Confession: I thought I wanted to paint for decades but was afraid to dive in. As I write this I have completed my last painting in my for credit college class Painting I and we have a week left in class,we are now focusing on digital documentation of our work to prepare a digital portfolio so I feel a sigh of relief to not have to be creating artworks for 10-20 or more hours a week on projects being graded and evaluated.
In hearing some other students talk about their painting and in reading something by John F. Carlson (landscape artist) I was reminded yet again that not everyone thinks that way I do, although Carlson and I are very much in alignment. Before I say anything else about Carlson's ideas I want to go back to the thought process.
In showing my landscape painting, a 30x40" (assigned size), the professor said a few things that I thought was stating the obvious but then I realized not everyone is in alignment with the thought process behind painting. My painting was based on a photo I took and spent a few minutes on site analyzing for its beauty and doing several shots with different composition just for the enjoyment of it and because I was captivated by the view. I then played with a filter in Instagram back when I took it. This was a site that is 1800 miles away so I did not have access to go there now and take more shots or views for my painting.
Anyhow the point is I had definite reasons to want to photograph that scene, I loved the light, it was the golden hour, the clouds were subtle. The multiple types of wind blown dead grasses and the open seed pods on the wild flowers indicated winter. The wind was blowing hard and it was nine degrees but the bare sycamore stood strong. They gray of Long Island Sound and the light chop on the surface showed the wind blowing. The snow on the beach showed the season. The lack of people showed solitude and peace. There was a color harmony in the cool grays and blues against the warm yellows and browns of the grasses.
I had explained that for my bare branched tree in the painting I edited out some of the small branches and all the twigs because I did not desire to do a photo realistic scene plus the idea of trying to paint that in my first landscape paintig that would be a nightmare of a huge undertaking. There had been comments on my thick use of paint which is just how I paint, I said I cannot paint thin. I received praise as the painting looked windy and cold. I use my brush strokes to indicate movement in the sky and in the clouds, to indicate motion and shape. So my clouds swirl or pop forward with dimension, my tree bark is painted in chunks, the grasses are wispy and blowing in the wind. I expressed the challenge I had with trying to show the ripples in the water without being photorealistic or ruining the look so in the end my technique seemed to fail so I kept it simple by not painting in ripples. I also had to redo the entire sky as I used bad order of operations because I had drawn and blocked in the tree before developing the sky fully, to do the sky I had to paint over a good looking tree and restart the whole tree. The professor said my thought process and the constant evaluation and reassessing of the painting's state and then redoing some was exactly the right way to approach painting.
This apparently is not understood by all, which shocked me.
But this is how I live my own life, how I raised my kids regarding my parenting of them, and it was also about how we proceeded through homeschooling. Make a plan, try to execute, assess the situation, tweak it, edit it, start back at the strong part and revisit and redo the weak areas. This is how my mind works and how I live life. So how could I paint any other way?
Perhaps this is part of why I am being called a natural at painting?
I certainly am no expert artist but I do think that taking thoughtful photos for over 30 years and already looking at the world for decades with the eye and mind arranging what I see into good compositions has honed my eye. I also (unlike most Americans) have been carrying a camera with me daily for the last 19 years. Back when the digital camera with zoom lens was delicate I bought a $35 point and shoot and took photos every day (back before mobile phones had decent cameras which essentially put a camera in everyone's pocket and increased casual snapshot taking). I later carried my DSLR in a large purse and used that often. I also took "from the hip" photos with the point and shoot and later read that phrase in marketing materials by Lomography, a plastic film taking camera company who tried getting people to take casual photos whereever they were (again before the time of high quality mobile phone cameras). But after I got an iPhone I begrudgingly put my DSLR away and switched to taking many photos every single day with the iPhone. I snap nearly every single thing that inspires me. I try to catch the light just right. I have taken over 10K photos in 2016 just with my iPhone. Plus I have taken more with my DSLR cameras.
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I think it makes sense to paint when you have a reason and an inspiration. And guess what? I have plenty of inspiration in the many photos I have taken over these years. I see things around me every day that make me want to paint. I am surrounded by inspiration, so now the question is when will I give myself time to paint and where to start?
Showing posts with label painting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label painting. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2016
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Not All Palettte Knives Are Equal
Palette knives are great for mixing paint. I made one painting using only palette knives. As a newbie what surprised me is that they are not all the same. I use metal palette knives. Some are springy and too soft and too bendable and others are so stiff that they might as well be a thick butter knife, which to me is not good. Then there is the size and width which varies.
These are the type of little things that you must learn by experience. What you need for your own usage and style of painting will vary from what others prefer so hearing the opinions of others sometimes do not help.
If you jump into learning to paint you will learn lots of things by hands on experience that can never be prepared for and decided upon by thinking before doing. I understand the desire to save money and buy only the exact right supplies before you begin but that desire is just not possible for some art supplies. As you use things that do not work or are inferior quality it gets to a point when you just decide that a poorly working tool is too big a hindrance or a hassle, and the investment in a new better thing is truly worth it. Even when we are talking about a $3 palette knife, because art supplies start to add up!
I use a few at a time for paint mixing to allow each to remain dirty with paint, one for each major color scheme being used (blues, greens, grays or whatever I am focusing on at the time). I also use one designated for scooping out my acrylic gel medium.
P.S. I find packs of wooden handled metal bladed palette knives at discount at Tuesday Morning sometimes. If you have a chance to touch them in person in a fine art store I recommend that, after you know what it is you like and dislike.
These are the type of little things that you must learn by experience. What you need for your own usage and style of painting will vary from what others prefer so hearing the opinions of others sometimes do not help.
If you jump into learning to paint you will learn lots of things by hands on experience that can never be prepared for and decided upon by thinking before doing. I understand the desire to save money and buy only the exact right supplies before you begin but that desire is just not possible for some art supplies. As you use things that do not work or are inferior quality it gets to a point when you just decide that a poorly working tool is too big a hindrance or a hassle, and the investment in a new better thing is truly worth it. Even when we are talking about a $3 palette knife, because art supplies start to add up!
I use a few at a time for paint mixing to allow each to remain dirty with paint, one for each major color scheme being used (blues, greens, grays or whatever I am focusing on at the time). I also use one designated for scooping out my acrylic gel medium.
P.S. I find packs of wooden handled metal bladed palette knives at discount at Tuesday Morning sometimes. If you have a chance to touch them in person in a fine art store I recommend that, after you know what it is you like and dislike.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Basic Acrylic Painting Steps
This is what I have learned about the basic steps of acrylic painting.
1. Select your stretched canvas. If prepared in the factory it is ready for use. If homemade, you must gesso the canvas cloth first.
2. Blend white paint with a neutral color to make a lightly tinted color. Paint this over the entire canvas as a base layer wash. You can add water to this to make the wash. The goal is to cover all that white up.
3. Plan your painting with thumbnail sketches for composition.
4. Make some studies on smaller canvases where you work out details like how to paint that bark on the tree or whatever it is you are painting. You want to work through some challenges on small canvasses where the stakes are lower when you fail. You are NOT doing test runs on on the big canvas.
5. Take a pencil or a light gray paint with a fine tipped brush, and sketch crudely on the canvas, the major things.
6. Block in the colors. This is like filling in a coloring book. If you sky will be blue paint it a light or medium blue. If your tree will be green, use green in that area. Paint the background into the objects as the back layer. There should be no white on the canvas now.
7. Paint in the objects starting at the back, the farthest away objects. Start with darkest values. Paint the lighter values on top. Even if you use retarder in your acrylic paint you need to learn your drying time. Do not mess with the paint layer once a skin starts to form or you will get balls and clumps of paint and medium kind of like lint blobs on clothing (but the acrylic cannot be removed). Work an area until it starts to dry then move on to something else.
8. Work the entire painting. Move around the canvas doing some of everything. It is like a cycle. In a landscape you could do sky, trees, ground. Then the next pass after that layer dries is sky, trees, grass. The painting goes from base blocks of color to very detailed in the end, if detailed is your painting style and intention. You don't make final finished grasses when your sky is one flat blue swath. You move around in stages all over the canvas.
One reason for this is if you mess up a placement and need to correct something you won't want to widen the tree trunk if your grass on the ground next to it was 100% complete and perfect. You will have lost time as you have to redo even more, and you will be upset at losing work you felt was finished.
9. If using a glazing technique like I do, you use the opacity of the blended paint to cover up or bring out colors you want to hide or see more of. This is a constant process throughout the painting process. I also add in solid layers of acrylic gel medium in between some layers to add to the glowing effect and I put a clear coat as the final coat too.
1. Select your stretched canvas. If prepared in the factory it is ready for use. If homemade, you must gesso the canvas cloth first.
2. Blend white paint with a neutral color to make a lightly tinted color. Paint this over the entire canvas as a base layer wash. You can add water to this to make the wash. The goal is to cover all that white up.
3. Plan your painting with thumbnail sketches for composition.
4. Make some studies on smaller canvases where you work out details like how to paint that bark on the tree or whatever it is you are painting. You want to work through some challenges on small canvasses where the stakes are lower when you fail. You are NOT doing test runs on on the big canvas.
5. Take a pencil or a light gray paint with a fine tipped brush, and sketch crudely on the canvas, the major things.
6. Block in the colors. This is like filling in a coloring book. If you sky will be blue paint it a light or medium blue. If your tree will be green, use green in that area. Paint the background into the objects as the back layer. There should be no white on the canvas now.
7. Paint in the objects starting at the back, the farthest away objects. Start with darkest values. Paint the lighter values on top. Even if you use retarder in your acrylic paint you need to learn your drying time. Do not mess with the paint layer once a skin starts to form or you will get balls and clumps of paint and medium kind of like lint blobs on clothing (but the acrylic cannot be removed). Work an area until it starts to dry then move on to something else.
8. Work the entire painting. Move around the canvas doing some of everything. It is like a cycle. In a landscape you could do sky, trees, ground. Then the next pass after that layer dries is sky, trees, grass. The painting goes from base blocks of color to very detailed in the end, if detailed is your painting style and intention. You don't make final finished grasses when your sky is one flat blue swath. You move around in stages all over the canvas.
One reason for this is if you mess up a placement and need to correct something you won't want to widen the tree trunk if your grass on the ground next to it was 100% complete and perfect. You will have lost time as you have to redo even more, and you will be upset at losing work you felt was finished.
9. If using a glazing technique like I do, you use the opacity of the blended paint to cover up or bring out colors you want to hide or see more of. This is a constant process throughout the painting process. I also add in solid layers of acrylic gel medium in between some layers to add to the glowing effect and I put a clear coat as the final coat too.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Free Article on Plein Air Painting
Artist's Network article.
If you sign up to receive free emails they send free articles. This is the second free article in one week that I have received.
Sunday, March 03, 2013
Creative Pursuits Redux 2008-2013
In 2008 I began knitting and stopped doing papercrafts. I took a break from ATC swapping and have not resumed. I put all the papercrafts aside and also stopped painting and drawing. I basically was just homeschooling, living, and knitting as my only craft.
I expanded my photo taking when I obtained a DSLR for Christmas in 2008, and tried teaching myself to use it and refining my ability to use composition and to deal with capturing light better.
I also began making lye based soap and taught myself to make body lotions and skin salves with natural materials. I did DIY because I was too frugal to justify spending $5-8 on one bar of homemade soap or to pay $10 per ounce for herbal hand lotion. In this time I began learning about using herbs in making soap. I was put off by the high cost of infused oils as base ingredients, so I wanted DIY.
I started a veg and herb garden in my zone 6 Connecticut garden, enclosing it with six foot high deer fencing to keep the deer out. The deer were so bad there that they would walk right up onto my back deck and up the front porch steps to eat the back of my holly bushes. Former attempts to container garden on the deck failed for that reason and because my deck was on the north side of the house in deep shade. That is why I did not garden for years in that house, despite having loved gardening of flowers and vegetables in my first Connecticut home, and despite the fact that I had three acres of land there. In addition to growing vegetables, I started gardening with herbs and I grew them to infuse them into oils and used those to make body lotions and soaps.
I started doing pick your own local fruit and taught myself to can, making homemade preserves, strawberries in syrup, and with local veggies I made homemade canned salsa. I discovered that canning is a serious science and is no joke, it must be done correctly or the food not only can be ruined ranging from mold to jelly turning to crystals, and worse, you can get poisoned with botulism and potentially die if you screw up.
I continued cooking slowfood and baking from scratch including teaching myself to make artisan bread.
I also began learning about wildcrafting and wildcrafted plants and tree material from my own property and private land which I had permission to wildcraft upon. I went on plant walks and read books and used the internet to teach myself. I used these wildcrafted items to eat, drink, and make products from. Additionally I taught myself a bit about kitchen herbalism, using herbs for medicine and wellness. The herbs I wildcrafted and grew I used to make tinctures, medicinal salves and dried to use in teas and infusion drinks. I was in the process of learning about wildcrafting wild mushrooms for eating and for medicinal purposes when we suddenly moved.
Shortly after finding out we found out we were moving, in 2011 my husband surprised me with a combo Mother's Day and birthday present: an iPhone. I began taking more photos with that and stopped carting my DSLR in my pocketbook everywhere I went. I started using Instagram and had fun playing with photo filters. I had little time for crafting because I had six weeks to mother my kids alone plus declutter and pack up the entire house, and to label items as to whether they'd go to storage for a year or more or whether they'd fit into the rental house.
In 2011 we moved from Connecticut to Texas and I got rid of a lot of material possessions. I culled my art and craft supplies as well as a lot of ephemera. I got rid of lot of antique ephemera that came from my paternal grandmother who was a hoarder. On top of basic moving fees we had to pay 60 cents per pound to move my stuff so I seriously evaluated what sewing, knitting, papercrafts, and various other craft supplies I should pay to take with me.
In 2011-2012 we were in a small rental home in Texas and there was no room for my craft supplies. I had my drawing materials and some journals and paper and decided to focus on drawing and photography. I kept my herb books with me and thought I'd learn more about herbs but my interest waned. The Texas landscape is so different and I did not have access to wildcraft the familiar herbs so I felt I was learning information in an abstract void and it was not motivating or passion inspiring. We arrived in a drought and a heatwave so many plants were suffering and temperatures were 105-108 so I was not spending much time outdoors. My fair skin burned and it was so hot that I broke out so I even looked a mess. The air conditioning in the rental house was not functioning well and we were hot and sweating indoors too. I hid indoors and unpacked and homeschooled my kids, in addition to taking them to sports and Scouts.
In September when the promise of cooler weather was upon me, my gardening muse was with me and I filled a small epmtp raised garden bed at the rental house with organic soil to try my hand at zone 9 gardening of veg and herbs in Texas. It was a flop because come to find out there was not enough sun for the winter season. The rest of the tiny backyard was in shade 100% of the time and there was no room out front except for a patch next to the road so I gave up on gardening there. I vowed that the house we buy would have a big backyard and room to garden, as well as a fence to keep deer and other creatures out.
While in the rental house, I wound up not being interested in drawing and got interested in watercolor painting. I read a few books and bought materials with Christmas money to begin painting. I honestly only painted one thing and felt trapped in the small rental unit. It was so small I literally had nowhere to lay the painting flat that would be safe from the cats or that would be safe while using our small space for daily living. I gave up on watercolor painting for the time being.
I did some knitting but had a string of projects completed that were unwearable and that discouraged me. I found a local source for discount prices on discontinued yarn and bought probably too much as I bought more than I used that year, which is never a good thing.
In summer 2012 we bought a house and I was busy moving into the house after that. I claimed the guest bedroom as my craft room. First and foremost through all of these years has been our family's health, homeschooling and mothering my kids so I kept putting arts and crafts to the back burner. In the late fall I worked on the craft room which also doubles as a storage area for homeschool books to use in the future or where I put books I felt we were finished with that I could not let go of. I realized that keeping too many books that we may never use again was preventing me from going forward with current desires to get back into painting and papercrafting. I could not use a room that was filled with boxes of books. I culled a lot of books and donated them to a charity fundraiser tag sale. I resold about a hundred for roughly $1 (big whoop) and those leftovers are being donated. I don't have time to dedicate to opening an eBay store to try to get $2-5 per book, it's just not worth it.
In December 2012 I did my first acrylic painting in years, working on abstract paintings which I thought I would turn into journal pages or do some ATCs for a teenaged girl who needed encouragement who was admitted for a six month stay in a psychiatric hospital. It was fun and I realized I needed to get back to painting for fun. However I was busy with homeschooling, parenting, and Christmas.
After Christmas I decided I wanted to get back into papercrafting and started visiting the craft stores. I had avoided them for YEARS so I was surprised to find out what is out there. I also did not realize the explosion on YouTube such as people sharing tutorials and showing their finished projects. I realized that something called a smash book and a junk journal had been "invented" in my papercrafting absence. These are like an art journal for the crafter and a casual and less serious approach to scrapbooking. Some use all store bought stuff from scrapbooking companies while other people use junk mail and other ephemera and make their own books.
One thing that bothered me about art journals in the past was the binding issue. Although I own a comb binding machine, I do not like comb binding for my journals. I wished I could make a spiral binding. I found hand stitched binding time intensive and I had an issue with covers, how to cut them. Well I did not know that in my craft vacation time something called a Zutter Bind-it-All came out which is a spiral binding system. A first the spirals were only short sized so something called a mini album was invented. Some made little scrapbooks or photo albums that were six by six inches. Thus a 12x12 scrapbook paper sheet could be made into four 6x6 pieces. Honestly scrapbooking was on a decline for a while and I applaud the industry for reinventing itself and reviving the line of materials.
I was interested in buying the Zutter Bind-it-All and pondered on it for weeks. I was mostly interested because I had found that they had expanded their product line at some point, and now offer longer spirals so you can make a larger bound book, which is what appeals to me more than making 4x4 or 6x6 books. Then while shopping at a discount store in February, I saw a Zutter Kutter and did not know what it was, but thanks to YouTube I found out. This is a heavy duty cutting machine that even lets you cut metal in order to make book covers! You can cut chipboard and cardboard or anything thick! Now this is up my alley because I do not have to buy factory made chipboard in standard sizes to use as sturdy book covers.
I decided to use Christmas gift money to buy the Bind-it-All in February. I bought directly from the manufacturer and paid $99 for a beginner set that normally retails for $385. In March (yesterday) I bought the Zutter Kutter for $79 at Tuesday Morning, it is MSRP $180!
Since moving to this house we began pondering on where we could have a garden for veggies and herbs. I have over 40 trees in my backyard and most of the yard (other than the pool) is in deep shade. We have a strict tree ordinance in town so we cannot remove trees over 6 inches at chest height without permission. I found one strip of land which gets, I think, decent enough sun to grow tomatoes.
My husband and I pondered for a couple of months on how to raise a garden bed up off the ground level to avoid standing water and clay soil. We cannot use wood because in Houston that will only last 2-3 years before the insects completely ruin it. We decided to use retaining wall blocks in white which match our pool decking. In February we erected the wall.
I took two classes on gardening in Texas and started reading books about zone 9 gardening. I bought three flats of veg and herb seedlings. If I could only focus on gardening then my garden would already be filled with soil and planted but this is real life and we have medical issues going on plus homeschooling and other things going on in our lives.
My project plans for this upcoming week are to order the soil to be delivered and to work with my sons to move it by wheelbarrow into the garden, then to plant the seedlings. Not yet worked out is how we will erect supports because I garden vertically. The garden is 5x17 in a curving pretty bed.
I was thinking maybe I should blog more or even do YouTube videos about the journey. I accomplish more when I can be social and feel I'm interacting with someone about what I am doing. If I know someone is watching me or waiting for new blog posts it helps keep me focused on doing the task at hand and it motivates and energizes me to keep going. I love deadlines and that is why I formerly loved ATC swapping, it forced me to try a new art technique by a certain date deadline, so I made the time to do the projects which then reduced stress in my life and made me happy.
I am itching to do painting and papercrafting today as well. At the moment I must go do some volunteer work for my kid's sport team. The thing about gardening is it is so time-sensitive so you often have to put all your free time when it is not raining or not too wet or not too cold to do what has to be done in order to get the crop into the ground and going so that it will have enough time to have usable produce before the season ends. Here in zone 9 we are racing our tomatoes against the August heat which kills them. So although today I feel like painting and papercrafting I need to do the volunteer work and if a garden chore must be done, that takes priority over indoor crafting.
Other plans for gardening are to fill some of the empty containers in the gardens here and on the pool deck as well as get rid of some of the dying or ugly struggling palm trees in pots and to replace them with flowers or herbs. I want to fill the garden beds under the trees with usable plants such as herbs that grow in shade. I want to fill empty struggling grass spots in the deep shade front yard with low maintenance ground cover.
Lastly for the garden project: I started a compost in fall of 2012 here and guess what? It's filled with an ant nest. I don't think they are fire ants but they do sting badly and go nuts when you stir it up. I have tried two folk remedies, boiling water with dish soap and seltzer water but both failed.
I really should do v-logs on the garden projects because I bet gardeners would like to see my challenges getting accustomed to gardening in zone 9 when I'm an accomplished organic gardener of zone 6. It also may be interesting to see the blank slate beginning compared to changes I plan to incorporate later in 2013.
I expanded my photo taking when I obtained a DSLR for Christmas in 2008, and tried teaching myself to use it and refining my ability to use composition and to deal with capturing light better.
I also began making lye based soap and taught myself to make body lotions and skin salves with natural materials. I did DIY because I was too frugal to justify spending $5-8 on one bar of homemade soap or to pay $10 per ounce for herbal hand lotion. In this time I began learning about using herbs in making soap. I was put off by the high cost of infused oils as base ingredients, so I wanted DIY.
I started a veg and herb garden in my zone 6 Connecticut garden, enclosing it with six foot high deer fencing to keep the deer out. The deer were so bad there that they would walk right up onto my back deck and up the front porch steps to eat the back of my holly bushes. Former attempts to container garden on the deck failed for that reason and because my deck was on the north side of the house in deep shade. That is why I did not garden for years in that house, despite having loved gardening of flowers and vegetables in my first Connecticut home, and despite the fact that I had three acres of land there. In addition to growing vegetables, I started gardening with herbs and I grew them to infuse them into oils and used those to make body lotions and soaps.
I started doing pick your own local fruit and taught myself to can, making homemade preserves, strawberries in syrup, and with local veggies I made homemade canned salsa. I discovered that canning is a serious science and is no joke, it must be done correctly or the food not only can be ruined ranging from mold to jelly turning to crystals, and worse, you can get poisoned with botulism and potentially die if you screw up.
I continued cooking slowfood and baking from scratch including teaching myself to make artisan bread.
I also began learning about wildcrafting and wildcrafted plants and tree material from my own property and private land which I had permission to wildcraft upon. I went on plant walks and read books and used the internet to teach myself. I used these wildcrafted items to eat, drink, and make products from. Additionally I taught myself a bit about kitchen herbalism, using herbs for medicine and wellness. The herbs I wildcrafted and grew I used to make tinctures, medicinal salves and dried to use in teas and infusion drinks. I was in the process of learning about wildcrafting wild mushrooms for eating and for medicinal purposes when we suddenly moved.
Shortly after finding out we found out we were moving, in 2011 my husband surprised me with a combo Mother's Day and birthday present: an iPhone. I began taking more photos with that and stopped carting my DSLR in my pocketbook everywhere I went. I started using Instagram and had fun playing with photo filters. I had little time for crafting because I had six weeks to mother my kids alone plus declutter and pack up the entire house, and to label items as to whether they'd go to storage for a year or more or whether they'd fit into the rental house.
In 2011 we moved from Connecticut to Texas and I got rid of a lot of material possessions. I culled my art and craft supplies as well as a lot of ephemera. I got rid of lot of antique ephemera that came from my paternal grandmother who was a hoarder. On top of basic moving fees we had to pay 60 cents per pound to move my stuff so I seriously evaluated what sewing, knitting, papercrafts, and various other craft supplies I should pay to take with me.
In 2011-2012 we were in a small rental home in Texas and there was no room for my craft supplies. I had my drawing materials and some journals and paper and decided to focus on drawing and photography. I kept my herb books with me and thought I'd learn more about herbs but my interest waned. The Texas landscape is so different and I did not have access to wildcraft the familiar herbs so I felt I was learning information in an abstract void and it was not motivating or passion inspiring. We arrived in a drought and a heatwave so many plants were suffering and temperatures were 105-108 so I was not spending much time outdoors. My fair skin burned and it was so hot that I broke out so I even looked a mess. The air conditioning in the rental house was not functioning well and we were hot and sweating indoors too. I hid indoors and unpacked and homeschooled my kids, in addition to taking them to sports and Scouts.
In September when the promise of cooler weather was upon me, my gardening muse was with me and I filled a small epmtp raised garden bed at the rental house with organic soil to try my hand at zone 9 gardening of veg and herbs in Texas. It was a flop because come to find out there was not enough sun for the winter season. The rest of the tiny backyard was in shade 100% of the time and there was no room out front except for a patch next to the road so I gave up on gardening there. I vowed that the house we buy would have a big backyard and room to garden, as well as a fence to keep deer and other creatures out.
While in the rental house, I wound up not being interested in drawing and got interested in watercolor painting. I read a few books and bought materials with Christmas money to begin painting. I honestly only painted one thing and felt trapped in the small rental unit. It was so small I literally had nowhere to lay the painting flat that would be safe from the cats or that would be safe while using our small space for daily living. I gave up on watercolor painting for the time being.
I did some knitting but had a string of projects completed that were unwearable and that discouraged me. I found a local source for discount prices on discontinued yarn and bought probably too much as I bought more than I used that year, which is never a good thing.
In summer 2012 we bought a house and I was busy moving into the house after that. I claimed the guest bedroom as my craft room. First and foremost through all of these years has been our family's health, homeschooling and mothering my kids so I kept putting arts and crafts to the back burner. In the late fall I worked on the craft room which also doubles as a storage area for homeschool books to use in the future or where I put books I felt we were finished with that I could not let go of. I realized that keeping too many books that we may never use again was preventing me from going forward with current desires to get back into painting and papercrafting. I could not use a room that was filled with boxes of books. I culled a lot of books and donated them to a charity fundraiser tag sale. I resold about a hundred for roughly $1 (big whoop) and those leftovers are being donated. I don't have time to dedicate to opening an eBay store to try to get $2-5 per book, it's just not worth it.
In December 2012 I did my first acrylic painting in years, working on abstract paintings which I thought I would turn into journal pages or do some ATCs for a teenaged girl who needed encouragement who was admitted for a six month stay in a psychiatric hospital. It was fun and I realized I needed to get back to painting for fun. However I was busy with homeschooling, parenting, and Christmas.
After Christmas I decided I wanted to get back into papercrafting and started visiting the craft stores. I had avoided them for YEARS so I was surprised to find out what is out there. I also did not realize the explosion on YouTube such as people sharing tutorials and showing their finished projects. I realized that something called a smash book and a junk journal had been "invented" in my papercrafting absence. These are like an art journal for the crafter and a casual and less serious approach to scrapbooking. Some use all store bought stuff from scrapbooking companies while other people use junk mail and other ephemera and make their own books.
One thing that bothered me about art journals in the past was the binding issue. Although I own a comb binding machine, I do not like comb binding for my journals. I wished I could make a spiral binding. I found hand stitched binding time intensive and I had an issue with covers, how to cut them. Well I did not know that in my craft vacation time something called a Zutter Bind-it-All came out which is a spiral binding system. A first the spirals were only short sized so something called a mini album was invented. Some made little scrapbooks or photo albums that were six by six inches. Thus a 12x12 scrapbook paper sheet could be made into four 6x6 pieces. Honestly scrapbooking was on a decline for a while and I applaud the industry for reinventing itself and reviving the line of materials.
I was interested in buying the Zutter Bind-it-All and pondered on it for weeks. I was mostly interested because I had found that they had expanded their product line at some point, and now offer longer spirals so you can make a larger bound book, which is what appeals to me more than making 4x4 or 6x6 books. Then while shopping at a discount store in February, I saw a Zutter Kutter and did not know what it was, but thanks to YouTube I found out. This is a heavy duty cutting machine that even lets you cut metal in order to make book covers! You can cut chipboard and cardboard or anything thick! Now this is up my alley because I do not have to buy factory made chipboard in standard sizes to use as sturdy book covers.
I decided to use Christmas gift money to buy the Bind-it-All in February. I bought directly from the manufacturer and paid $99 for a beginner set that normally retails for $385. In March (yesterday) I bought the Zutter Kutter for $79 at Tuesday Morning, it is MSRP $180!
Since moving to this house we began pondering on where we could have a garden for veggies and herbs. I have over 40 trees in my backyard and most of the yard (other than the pool) is in deep shade. We have a strict tree ordinance in town so we cannot remove trees over 6 inches at chest height without permission. I found one strip of land which gets, I think, decent enough sun to grow tomatoes.
My husband and I pondered for a couple of months on how to raise a garden bed up off the ground level to avoid standing water and clay soil. We cannot use wood because in Houston that will only last 2-3 years before the insects completely ruin it. We decided to use retaining wall blocks in white which match our pool decking. In February we erected the wall.
I took two classes on gardening in Texas and started reading books about zone 9 gardening. I bought three flats of veg and herb seedlings. If I could only focus on gardening then my garden would already be filled with soil and planted but this is real life and we have medical issues going on plus homeschooling and other things going on in our lives.
My project plans for this upcoming week are to order the soil to be delivered and to work with my sons to move it by wheelbarrow into the garden, then to plant the seedlings. Not yet worked out is how we will erect supports because I garden vertically. The garden is 5x17 in a curving pretty bed.
I was thinking maybe I should blog more or even do YouTube videos about the journey. I accomplish more when I can be social and feel I'm interacting with someone about what I am doing. If I know someone is watching me or waiting for new blog posts it helps keep me focused on doing the task at hand and it motivates and energizes me to keep going. I love deadlines and that is why I formerly loved ATC swapping, it forced me to try a new art technique by a certain date deadline, so I made the time to do the projects which then reduced stress in my life and made me happy.
I am itching to do painting and papercrafting today as well. At the moment I must go do some volunteer work for my kid's sport team. The thing about gardening is it is so time-sensitive so you often have to put all your free time when it is not raining or not too wet or not too cold to do what has to be done in order to get the crop into the ground and going so that it will have enough time to have usable produce before the season ends. Here in zone 9 we are racing our tomatoes against the August heat which kills them. So although today I feel like painting and papercrafting I need to do the volunteer work and if a garden chore must be done, that takes priority over indoor crafting.
Other plans for gardening are to fill some of the empty containers in the gardens here and on the pool deck as well as get rid of some of the dying or ugly struggling palm trees in pots and to replace them with flowers or herbs. I want to fill the garden beds under the trees with usable plants such as herbs that grow in shade. I want to fill empty struggling grass spots in the deep shade front yard with low maintenance ground cover.
Lastly for the garden project: I started a compost in fall of 2012 here and guess what? It's filled with an ant nest. I don't think they are fire ants but they do sting badly and go nuts when you stir it up. I have tried two folk remedies, boiling water with dish soap and seltzer water but both failed.
I really should do v-logs on the garden projects because I bet gardeners would like to see my challenges getting accustomed to gardening in zone 9 when I'm an accomplished organic gardener of zone 6. It also may be interesting to see the blank slate beginning compared to changes I plan to incorporate later in 2013.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Backgrounds I Painted Last Weekend
Here are photos of the backgrounds I painted a week ago. They are 11x14 inches in size so I took digitial photos instead of scanning them.
As I blogged about yesterday this was my first attempt at painting using credit cards as the applicator. (They were sample credit cards from junk mail actually.)
I made this pink colored background to use for Valentine's Day themed ATCs. I don't usually do a lot of pastel colors in my artist trading cards.
This last one was done with a stipple brush. I am not a fan of purple at all but there is a purple ATC swap which I might decide to particpate in so I thought I'd use up some of the purple paint that I already owned to make these backgrounds.
As I blogged about yesterday this was my first attempt at painting using credit cards as the applicator. (They were sample credit cards from junk mail actually.)
I made this pink colored background to use for Valentine's Day themed ATCs. I don't usually do a lot of pastel colors in my artist trading cards.
This last one was done with a stipple brush. I am not a fan of purple at all but there is a purple ATC swap which I might decide to particpate in so I thought I'd use up some of the purple paint that I already owned to make these backgrounds.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Thoughts on Making Art With Children and Flow; Had Fun Painting With The Kids The Other Night
Last Sunday I went to A.C. Moore because they were having a sale on 2 oz. acrylic craft paints, priced at three for $1 (they are usually about 99 cents each). I picked out 15 paints in colors that we have run out of or that are new to us to play around with.
When I got home after having such a bad weekend I decided I wanted to play with the paints right then and there. I asked the kids if they wanted to paint also as it has been months since they painted with acrylic paints. They wholeheartedly agreed yes, they would like to play and make art with me.
I used to do a lot more art projects and kid-centered, “process-not-the-product” art and crafts with my kids. But as my older son got older and both began doing more outside classes we are home less often and stopped making the time for doing arts and crafts, especially those that make a mess such that often the clean up is nearly equal to the amount of time it takes to do the project (which is the type of thing we used to do nearly on a daily basis).
I covered the kitchen table with old newspapers that I pulled out of the recycle bin. I warned the kids that if any acrylic paint got on their clothes we’d have to wash it out while it is still wet lest it stain.
I grabbed some oversized heavy drawing paper for them to paint on. I made a suggestion that they try for the first time, to lightly sketch a drawing in pencil then to fill it in with paint afterward. They did this and they painted away. (In the past they complained that it was hard to ‘draw’ with the paintbrush which was loaded with paint.)
To avoid wasted paint I squeezed the paints out of the tubes for my kids. They either have weak hand muscles or they have poor judgment of measurement, because if left to their own devices they pour out way too much paint then they can use. Although the paints are non-toxic I have read they are not so great to wash down the drain and to put into the environment.
We use the little 99 cent paint palettes from the craft store. I give them free reign to pick the colors that they want to use. They paint with cheap brushes from the craft store. On this night I showed them the difference in painting with a flat brush than a rounded tip brush. They then could use the right brush for the effect they were trying to accomplish. What I do is give them information or a tip and then it is up to them to decide whether they want to use the new knowledge or not. I don’t push or force them. They also have freedom to draw or paint whatever object or abstract painting that they desire; I don’t dictate to them what they have to do.
I ended up so busy with helping them and rinsing wet paint out of a shirt that I didn’t get to do much painting (but I was not angry about it). I made only three large paintings that will serve as backgrounds for future artist trading cards (on watercolor paper).
I then took the leftover paint from the kids and used that to make more backgrounds for artist trading cards. I tried a new-to-me technique of using a credit card sample from junk mail to smear the paint onto the blank paper in random swipes. I actually tried two methods. One was to splatter the paint randomly on the paper and then to smear it. The other was to dip the sample credit card into the paint and to smear it on where I wanted it to go. The result is an abstract painting type look. One son told me that one of them is especially ugly. Oh well. It was his leftover paint that I was trying to use up. (Actually after it was cut up into artist trading card size they looked great, I think.)
Another way to use old paint rather than to pour it down the drain or put it into the landfill is to swipe it on brown paper bags and to use those papers later in making collages. For example smear a bunch of left over blue paint onto the paper bag then later cut shapes out of that and make a collage with the shapes (think: the style of Eric Carle).
I then cleaned up the mess and we got on with the evening.
But then I realized the paintings that were drying on the floor looked a bit different, and suspected that one of the kittens had walked upon it. The purple paint on the bottoms of our male kitten’s paws proved this suspicion. Sigh.
The kids were in their glory, by the way. It made me realize that I need to make more time for making art together and getting into painting with them on a regular basis again.
The Way It Used To Be
Back when my husband was working he used to get home at 6:45pm. I used to time the day so that we’d eat together as a family as soon as he walked in the door. The kids would be antsy and bored a bit by about 5:00pm so nearly every day, I’d pull out arts and crafts at that time. No matter what testy mood they’d be in they’d lose themselves in the “flow” of creativity and they’d become quiet and content. They would make art like that for up to 90 minutes, working independently for the most part; while I played with them then they kept on while I was making dinner. They would use regular old play dough and clay tools, air drying clay, make collages out of scraps and junk mail, or they’d paint or use chalk pastels. We did this for years and it was a fun time for them. However when my husband became unemployed he was home more often and earlier and the whole routine was lost. I will always remember those quiet peaceful times of creativity, when my young children would be calmed by being allowed to experiment and play at making art.
I never minded the mess, I accepted that it would happen and just cleaned it up. At times my kids painted in their diapers or underwear so as to not stain their clothes. Other times they were so full of paint that a shower or bath was necessary to fully clean them up. The only thing they were not allowed to do was to wreck the house with hands full of paint or to take the art supplies out and all over the house. We had simple rules and reasonable limits and we all had a ball working within those parameters.
Since reading a little about the creative process of art making (about adults doing art) and reading about that state of “flow” that artists can achieve, I know what my kids were doing was getting into that flow state on a regular basis that calmed them down and made them happy.
I had not thought about the effect on children’s psyche while making art. Usually when one reads about making art with children it is about ‘art education’ and teaching them things, not about just having a feeling of happiness or benefiting from that wonderful state of flow that can be achieved.
Another negative thing that can happen with the art making with children thing is if the adult, parent or teacher is centered upon a final product and the adult guides or forces the child to make the project. Some of these projects are not fun for the child or beyond their physical (fine motor skill) developmental stages and the child must rely on the adult to do the actual work for them. That is more about making a final product than the process of making something. I am against any project done with young children in which the adult dreamed up the project (or is following directions from a book) and in which the adult basically tells the children step by step what to do in order to make the thing appear in a very specific way that was preconceived by the adult. I don’t think that is always fun for the child and they are not at all exercising their artistic or creative energies in that process. One caveat is that some children like to do projects which have a known result and they may like to follow the necessary steps to get to that end. However that kind of work is not exploring the child’s personal creativity, it is not about experimentation either and it doesn’t usually involve any imagination.
To me making art is primarily about exercising ones creativity and experimenting. I know first hand that some art projects are not pre-planned, they happen and unfold during the process itself. A person can start out with a general direction but often if they go with their instincts as the project unfolds a different result will happen and often, with pleasing results. Even if the final project is not perfect or not liked the person usually learns something about that artistic process or technique that can be tried again later in other ways, to practice, and pleasing results with the end product may happen at that time.
In fact some children get turned off on making art or crafts as they rebel against the overly intruding directions of the adult and also some perfectionist children lose self-esteem if they feel they can’t do the task as well as the adult can do. I suspect this is the reason why most boys beyond age 7 or 8 rarely make art on their own; they often do it only if forced to in school.
I don’t really feel much talent is used when I see an entire batch of work done in a classroom where the teacher told the kids what shape to make, what color to use, etc. This happens not just in public schools but in the Waldorf preschools. I don’t see anything original there and I think that is not the point of making art or even just experimenting with art in a very basic and rudimentary manner which the very youngest of children is capable of doing. One could argue that if the technique is being taught and if exposure to that technique is the goal then that exercise was good. However I don’t think most children are then given additional time to practice and make art with those same materials or using those techniques on their own, allowed to make what they want, when they want, to practice and have more control over the process. In other words they may try a certain technique in art class at school then never do it again. I can list techniques and processes that I learned in school which I’ve not repeated in school or at home, ever again.
If you are looking for a great book that covers this philosophy of art making for children aged from birth through age six, that is about the process not the product, then Susan Striker’s “Young At Art” is the perfect book for you.
I have not yet read the book “Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and I wonder if it addresses young children and flow. From my experience mothering my children and doing creative work with them I can attest that this happens with children as young as one year old, if not even babies.
And also on the topic of flow, I achieve it nearly every time I write on the computer and that is how this blog has come into existence. Since I love being in the flow state I look forward to any chance I can get to write and get into that flow mode. I have only published a fraction of my actual writings. If my main goal were just to write and publish I’d be spending my time editing my old writings. However since the writing and the flow is what I like I will often write 2-3 long entries per day but will only publish one.
Links
Wikipedia entry about the flow state of creativity
Technorati Tags: art and children, teaching art, parenting, creativity, flow.
When I got home after having such a bad weekend I decided I wanted to play with the paints right then and there. I asked the kids if they wanted to paint also as it has been months since they painted with acrylic paints. They wholeheartedly agreed yes, they would like to play and make art with me.
I used to do a lot more art projects and kid-centered, “process-not-the-product” art and crafts with my kids. But as my older son got older and both began doing more outside classes we are home less often and stopped making the time for doing arts and crafts, especially those that make a mess such that often the clean up is nearly equal to the amount of time it takes to do the project (which is the type of thing we used to do nearly on a daily basis).
I covered the kitchen table with old newspapers that I pulled out of the recycle bin. I warned the kids that if any acrylic paint got on their clothes we’d have to wash it out while it is still wet lest it stain.
I grabbed some oversized heavy drawing paper for them to paint on. I made a suggestion that they try for the first time, to lightly sketch a drawing in pencil then to fill it in with paint afterward. They did this and they painted away. (In the past they complained that it was hard to ‘draw’ with the paintbrush which was loaded with paint.)
To avoid wasted paint I squeezed the paints out of the tubes for my kids. They either have weak hand muscles or they have poor judgment of measurement, because if left to their own devices they pour out way too much paint then they can use. Although the paints are non-toxic I have read they are not so great to wash down the drain and to put into the environment.
We use the little 99 cent paint palettes from the craft store. I give them free reign to pick the colors that they want to use. They paint with cheap brushes from the craft store. On this night I showed them the difference in painting with a flat brush than a rounded tip brush. They then could use the right brush for the effect they were trying to accomplish. What I do is give them information or a tip and then it is up to them to decide whether they want to use the new knowledge or not. I don’t push or force them. They also have freedom to draw or paint whatever object or abstract painting that they desire; I don’t dictate to them what they have to do.
I ended up so busy with helping them and rinsing wet paint out of a shirt that I didn’t get to do much painting (but I was not angry about it). I made only three large paintings that will serve as backgrounds for future artist trading cards (on watercolor paper).
I then took the leftover paint from the kids and used that to make more backgrounds for artist trading cards. I tried a new-to-me technique of using a credit card sample from junk mail to smear the paint onto the blank paper in random swipes. I actually tried two methods. One was to splatter the paint randomly on the paper and then to smear it. The other was to dip the sample credit card into the paint and to smear it on where I wanted it to go. The result is an abstract painting type look. One son told me that one of them is especially ugly. Oh well. It was his leftover paint that I was trying to use up. (Actually after it was cut up into artist trading card size they looked great, I think.)
Another way to use old paint rather than to pour it down the drain or put it into the landfill is to swipe it on brown paper bags and to use those papers later in making collages. For example smear a bunch of left over blue paint onto the paper bag then later cut shapes out of that and make a collage with the shapes (think: the style of Eric Carle).
I then cleaned up the mess and we got on with the evening.
But then I realized the paintings that were drying on the floor looked a bit different, and suspected that one of the kittens had walked upon it. The purple paint on the bottoms of our male kitten’s paws proved this suspicion. Sigh.
The kids were in their glory, by the way. It made me realize that I need to make more time for making art together and getting into painting with them on a regular basis again.
The Way It Used To Be
Back when my husband was working he used to get home at 6:45pm. I used to time the day so that we’d eat together as a family as soon as he walked in the door. The kids would be antsy and bored a bit by about 5:00pm so nearly every day, I’d pull out arts and crafts at that time. No matter what testy mood they’d be in they’d lose themselves in the “flow” of creativity and they’d become quiet and content. They would make art like that for up to 90 minutes, working independently for the most part; while I played with them then they kept on while I was making dinner. They would use regular old play dough and clay tools, air drying clay, make collages out of scraps and junk mail, or they’d paint or use chalk pastels. We did this for years and it was a fun time for them. However when my husband became unemployed he was home more often and earlier and the whole routine was lost. I will always remember those quiet peaceful times of creativity, when my young children would be calmed by being allowed to experiment and play at making art.
I never minded the mess, I accepted that it would happen and just cleaned it up. At times my kids painted in their diapers or underwear so as to not stain their clothes. Other times they were so full of paint that a shower or bath was necessary to fully clean them up. The only thing they were not allowed to do was to wreck the house with hands full of paint or to take the art supplies out and all over the house. We had simple rules and reasonable limits and we all had a ball working within those parameters.
Since reading a little about the creative process of art making (about adults doing art) and reading about that state of “flow” that artists can achieve, I know what my kids were doing was getting into that flow state on a regular basis that calmed them down and made them happy.
I had not thought about the effect on children’s psyche while making art. Usually when one reads about making art with children it is about ‘art education’ and teaching them things, not about just having a feeling of happiness or benefiting from that wonderful state of flow that can be achieved.
Another negative thing that can happen with the art making with children thing is if the adult, parent or teacher is centered upon a final product and the adult guides or forces the child to make the project. Some of these projects are not fun for the child or beyond their physical (fine motor skill) developmental stages and the child must rely on the adult to do the actual work for them. That is more about making a final product than the process of making something. I am against any project done with young children in which the adult dreamed up the project (or is following directions from a book) and in which the adult basically tells the children step by step what to do in order to make the thing appear in a very specific way that was preconceived by the adult. I don’t think that is always fun for the child and they are not at all exercising their artistic or creative energies in that process. One caveat is that some children like to do projects which have a known result and they may like to follow the necessary steps to get to that end. However that kind of work is not exploring the child’s personal creativity, it is not about experimentation either and it doesn’t usually involve any imagination.
To me making art is primarily about exercising ones creativity and experimenting. I know first hand that some art projects are not pre-planned, they happen and unfold during the process itself. A person can start out with a general direction but often if they go with their instincts as the project unfolds a different result will happen and often, with pleasing results. Even if the final project is not perfect or not liked the person usually learns something about that artistic process or technique that can be tried again later in other ways, to practice, and pleasing results with the end product may happen at that time.
In fact some children get turned off on making art or crafts as they rebel against the overly intruding directions of the adult and also some perfectionist children lose self-esteem if they feel they can’t do the task as well as the adult can do. I suspect this is the reason why most boys beyond age 7 or 8 rarely make art on their own; they often do it only if forced to in school.
I don’t really feel much talent is used when I see an entire batch of work done in a classroom where the teacher told the kids what shape to make, what color to use, etc. This happens not just in public schools but in the Waldorf preschools. I don’t see anything original there and I think that is not the point of making art or even just experimenting with art in a very basic and rudimentary manner which the very youngest of children is capable of doing. One could argue that if the technique is being taught and if exposure to that technique is the goal then that exercise was good. However I don’t think most children are then given additional time to practice and make art with those same materials or using those techniques on their own, allowed to make what they want, when they want, to practice and have more control over the process. In other words they may try a certain technique in art class at school then never do it again. I can list techniques and processes that I learned in school which I’ve not repeated in school or at home, ever again.
If you are looking for a great book that covers this philosophy of art making for children aged from birth through age six, that is about the process not the product, then Susan Striker’s “Young At Art” is the perfect book for you.
I have not yet read the book “Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and I wonder if it addresses young children and flow. From my experience mothering my children and doing creative work with them I can attest that this happens with children as young as one year old, if not even babies.
And also on the topic of flow, I achieve it nearly every time I write on the computer and that is how this blog has come into existence. Since I love being in the flow state I look forward to any chance I can get to write and get into that flow mode. I have only published a fraction of my actual writings. If my main goal were just to write and publish I’d be spending my time editing my old writings. However since the writing and the flow is what I like I will often write 2-3 long entries per day but will only publish one.
Links
Wikipedia entry about the flow state of creativity
Technorati Tags: art and children, teaching art, parenting, creativity, flow.
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