It was a very busy weekend. Last weekend I had my Chick Artistic Creations booth up for business at the Idaho Cat Fancier's Cat Show here in Boise. I'm always a little nervous about sales these days because of the recession, and although sales were not really high, they were still pretty good. And I met some very interesting cats too.
A local veterinary hospital, The Cat Doctor, bought $50.00 worth of my art prints to hang up in their offices. The prints that I sold were "Maynard on Roses" "Maynard in Pink Basket" and "Reaching For The Star." The doctor that bought them said that these prints communicated a certain type of cat behavior and personality that she wanted in her offices. The prints she bought were all from photographes of either my cat, Maynard, or my mother-in-law's cat, Cinnamon. (Both cats are now deceased.) It is cool that their image lives on in my art and on the walls of a veterinary hospital!
I also got to use some new display equipment that made my booth look really good--gave it that extra touch of class.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Hedgehog--Too Much Hair Gel!
"Oops! Too Much Hair Gel!"This is my latest piece of animal art. I've been working on it whenever I could get a break from homework, my part-time job, and cleaning the house. This cute little hedgehog was created with colored pencil & Turpenoid with a special type of paper, pasted collage style in the background. A lot of my art seems to center around textures and I really love the way the spikey texture of the hedgehog looks with the paper collage texture. How do you like the title? It seemed appropriate.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Nampa Art Guild Colored Pencil/Turpenoid Demo
I am doing the 'Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy' Ren & Stimpy dance! Last Monday night I got to teach a class of about 35 people by doing a demo on Colored Pencil & Turpenoid! This is the most I have ever had in one class. It was for the Nampa Art Guild. It was an amazing experience and I wasn't even nervous like I thought I might be. A lot of people were really interested in this new technique and had never seen colored pencil used in this way before. I even got paid for it, so it was like an actual real job. This is what I have been working so hard for & sacrificing for!!! I thought to myself after the demo, "Hey! I'm really an art teacher now!"
It was an odd experience for me to be the center of attention for about 2-3 hours. Even during the break, I was busy selling prints to people and talking to them about lessons. It was like a dream come true! I will be doing more demos and workshops for the Nampa Art Guild in the future. Cool!
It was an odd experience for me to be the center of attention for about 2-3 hours. Even during the break, I was busy selling prints to people and talking to them about lessons. It was like a dream come true! I will be doing more demos and workshops for the Nampa Art Guild in the future. Cool!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Latest Projects
This was a big week at school. My wood sculpture project was due Wednesday and today I took my second human biology exam. My score was just a few points shy of an A. This is not an easy-breeezy, lemon queezy class--nothing like high school biology. In spite of that I am enjoying all the new knowledge I'm acquiring on human biology. Fascinating stuff.
I'm glad the wood sculpture project is over. It was interesting and I'm glad I learned a little about using power tools, but crafting things in wood is just not my thing. My sculpture teacher has a reputation for rarely giving out A's, so I am not expecting one this time. I will try for an A, but I have promised myself that I'm NOT going to have a meltdown if I get a B! However, I may have a meltdown if I get a C!
My hedgehog portrait is almost done. The spikey part of the headhog is very repetitious and is not something that can be done in one sitting. It's the kind of thing that makes you cross-eyed if you stare at it too long an most of the portrait is composed of the little spikey, porcupline-like quills. I have added some of my own touches to the hedgehog that go a bit outside of the original colors from the photograph. I am also using a colored pencil & collage background that looks really cool! This piece is going to be about exploring textures which is something I really love to do in my artwork.
I'm glad the wood sculpture project is over. It was interesting and I'm glad I learned a little about using power tools, but crafting things in wood is just not my thing. My sculpture teacher has a reputation for rarely giving out A's, so I am not expecting one this time. I will try for an A, but I have promised myself that I'm NOT going to have a meltdown if I get a B! However, I may have a meltdown if I get a C!
My hedgehog portrait is almost done. The spikey part of the headhog is very repetitious and is not something that can be done in one sitting. It's the kind of thing that makes you cross-eyed if you stare at it too long an most of the portrait is composed of the little spikey, porcupline-like quills. I have added some of my own touches to the hedgehog that go a bit outside of the original colors from the photograph. I am also using a colored pencil & collage background that looks really cool! This piece is going to be about exploring textures which is something I really love to do in my artwork.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Art & Character Development
Whenever we find ourselves being stretched and go beyond our comfort zone, we may find it not only uncomfortable, but actually painful. My first reaction is usually to run away and hide. Recently in my sculpture class at college, I was assigned my first project--to create a sculpture out of wood and to make an orthographic drawing of it first. Then our drawing and the entire project would be turned over to someone else. We don't get to create our own project. And so starts the stretching. Using power tools for the first time is daunting enough, but to make an architectural drawing that involves math and then do someone else's project other than my own was enough to freak me out. I am actually math phobic and anytime you attach math to an art project, it is automatically ruined for me! Suddenly I have been turned into a carpenter which is not a role I feel comfortable in or have any experience in. I don't even know what type of wood to get and what sizes they come in! Now the stretching has turned into a panic attack and I'm even thinking about dropping the class. But I didn't. Instead, I worked through the problem with my teacher, who was very patient and helpful, and we came to a solution.
This whole experience was a lesson in character development for me. The development of our character and learning to face our fears can be a really hard and painful process. What I gained by not dropping out and giving up was more than just newly-acquired skills & knowledge in architectural drawing and carpentry. I learned a lesson in perserverance, endurance and courage. Running away from our fears just makes it easier to do the same thing again, but when you face your fears, something inside you goes from coward to champion and you have taken one more step on the long ladder of character growth.
This whole experience was a lesson in character development for me. The development of our character and learning to face our fears can be a really hard and painful process. What I gained by not dropping out and giving up was more than just newly-acquired skills & knowledge in architectural drawing and carpentry. I learned a lesson in perserverance, endurance and courage. Running away from our fears just makes it easier to do the same thing again, but when you face your fears, something inside you goes from coward to champion and you have taken one more step on the long ladder of character growth.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Please, Mr. Table Saw, don't eat me!
My part-time job and school have been keeping me from doing much artwork. I have my first big exam in biology next week! I want to get back to the hedgehog portrait that I started a few weeks ago. I have never done a hedgehog before and the textures are interesting. I have a thing about drawing and painting different types of textures.
My sculpture class at college is preparing me for how to use all types of power tools! This class is starting out to be more like wood shop class because our first project is a wood sculpture. This is all really new to me, but I am eager to learn. I have always wanted to learn more about operating power tools so now is my chance. The only power tool I have any experience with is an electric drill. I'm not exactly handy with tools. Some of those tools look kind of intimidating. "Please, Mr. Table Saw, don't eat me!"
My sculpture class at college is preparing me for how to use all types of power tools! This class is starting out to be more like wood shop class because our first project is a wood sculpture. This is all really new to me, but I am eager to learn. I have always wanted to learn more about operating power tools so now is my chance. The only power tool I have any experience with is an electric drill. I'm not exactly handy with tools. Some of those tools look kind of intimidating. "Please, Mr. Table Saw, don't eat me!"
Friday, January 21, 2011
12th Annual Realism Juried Online Int'l Art Exhibit For Upstream People Gallery
Maynard On Roses Just got some terrific news today! I received a letter in the mail today telling me that my art was accepted into the 12th Annual Realism Juried Online International Art Exhibit at Upstream People Gallery. Starting February 1st you can view my art online at http://www.upstreampeoplegallery.com/. The four pieces that will be featured are "Anticipation" "Got Nuts?" "Otter Odyssey" and "Maynard on Roses." Once again my dearly departed Maynard lives on in my art work! That's cool!
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