Making Progress!

The first two canvases for my church are DONE!  Only 6 more to go!

It was such a strange thing, working with only tone and no color.  I kept thinking it was awful....and then I would step back and get a far off view...and, wow!  It wasn't awful, after all!

Artsy Fartsy

I am part of a small group of artists called the Artsy Fartsies.  That sounds almost official, but really we just named ourselves for the fun of it.  We live in the same small town, and share a love of all things creative as well as a love for our Savior, Jesus Christ.  This group is salve to me.  They're courage.  And joy.  And impetus.  We get together every so often and tell our art-life stories.  We show each other our work.  We ask for help.  We exult in victories and commiserate over failures.  And we remind each other of the truth that we are artists because God made us that way, and He is pleased when we revel in that.

From left to right is Lois ( http://www.loisrosiosprague.com/ ), a fabulous illustrator.  She is particularly gifted at drawing people.  She did a portrait of my grandpa that's uncanny.

Then Scotty ( http://www.scottstearman.com ), a sculptor.  His work always tells a beautiful story.  Poignancy just oozes from him.

Then yours truly, followed by Kristy ( http://www.etsy.com/shop/kristensimons ), a watercolor and ink artist.  She does stunning, richly colored paintings.  Tight, sometimes whimsical, always beautifully rendered.

I love these guys!

Just Hangin' Out

Some reference photos have a lot of  mileage in them!  I love this pic, taken by my friend Jen.

This is a card I made for a wedding.  Ink and colored pencil and a touch of whimsy.  My favorite part is the hint of blue on the back of the ladybug.

Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three

I decided I needed to practice putting an image on a black background...leaving the black in strategic places, and just adding greys and white.  It requires backwards thinking!

So, what did I learn?  That having the lettering in blue is fine, unless it's on a busy background.  So I need to double check all the images I've got drawn up and see what the backgrounds look like.

Also, does this communicate that it's a stack of black and white photographs?  Because if not, then it's a lot of work for no purpose.  Did you see overlapping black and white photos, or did you see some strange geometric design that made no sense?  If anyone's reading this, I'd love your feedback on this one!

What's Next?

The upcoming sermon set for my church got changed a little, so I spent the last few days coming up with these three new sketches.  The "Hosanna" one is already getting revised a bit in my brain.  I don't want those diagonal lines to be SO straight.  I'll have to free-hand them, instead of  using a straight edge.  That way they'll look more...natural?  I hope so!

I start painting on Monday!  These are pretty detailed so, despite my plan to make them predominantly black and white, I expect they'll take FOREVER.  Deep breath!!!  Here I go....!

World Map

Here's the world map I painted.  The lighting in the room was less than stellar, so the pic is not fantastic.  The project, though was great fun!

As you can see, I didn't end up using all the sketches I did.  The home-owner wasn't in love with the beard on the North Wind that I drew.  She said it gave her the shivers!  Pretty funny!  This guy definitely seem less sneaky!

The home-owner also found it fitting to place the sea serpent beside Bermuda!  Again, pretty funny!

The room had this fantastic heavy texture, which ended up being so much fun to paint on.  I used acrylics, that I thinned significantly, so they tended to run like watercolors.  I love the end product!

Illustrating a Map

I am working on sketches for an old fashioned world map that I'll be painting on a client's wall.  These are the basic drawings that I've done for some of the decorative elements.  It's curious...I've had it pounded into me by some artist friends that I NEED a reference pic for all my drawings and paintings, but getting a reference pic of a sea serpent is...a stretch!  Basically you can draw from a snake...or you can copy another artist's work (which is really un-cool)...or you end up just drawing from your imagination.  Which is what I did.  It's the same story with the North Wind and the sun.

After all, if a reference pic isn't available, what is one to do?

Flaming Comet

I've been working on several sketches lately, for a couple of different projects.  The sermon series for my church has changed a little, so I need to tweak some of those images.  I'm also attempting to sketch a sea serpent, and since there are no reference pictures for me to go off of, I'm seriously WINGING IT!

And in the midst of all that, I just really felt the need to DOODLE.

From the Archives

This is one of a very few number of pastels that I've done.  Frankly, I have NO IDEA how to use pastels!  I keep telling myself that I want to play around with them a little  more and see what I can learn, but something else always interferes.

I call this one "Clouds of Glory", reflecting the longing that God has placed in me for the return of Jesus.  Someday...!!  Soon...?

Clover

I seem to be drawn to painting weeds (ha!  a little artist humor there).  I vaguely remember growing up with the idea that having clover in your lawn was a bad thing.  But it's so lovely!  And it's delightful to paint!

This is the last of the little oil paintings that I've done this summer.  Evidently I need to get back to work!  I've got the canvases and the paint and the reference pics...so, Chop! Chop!  I'm such a slacker.

Gerbera

What can I say about this?  Only that I am frequently astounded at the creativity of God.  And that He chose to share some of that character with us.  I find myself longing for eternity, where I hope I get to watch God create.  I don't think there's any promise of that in scripture, but wouldn't it be great?!

Just Opening Up

I don't know if this is a peach blossom or an apple blossom....but it's SPRING.  You know how it is...it's been a long winter, everything has been grey, you hardly look up anymore...and then suddenly you notice this glorious bloom where there used to be only death.  Spring smacks of the promises of God, doesn't it?