The Creative Life is Great!

I have lots of choices to make here and it seems I am trying to find the time to make them. I truly am not ignoring you, my blog friends. I keep reminding myself how good "busy" can be, and how fantastic it is to live a creative life!

Have a Great Day!

Engaging the Muse

I have been working on this one for quite some time, but there is still more to do. The thing is, this one is already spoken for...you just never know about these things as I have had many doubts about this one. I have several large pieces going on right now, I can't work on all of them in my tiny room at the same time. (Yes, that was a big moan you just heard.) I am trying to work on some methods to keep myself from getting into this spot again, though...trying to develop some different ways of working. We will see how it turns out.

I have been re-reading parts of Trust the Process by Shaun McNiff. I have loaned this book to some friends and they have graciously added comments and underlined parts which really is lovely (I highly recommend this if you are not distracted by notes and underlinings in your books.) I came across this statement:

When we play alone with art materials, we are enshrouded in an intimate and quiet relationship with the imagination, which acts as a silent partner.

Of course this made me think of working with the muse which has also become an important part of what I have been doing lately...really engaging with my muse through my journal. No, that was not my idea alone, read Elis Cooke's post to see what I have been doing. Andrea has been engaging with some special spirit over at her blog...could it be her muse which is making itself known by coming out of the end of her brush?

My muse sure has given me a creative punch here without a doubt. Of course she would have me go into debt, but we work things out. I have to say I have fallen in love with her and am always happy when she taps me on the shoulder or needs to be coaxed out. How about you? Do you find your muse a good resource for moving your art forward? Is your muse difficult or easy to work with?

Have a Beautifully Creative Day!

A State of Mind...

You know how some days you just do not have much to say. I am there. :) So I thought I would show you this photo of a work in progress. Does it look like a jumbled mess to you? Maybe it is my state of mind. Have a Great Day!

Creating With Heart

You may recognize some or all of this doodle.
I was only playing around with acrylic paint on rice paper.
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Last week, Dianne wrote about an encounter with a man while she was working a show. The man wondered about what the artists put into the paintings. If you have not read this wonderful story, please go now and read it. The man has such valid points to make.

This week, I came across this article after seeing one of this man's paintings which drew me into it in one of the most profound ways. I quiver to think of my response if I were to see one of these in real life. I may be like an Elvis groupie and literally faint from awe. I know James Nares puts a bit of himself into each painting he creates! While you are at it visit his web site. I get the same feelings when I see a Mark Rothko painting. I know there are many others, however this came off the top of my head...Rothko is always on the top of my head.

It is the aspect of placing a part of your soul on the surface or into the work which becomes so meaningful. This is true across the board with art, but I believe it is true with any profession. Consider the nurse who gives that little bit more, the teacher who gives that little extra care and the scientist who spends the extra time to be very sure his project will be safe. People who give more of themselves because it is all they know how to do. They, indeed, are paying it forward and not knowing it while it happens.

How about you...do you put your all into your creative work (I think I know the answer for many of you)? Are you aware of art which is full of the artist's heart and soul? Who does this in your opinion?

Asking Permission and Being Careful...

Phases of Life
Acrylic five 12 x 4
staple-less gallery wrapped canvas

You have seen this before, that is true, but it kind of fits with what I wanted to talk about today.

Do you remember when you were in school and the teacher would say to keep your eyes on your paper and do your own work? Then when you were in high school you were told you had to not copy because it was plagiarizing and that was illegal? In college, I had to write a pledge on every paper and exam I turned in. If there was any problem, then you had to appear before a court to resolve it. As an adult, writers get sued all the time for plagiarism of ideas and to have copyright laws upheld. So what is my point?

Recently I have been advised some of my blog work has been used by other people, and they have not asked permission to do so. Now I do have a copyright message on here for all artists who's work appears here. The thing is not only have I had an issue, but I have heard from some other blogging/artist friends who have a similar issue. I have a big problem with anyone who will blatantly copy/paste my blog posts. I have a much bigger problem when they take advantage of artists who share on this blog. If you are a person who has a propensity to go this route, I am checking each day for anything which comes up... If you would like permission to use something, ask, I am not that mean! Here is the question I have to the few of you who do this, do you want to be a victim of a thief, too? If you are blatant about taking whole posts or if you choose to copy an image of an painting without the writer/artist's permission, you are performing an illegal act! Now is the time to think twice, be respectful. Whatever you do give clear and thoughtful appreciation to the source when you post it, but try to obtain permission if you can.

For those of you who need to protect yourself, if it is important to you, I advise you to do some web searches to see what comes up. One thing which seems to be going around right now is another kind of scheme all together. I was alerted by a new site which is aiding artists in selling their art (so many seem to be doing that these days). This site is called Zibbet. They give some good advice for protecting yourself from those who will take advantage of artists. Visit them here to see what they had to say.

These are kind of crazy things and I never thought I would be writing a post like this, but here you have it. How do you feel about work being used without your permission? Do you think I am way off base?

Have a Good Day, despite my rant here.

Still Painting

I have been telling you I have been painting lately, but I haven't shown you anything new for a while. I am still painting and actually have too many things going on now in my crowded little studio room.I have been working on this one for quite some time as there needed to be a lot of drying going on between some of the steps. Using orange really made me step outside my box here, I have to say. I am still pulling back from that one :) I have to say, though, the emotions expressed here are very true to what I feel as I gaze forward onto the horizon. So this is 40" high x 30" wide and a very deep 2.5" staple-less canvas and painted in all acrylic. The light line through the center and some splashes are silver along with some white and some pearl paint (I just wanted you to know it is not all white). At the moment, I am contemplating it while I add some glaze layers. I am thinking it is complete and just needs the glazing, but time will tell, I suppose.

I have a few others to share with you and one other large one I can't even get a shot of at the moment. I am also doing some experimenting...we will see how that turns out, too.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. If anyone tried to get to my web site last week, I apologize for the problems. It is back up and running now, though! I am ever so grateful, too.

Have A Great Day!

The Tag of Two (or Three) Men...

I have been tagged by Cynthia over at Oasis Writing Link. I am to show you the sixth photo in my sixth file, then I am supposed to tell you a story about it. Are you ready? Here we go...No, this is not the sixth photo in the sixth file on my computer. I do not collect photographs of handsome men. I got over that some years back...about 35 to be exact. This is a photo of my friend, Michael Brenker. Michael is a model based in Hamburg, Germany. He has modeled for some impressive companies like Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bahn, Lufthansa, Nintendo, Olympus, Ravensburger and Volkswagen to name a very few. You can visit his web site to see some great photos and a very long list of companies. Aside from the work Michael does, he is such a sensitive, caring person and a good friend to my family. What does this have to do with the sixth photo in my sixth file?

In the autumn of 2008, Michael was on a two week photo shoot in Mexico. While he was there, he not only had his photo taken about a million times, but he was able to take some photos, as well. So Michael emailed me some of those he took while in Mexico. They were amazing, so I put them in a file on my computer. Voila, the sixth photo in my sixth file is:
Isn't he adorable? When I saw this I wanted to get into this photo, sit and (not) speak with this little one - I do not speak Spanish at all. I wished I could hold him on my lap, and we could look at a picture book together. I just have not been able to get this dear little boy out of my mind since Michael sent me the photo. I just love the expression on his face. Michael said he asked this little boy if he could take the photo and this little guy was more than happy to sit patiently while he got the shot.

So when this came up as the sixth photo, I was very pleased. Of course, I needed to ask Michael as this belongs to him, not me. While I was at it, I thought you just might like to see a photo of the photographer, too. Why not, right? Since Michael's photo is plastered all over, why not on this blog? It also makes a fun story...and a very true one, too!

Visit Michael's web site. He has some really super, fun photos there and you just might get a glimpse of his adorable little boy, too.

So is this a good way to begin your weekend? I am off to the studio here. I hope you find time to be creative where you are. Thanks Cynthia for this fun tag. Anyone who wishes to do this, feel free. Go ahead, see what is in your photo file. Yes, I was supposed to tag people, but making those kinds of choices right now seems a bit overwhelming.

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Get Well Yvette...and A Little Experiment

Yvette, at Felting Your Soul, is having some health challenges. Her blog friends are holding her up through a difficult time with a posting of this candle. I want to thank Martine for the image of this very special candle. You can read a bit more about it at Martine's blog. We all wish Yvette a very speedy recovery.

I have tried a little experiment....
...and they all do not work out.

I have been reading a lot about gessoing paper for painting. Now I am not much for doing paintings I have to eventually frame, but I was really curious about this. You are supposed to use heavy watercolor paper, gesso it (one or two thin coats) then paint on it as you would canvas. That is what I did with this piece. Now it really is nothing more than some paint left over from some other paintings I am doing...so nothing major was in the works here. I don't think I really got it, though. Why did I need to gesso the paper? What did that bring me? I felt as though I even had to be careful because of the added weight of the gesso. Do you think that is really the case?

Now, I am tossing this out to you. What am I missing with this? Is using the gesso on the paper a preservation technique? Does it make the painting longer lasting? Help me out here, my dear friends.

I can't say this is an experiment gone wrong, but I would like to learn more from it if you have some enlightening thoughts.

Everyone have a very special day! Yvette, feel better very soon.

A Book and An Award

I want to thank everyone for your kind comments on my conversation with Dianne last week. I also want to thank Dianne for all her work on this wonderful conversation. It was a true delight. Please visit Dianne's blog to read more comments and join in there talking about this wonderful conversation.

I really am painting and with our ice and snow here last week, I spent some of every day in the studio. Yippee! Of course there was the regular kinds of things which had to be taken care of as well, so it is not as though I spent all day every day painting. I should have some new work to share with you before too very long.

Today I thought you might like to see this book. Do any of you own it? I received it for a Christmas gift this year and really do like it a lot.This focuses a bit more on truly abstracting work and not as much on intuitive type work. I have found it really helpful in tuning up composition and looking at color in a different way. While I would love reading about intuitive painting all the time, these books are truly helpful in helping me understand how another type of artists meets their art. I never know what will come out when I am in flow. It may be a book you find valuable.

Sweet, Mary Ann, at Blue Sky Dreaming has bestowed this award on me. Wow! I am honored she feels I am a writer! Thank you Mary Ann. This is a real honor.
I am going to try to come up with 5 who have not received this award. Try is the operative word.

1. Soulbrush who writes about life in Snowy London and being a new Grandma

2. Marianne who writes Mandalas and More from any location in the world.

3. Juan Belisa who writes Poetic Painting from his favorite spot in Spain.

4. Cris who writes about her art and her life from Oregon.

5. Rachete who writes A Painters Diary from New York City.



So here are the rules:

1. Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most deserving Bloggy friends.
2.Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award
3. Each Superior Scribbler must link to Scholastic Scribe, which explains The Award.
4. Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, will be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives this Prestigious Honor. (and it is really interesting to go there to see the list! wow!)
5.Each Superior Scribbler must post these links on his/her blog.

I hope you enjoy getting to know any of these bloggers you do not already follow and reconnecting with the ones you do.

It seems as though I have spent a lot of time this weekend in front of this computer, so if I am not as fast getting to your blogs, I hope you will understand how tired I am of this machine...I truly have a love/hate relationship with it! :) How about you? Do you find you love to hate your computer from time to time? Do you feel as though if you don't take care of things when they pop up, you are only going to get more and more behind?

Everyone have a Fabulous Day and Great Start to the Week!