welcome 2023

something fun i am challenging myself to - is a 365 day art challenge.. meant to stimulate some creative mojo.. no rules, except i need to create something every day for a year.. any medium.. so today i sat in the sun & drew this fish.. i liked using the negative space with a sharp outline to enhance that.. it was fun.. 

as for resolutions.. i like to call them something else.. the word resolute on its own is a powerful word, but it seems to come with a stigma.. when i hear it, i think of it negatively, as in.. failure, shame, defeat.. so i like to call them intentions, as in - i intend to create something, no matter how big or small, everyday for a year.. i have many more things i intend for 2023.. 

i intend to tap into my true authentic self.. what does that mean? to me, it means to acknowledge what is true to me.. what are my personal standards? do i do things that make me feel ashamed? if so, then i am not living up to my true self.. i tend to hide my quirks away and that is not being true to who i am.. i fit myself into pockets of other peoples distractions.. that is so not living an authentic life.. i need to learn balance & diplomacy..  my passions shouldn't be shelved until everyone else is fed, distracted, asleep.. so this is something i am working on.. creating safe spaces to express myself and to do so with balance.. 

so i go into 2023 with intentions of living my most authentic self.. to live as mindfully as i can in comfort, happiness & wellness.. to nurture my creative self & develop a relationship with self-love.. and to everyone that reads this, i wish you this too.. 

the nightbirde series

it's early evening, not quite dark out.. it's been lightly snowing here all day in upstate new york.. maybe an inch or two.. it is so pretty.. the kind of snow that sticks to the skeletons of trees.. the woods out in the back 40 are gorgeous.. 

so i've been so busy lately, that today i finally had a couple hours of ME time & i did 4 quick pieces of art.. watercolour & marker.. this is the "nightbirde series".. do you ever see someone, either in person or in the media & feel something for them? i came across a video of a beautiful soul named Nightbirde [Jane Markzewski] and i was so moved by her.. and come to find out, she has passed on.. i think everything about her is beautiful.. her voice, her spirit, her eyes, her smile.. she moved me before i knew about her struggle.. i feel like i'm mourning her some here.. 

do we have to physically know a person or animal, to feel a sadness or sense of loss? i would wake up in the middle of the night & she would be on my mind, like i dreamt of her but don't remember.. she'd be in the background of my feelings.. yeah, not full on thoughts, but like an ambiance, an aura, a feeling.. 

sometimes moments of strong empathy surprise me, overwhelm me & i need to process it in my own way.. usually some creative way.. 

so i did a few paintings to honour the lovely Nightbirde..

time for drawing

the thunderstorm from last night turned into snow as the temps dropped overnight,  so i woke up to a pretty scene of white..  i didn't have much in the form of chores or projects today, so i took some time to create.. i had this magazine clipping of a vulture photo that has been on my to-draw list.. it was so relaxing.. curled up on the couch, heated blanket over me, coloured pencils scattered about while it snowed outside..  

no real deep thoughts going on here tonight.. it was nice to have such a low key day.. 

the fella & i always have a dozen projects on the go, it seems.. we've been organizing, re-arranging, cleaning & fixing.. we cook, can, ferment, pickle.. we harvest, dehydrate, bake & freeze.. if there is something we want, we try to do it ourselves.. 

a day with minimal chores is a good day..

growing as an artist

 

i have had a bit of a creative revelation.. all my life, since i was old enough to hold a crayon, i have drawn.. i thought that being an artist was perfecting that talent of reproduction.. well, over the years.. i feel i have achieved that.. 2 years ago, i began to dabble in watercolour painting.. i've always loved it, but felt intimidated by it.. so i spent some time learning different techniques.. i would save all the paintings i envied, so i could learn from them.. only knowing what i know, i attempted to reproduce them.. it was how i taught myself to paint in watercolour.. so i have a stack of paintings.. attempting so many different styles, papers, techniques.. 

and now? well.. i'm bored

i've been feeling the urge to find my true authentic.. regarding art, this means to find my own style.. how would i paint a picture without any reference art? to create something without it being a reproduction or copy..

i love to challenge myself.. so from here on out, i will not copy another persons art.. it was great for learning, but now i need to grow, not just as an artist, but as my own artist.. 

watercolour & ink rhino, created by me.. 

my creative nook

 

so we have this secretary desk.. it was always the fellas domain.. i am always looking for a space to call my own.. now, we live in a tiny log cabin that isn't even 750 square feet.. i guess they call it cozy, but it is small.. which is okay.. it's still bigger than the house i grew up in.. and that was a 6 person family.. here it is just the 2 of us, plus my Ava kitty.. we don't have a usable basement, no attic.. so juggling living space with storage space gets creative..  anyway, that is just me setting the scene a little.. my art stuff if scattered all about.. in boxes, under the bed, cupboards, on the dresser etc.. well, the fella surprised me by saying that if i wanted to clean his stuff out, that i could have this desk for my creative nook.. 

i am so excited.. i've been an artistic soul my whole life, so i have an enormous amount of "stuff".. but this area holds all my mixed media.. all organized.. i sooo love it.. my little nook..  my other space that is cherished is my book shelf.. art & books = my passion..

my inner child is giggling & spinning circles in the front yard with her eyes closed

november influences

i haven't blogged in a long time, at least it feels like a long time.. everyday is a different project.. the fella has gotten into fermenting & i've been helping him with that.. so far the successes have been sauerkraut & cranberries.. [not together] we are always trying something new with food.. we both have very specialized diets, so there is a lot of trial & error figuring out what works for each of us.. right now we are sipping on scratch ginger tea w/ lime & cinnamon.. it's so warming.. 

creatively, my newest project is when i do an oracle card reading, i have been trying to infuse my interpretation into some kind of art.. the above is "the moon".. i love newness.. starting new journals & projects.. i revamped an old art journal.. i like to keep my creations grouped together.. so i have an artbook with just buildings in it, one with only neurographic art, this new one called "oracle card inspiration".. i like to challenge myself.. interpreting a card reading with words is one thing, now to visualize it.. it's fun.. 

stay tuned for whatever November brings my way.. what will November bring you?

doodles on a sunday

 

i managed to get a good sleep last night..  the fella crashed on the couch last night.. so ava kitty & i had the bed all to ourselves.. i wonder if it was the lack of snoring? perhaps.. i still prefer to  have him in bed with me.. but with a full 8 hours of sleep, i woke up inspired.. the bedroom faces the morning sun.. so i quietly made my coffee around my slumbering fella without waking him, then i watched the sunrise.. and began some neurographic art.. the drawing part is soothing.. the colouring part always seems to disappoint me tho.. i can't find the right medium that suits the pieces best.. marker is bold but i don't like that it shows each stroke.. colouring pencils show up too grainy & textured.. so far the best is watercolour paints.. [above] but i'm still trying to figure out what works for me.. ah, i shouldn't be so critical of myself.. this type of art is meant to be therapeutic.. it's all about the process of doing.. not trying to make a masterpiece.. so i have to give myself some slack.. 

i spent the better part of the day on the bed with kitty, listening to some podcasts and drawing/painting.. i took a few breaks to throw together a crockpot of what will be baked beans.. soaked dry beans overnight & they've been burbling away for hours in my homemade sauce creation.. i'll post tomorrow if they turn out.. they sure smell good cooking tho.. 

tabby cat - sold

i sold a piece of my art tonight.. tabby cat will be sent out to its new owner tomorrow.. i never thought i would feel something, selling my original work, but i do.. when i paint, i infuse my energy into every stroke of the brush.. i remember what i was doing, where i was sitting, what the weather was like - when i was painting a piece.. 

a photograph, print or scan wouldn't give me that feeling of letting go of a little part of me, but transferring of hands from a OOAK [one of a kind] original feels different.. i have given paintings to friends as gifts.. i've sold a couple tiny ATCs, but this is the first piece of my art that has sold.. i guess it's kind of special.. i have dreamed my whole life of being a paid artist.. i've always been an artist.. i was born an artist.. but i was always scared to put myself and my work out there.. 

i wonder if other artists feel this way.. do they make connections during the creating process? do they simple tuck their works away? or are they like me, to pull them out, revisit them?

i am manifesting my dreams..

 

dwellings - page three

 

got my art on today.. another building.. i started out with coloured pencils, [the roof] but i wasn't getting the look i wanted, so i had to break out the watercolour paints. i know i'm supposed to be breaking out of my comfort zone, but i was getting frustrated & that is NOT what art is about.. anyway, this is what i came up with for my 3rd structure.. i am hoping that by the time i am on the last page of the art book, i will be able to see improvement..

i got my 2nd shingles shot & my flu shot yesterday, i was half expecting to be sickish & blue today, but nope.. woke up all bright eyed & bushy tailed [that is so a mum saying, isn't it?] 

got the Yankees last regular game on right now.. here comes the post season.. Go Yankees!!!

drawing with Ava - dwellings page two

 

this is what it looks like when i'm creating.. no  matter the project - i have my Ava kitty on my lap.. today i was lying on the bed to soak up some sun, since it was a little too cool to sit outside.. i got to doing another dwellings piece.. i picked a building with sharper lines.. it was fun.. and i'm sure using colouring pencils will get easier as i continue.. 

dwellings in art - page one

 a new art project

i have been inspired by a post i saw on twitter.. if the link works here, i will share.. Francisco Fonseca .. i decided to try something similar.. it is most definitely out of my comfort zone.. i love to draw animals & trees & people.. i love detail, so drawing each hair, fur, feather & leaf excites me.. i've never really thought about buildings.. what with their straight lines & definitive structure.. i am not a fan of sharp edges & rigid corners.. i am a fan of messy, liquid, flowing shapes.. so yeah,  this is really putting my creativity to the test.. - and - i never just do one drawing.. i have to make it a project.. so i dusted off a new art book, made a title page [that is how i cement myself in to this idea] and i got drawing.. i started off in pencil, as that is just naturally my medium of choice, but if i am to push my comfort limits, i need to put the pencils away.. i pulled out my lunch box full of colouring pencils..

 

and so, this is my first dwelling.. i can see now that i reverted back to my comfort zone some.. this wasn't intentional.. do you see it? of all the buildings i could've chosen to draw, i picked one without strong lines or edges.. i leaned towards crumbling walls, swayback roof.. a lot of room for error.. too much room for error really.. so for my next one, i will try to pick something more structured.. it's not that i want to be uncomfortable while drawing, but rather i want to challenge myself.. it's too easy to sit and draw a bird, horse or tree.. i have been doing that since i was 5.. 

and.. i hope to see some improvement with each new piece.. the last project i took on was to do a study of flower vases in pencil.. i might have drawn 30 or so before i felt i had improved enough.. and really, i just knew one day i was done drawing them.. 

like last night when i knew i would wake this morning & draw dwellings for a spell.. i would love to know what you think.. should i attempt backgrounds, rolling hills, clouds? or would that pull away from the building? more shadows & highlights?  ah, it's late & i'm rambling.. 

"you may say i'm a dreamer.. but i'm not the only one"  - j.l.

meh .. just meh and a zebra

 i have lots on my mind tonight, but all in fragmented pieces.. i can't seem to pull my thoughts in to any one thing for very long.. i started a new book, tried to set new moon intentions, pulled out my journals, my oracle cards, art books and just zero inspiration.. so i took a nap with my kitty, thinking that would reset me.. went outside and then it started to rain.. fed the foxes & the squirrels.. even cooking couldn't inspire, ate left overs.. the fella was having an uncomfortable day [chronic pain from a myriad of issues] .. tv couldn't inspire me.. i sound so hum drum.. sure i am prone to moodiness, but it usually passes quickly.. i have so many interests that i can usually just distract myself & before i know it, i'm wrapped up in something mystical, mysterious, curious & unknown.. meh.. i'll get a good nights sleep & be ready to rock n roll tomorrow.. 

so i managed to post a new listing on etsy.. lounging zebra.. that was the extent of my creativity today.. not doing the painting, just posting it.. 

g'nite ya'll.. 

[update, years later.. my NY friend Dawn has this zebra painting framed on her wall.. i never sold it, i gifted it.. i am humbled}

neurographic art - 2nd attempt

 

last night, i sat up late, in my living room.. the fella had long been asleep, i could hear his snoring thrumming thru the house.. i turned the television off and sat doodling with just a clip on book light attached to my art pad..

the negative emotion i  had clinging to me was "disappointed".. in what? well, i was actually disappointed in myself over the 1st attempt at neurographic art.. i know, i am hard on myself and how is it anyone could be a perfectionist with something as transformative as art? but all artists out there hold themselves to their own standard.. the first attempt was fun as all hell, but i didn't like that the finished piece didn't FLOW to me.. it looked so pieced together.. 

this piece, my 2nd attempt.. i thought about my disappointment, and as i doodled, swirled and spun, i felt that negative emotion leave me thru way of my fingertips.. what a therapeutic exercise.. somewhere around midnight i was calm and really happy with this piece.. i decided to leave it without colour.. oh, i know i'll be exploring this type of art more.. 

first time trying neurographic art

neurographic art - first piece - watercolour paint

so i was curious about a type of art that has been coined as neurographic.. it's an interesting enough concept.. how i understand it is that when you create in this way, it opens up new neural pathways and can be used to relieve stress, anxiety or fear.. i'm always interested in anything that combines creativity and wellness, so i gave it a try..

it was a beautiful weather day today, sunny but not too warm.. so i grabbed my art stuffs and such and went out on my porch.. being out in nature is always therapeutic for me.. before i started, i wrote on the back of the paper, a word that represented a thought/worry, that i wanted to release.. then with my non-dominant hand [left] i used a permanent copic marker and free flowed/ scribbled on the paper.. adding some circles and such, then everywhere the lines intersect, i rounded them out.. taking out any sharp edges.. lastly, paint.. i started with shades of green, then purples and ended with the blue spectrum.. [just the initial squiggles were with my left hand] 

maybe it works on calming my thoughts and maybe it's placebo effect, either way, it felt good.. of course i think the setting has a lot to do with that.. painting while deer walk by, birds sing, honeybees flutter and foxes come near.. it's already a wonderous setting [for me]

i already love painting and find it calming, so to concentrate on releasing a specific stress/anxiety is very much Law Of Attraction inspired.. what we focus on, we create..