Uninspired but had to do something

In the previous post I lamented my lack of inspiration from a recent trip out of town.  I decided I needed to do something to break the funk.  In the Wet Canvas Reference Image Library there was a series of egg carton photos.  I did it very quick with the intent on really just using this as an exercise.  Overall pretty happy with it.  I had wanted to use charcoal again and this was the perfect opportunity.  Man it feels good just to let it loose and go crazy. 





Eggs
16x20 Strathmore Drawing Paper
Charcoal-Medium



Credited to She-She, WetCanvas.com
Reference Image Library















Uninspired

Okay, the trip to Minnesota was completely uninspiring.  The feeling of "Eh.." as I looked around was really depressing.  I tried everything.  Sitting in different parts of the house, on the deck, even when on the boat (I did catch a big Bass, but that wasn't artistically inspiring), and I still felt nothing.  Nothing "moved" me like I had hoped it would.  I just went back through my photos and still nothing.  I tried to look at the trees differently and the way light and shadows mingled, but still wasn't feeling it. Ugh! Here's hoping our trip to Montana will yield better results.  In the meantime I'm going to dig around Wet Canvas's photo library and hopefully something will grab my attention. Until next time...

One of my BIGGEST interruptions

There are always little things that get in way of my small spans of time that I can work on something.  But, this time it's something much bigger.  It's a move.  A pack up the household, pets and kids and take them across country sort of move.  Don't get me wrong I am OVER THE MOON about heading back east and living back on the coast! Yes, the Dakotas are beautiful and I do think every person should visit this part of the country at some point in their lives, but man I have been jonesin' for a Macy's for a while.  Oh, and seafood, we've really missed fresh seafood.  Landlocked in the middle of the continent doesn't bode well for the freshest of fresh ocean fish.

In the meantime, we're going to take advantage of our central location and visit Glacier Nat'l Park, Yellowstone, Tetons, and one final trip to Minnesota in the few months we have left.  The last time we were in Minnesota at the lake house, I took that Minnesota Sunset photo a few blogs down.  Maybe I'll take my pencils with me. I'll have the camera of course, but maybe I'll do some sketching. Haven't done that in a while.

I hope to get some more things done and posted before the move.  Please, hang with me and if anything I'll post some pretty landscape photography! :)

What's Your Creative Style?

My best friend posted this quiz on her blog so I decided to give it a try too.  This was my result:

You communicate through creativity


You think of art as a means of reaching out to others but, at the same time, you use it as a shield to some extent. It’s a way of participating in society, in a community. It’s the way you communicate with others and the way they can communicate with you. Seen in this light, creativity provides the basic materials to build a bridge between you and other people, so you can’t think of it as something that lies outside your relationship with others. You like the attention and good opinion of others. When you show people what you’ve made — a birthday cake, or a piece of music you’ve written — it’s your baby, so you are very sensitive about any criticism. You need to be able to distance yourself from the result, and allow others to enjoy it and feel part of it, without it reflecting on you alone. Your creativity allows you (or would allow you) to feel part of the world. You’ve got an inner exhibitionist and you think that this strengthens your relationships. What you really want is for others to see the good in you. You prefer to get on the stage than stay in the wings analysing your inner life (although you do that, too). So let the show begin, but make sure your life doesn’t depend on the applause. •  Take the quiz here: http://www.psychologies.co.uk/tests/whats-your-creative-style/


Yep, it pegged me.  Especially "When you show people what you’ve made — a birthday cake, or a piece of music you’ve written — it’s your baby, so you are very sensitive about any criticism." No one enjoys negative feedback, and I've been pretty fortunate so far those who've visited my blog have seemed to enjoy my pieces.  I am acutely aware that I have A LOT more work to become the artist I really want to be and that a lot of my stuff isn't that great, but the trick is to enjoy the process and I am. 

"The Poppy II" in Acrylic

Phase 3 complete.  From my original image, to the prismacolor rendering, and finally to an acrylic painting.  As with most things on this blog, this was my first attempt at anything like this.  I completed "The Poppy II" in two stages.  I did the background palm frond first.  I really surprised myself with my color mixing.  Like I had mentioned in the prisma drawing the palm frond is more of a dusty greenish-blue.  I was able to achieve the color I wanted and it's variations by mixing titanium white, thalo blue and cadmium yellow medium.  It's going to sound so silly, but I was really impressed with myself to achieve those colors and I was ecstatic when I finished it.  Lastly I completed the poppy.  Again using primarily cadmium yellow medium and cadmium red light.  The purple-reddish shadowing was a mix of cadmium red light, thalo blue, and alizarin red and thinned out.  The poppy's center was alizarin red and thalo blue.  After everything was initially completed I decided to go back and give a little more definition to the palm.  Using the same mixture of thalo blue, titanium white and cadmium yellow medium I lined along each of the strands.  This was all completed on 16 x 20 gallery wrapped stretched canvas which I painted along the edges so it doesn't require framing.  Thank for looking and I hope you enjoy my interpretation of a poppy.

Phase 1: Background



"The Poppy II"
Acrylic on 16x20 Canvas





Side by side comparison of the acrylic painting and prismacolor drawing.











Completed Piece "The Poppy"

It's finished!  Took me longer than I anticipated due to unexpected interruptions (I didn't choose this Blog name on a whim!) I did exactly what I said I'd do.  I took my time and did section by section.  Obviously the palm took the longest.  Looking closely the palm frond is a combination of greens, yellow, and dusty blues. I used a random combination of colors for the palm.  Each individual leaf (?) was completed using the same colors but in different order. I didn't plan each one, just kind of let it happen. I took great care to make sure each one was different.  The palm as well as the poppy really needed to POP!  I'm believe that's been accomplished! So please enjoy "The Poppy".



"The Poppy"
Prismacolor pencil
12x14, Colored Canson Pastel Paper 98#



Progression Documentation

I've decided to document my progress on my next piece.  Since a great painting comes from a great drawing, I'm going to do a great drawing first.  The key is to pay attention, not to rush, and focus all my attention to the color pencil drawing first.  I tend to rush as I approach the end of a piece.  I get so excited to be close to done and see the finished product that I tend to get ahead of myself.  So this is going to be more of an exercise for myself in patience and focus.  Below is the original picture source and the first completed stage of the piece.  Although it's very faint, the palm frond is sketched into the background. I'm very happy with this first phase.


Poppy and Frond
Taken 5-29-2011 



Phase 1: Poppy
Prismacolor Pencils
12x16 Canson Pastel Paper 98#