Studies

I'm trying to brush up my skills, I've been focusing so much on paintings and geometric designs that some of my drawing skills have slipped. In an attempt to reverse that I've made some attempts to do some studies of master's works, like daVinci and Durer. I'd fallen off of that some but I've recently had some renewed efforts. As I've mentioned I've started a drawing group and I've been making studies when I visit museums or when I see something I like. It's a small step but I'm hoping it will something I can keep up.

New Year

It's a New Year, I don't get into New Years resolutions much but the new year is a wonderful time to review and to look to the future. 2014 was a pretty good year, I've been privileged to participate in a lot of shows this year.
I'm excited for the future, I'm working on big plans for the new year and some fun ones too. I started a drawing group with some of my friends, we'll take turns sitting for one another so that we can all get practice drawing, the first one was fun, I'm excited to have more. I need the practice.
I'm also renewing my efforts to attend gallery strolls. Usually I have intention to go, but by the time it comes around, I would rather stay home instead of making the effort to go out. Well see how it goes.
Here's to art in the new year!

Power of art

When I was in school I bought a book on Albrecht Durer, I like Durer's work and I thought not much more of it than that. I noticed something about this book though, I often looked through it, studying Durer's work and admiring it, eventually I noticed that times when I unhappy etc. and happened to flip through this book, I found my mood would improve by the time I had looked through the book and the images of Durer's work.
Art is powerful, it has the power to make our lives better, or I suppose worse if used incorrectly, art has power.

Update

So I haven't blogged for a while but I'm really excited to announce that my art will be in two shows opening this week.
I am thrilled to again be included in the 29th Annual Spiritual and Religious Art of Utah show at the Springville Museaum of Art. The show opens this Wednesday!
I'm also pleased to be a part of the holiday show at the Utah Arts Festival Gallery! The show opens Thursday night and there will be a gallery stroll Friday from 6-9.
If you have the chance, check out both or either of these show!

A tip for aspiring artists

So something I didn't realize as an art student, was how important it was or would become to have the skills to photograph my own work. As a student it was more about having good representations to make into slides to enter shows etc. and I relied heavily on my dad who's BA is in photography (though that's not what he's done professionally). Technology has evolved (in the five years since I graduated) and I have a website, this blog, and a facebook page for my art and my routine is to photograph my art and get it online for people to see as soon as I can after finishing a piece. Again my dad has been a tech savvy help here, when I got my first digital camera, I've borrowed his tripod, he showed me to the free editing program that I use, he had a more high tech editing program that I've started using more and more, my photographs of my art have come a long way. It's still really tricky, I have a tendency to take my art all the way to the edge of my paper etc. and you can tell if the cropping turns out weird.
Photographing art is tricky and sadly I can't afford to pay a professional (and I hear a good one is hard to find, I've been lucky to have one when I need it) all or even half the time. I wish that I could have taken a class on photographing my work, or that one had even existed. Meanwhile, I'm doing the best I can.

Here's to those who teach art, especially to children, I may not agree with all their ideas or theories but I have come to decide that I just can't do it. I had the opportunity to teach an art project to a few groups of children. I'm sure it's part me and my lack of experience (my projects may have been more than the age groups could handle), but I really love art and I take it very seriously, I also have views that differ from a lot of people. With this project I had come up with these kids, based on some of what I do, it felt a lot like casting pearls before swine. In each class there were a few who went to work and did good with the projects and I suppose it should be worth it just for them, but the rest, it felt like we were wasting their time and mine. It makes me sad to think that that's the world these kids are growing up in.
Here's to the kids that got it though. Bless their hearts.

Watercolor blocks

I would like to thank the person or persons who invented watercolor blocks. I normally use Arches watercolor blocks because I like the paper and because it's wonderful not to have to worry about my paper warping. I've been working on a specific painting and I wanted a different size than the watercolor blocks I normally use.

 I still used Arches paper but I didn't tape it down or stretch it, with a smaller painting you can get away with that but apparently my paper was too big because it's been warping.  A reminder to me and everyone else to tape or stretch larger pieces of paper and a reminder of just how nice it is to have watercolor blocks.