Winter Inspirations

Something about the bleak winter days makes alcohol inks more appealing. The bright colors cheer me.

I also got a FitBit for Christmas, so I've done a little walking (not enough, mind you). When I walk outdoors, I am compelled to photograph everything. Well, not everything, but a lot. This time of year, the photos are interesting in shape, but not color. I thought it would be fun to do colorful interpretations of them. I'll show each with its corresponding photo:

Summer Legacy, 11" X 14" $295

Winged Seeds, 11" X 14" $295

Token Color, 11" X 14" $295

Bristled, 11" X 14" $295

Meadow Wildflower, 11" X 14" $295

Are you surprised? Inspiration can be found everywhere. I remember watercolorist Sue Archer showing a painting of a dumpster. It was beautiful. She told us that it isn't what you paint, but how you paint it.

Preparing for the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

I am making every effort to set myself up for success. I'm very excited and motivated right now and can't wait to start painting, but it will be much easier if I am duly prepared.

It was suggested that a theme be chosen for the paintings you intend to do. In January, when I did the challenge for the first time, my subject matter was all over the place. I didn't mind that, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to rein it in a bit. I have decided to call my paintings,

"On My Walk..."

I suppose this could have a variety of connotations, including a religious one, but I'm using it in a more literal sense. In good weather, I like to walk. Sometimes, I walk for fitness. Sometimes, the fitness aspect is just a nice benefit of the activity itself. I usually walk by myself. I like to stop a LOT to take photos when I am walking, as evidenced by the number of times my Nike+ app says "pausing workout." I digress...

The subject matter of my paintings will be many flowers, plants, and a few animals that I have run across as I walk along. The majority of the photos are from walks here in Virginia, but a few from other places have been included. I won't share the photos at this point, but they have all been put into a folder:

(As you can see, the folder includes 33 images. My thought is that some of the images that I have chosen my fail to move me on the day that I get to them, so I will have a few extra to choose from.)

Each day, I will paint a 4" X 6" watercolor. I will post it here on my blog and add it to my website, where it will be available for purchase for $50, which includes tax and shipping. I have a surprise planned at the end of the month for one lucky person who follows my progress. I will reveal the details in a few weeks on Facebook and here on my blog. If you are too curious and would like to know the details sooner, be sure you have signed up for my monthly newsletter, because those loyal fans will find out how it is going to work before anyone else. If you are not yet signed up, do so before midnight on August 31st to receive the September issue! CLICK HERE

Wish me luck! I hope you have fun watching me paint!

Words of Inspiration

My go to reading material is fiction. My mother would say "weird fiction," because I don't like ordinary romance or mysteries, but if you add a strange character or a strange setting, you might suck me in. I digress, though. The purpose of this post was to share some of the books and podcasts that have helped me with my artistic and/or personal growth.

Books:

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

This book probably comes as no surprise to any of you out there. There are classes and workshops and various other conceptual ways of putting the information in this book to practice in your life. My take-aways...don't judge yourself or your art too harshly, make time to play, channel anger into something positive, try to detach from the crazymakers in your life. I found the "morning pages" exercise to be extremely helpful in clearing my mind for my day. I should do it on a consistent basis. She writes the book speaking of a God or Creator. If this isn't something you believe in, you will probably find the book unreadable.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

 A dear friend suggested that I read this one and sent it to me. I was surprised to learn the author's name because my husband loves Steven Pressfield's fictionalized history novels. I don't think I liked it quite as much as Mike did, but then again, I marked a lot of pages! I think the best part for me was when he talks about treating yourself as a corporation; in other words, write down goals and plan for success, take feedback objectively, not personally and price realistically.

Everyday Sacred by Sue Bender

This book talks about embracing the perfection in imperfection and mindfulness. It was one of those that I liked only "okay" when I read it, but then, a passage that she wrote about a friend doing multiple photographs and colorful drawings of a white metallic pot kept coming into my mind. Although the pot was nothing particularly special, it reflected the environment it was in. (She writes this in a much more lovely in lyrical way.) I finally figured out the name of the book and bought myself a copy.

Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott

This book came up in a bible study many years ago. I've lost touch with Sharla, but I will forever be in her debt for introducing me to Anne Lamott (in book form, not in person, sadly).

Bird by Bird was written for writers, but it also applies to anyone working creatively. I love so many things she says, and the way she says things, but she speaks to me as an artist when she talks a lot about putting down the truth without worrying about what others will think of it.

Imagine by Jonah Lehrer

I read this book back in 2012 before the scandal. Despite the facts, I found the book fascinating and entertaining. Perhaps some of the science is flawed and over-simplified, but my memory isn't very good and I don't recall any of those facts anyway. I loved the stories of how the Swiffer was designed and the way Pixar runs its creative meetings. In fact, just this week I heard about the book Creative Inc. by Ed Catmull. I sure hope it tells more of Pixar's stories!

Free by Chris Anderson

I got this book FREE (of course) on Audible. It could have used some significant editing in my opinion, but the parts that I found interesting are truly fascinating. Now, I just have to figure out how to apply it to my artwork. ;)

Podcasts:

Create & Inspire Podcast with Aunia Kahn

This podcast is a new one for me. I can't say that I agree with everything Aunia Kahn says about the business of art and although she says that the sources are in the show notes, it is sometimes hard to tell what is her opinion or the opinion of another. Every time I listen to a podcast, though, it makes me REALLY THINK about the subject that she is discussing, and that is a good thing. (If I could blog in my brain, there would have been several additional posts written while I am listening to Create & Inspire in my car.)







Accidental Creative with Todd Henry

I found Accidental Creative by accident (ha, ha) while trying to find Create & Inspire on Stitcher. The segments are short and subjects vary. They are more creative business related than fine art related, but I'm still listening.



Artists Helping Artists with Leslie Saeta

A friend I made last year turned me on to this podcast. Sometimes an artist is interviewed. Sometimes tips from listeners on a subject are shared. Different facets of running your "art business" are common topics. The format is a two person hosting situation and it is certainly more chatty and giggly than some podcasts. I find this makes it down-to earth and it only occasionally makes me wish for a more professional approach. My favorite shows have been 50 Favorite Art Products, the interview with Robert Gamblin (and I'm not an oil painter) and the Getting Ready for 2014. I think there is something everyone will like.

Copycat...?

Do you love Pinterest? I do. Do you look at artwork on Pinterest and get inspired? I do.

Recently, however, I noticed that some inspiring pins are ending up as finished paintings with eerily few innovations or changes. An internal debate began about whether this is copyright infringement, or merely an easy way to nail down a composition that you find pleasing so that you can get to the painting part. A little research revealed that it might or might not be illegal, depending on whether the new work is the same size, whether the copied painting has been copyrighted, and whether there have been "enough" changes to declare it original.

As I'm considering all of this, it dawns on me that I am not squeaky clean and above reproach either. Last year I did three paintings that might fall into this realm.

1. My painting, Extra Vivid, was inspired by the "pin" that follows it:

Are these two paintings identical? Would you say that mine is a rip off of their technique? I think that there are enough differences in these two that I am safe from legal prosecution. (I don't think I even looked at the inspiration painting after I got my paints out.)

2. The second one is a bit stickier of a situation. Verdant Hillside was inspired by the one following it as well. Is it too much like the inspiration to be original? I would love your opinion.

3. My painting, After the Rain, was based on the blue boat. Your thoughts?

What conclusions have I come to? In all three of these cases, I used a crutch because I didn't know what I wanted to paint and it was easier to scroll my Pinterest inspiration boards and copy something than start from scratch. I think all three are a bit mine, but this isn't the way that I want to choose my subjects in the future.

My Pinterest boards should be more about "This is a color palette that I want to try." or "I want to have more aggressive brush strokes like this artist." I have plenty of my own photos to use as inspirational subjects. Then, I also have memories and stories for the resulting painting. Bonus! I am going to stick with that moving forward.

I think the best test might be if you put the shoe on the other foot and think if your painting came first, and you found their pin on Pinterest, would you consider the inspiration piece a copy of yours? Therein, lies the truth.

(BTW, I'm currently reading The Art Forger. I am REALLY enjoying it and that is probably the reason that I have this subject on the brain.)

Artist Statement

Galleries ask for these things. They are really hard to write. Unlike a resume, where you show yourself in the best possible light based on accomplishments and facts, the Artist Statement is supposed to reveal something about the artist or the artist's work. So far, my work doesn't have an underlying political message; it doesn't seek to challenge beliefs. I paint what interests me and hope that my "take" on them will be appealing to others. Most artist statements use big and important words. They are often in "artist speak." I found this and gave it a try. It cracked me up. Even if you are NOT an artist, fill in the blanks and check some boxes and read what it gives you!

Update: 8/27/15 I've moved to a whole different state (FL) and will soon be rewriting my artist statement. I found an article with examples of some good ones, so I thought that I would link to it on this post for inspiration, both for myself and readers.