August Goals Review

My first art business card (I also got some stickers)

This a review of the goals I set for July/August and whether or not I achieved them:

Business

• Think about what I want to achieve by the end of the year - I plan on having some prints on sale as cards by the end of the year. As well, I hope to be selling on eBay early next year.
  

Research

• Color study - I've done color charts in oil and purchased Albers classic book.
  
• Reading - I've done a load of reading on oil painting. I've also done more practical research in painting :D.
  

Artwork

• Claybord - I did do some experimenting with it and like it for graphite.
  
• Sketching - Yes, I've done lots of that.
  
• Focus on Process - Yes, I've found a working method that works for me and I really like it. It has become an old friend.
• Oil Painting (three paintings a week) - Yes, this has been happening. This week has been a little different as I had a hard deadline on a graphite project. That is now finished, so I get to return to painting again! :D
  

More about September tomorrow!

Virutal Sketch Date: August Submission

Ornamental Cabbage 5 in x 7 in, graphite on Stonehenge paper

Here is my entry for the August sketch date.

It's been a busy week, so I didn't have much time for this, but I did enjoy the couple of hours I had for it.

Thanks to Sherrie for the reference! And thanks to everyone for participating, I just love these!

Getting Where You Want: Inspiration

work in progress, water lilies

This is the third post in a series (here and here) on balancing a busy life and still achieving what you want.

In the previous two posts I've talked about being organized and being efficient - both good things. But, life still happens, you still get tired, there are days when "pushing through" seems just too hard. What do you do on days like that? Well, you need an inspiration page (in your notebook if you took my advice in the first post. :D)

Art Inspiration Page - I have a list of certain paintings/drawings that have inspired me to be a better artist. Some of them just flat out blew me away and I want to achieve something like that. Some of them are where a famous artist began and remind me that we all start somewhere (even one that reminds me we all have bad days.)

Household Inspiration Page - I have a list of quotes or events that help me remember why it is important for me to care about the mundane unending list of household chores. For example: I read a story about a woman who was able to invite family to come stay with her when there was an unexpected death in the family because she always keeps her house clean - I have that written down because I would really like to be able to invite people to my home at the drop of a hat, especially when they need it. I have quotes from famous men about how important their mothers were to them - this helps when my children forget to be thankful.

When you find you are losing steam, go have a look at your inspiration page and remember why you are trying so hard and what is at stake.

Getting Where You Want: Habits and Simplifying

work in progress, water lilies on Stonehenge

This is the second post in a series on practical steps you can take to handle a busy life and achieve some goals.

1. Put as Much on "tracks" as you can - this comes from our time in England. The English are famous for being creatures of habit. Our friends take holidays for the same weeks every year. They do the wash at the same time every day. They shop on the same day every week. They have people over for dinner every Thursday night. You get the point? There isn't much planning for these events, everyone knows about them. They just happen because they always happen at certain times. This keeps things in a rhythm and removes opportunity for procrastination. (How much time do you spend thinking about brushing your teeth? Probably not a lot because you do it the same time every day and just do it without complaining - same principle writ large is very powerful.)
2. Baby Steps - Break down your goals into small steps. Then just start slotting those small steps into your daily to do list.
   

• My husband is a good example of this. He has memorized certain large bodies of information just by reading small portions of them for fifteen minutes a day.
  
• A few years ago, I started drawing with the small goal of drawing for 15 minutes a day. At the time, I had two toddlers and a baby. My days were filled with diapers and tears, I needed an escape and 15 minutes at home was all I could manage. That small step has changed the course of my life!
  
• My blog has been all about baby steps. First step, I just began it. (I didn't even know that I had to turn the flash off on the camera!) But, I began, and then have slowly, as I have had time, improved aspects of it. (If I had tried to set aside several hours to build up a blog concept, template, writing voice, career plan, etc before I started posting, there would be no Rose's Art Lines to this day.)
• I have another friend who does this all over her life. It builds great contentment in her life - she knows that she is working on all her major goals and dreams, even if they haven't all been achieved yet.

Getting Where You Want: Organization

Sketch on Tracing Paper for new piece

This is the start of a series on achieving goals, I'm calling it "Getting Where You Want". The series will look at practical ideas of how to balance a busy life and achieve what you want.

School just started. Around our house that brings new rigor...my husband is a professor, I home school three days a week - there just isn't "slack" around our house during term time. With all this busy going on, I still want to work on my art. So, I have been reminding myself of the tools that I have used in the past to get it all done.

Getting Where You Want Requires Organization.

Two Simple Ideas:

1. Put it all together - I have one notebook to hold everything I write down. There are art sections for my art to dos, possible blog posts, goals for the future, books I want to buy, things I want to research, notes I take when reading art books, etc. There are home sections for my to do list, preprinted grocery lists, menu planning stuff, inspirational pages, address book, calendars, etc. Stop spending your life looking for scraps of paper! My notebook is large so I do carry a small pad of paper to write down anything while I am away from home, but transfer it quickly when I get home.
   
2. To Do Lists - I have two types - masters and dailies.
   

• A master that lists everything I've ever thought I need to do. (My household master is subcategorized by planning, online, errands, household, phones calls, etc. My art master is subcategorized by blog post ideas, drawing/painting ideas, business, website updates, research, etc.) This is so that I don't ever have to remember to do anything. I just keep checking this list and cross stuff off. Having to remember things stresses me out, I try not to have to do it.
  
• A daily that tells me what I need to do today.
• How I use them: Once a week I scan the master list, decide what needs to be done and slot it into the week on days. Each day, I scan the daily list (written on my calendar.) So, if I don't do the daily list on the day, then it won't get done for another week. This is surprisingly motivating. I did a huge mound of ironing last night simply because I knew that I wanted to paint later in the week and if I left the ironing until then I would get one less painting done.
  

Six Reasons to Make Color Charts

Color Charts based on two limited palettes:
Basic palette: cad red, cad yellow, ultramarine blue
Masters palette: burnt sienna, yellow ochre, paynes grey

Color is one those great battles that artists spend their lifetimes waging...I have a short artistic history so far, but I know this battle is a fierce one.

Yesterday I read a great quote on lines and colors:
"This is the process of painting your own color charts, in which you mix a value scale of each color, and then value scales of each color in combination with each of the other colors in your basic palette. It is a process that gives you more color mixing knowledge than a truckload of color mixing books and preprinted charts could ever begin to provide."

Charley (and Richard Schmid) are completely right on this one. I did the above charts a few weeks ago at the start of my oil painting career, they have been invaluable since then. People never believe that when you say it, I think because the benefits are difficult to describe. But, I'll try for you...

Benefits of Making Color Charts:

1. Simplification - you aren't trying to achieve anything, you are just mixing and staring at colors, this helps brings the color into focus.
2. Color context - when I first tried my "limited masters palette" I was rather aghast at the colors. But, actually, seeing them in the charts, there is great potential there.
3. Color creativity - having done these charts I am now having ideas based on them...e.g. driving home today I suddenly had a flash of an idea for something that I am currently doing in graphite - an idea of how to translate a drawing I love to a painting in oils.
4. Confidence - it takes a lot of mixing to make these charts, so you gain familiarity with mixing, changing the values, what direction you are going in when you mix two particular colors, using a palette knife, etc.
5. Planning - when I am deciding how to get a color onto the canvas, I look at my charts and decide what is closest and then decide if it is going to work or if I am going to have to rethink it.
6. Company - Charley Parker and Richard Schmid recommend them. Both of these men know alot about art: how to make it, what makes it good - why not take a page from their playbooks?
   

After Degas' Cassatt

After Degas' Mary Cassatt at the Louvre,
oil on canvas, 12 in x 9 in

Tonight I was desperate to get lost in a painting. Sometimes my over analytic brain just needs to stop spinning in it's downward spiral...getting lost in a piece of artwork is perfect for that.

So, I decided to try a copy of one of my favorite Degas pastel sketches - Mary Cassatt at the Louvre. I love the composition, how the splashes of color give her stance the power and forcefulness of her character. It's as if you can see her personality right there - as if this is a portrait.

I had great fun with this!

Oh, by the way, the Virtual Sketch Date reference for August goes up tonight at midnight Central Time.

Two Week Progress Report

Pitcher, Pepper, and Vase
oil on 12in x9in stretched canvas

Here's the next installment in my oil painting adventure. (Sorry for the poor photo - weather...kids...they just leave no room for photography sessions.)

Here's a progress report:

• good - I'm meeting my original goal of three paintings a week. I've had my oil paints exactly two weeks-I have done six paintings (on 9in x 12in canvas). I have also done a set of color/value charts for my two limited palettes.
• good - I've tried a few ways of underpainting.
• good - I'm making (slow) progress in driving the color horse and the value horse at the same time. I was very pleased to look at my charts, decide what colors I wanted to use, and then produce them!
  
• good - I have a better understanding of what a brush can do.
• good - I'm getting preferences with my brushes and a better sense of when to use what.
• needs work - color, still haven't done one where I liked the colors together.
• needs work - values, still have work there.
• needs work - subjects, still have work here. So far the subjects that have called out to me have been beyond my reach.
  

Broadstroke on Stonehenge

Cosmos, graphite on Stonehenge paper, 9in x12in,
work in progress

This post is about using broadstroke pencil technique (used by Ted Kautzky and Ernest Watson) on Stonehenge paper.

Recently, I did a sketch of some cosmos that made me wonder whether I could get a nice effect with broadstroke technique on Stonehenge paper. Above you see the beginnings of my first trial run. Below is a run-down of my thoughts.

Broadstroke on Stonehenge:

• Broadstroke does get a nice smooth effect on Stonehenge paper. Although, I wish that I had remembered to flip the paper over, as I think I prefer the back side.
• Technique is clearly paramount when using broadstroke, I will still have to work on getting an even effect in large areas.
• This was done with a 6B lead. I'd really like to get a 9B in my next supply order, as I think it would be easier to get the darks that I am looking for.
• The effect of broadstroke on smooth paper is effective for flowers - it gives them a nice delicacy.
  

Value Studies in Oil

Values Sketch

Underpainting for Still Life

This post is about what I learned in doing some value studies.

Above you see my two efforts from this evening.

First is just a "sketch" of a painting. I don't think I'm ready to tackle the complexity of painting figures just yet, but this image is often on my mind. It's from my vacation this year, it recalls a special afternoon we spent taking our boys to the beach for the first time in their lives. I got to sit and enjoy watching them in the water, sketchbook in hand.

The second is intended to be an underpainting. I want to try using thin paint and layering, just to see how it goes. I found this one a real struggle. I had to keep fighting to get the values I wanted and then adjusting the shapes to correct them. As it is, I see problems. But I am again seeing the complexity values, shapes, and edges.

On both of these I had challenges with getting the right amount of paint where I wanted it, figuring out how and when to thin, how to lighten a value...It did feel very much like sculpting, pushing and pulling paint around, trying to get the edges I wanted in the right value contrast. Regardless of the outcomes, I thoroughly enjoyed this!

Test Post

This post is just a test to make sure that my blog is still posting and burning the feed properly.

Sorry for the intrusion!

Lest You Think I Have Given Up Drawing

Cosmos Study

Here are some cosmos from a reference photo on WetCanvas. (Thanks to Stephie20).

I must say it was lovely to grab my pencil, relax and let it flow tonight.

This was done in my cachet studio blank book. I bought it on vacation as a replacement for the one I donated to the airline trash bin. I don't like the paper in it at all. I would much prefer a slicker paper with less texture. Not many more pages. Once it's finished I may have to treat myself to another Moleskine.

I've recently started reading Elements of Drawing by John Rushkin. I've known about the book for a long time, but never felt that I would understand enough to get much out of it. Having seen a new edition with illustrations in it, I decided to take the plunge. How glad I am that I did! I'll save my thoughts for a proper review later, but if you've ever wondered about Rushkin's book, it is definitely worth the read and definitely understandable.

Number Three

Here's the third installment in my oil painting adventure.

New things I tried:

• Thinned paint and brush sketch to begin with.
• Complements for shadow
• Working from life

Chin up, I carry on!

Adventures in Oil Painting

Pear Blossoms,
oil on canvas, 9 in x 12in

This post is about my second oil painting, the good, the bad, and the ugly. For those interested, this was my second attempt with the pear blossoms, the first was done in colored pencil.

First though, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has written encouraging comments, it really means alot to me that you would care enough to do so. I feel so very clumsy with paints, to know that my readers are rooting for me is a tremendous help.

The Good

• I was excited to start.
• I forced myself to "finish" it. OK, I know that doesn't sound monumental, but it all went so horribly wrong at the beginning that I just wanted to stop. I'm glad now that I carried on, it got slightly better, but more importantly, I did learn a few things.

The Bad

• Values - the entire painting isn't so dark as last time, but there are no real darks in there to make it interesting.
• Brushstrokes - I held the brush differently this time and paid a price with the brushstrokes. As well, I tried several different brushes and didn't use the one that I so much success with last time.

The Ugly

• Edges - last time I did a thick outline drawing first, then swept into that with the color of the petals themselves. In doing so, I had some lovely edges. This second time, I tried that but the values of the outline paint and the petal local color were too different, and it just became a jumbled mess.
• Wet on Wet - Yikes! I just slapped paint all around and got the colors all messed up. I don't know how people paint over things they don't like. I tried that, but it was not very successful.

What I Learned and Where I'm Taking It

• Reading - since this painting I've had my nose in Timeless Techniques for Better Oil Painting. I have another book arriving tomorrow and loads of video I could download and watch.
  
• Values - now that I've hit the two ends of the spectrum exclusively, let's see if I can't manage a more satisfying values arrangement.
• Color Mixing - I think I may try my other limited palette. (I chose to do two different limited palettes when I was buying paint, just to focus my efforts.) I may end up just doing some color mixing to see what different colors I can achieve, without painting a subject.
• From Life - In the book mentioned above I have been reading about color temperature and how it affects color mixing. He strongly encourages painting from life to see the differences that kinds of light make on a subject. This makes me feel like I need to grab some subjects out of the vegetable drawer and have a go!
  

A Beginning

My first oil painting,
9in x 12in

detail of above

This post is about my first session in oil painting.

Last night, I began. I finally chased the boys into bed around 9pm and then started this new adventure in oil painting.

What I Enjoyed

• The texture of oil paint is as wonderful as people say!
• Luscious, thick color is yours at the stroke of a brush, no endless back and forth with a tiny pencil tip.
• The feel of the brush in your hand is a good one, nice and thick.
• The excitement of a new adventure.
• Bells kept going off in my head of things that I had read before that suddenly made sense.
  

What Challenged Me

• Color mixing was a challenge. I used a limited palette - one red, one blue, one yellow and white. At the end I also added a green in, I had tried mixing several and just decided to give in.
• Manipulating paint was both challenging and rewarding. Edges are particularly "exciting" in this regard - sometimes I was thrilled with the result, other times I was disappointed - at this stage I can't really even describe what I did differently to achieve the two results.
• Keeping clean - despite my natural cautiousness, I had paint up my arm, on the desk, my hands, and later sadly I realized on my shirt! This morning, when photographing, I got paint on my hands again and somehow kicked the painting and smudged the paint.
  

Things for Next Time

• Color mixing - this painting is very dark, both the values and colors need work.
• Familiarity - I hope to grow even more comfortable with the medium and its handling.
• Edges - keep learning about what works and what doesn't.
• Composition - I think for my next piece I will do another "macro" like this, just to keep focused on values, edges, and color.
  

The Failure I am Risking

work in progress - acrylic inks and colored pencil on claybord

Yesterday I posted a pep talk about allowing yourself to fail, today's post tells you why I needed the pep talk.

What is the New Venture, fraught with the potential to fail?
Oil Painting. I am about to start learning to paint with oils. I plan to paint 3 pieces a week for eight weeks. I actually plan on continuing, but for now, two months sounds like a good goal.

Why Oil Painting?

• Colored Pencil - I have niggling doubts about CP as my primary medium. I'll never abandon pencils completely, but I struggle with having to be so delicate and slow with it. At times, even when I am careful, the results are not entirely to my liking.
  
• I hate not being able to say I paint - When people ask me about my art and I start explaining about CPs, eyes glaze over, that is not the reaction I want. Yes, it is a silly bias people have, but nonetheless, why should I always have to fight it?
  
• I want to be able to say "I paint in oils" - I've always figured that real artists who trained somewhere were the only ones capable of handling oils. Well, that is just dumb and I don't want to regret it any longer.
  
• I'd really love to have a go with the "Painting A Day" phenom. I've been doing a loose "drawing a day" thing on my own. I know the benefits of intensive work like that, I love the discipline of it, and I want to try it in a different medium. Could it lead to me selling pieces on ebay? I don't know, but I do know that if I did sell a piece on ebay I would feel that I had made a major step in my art career. (And no, all my satisfication and security doesn't come from other people's reaction to my work, but it does play a part.)

What Are the Challenges?

• I don't know how to paint. A brush is not a pencil or pen, they just don't behave the same.
• Repetition - I'm trying to be disciplined enough to paint three nights a week, every week for eight weeks.
• Blog - If my paintings are horrendous, what will I post on my blog?
• Pride - It's definitely going to be ugly in the beginning. And I can probably accept that a few times, but if progress slows and I just become discouraged? The temptation to stop and bail out of everything will be strong.
• Color - I feel like I have learned very little about color over the last several months and that it always detracts from what I was trying to achieve. Oil painting has alot to do with color! It feels like choosing to wrestle with a sumo, that's scary.
  

The Importance of Failure

Quick Sketch of an Orchid Reference on morguefile.com

This post is about handling failure as an artist.

Why is it important to risk failing?
Simply put, if you don't risk failing, you don't risk succeeding either. When you risk failure, you also risk success.

But failing is still scary and disheartening...so remember :

The Importance of Failure

Failing is taking a step - Without your failing at that current piece, what would you have? Nothing. Exactly. You would have nothing, except perhaps a stifling fear of picking up a pencil or brush.

A Faltering Step Leads to Another Step - With your "bomb" and a little thought you've given yourself a nice set of goals - a list of things you want to learn to do better, a list of things you need to find out more about, a list of things that you want to be able to do. There you go, you've got a direction and a few steps to take.

Success Tastes Sweeter After Failure - The things you work hardest to master are often the sweetest, simply because you worked hard, invested in it, and now have something you didn't before.

Why Am I So Keen on Failure?
Well, I have begun a risky new venture in my art career. I fear failing...I fear embarrassing myself...I fear being so ashamed of myself as an artist that I never pick up a pencil again. What is this new venture, this new direction? Find out tomorrow.

Announcements

This post is about a few new things with me and with the Virtual Sketch Date.

Me:
This is a busy time of year for me...I have several DIY projects going on, in an attempt to have things together before the start of school and the start of...well...I won't reveal that just yet. But, rest assured, I have some very exciting things in the works for my art, I'll be letting you know soon.

I will try and get a few sketches posted, but I may be a little scarce...there are benches to paint, bookshelves to assemble, a chair to purchase, table tops to restore, and maybe even some decorating to be done in the kitchen...good fun of a different sort!

Three news items on the Sketch Date:

One:
I've added subscription buttons to the sidebar on VSD, so you can now subscribe to find out what's happening over there.

Two:
The VSD reference for August will be posted on August 22nd. The actual sketch date is on the 30th, a week later.

Three:
To simplify things, we are going to continue the trend of having the sketch date during the last week of the month. So the sketch date will generally be on the last Saturday of the month, the reference will come out about a week before.