The "Ugly Stage"

"Phoenix" 9 x12 Pastel on Board

One thing all artist struggle through is the dreaded "Ugly Stage". It is the stage when you feel like your drawing, or painting, is worthless and not worth the time and effort to finish it. This is how I felt most of the time with this painting. The key is to grit your teeth, and keep working forward. For an example, here is the Ugly Stage of this painting:

When I got to this stage of my painting I was so frustrated. The horse is a rose-grey color and I was having a terrible time finding the perfect mixture of colors. Here it's too blue, and the red wouldn't blend right. I almost gave up several times, but I'm very glad I didn't. The end result was worth the frustration. I had to learn to step away first, then to think, and finally to use my imaginaton to visulize my final painting. Once I was able to see past the Ugly Stage, it made everything else fall into place.

Trot Through the Forest

Trot Through the Forest 4x6 acrylic on canvas paper

This little piece was very fun to do, as well as a little challenging. Artist tend to get stuck in a rut of constantly drawing the same pose , and this was my attempt at trying to get away from that rut. I always tend to draw horses facing left (oops) and standing with a profile head. Action shots are hard, and different angles are annoying. So, I realize the horse is still facing the habit way, but it's not standing still!

In order to improve at anything really, one must constantly challenge their abilities. Getting stuck in a rut is safe, but frustrating. You know what you can do well, and do it over and over and over again. And while you can do that one thing very well, let's face it- one trick ponies are boring. This painting took me awhile to sketch out because of the difficult angle the horse is in, but over all I am extremely pleased with how it came out. From now on I'm going to be trying for more difficult subject matters so I can constantly be on the upraise of my artistic abilities :)

First Commission of the Year!

"Yin and Yang" 11x14 Acrylics on board

Like the post title says, this is the first commission of the year! A cute pair of Chihuahua's. This painting was a HUGE challenge for me to undertake. Namely because I have never drawn this breed of dog before. Despite all the challenges involved I am extremely pleased with the outcome of this painting! I went a little slow with this one to make sure I nailed it, and I'm happy I did. The thing that really threw me off with this painting was the coloring of the dogs. I've never painted anything with their colors before, so I was a little stumped for awhile with what to do with them. I ended up just sitting and staring at the painting and my available colors a lot trying out different combinations and patterns in my head, and when I thought I had it I put the plan to the canvas. The results were just what I was hoping for!

One Year With Melody

Rhapsody's Melody 11 x 14 Graphite

Today's art is a portrait of my beloved Melody who came into my life a year ago today. Even though I did not take ownership until well into the summer, today still marks a landmark in my books. After I lost Hunter, my beloved quarter horse, I never really planned on getting another horse anytime soon. My friend asked me at this time last year if I wanted to go with her and pick up two new horses she was getting, and I of course said yes! Seeing Melody was love at first sight for both of us, and I knew it was time to move on and open my heart to another horse. By the time summer rolled around I ended up trading a mini gelding I had for Melody, and it has been wonderful ever since.

It has been years since I actually sat down and did a graphite drawing. Although, I have always found graphite fun and relaxing to work in. It also helps to reiterate the fact that I need to slow down and create a finished well proportioned drawing before moving on. This is a continuous struggle for me! Rushing through things NEVER produces quality work! And though I am getting better at this, it still needs work. Not working in my fun palette of colors seemed a bit odd as well. More than likely I will be doing another portrait of Melody in color in the near future!

A New Year

The start of a New Year always excites me as the countless possibilities of what it could bring fills my head. First thing I did this morning was construct my 10 New Years Goals I want to accomplish for the year. That way I feel as if I have direction in the New Year rather than flailing around blindly and letting it take me.

The start of the New Year also means the start of new art projects! One of my main goals for the year is to do a daily painting. Now, this might get complicated as school starts again in full swing- but I think it's doable!

For the first painting of the New Year I did a lovely portrait of a thoroughbred mare named Lucy. This horse has such an adorable face I couldn't resist trying my hand at painting her. So, here is the cutie done in acrylic on 9 x 12 canvas paper. I've titled it "The Rail Walker".