Learning to be proud of my past...

I've attached a few drawings from 1977 when I was in 8th grade.  I loved stuff like this, and I did 6 of these, I think and  I'm pretty sure I copied them from some greeting cards.  I was so proud of myself, I'm glad that I put all that art into protective sleeves, because finding them, again,  has inspired me ;)  When I found these, I began to realize that my ability to create has always been part of me.  At times, it allowed me to escape the chaos that was my home life.  As I chart my most prolific periods of art creation, it seems that each one is tied to change.  Sometimes uncomfortable with relationships, other times lonely and depressed, I was able to put my ideal life on paper, and get approval for it.  Shucks, I got good grades for it, too!

Now, I am going through another big change in my life, and I am ready to plunge into, and relish the time I get to spend with, my art! 

A pleasant surprise...

When I was in high school, I started creating, in earnest.  Recently, I went through some Rubbermaid containers and discovered 20+ drawings I'd completed between my sophomore and senior years.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were pretty darn good! 

These are from a series I did on the BeeGees and Andy Gibb.  Back in their heyday,   my sister and I were so utterly, totally in love with them and they became my favorite subject matter.  I was a sophomore when these were drawn.  I haven't seen them in so long that I forgot that I ever had the ability to draw portraits.

This is why I like to try all kinds of mediums, subject matter and styles.  Lately, I've tried my hand at "Zentangle" type of doodling.  What fun!  There are a couple of examples attached.  That's all for now, until next time...

Oh, what a beautiful morning...

Unbelievably perfect. Yep, that's the weather I woke up to, today!  My rat terrier is sunning himself, and my shepherd mix is busy, looking for squirrels and rabbits to chase around our large backyard.  Very nice, indeed!

When creating any type of art, natural light is desirable, especially bright sunlight.  Painters, throughout the millennium, have taken advantage of this lovely gift of nature, by taking their easels outside.  This is called "plein air" painting.  Although I've never had a freestanding easel to take outdoors, I do enjoy sitting on the back porch, at my table, creating my little heart out. ;).  Last summer was the first summer, in my entire adult life, that I wasn't working.  The irony was, that the amount of sunlight was abundant... but the temperatures were in the high 90's and 100+ every day!  Personally, I prefer Spring, Autumn and even Winter, to the excessive heat and humidity of Southern Illinois summers!!!

This tulip is bright and radiant and it was fun to paint!  I got my reference photo while browsing Pinterest.  Many of my favorite nature photos are found on the internet.  But, some of my best sources of inspiration come from my husband's photography and various books/magazines and catalogues.  Recently, I've looked through my grand dad's drawings and paintings of his homeland, England. There are two that were inspired by his work, which I'm featuring here.  I painted both of then on 4x5 watercolor cards.  Hmm, I think I'll look for some more to work from...Cya later!

Fun fun for everyone!

I'm thinking about the joy that art has brought to my life.  This photo of my mom and me shows me, at age 6, drawing and coloring. (I still have an original drawing, completed at age 5!).  My mom was a wonderful painter and HER dad was brilliant with pen & ink, acrylics and watercolor.  It's a lot to live up to, as their artwork covers the walls of my home!  So here's my shout out to the most artistically influential people in my life:

"Thank you for the talent that you shared, Mom & Grandpa, I'll strive to be the best that I can be!"

I'll be posting some of my work weekly, and sharing my thought process for each piece (if there's more than one, in the same style or same subject, I won't necessarily comment on each).

I began taking a watercolor class, in June 2012, and it changed my life.  A wonderful coincidence occurred when I signed up for the class...the instructor was along lost friend!  I love this class because it unleashed a passion that I had never imagined.  It helped that I had a strong foundation in drawing, using pastels, pencils and charcoal.  More about this, tomorrow...