And then there's photography...

Over the last few years I have been asked by several people to take their pictures, whether they're for: family, wedding, engagements, birth, babies, portraits, etc. These requests keep coming and are coming more rapidly nowadays, so I have decided to also post just a few pictures from each shoot. This is a partial explanation of my blogging hiatus recently, and honestly, I really just need to sit down and take pictures of the work I have been doing in my studio as well.

If any of you that read my blog would like me to take your photos for whatever occasion, please comment or send me an email and then we can talk about pricing. Hopefully you will enjoy this side of my work as well, since it has become quite a vital part of my painting side in many respects.

Enjoy!

I'd Rather Be In the Studio!

I'm currently reading this really great book called, I'd rather be in the Studio! by Alyson B. Stanfield. I'm only like 25 pages into it (started it tonight) and it is already pretty AWESOME!! It's basically a book to help you get rid of excuses, to get organized, and self-promote to get your work out there. Previously(and not off the plate right now), I have been wanting to get my work into galleries (not solely, but a lot) so I could spend more time producing than selling. As many of you are aware, my resolution this year is to get on the road to success much quicker than the average artist so I can finally quit my day job (without my husband getting concerned) and spend all the time I want in my studio and more time with my family.

One thing I'm looking for is a label machine, to organize and organize and do more organizing!!

Well, so far, I'm only a month into this goal and already I've had ups, downs, bumps, bruises, and all the motivation I can muster to keep hitting my goal. Right now, I'm a little behind, as I've missed about a weeks worth of painting, but I've done a lot to get me running smoothly ie. organizing my studio, my life, my schedule, etc.. Because I had a little dry spell, I decided last weekend to get to the library, and to Car's surprise I came out with a foot high of books I'm going to read in the next few weeks. Lets just say, I may be doing a few editorial paintings in the near future.

I'm currently working on a few side projects to help decorate my house such as: a photo wall (nothing traditional in the least. These are larger scale square vintage-looking photographs Car and I have taken), an empty frame fixture of style, I'm looking for some really old-looking wooden shutters, doors, or windows, and also a little decorating job in A's room. My budget for these is slim, so I haven't been able to execute them all, but when I'm done I'll post some pics.

As far as my current paintings go, right now, I'm painting a still-life(debating on a portrait) vertical painting. I'm going to play around with a little texture, maybe add some Orchids into the mix, and I'm thinking of adding a dramatic gesture. I've got a few good ideas and I'm working out the kinks now. I'm also working on 2 abstract pieces that will go in my living room. I'm kind of having a little trouble in that area because surprisingly it is taking more mind power than my portraits. Well anyways, that's all for now. Wish me luck!!

2nd Week

So I'm 2 weeks in and having loads of fun. But until I get the pictures taken for my last 2 week's work, I'll include some I've done previous to this Resolution.

1st Week's Progress

After my first week of painting and drawing, I decided my original goal is not too realistic with our current lifestyle, so I decided to change the number of paintings to between 160-207 with 104 drawings. (Car just says I should say it was a typo, but it's not). I'm just making it a little more realistic. This equates to about 3-4 paintings and 2 drawings per week. But stay tuned, I'm on my way and pictures are still to come.

2010 New Resolutions

So this week, I've decided that I am going to give myself a challenge for this year. I've decided that I am going to do 267 paintings and at least 104 drawings in the next 365 days. That's 5 paintings and 2 drawings per week, which I will do consistently each day and then I will blog about my results at the end of each week. So here goes, tomorrow January 25th starts the first day. Wish me luck!

More facts...

• Oil paintings generally cost less to frame than equally sized prints
  
• Lighting on a painting needs to be dimmer at night and brighter during the day
• Fluorescent lighting causes more fading of artwork than incandescent lighting
• Most couples do not agree on artwork for their home, initially.
• Added lighting almost always enhances any painting, regardless of style or color
• Art has surpassed the stock market in appreciation over the past twenty years
  

Fun Facts about Artists

. . . Artist Edgar Degas was so fascinated with ballet dancers that he became obsessed with representing them in his art? It is estimated Degas made approximately 1500 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings of dancers.
. . . in 1962 Leonardo DaVinci's Mona Lisa was valued at $100 million? Who knows what it would be worth today!. . . the first pigments used in painting were ground from earth, minerals and organic matter? Pigment is finely-ground coloured powder which, when suspended in a medium such as oil, egg or water, forms paint. Most pigments are now made chemically and are more permanent.
. . . the word 'cartoon' originally comes from painting terminology? The term 'cartoon' relates to a preliminary, but fully worked, sketch from which the outlines could be transferred to be the basis of a design for a fresco or painting.
. . . artist Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) completed nearly 200 still-life paintings in his lifetime? The early 19th century saw a decline in the popularity of Still-life composition. Cezanne's love of the still-life was largely responsible for rekindling its popularity in the late 19th century. Cezanne seemed to revel in its possibilities creating an infinitely varied series of compositions repeatedly using a small set of household objects, along with everyday fruit and vegetables.
. . . The Louvre was originally constructed as the fortress of Philippe Auguste in 1190.
. . . John James Audubon painted 435 watercolours of birds in his life time. He was born on the Carribean island of Santo Domingo in 1784. In 1802 he moved to the United states where he fell in love with the bird life and made it his life's work to paint a picture of every species of bird in America.

Facts provided by: http://www.theartgallery.com.au/DidYouKnow.html

Doodling Can Help Memory

A fascinating fact I just read.  And people wonder why artists doodle at church or in lectures. Well this is why and proof to back it.

- FRIDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- You might look like you're not paying attention when you doodle, but science says otherwise.

Researchers in the United Kingdom found that test subjects who doodled while listening to a recorded message had a 29 percent better recall of the message's details than those who didn't doodle. The findings were published in Applied Cognitive Psychology.

"If someone is doing a boring task, like listening to a dull telephone conversation, they may start to daydream," study researcher Professor Jackie Andrade, of the School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth, said in a news release issued by the journal's publisher. "Daydreaming distracts them from the task, resulting in poorer performance. A simple task, like doodling, may be sufficient to stop daydreaming without affecting performance on the main task."

...

In everyday life, Andrade said, doodling "may be something we do because it helps to keep us on track with a boring task, rather than being an unnecessary distraction that we should try to resist doing." 

Continue reading this article at: http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthday/takenotedoodlingcanhelpmemory.html

My Art

I've decided to start this blog to get my work out there and get your opinions on it.  I plan to show series of work and my progression throughout.  I can't wait to hear what you guys think of it.