Yes!, 21 Days and Forming Habits

Yes!  With a big fist pump for the victories.

It takes 21 days to make something a habit.  Its now past that in dates on the calendar.  I'm holding well to some of my resolutions and others - well... like going to the gym 3 days a week, I haven't yet reached the 21 day mark.  So, that makes 7 weeks I have to go to the gym 3 days a week to make my 21 days in order for it to be a habit.  I'm on day 9 - I'll be in double digits soon and halfway to a habit forming routine.  So, I'm feeling good about that.  Victory!
I'm also working on a 365 photo - take a photo a day.  I'm off a couple of days - but I feel I'm in the early stages of that one - I'm really counting on the habit part of it to kick in and carry me through days 200+.
Next, meatless Monday for dinner.. that's a tough one because 21 Mondays takes me to May 27 and that's a lot of meatless recipes I have to find to get me there.
Making my bed everyday - not doing so well on that one.  Already fell off the wagon for walking the dog every day and haven't even gotten started on my organizational plans. 
One of my other hopeful 21 day regime/habit forming things is to try and paint (or draw or sketch) everyday. Its a tall order - so really... to be realistic, if I get into the studio 5 of 7 days - that's remarkable and really, really good. Let's see... 5 days a week would make a little over 4 weeks to become a habit - so far, I'm in good shape.  Victory!
Its early yet - so no judgement.. there's still plenty of time to make things a habit.  With that in mind, I'll show you what I've been up to this week with my habit forming almost daily studio workings ..  Earlier in the week, I showed the Pinyon Jay and promised to show the other half of his panel:

encaustic, india ink, oil on birch 10x22

Happy Friday!

The Art of Swimming and Diving

The Art of Diving
encaustic and paper on birch 5x5

Ever wondered what art and swimming have in common? OK, well... maybe its never crossed your mind.. But, We'll take a look at this metaphorically - of course there are water safety rules that you do know, but we'll toss those aside in the name of art (or life) for this discussion. 
So, we find ourselves standing on the edge looking into the water. Sometimes, the water looks inviting with its cool surface welcoming us.  There are other times the water is a bit murky or deep and black.  Sometimes it has a swift current, and sometimes the dive appears to be a loooong drop off a huge cliff.   There are even times when fears petrify us and keep us standing on the edge contemplating.   This results in our never actually getting into the water - ever. 
So, what are we waiting for?  - JUMP, DIVE, LEAP, CANNON BALL, BELLY FLOP, SWAN DIVE- whatever - just do it and get into the water and stop procrastinating.
Sure the water may be brisk and take our breath away, but good things do take our breath away.   Once we are in the water, we may find it still and easy to paddle and glide and we are soooo happy we got in.  However, sometimes - the calm waters get a little turbulent and swift currents crop up.  This is when we start swimming hard and it can begin to be a struggle.  The harder we swim, the harder it gets.  Honestly, swimming against the current will get us nowhere fast.  We tire and most likely get out of the water dripping wet, beaten down, and in a bad mood.  This often results in us throwing up our arms, turning our backs and walking away.  That's really a heartbreaking result when we're talking art here. 
But here is the key...  if we just let the water surround us and let it give us buoyancy, we can float.  Once we float, we can turn away from the struggle and flow with the current.  Once this happens, the struggle with the forces against us ends.  It then becomes a peaceful journey floating on to lands unknown - an adventure in art, or life, or self.  OK... so, what are you waiting for - Jump in and start going with the flow.
 
 And.. if you ever find yourself in a rip current::
  "If you find yourself being pulled out to sea, don’t panic. You are caught in a rip current that you can swim out of. To get out of the rip swim parallel to shore. That is, swim so that the shore is either to your right or your left. Never swim against the current."

Swimming Myths:  True or False

1. The harder you kick, the faster you'll go
2. It's never too late to learn good technique
3. You should always wait a half-hour after eating before hitting the pool
4. The longer you stay underwater and glide, the better
5. You sweat while you swim
6. Only nerdy non-swimmers wear nose clips

See how you did:

1. False. Kicking accounts for only about one-third of forward propulsion, and in the process, it uses your largest and most oxygen-thirsty muscles. Thus, super-hard leg work doesn't have much payoff and will probably tire you out quickly, slowing you down in the long run.   This plays into the struggling against the current thing.  If you go with the flow -there is no kicking and therefore no tiring.
2. True.  Learning skills while your body (ART) is developing, and putting in hours and hours of training over the years pays off. But there's no age limit on skill-building in swimming (or ART), and with proper instruction, it's possible to make great leaps in ability no matter how old you are. "A lot of newcomers to the sport catch on fire," (not literally, not to worry) says Scott Rabalais, chair of the U.S. Masters Swimming coaches committee and coach of Crawfish Aquatics in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "It's really exciting to see."
3. False. Sorry, unless you've eaten a big meal, you should not have a problem if you dive in before the half-hour mark.  This means... no hesitation - just dive in.
4. False. Although some elite swimmers stay underwater for as much as half a length, it's not always the wisest choice for us mere mortals. Certainly, the glide gives you the opportunity to capitalize on the power of your pushoff, but after a while you begin to decelerate. Stay underwater too long - especially if you're not streamlined - and you'll end up going slower than you would if you'd started stroking. What's more, having to hold your breath all that time might make swimming the rest of the lap a struggle.  We are striving for no struggles, so get to the surface and start floating, paddling, and swimming in the direction the flow takes you.
5. True. You may not feel them, but there are rivulets of perspiration rolling down your body as you stroke your way across the pool. The result: You're losing fluid as you practice. Drink up before, during, and after working out.  Sweating is good.  It means that you are working it.  But don't lose focus on yourself.  Keep yourself noursished, be kind to yourself and Drink responsibly. .
6. False. Unless you're prepared to call 1992 Pan American Games gold medalist Jane Skillman a nerd. Skillman wears a nose clip to avoid allergic reactions to pool chemicals, and other elite-level swimmers wear them to avoid getting water up their noses when learning underwater dolphin kick on the back.  Studio safety is really important.  Don't cut corners, don't wait to get the proper this or that to make your place safe.  This is you we're talking about.

-adapted from Alexandria Masters Swimming-

 Dive in, Swim and Go with the Flow.  Happy Friday - hit the button, its Party Time!



Friday:: Making of a Mandala

Mandala
encaustic on birch 16x16

The making of the Mandala.  Have any of you every made a Mandala?  I made this one for a friend of mine.  She is hosting a Mandala making class that I unfortunately can not attend.  So, I decided to participate anyway and make a Mandala for her.  Now, I don’t really know if that’s how it works, that you can make a mandala for someone else.   A mandala is meant to be a reflection of your inner self, therapuetic and about the journey rather than the final outcome.   It is precise and repetitive and easy to let your thoughts go as it is made.  Zen time, really.  This one took a long time… way longer than I thought, so I had lots of zen time.  Brain quiet time is kinda nice.  I don't know about you, but my brain runs on overload all the time, non-stop.  Dropping into wordlessness (do you know about Martha Beck?) is hard for active brain folk like me, but I am getting better.  I just have to keep telling myself - ssshhhhhhhhhhhhh.  The Mandala process made me realize the importance of a little brain down time each day.  This website offers free meditations and so does this one. 
Want to know more about making a Mandala?  Go HERE or HERE. Want to see it in its true form?  Watch this time lapse video

Happy Paint Party Friday everyone!!  Be sure to follow the link and visit the other amazing artists who participate.

Inspiration Today::Blue Trees

There is a place in Seattle with blue trees.  Its Westlake Park in downtown Seattle.
An Australian artist, Konstantin Dimopoulos is coloring some of Seattle's trees with a water soluble ultramarine blue.  It is part of his international art installation The Blue Trees.  A week or so ago, I talked about pushing our creativity.  If you missed this post, I would at least urge you to go and watch the OKGO video there.  I could really see this concept of pushing creativity in Kon's Blue Tree Project.  He had an issue that he felt needed to be raised - but how do you do that in an Ultra - creative way? 

Well, you paint trees Ultra Marine Blue. 

His idea is to bring attention to the deforestation of millions of acres of forests on our planet.  About 32 million acres of forests were converted to other uses or lost to natural causes each year between 2000 and 2010.  This is a big loss of our green nation.

The color itself is made of azurite which is a vibrant blue rock that is ground and mixed with water. It does not harm the tress and will fade away with the rain.  Its an unexpected color to associate with trees, thus bringing our attention to notice them. 

The artist believes that deforestation is a topic that is out of sight.  Its not one that many people stop to think about.  His idea is that with this odd color for trees that people would take pause and learn what the project is and what it represents.  

This is an interesting example of pushed creativity. Point taken. 

"I don't have the answers but I can raise the issue" Dimopoulos said.  

I've been thinking a lot about voice in art.  Its more than just a painting or a photo.  Its what it has to say.  I know I'm trying to find the voice in my art.  How do I make what I do speak of something?  How do I give a voice to a subject or to something that can not speak?  And how do I do this in a two dimensional way?  Its an interesting thing to think about.  I found the Blue Tree project inspiring in the regard that it gives a voice to something that can not speak on its own.

For the Love of Creating

As a kid, I used to draw a lot.  My Dad was an Artist, a painter.  I would keep him company in his studio while he painted and I would draw.  Drawing left me for some reason.  It went away and I grew older and it totally left when I went to college.  Sure, I draw a little for my paintings but I don't sketch, I don't just sit and draw.  I was talking to my Mom about this a few weeks ago - that I don't draw anymore.  She was surprised because of the countless drawings I had done growing up.  The great ones hung on the fridge - the others were in stacks until there was enough to bind in a notebook.  I had books of drawings.  I had drawings on my bedroom walls.   My Dad would buy a ream of paper just for drawing.  It sat in his studio next to a jar full of pens, a box of charcoal and sharpened pencils.  As a kid, I wasn't allowed to have coloring books - I was to draw my own.  So that's what I did.
  
My Mom came up with the great idea - "why don't you challenge yourself to draw everyday for a month and then reward yourself with a prize - but only if you have a drawing for each day".  Isn't Motherly wisdom wonderful?  Well, great idea, but I fell flat after three days and put the sketch book back on the shelf to sit again. No prize.

Last night I was tinting some pages in my travel journal.  I like to keep a travel journal and I like to write on water colored pages.  They are simple - just tinted with color a few random shapes.. nothing, really.   I painted this tree.. why?  No clue.  It was just put in loosely with water color and really didn't look like much.  Then I grabbed my favorite ink pen and the magic started.

My Dad and I used to draw in this kind of style.  We would put in loose watercolor shapes and then spend time outlining with a pen the shapes and creating textures with line - creating the drawing and the detail as how we felt in the moment.  It was like he was sitting there with me - like old times, just the two of us, drawing.  I haven't done a drawing like this in years (a really very long time).  When the drawing was complete, I just sat there and stared at it.  It was like - wow, I remember - but what really got me was - wow, how did I forget?  Its like something shifted, something happened. It was magic.  It was the joy of creating.

Tuesday Exchange #5 :: Something New

Four weeks exploring the sea was wonderful for me.  I loved having a focus and a theme.  Four weeks is a good amount of time to dig in a little deeper.  I enjoyed that aspect of the IM Project, a lot.
My partner in this project, Ingrid, is going to take a break for a while.  Her break is indefinite at this point, but she will be back.  But, I decided I will carry on.  The reason to go the road alone is that its good for me to keep exploring, to look at things a little differently, to take time with a theme and topic and really get into it. 
The other day, I went on a photo walk.  It was a very typical spring day - rain, hail, rain, sunbreaks and full out blue sky and sunshine.  Sometimes, we just have to go - go anyway... rain or shine.   Here are some of my favorites of the day.

 I love Magnolias. 

 These are the famous Yashino Cherry Trees on the Quad at the University of Washington campus.  They were the reason for my photo jaunt.  I go every year to see them. 

 Things are waking up in the wetlands.  Its time for new.  Yet, the old is still standing guard over the new shoots and seedlings that are just starting.

 It really did rain on me.  Hard at times.  Yet that didn't deter my photo jaunt. 

With all that said..... I will be on to a new topic of inspiration for another four weeks. However, I'm going to take a break from the studio for a couple of weeks first. It will give me some time to think about what it is I really want to explore for the next inspiration. I have some really exciting ideas rolling around in my head. I'll just have to wait and see which one comes to the surface.  Happy Tuesday everyone. 

Inspiration Today::Are you pushing your Creativity?

under the sea

This is the last of the series of sea paintings.  Its been wonderful exploring the sea and its underwater beauty.  Next week, I will start on a new inspiration and see what that brings to my art.

Octopus
encaustic and paper on birch panel 5x5

I've been thinking a lot about creativity, lately.  Seems like its in the front part of my mind these days.  The big questions I have been pondering is do I push my creativity enough?  Does my art have a voice?

I came across this video by OKGO - it made me realize that there are no boundaries, no limits to what we can do as artists.  You think you are pretty creative?  Check out this video - Creative Genius is even an understatement here::

Have you ever played the observation game?  What do you see?  You will usually always state the obvious things.  Then you ask again - What do you see?  We can usually come up with a few more things.. but by the third time - What do you see? Many of us get stumped.  Yet, if we allow ourselves to really see - to see the multidimensional layers of what's around us - then maybe we do start to see.  So, what if we adopt this in our art?  photography?  music?  OKGO obviously could get past all the boundaries that we set for ourselves.  I mean, REALLY, who comes up with stuff like this and then how in the world do you pull something like this video off?!!  REALLY! 
Its time to push a little or push a lot.  Its time to re-think and re-frame.  Its time to get a little more creative in what we do.  So, here's a proposal:: What if every time we do our art, we set aside a little time at the end to really try some new stuff, to push ourselves to dig in a little deeper.  You may be happy with what you do now, but maybe you will find something beyond what you do now that is even more exciting.  Start today really looking at the inspiring things around you and see what it can bring for you.  How can you push your photography? your painting? your music? your whatever it is that you do?  I'm going to try it and I'm kinda excited about it.  Think about it and you'll feel that little bubble of excitment grow from inside. 

I'm linking up with Paint Party Friday today.  I'm sorry to say that I will be out of the studio for the next couple of PPF weeks.  I will miss all of you. 

Whisper

Whisper
Encaustic on Birch Panel
20 x 30

This is Whisper.

She is the latest in the portraits around here.

My husband likes this one so she gets the spot of honor in our main floor family room.

The particular wall has been empty since we moved in

waiting for the right artwork to come along.

Whisper gets the lucky spot

Until she gets bumped by something better.



A Walk About

Exit Through the Gift Shop

have you seen it?

Its a documentary about street art.

Its an interesting insight into the world of street artists including

 Banksy and Shepard Fairey.

I really enjoyed it.

Street art has always fascinated me. There is something about it that seems to resonate with me for some reason.

Its an interesting Art form that is generated in the night.  One day its there and the next it is gone,

covered by someone else's work.

It has a short life span but yet, in some cases,

a lot of work behind it.

On Monday, I spent a day dedicated to photography. 

Three cameras and dog as my companion.  It was a beautiful day.

I didn't set out with the mindset of shooting street art.

I just happened upon it in an area of Seattle called

Capital Hill.

Some are small

 Some are large

 Some are very high on a building

 Many repeat

Fascinating. 

The lengths that these artists go to for displaying their work. Yet, knowing how short lived it will be, they keep making it - creating.

It will be interesting to revisit this place in a few weeks and see what has changed.

Fly

I keep messing with her.  I make little tweaks here and there.  Sometimes all I really do is mess things up. 

So, for now... she is done.

I keep learning more from each painting that I do.

Each one is its own teacher.

I'm learning to look at things as shapes rather than a nose or a mouth - just shapes and color.

Its hard to adjust my thinking.

Practice makes perfect.

Practice every day.



Paisley

Paisley
Encaustic on birch panel
8x8

New palette, new inspiration.

I switched off the cool palette that I was using (yellow ochre, ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson).  I felt that it was super easy to use, but that the faces were looking too cool and frankly kinda scary. 

So I switched to cadmium red, alizarin crimson, burnt umber, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, sap green, black and white. 

I threw in some cerulean blue for a little pop at the end.  Not sure that was really the right thing to do, but... oh well, still on the learning curve.

The great news is that each one gets better.

*Thankfully*

 

iPhone Inspiration



Today I had some fun and pulled together this little painting kinda late in the day. Its not done yet, but I was pretty excited to share my discovery. 

Encaustic on Panel
8x8

It was one of those days.  I really didn't feel like doing anything.  So I really kinda putzed around and wasted a day.  But one really good thing came of it. 
I played around with my iPhone.  Now in and of itself that may not seem like much.  But, I found that if I took a photo of one of my sketches and loaded it into Picture Show (iPhone ap) that I could play with some really cool effects. 



Pop Art in Picture Show

My favorite discovery was PopArt..  It gave some pretty cool color combos.  I cropped the photos to square which is my favorite for painting.  When I worked on the crop I could play around with the composition. 

PopArt and Double Exposure in Picture Show

I also discovered double exposure as providing some great ideas.  Now, keep in mind, Picture Show in these modes is totally random.  This is good and bad in that it is really luck of the draw as to what you get.  

For those of us that are a little challenged to think outside of the box for color and for some different compositions, this is a great find.   

Give it a try and loop back here and tell me what you think. 

Postcard #1

ARRIVED!!

Yay!

This lovely postcard is from Lynn Wigren in Jamestown, NY.  This is the first of the five postcards I will get from fellow participants in Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap. 

Thanks Lynn!  I love your beautiful collage on the front of this card and your message on the back.  For Lynn, this collage is part of an ongoing 12 month,  project of creating art based on a chosen word for the year.  Lynn's word is Illuminate!  What a great choice for a personal word for 2011.  I'm so excited to meet a new friend and will be sending her an email to see if she has a blog I can link here.

Can't wait to see what comes next week!!

Note to Self

Made this today as a reminder to me.

Creating With Color

Today's prompt for picture color

Creating With Color

The cool part about painting with hot colored wax is that I don't have to wash any brushes.  I just let them cool and harden.  I keep this bouquet of colorful brushes on my work bench.  I pluck out the colored brush I want to use, pop it on the heated palette and its ready to go as soon as it warms up again.  

I've been trying to simplify a bit.  Limit my palette to just a few colors.  I'm finding that I really like working with complimentary colors or split compliments and black and white.  It keeps me limited which is a good thing.  Its more challenging to not reach for any color but to only use what is on the palette and in front of me.  Its a good challenge and it keeps things more together in the end.  There is something to be learned here - hmmmm... simplify.

Visual Art

Ever feel the need for a little creative inspiration?  For me, one of the ways I get myself plugged into the creative energy of the Universe is go to Anthropologie.  When I walk in the door, I just immerse myself in beautiful colorful things.  Their displays are amazing and full of creative brilliance.  The imagination these people have for their artful displays is inspiring to me.  OK, the stuff there is pretty awesome too.  Today I actually met one of these creative minds behind the artful displays.

She was working on her world display.  She was gluing used corks in the shape of the Earth to show sustainability in our world.  We chatted for a while...  I was interested to hear about her job.  Can you imagine being one of the people who makes displays for Anthropologie- how cool is that?!  OK, I'm jealous. 

 

On Color and Painting

OK - I'm big enough to admit it... I'm struggling with color right now.  Photography and color seems to come easy easier.  Painting and color is definately not so easy.  I've tried the "jump in" approach and see what happens (not good) and I've tried the "get out the color wheel" approach and map it out.  I've come to the conclusion that its hard.  Its hard to get the colors right.  Yes, I can come up with a color plan but when it comes to actually putting it in the painting... hard.

I've also recently come to the conclusion that I don't have to reinvent the wheel.  That there are artists out there that I can look to for inspiration for color.  This is the work of Kathe Fraga, she is a local artist here in the Seattle area.  I love her color.  Its simple.  She uses just a handful of color and all of her paintings are similar.  She's found the color palette she likes to use and she sticks with it. 

She does some other really cool stuff in her paintings too.  I love the way she devides her panel.  This is something I noticed in Bridgette Mill's work as well. 

I know that I am not the first artist to come along to the color struggle.  I just have to keep that in mind... I'm not alone with this.  That's why we "color strugglers" are greatful for people like Kathe Fraga or whoever is your favorite artist.  We can look to them for inspiration in color.

I'm starting to look a little deeper as to why some artists are "my favorites".  There always is some reason that I like a particular artist's work.  I may not know why at the time, but when I'm ready to learn - the answer is there for me.  Look to your favorite artists for inspiration and see what lessons their art can teach you.

A View From Here - Focus 52

-A View From Here-

Focus 52 this week is to show what its like where we are in the world.  Its interesting to think that really, I have many worlds in which I exist - my home, my city, where I play, where I work.  This is one of my worlds... my studio.  Its a quiet place where I listen to music and just zone out - or tune in.. depending on how you look at it.  It has great light, it looks to the east where I can watch the sun rise, its full of creative energy and inspiration... and its a bit messy.  I love it here where I sit by the window and create whatever comes to me.  This is my view.

•unravelling

I have been working. I've been spending lots of time in the studio. There have been so many attempts, missteps, start-agains... it should be discouraging. But its not. Its all part of the process. I love what the wax is teaching me - to be patient, to be gentle, to accept what comes. To accept the inperfections, the deviation from the plan is new for me. I'm starting to like it - the unexpected.