploring and experimenting which is not always what art classes are all about for obvious reasons. I have found painting needs to be part of my life for the following reasons.
Number one: Painting relaxes me. I feel good when I am painting. Many people comment that I am a prolific painter. I guess out of all the things out in the world that people do to feel good, this is a pretty good choice. No nasty side effects or hangovers but it is addicting!
Number Two: When I give myself time to paint I actually get more done! The added benefit is the other mundane things I have to do become easier. When I get my painting fix I can sometimes keep up with the organizational challenges of every day life. Sometimes, but if not I am happy. See reason number 1.
Number Three: I learn to paint by painting. I am still very much in an exploratory, learning stage. I guess I hope I am always there. Its fun to learn AND play. The learning happens in the exploration, the mistakes and accidents.
Having said all that I do very much believe in giving kid’s the opportunity to have artistic outlets. When schools cut out art education they are doing a disservice not only to the kids but to the future of our communities. Not every kid NEEDS these kinds of outlets but the creative, artistic kids DO. Without a doubt. So I have volunteered for the past 3 years to do these 3 day special interest classes.
Day one of class I concentrated on teaching. Bad idea…BORING! 3 hours is a LONG class for this age. So I came home and came up with a new plan.
Day two of class I concentrated on enjoying the process. I gave them a large piece of heavy paper to paint on. I gave big brushes and told them to explore and have fun. The amazing thing is the kids sat for several minutes saying things like- I’m scared. I don’t know what to do!!! I told them there are no mistakes- do anything. Slap paint on and have fun!! Play! They warmed up to the idea and really, really enjoyed it.
Kids being kids though I eventually had to step in when they were having too much fun! When the paint started going on body parts and neighbors we had to implement a few rules. Rule 1. Paint on paper only. Rule 2. No physical contact with your neighbor. Rule 3. Keep property damage to a minimum.
So much for ‘free expression’!
The photo above is just before the mayhem. :)
The benefit to yesterdays art class was the kids enjoyed what they were doing. They took ownership for what they created and where quite proud of what they did. One of the points I wanted them to learn was THEY were the experts of what they wanted to say and do with their art. There is no right or wrong in creating art. The fun is in the doing so enjoy the process! I wanted them to not ‘be afraid’ to try. To get a feel for the materials and not worry about doing it a certain way. That can come later but first you must take the fear away. Obviously by the kids expression they were having a great time!
To see my finished artwork during more sane moments go to
Painting Faces, Expression and Emotion in Vibrant Colors!

©Copyright 2008 by Sue Steiner. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Sue Steiner’s website.

Inventory, Bookkeeping & Other Business

My first studio day of 2009 was spent almost entirely outside the studio.

That’s not to say no art business was taken care of, but it does indicate how much of the art business I handled that day had nothing to do with painting.

One of the tasks that rolls around every January is inventory taking. I don’t mind doing inventory, but there are some things I would rather be doing. A few of them are washing dishes, ironing clothes, cleaning the bathroom…. You get the idea!

In order to do inventory properly, I had to clean up in the studio, but that was a blessing. I don’t clean very often, since it’s easier to leave materials and tools where I use them most often unless they are subject to being played with by little cats or present a hazard to those same little cats. So having the drafting table clean once or twice a year is always nice.

(By the way, the photos here are of my studio assistants in 2003, when they were just wee things. If I could only get them to count pencils these days!)

The good news is that I set my mind to doing as much of the 2008 year end inventory as possible and ended the day with everything counted except for my colored pencils and colored pencil tools, all of which are the gallery. This is usually a two- or three-day process stretched over several Mondays, so I was thrilled to make so much progress.

Spurred by that success, I followed it up by getting the bookkeeping in order. As soon as the business account is reconciled, yearend reports can be generated and those state forms can be completed and mailed. Wooo-whooo!!!! After that, just the feds to worry about.

Business files for 2009 were next. All set up and ready for paperwork by mid-afternoon.

Of course, all of that was mingled with the usual Monday household chores, as well as some writing chores, so that meant there was no painting during the daylight hours. I did look at the two paintings currently on the easel and they are both dry and ready to go, but that’s about as far as it got.

It was after seven in the evening before I picked up a brush (other than to count it) and I worked on the large portrait of Guienne Hanover. I’m working on the more technical aspects of the painting at present. All those straight lines first, then all the arcs. I do the straight lines first because I can paint those using a rule and they can dry. The arcs will take longer because they have to be done free hand and I want as much of the painting done as possible before I tackle them, just so I don’t end up ruining them after they finished.

The other painting and another portrait are still in the drawing stages. I need to get busy on the drawing of the two horses for the Horses in Landscape painting. I just can’t seem to work up any enthusiasm for that.

The drawing of the portrait, on the other hand, is almost finished and should be ready for the customer to look at by the end of the week, if I’m at all diligent about it!

As it turned out, that was the more productive studio day of the first two this week because Neal and I spent most of Tuesday evening after work hunting frames. The portrait of Always in Style is headed to Michigan to the Michigan Harness Horseman’s Association auction on January 24, 2009 and I told the clients I would frame it if they would allow it to be displayed there.

We found a great frame, but by the time we got home, had supper and took care of the usual end-of-the-day stuff, it was too late to paint.

That’s okay. The work I did on Monday was still wet! Better luck as the week progresses!

Thanks for reading and best wishes.

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

Thank You!

On this final day of 2008, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has encouraged me in my work as an artist. Clients, customers, fellow artists, friends and, of course, family.

Sales of original artwork and portraits are always encouraging. That is, after all, how so many artists determine whether or not they are successful. Thank you to everyone who has purchased a portrait or original painting this year. Your confidence in my work is much appreciated.

But I have also had the opportunity to create and give posthumous portraits to pet owners whose companions have gone on ahead. It is a special treat to be able to use my talents in this way. The thank yous and comments of the recipients of those portraits are worth their weight in gold and are, quite often, the things that keep me centered and focused on what is really important.

I want to thank my Mom, too. Mom has always believed I had a special talent and could go great places with it. It’s difficult not to be encouraged by a parent who took pictures I’d thrown away out of the trash and kept them and who took out the pieces and taped them together when I started tearing ‘failed’ drawings in pieces! Thanks, Mom! I love you, you’re special!

My thanks also to my Dad, who passed away on November 9, 2007. Dad always taught work ethic and responsibility by example. I don’t always live up to it, but the best goals are those that are the most difficult to achieve. Otherwise, everyone would be doing them.

Sisters and brothers in blood and sisters and brothers in Christ all deserve a great big Thank You! on this day, as I look back on the past year and look forward to the next year. It would be nice to always have only warm fuzzies to share, but I don’t always learn very well from warm fuzzies. Could be a hard head. Could be a stubborn streak. I haven’t figured that out, yet. Regardless, thank you to everyone who tells it like it is.

The one who does that the best is my husband, Neal. Being an avid reader and someone who enjoys learning and researching, he can explain almost anything. Being an engineer, he can explain almost anything AD NAUSEUM!!! (Those of you who are married to an engineer know exactly what I’m talking about!).

Neal is kind and loving. But he is also able to tell me when something is really bad and when it’s really good. And he has a totally unique eye for art that is sometimes surprising and always eye opening. He has truly been God’s gift to me in helping to provide motivation, discipline and inspiration.

Most important of all, all thanks and praise to my God and Father, without whom I would have neither life nor talent nor the Hope of hopes. Amen.

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

This article sums up how I feel when I paint, write, and take photos.

Beauties yet unborn, it’s a great article for those of us who love to create.

I know it’s a busy day, and a busy time, but this article was worth reading.
Donna

©Copyright 2008 by Donna Ridgway. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Donna Ridgway’s website.

What’s Your Passion?

The mouth speaks what the heart is full of. So says scripture.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I had attended the first Christmas concert of the season performed by Senseney Music’s community band. I have since attended the last of them, even though the same pieces were performed, possibly in the same order, at each of the concerts. Why?

Because I enjoy the music, certainly. There are some things one can never get enough of.

But another factor in my perpetual enjoyment of watching live music is the performer’s themselves. It is always inspiring to see people doing something they have a passion for.

Take the percussion section, for example.

Those four to six people have always seemed to have a good time, even at rehearsals. They make playing drums, cymbals, chimes and anything else that requires striking, hitting or ringing look like fun! I often think I might even be able to do that.

A year or two ago, a new member joined. Paul.

Paul is very passionate about music and about percussion in particular. He plays whatever he plays with that little bit of extra flare that makes the production of the music as much fun to watch as it is to listen to. So much so, in fact, that I usually try to sit on the percussion side of the band just so I can see how the music is being played.

After his first appearance in the gallery’s summer concert, I spoke to him about the way he plays and he said something to the effect that ‘you have to have passion for what you do’.

My response was “How do you learn that?” and I have been thinking about his reply ever since.

“You don’t learn it. If you don’t

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

The Final Studio Day for 2008

Monday was my last official day in the studio. My plan was to make the absolute most of it.

There are currently two portraits and one painting in progress. The portrait of Guienne Hanover is in the under painting stage and is the highest priority. Next is the portrait of Lockkeeper, which is in the drawing phase, followed by the painting currently being chronicled under the title Horses in Landscape.

In theory, I should have worked on them in that order.

But that’s not what happened.

When I checked Guienne Hanover, which should have been first on the list, there were enough wet patches on that I decided it would be prudent to leave it alone. ‘Perhaps tomorrow,‘ I thought to myself. Perhaps. Providing there is a snatch of time large enough to do any good with the detail work that is waiting for attention

The portrait of Lockkeeper could be worked on elsewhere with a printed reference photo, so I didn’t give that any more than a thought or two throughout the day.

That left the large painting. It has been about ten days since I last worked on that one, so it was quite dry and ready for new paint. It is still in the under painting stage and I’m still attempting to regain my footing after stumbling badly on the horses, so I finished painting them out and now have a very nice landscape that either needs additional landscape features or some horses. It can be set aside until I get the horses redrawn, which I can do anywhere.

I also had hoped to get the first draft of my rewrite polished enough to print and deliver to my sister, but that was almost as difficult as getting the under painting on Guienne Hanover done. One section of dialogue in one chapter in the last third of the story has been resisting completion for most of the last week. Everything after that could be affected by that dialogue. I did finally get it figured out and got all the way through to the epilogue, so it’s almost done.

Most of the rest of the day was given to winterizing the house (it’s about time, I think), house chores and blog maintenance, as well as preliminary trip planning duties and all the usual Monday things (bookkeeping, laundry and so on). All necessary to the smooth functioning of a household.

As always, thanks for reading and best wishes!

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

Sorry, no can do

I’m sorry (trust me on this) to report I don’t have a blog (or anything else much) in me today. Started with a rotten head cold dragging me down a few days ago. The cold continues but now has the added misery of a Norwalk-like virus  that my dear husband brought home from work. He was totally down and out over the weekend (lost 7 lbs between Friday night and Sunday) and now I have it. Of course I expect somehow I won’t even have the side “benefit” of the dropped pounds. Hope to be back in working order for next week. Those of you who celebrate Christmas and other seasonal festivities, enjoy!

©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.

More photos in Zion Park.

Robert and I have such a fascination for rocks! We didn’t get tired of looking at them the entire trip. And let me tell you, we saw a millon or so of them.
Donna Ridgway

©Copyright 2008 by Donna Ridgway. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Donna Ridgway’s website.

Some photos from our trip.

This photo was taken in Zion Park. I’ll have more to follow, as soon as I figure out why my inter net is not working very well!

I love the way sagebrush looks when the sun is shining through it.
Donna

©Copyright 2008 by Donna Ridgway. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Donna Ridgway’s website.

When the Last Time Really the Last Time

You never know when the last time turns out to be The Last Time.

The last shared meal.

The last birthday or anniversary celebration.

The last pizza party.

The last Sunday School class.

Before heading to the gallery for work this morning, I attended a memorial service for a gentleman from the Sunday School class Neal and I attend. Bert and his wife, Linda, were among the first people to befriend me when I moved to Newton and they have both become good friends over the course of the nearly seven years that have passed since.

I last saw Bert two weeks ago last Sunday at church. The following Tuesday, he suffered a major heart attack and passed on this past Sunday morning, about the time I was getting ready for church.

Bert was a gentle soul who survived a tragic childhood and almost constant pain. A good friend, always cheerful and upbeat. Did he have faults? Of course he did. He was human. But he always seemed to be able to put a good face on the worst tragedies, including the death of a daughter seven years ago.

Bert will be missed by his immediate family and by his family at church.

This afternoon, another funeral will be held in Ark City, Kansas. This one will be for Dr. Bruce Smith, a retired physician who was attending First Christian Church when I arrived there. A member of the choir, he was the anchor of the bass section and had a great, deep rumbling bass voice that was a joy to listen to.

Doc last sang in the choir last season.

I last saw him on December 7, when we caroled he and his wife, Dorothy. He, too, will be missed by his family, his fellow choir members and his church family as a whole.

On this bright and beautiful, but somber day, I am reminded again that we never know when we are doing anything for the last time. With Christmas upon us, it seems an appropriate reminder that the best gift we can give to those around us is daily appreciation and the expression of our love for them and appreciation of them.

Neal has always told those around him that he loves them and his reasoning is that he does not know when each time may be the last.

That seems like a good habit to form.

Best wishes to all of you and thanks for reading….

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

And How Long Til Spring?

Lil’ Nell isn’t so sure that winter in Maine is the way life should be!!?? Even if you are decked out in a stylish frock………Now Addie, our Corgi, LOVES snow!!!
It is so interesting watching the two personalities and how they cope with life. Terrier versus Corgi.
Now back to the drawing board.
Have to work to make $$$$ so the little girl can have warm winter sweaters!!!

©Copyright 2008 by Kathi Peters. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Kathi Peters’s website.

Snow!!!

I awakened this morning to one of my favorite things…

A nice, thick blanket of snow. At that hour (5 a.m.), it was also an unbroken blanket.

Snow was still falling, too, and it wasn’t going sideways, which is the norm here in Kansas. There was just a hint of a breeze, so the snow was drifting down in the most beautiful fashion.

When I went to work at 10:45 a.m., I left the car behind and walked instead. The first thing I noticed was that it was warm. Well, relatively speaking. Temperatures were still in the low teens … 14 degrees at 11:49 a.m. … but the wind was so still that it seemed warm. (This past Sunday was 13 degrees by dark, but there was a wind out of the north at 20 to 30 miles per hour. Talk about cold! Brrr!)

The next thing was the hush that had fallen as well as snow. The snow was about ankle deep (five inches) and that much snow naturally mutes sounds. Even in town. The whistle of the train I heard approaching as I stepped off the back porch was so muted I was surprised to reach the crossing and find the train so close.

The stillness also made for some great photo opportunities, so when I got to the gallery and after I had shoveled the front walk, I went out into the park and spent some time taking pictures. Some of them are included with this post.

Snow continued lazily all afternoon and is still falling as I write this post at 5:39 p.m. The winter storm advisory expired at 4 p.m., but the snow didn’t. I’m hoping we don’t get the sleet that was also mentioned in the weather forecast. Snow good; sleet bad.

The hours I didn’t spend at the gallery were spent in the first read through of the story I finished on December 10 and working on the portrait of Always in Style.

The novel is past the mid-way point and at the rate of six chapters per day, it will be finished by this weekend unless I encounter serious rewrite problems. When I get to the end again, I’ll print it and it will be ready for another read through in a couple of weeks.

The portrait still has another day to go, I think. I had hoped to finish it tonight, but a developing headache put an end to those plans.

I also worked a little bit on the next portrait in line, the large, racing portrait of Guienne Hanover.

I have to tell you that I’m having the most fun with this one. It’s the win photo of Guienne Hanover’s world record trot back in 2007. Full landscape, including the tote board. I am in the under painting phase right now and am trying a new technique. Namely, using only Raw Umber and walnut oil as needed to build the under painting one glaze at a time. Even with the addition of walnut oil, the paint dries over night, so I can work on it almost every night, as time allows.

As always, thanks for reading and best wishes.

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

Music in the OASIS Gallery, Harrisonburg, VA

There are more and more musical events going on in the OASIS Gallery in Harrisonburg, VA. (103 S. Main St., Harrisonburg, VA 540-442-8188).  On the “Second Fridays”, different musical groups perform.  There is no fee to listen, just come in and enjoy the art all around you, and listen to some wonderful local musicians!  Then on “Fourth Fridays”, we have what we affectionaly call the “OASIS Jam Band”, jam night.  It is a group of people, who change from month to month, with a core group, who come in and jam.  We play lots of 1960’s and1970’s folk, as well as lots more.  Blues, folk, country, whatever strikesour fancy of the evening.  No fee to listen, just come enjoy the evening with us.  If you play an instrument, bring it and join us.  Don’t worry about your level, everyone is welcome!

©Copyright 2008 by Elaine Hurst. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Elaine Hurst’s website.

After the Storm

The last few days on Cob Cottage Farm have been very intense. It was all about survival…keeping warm and hauling water from the flowing brook for house use and for the horses. Actually we had it better than many folks in Maine. We have a generator…and used it to keep warm in the cottage, keep the wine chilled in the fridge [J] and to keep the cell phones charged so we could keep in touch with the outside world. Our two canines had it tough…..they huddled together on the couch. Wish we had it so good!!

Here are some photos of our farm on Friday morning………..we didn’t get our power back until Saturday evening. Today life is back to normal…sort of…and hopefully I can get back to the studio and work.

The ice was coating my Christmas lights and on the deck stars that hang all year round.The birch lining our driveway back to the barn were bending with the weight of the ice.

My yellow barn door really stood out with the blue gray ice decorating the trees. The brave horses slept under the run-out sheds. [while we hauled water for them! ] Guess they have us trained!!!
How beautifully the ice hung from the upside down bird bath like a giant mushroom! And I have been waiting to see the twisted branches of my Harry Lander’s Walking Stick Bush when stripped of his leaves for winter. How neat it is with the twists and spirals of the branches. Needs to be captured in a painting..no? I have a feeling it will!!

©Copyright 2008 by Kathi Peters. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Kathi Peters’s website.

The Start of our Trip to see the mural!

It was storming a little when we headed for Vegas, but we ran ahead of it and found good weather by the time we went through Butte, Mt. The light was beautiful on the hills around Dillon.

My photos aren’t arranged yet, so I’ll make a lot of short blog posts of the trip…
Donna

©Copyright 2008 by Donna Ridgway. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Donna Ridgway’s website.

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