Tea Time!

"Tea Time" 9x12 Pastel on pastel board

Sorry I've been MIA the past few months, I've been having major issues with my computer! Namely- my 9 month old computer crashed and I had to get another one!

This painting was a bit of fresh air for me. I normally do not like still lives, but I got the itch to try one out. While I was browsing through a picture reference gallery, this image just popped out at me. I wish I still had the original picture's file so I could show the 'artistic license' I did for it, but you'll just have to take my word on it.

So, that leads to what is artistic license? To put it simply it means that nothing is set in stone. If you want to paint a purple cat, well, then by all means do so. It doesn't matter that in 'real life' a purple cat doesn't exist, you are expressing your creative judgment on the world.

An in depth look at it is how I worked this painting. The original picture was very dark and brooding with other objects cluttering around the tea cup and books. I didn't really like the cropping of the original picture or the composition. So, I played with what I wanted out of this picture in my sketch book until I had a composition that I felt really worked. I de-cluttered the background and lightened the mood. I made the painting mine and not basing it off something someone else took, and that is a big part of what I think the artistic license is all about.

Painting :)

"Shelby in the Snow" 9x12 Acrylic on Canvas

This is actually a painting I did for a contest not too long ago based on a book young adult series by Maggie Stiefvater. With the prompt being "Draw the wolves", this is what I came up with. Shelby, the lone wolf of the books. I am immensely pleased with the out come of this! I was also able to sit down and finish this in two days. Determined not to rush things through, my hard work paid off- I won the contest!! (along with several other super talented artists as well!)

This painting is everything I've been talking about. I took my time on the drawing to make sure it was done right, I made sure I worked on the under painting to get my values down, and I executed the colors well! Now if only every painting can go this smoothly!

I've also been enjoying taking the break from painting horses. I think my brain is too stubborn to listen to my eyes when it comes to drawing horses, but with the other subjects I am forced soly to rely upon hand/eye coordination since the image isn't ingrained in my head! It keeps my nice and refreshed without boring me (like still lives do!). Now if I can apply this to the horse paintings it would make life so much easier!

Hopefully I'll be getting some more paintings up here soon. My art table is filled with half finished projects, and sketches. I've been running around too much working with horses and working on finishing a novel I've been working on! :)

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!

Playing Catch Up

"Sleepy Head" 2.5x3.5" Colored Pencil

This painting is an oldie, but goodie. Once I realized that I wanted art to become apart of my life other than being a fun hobby I sat down and really pushed myself hard to try and get used to other subjects. Since I almost always paint horses, so the goal at that point in time was to draw everything but horses! At first this failed miserably. I went through about a month solid of my everyday paintings failing. I was getting very discouraged, and decided I needed to change my game a little. See, at the time I was trying to get an ACEO finished in under an hour, so with this one I decided to sit down and simple do the best I could no matter how long it took. Sounds simple I know! I sat at my art desk for over three hours trying to make sure this little work was perfect. And I am certainly pleased with the end results, even to this day! I learned that it really doesn't matter how much time you spend on a work, it's taking the time to make sure you do it right.

I also apologies to you guys for lack of up dates. The little camera I was using to take photos of my work was stolen, so I have no way to post my new stuff :( Hopefully I'll get a replacement in the next month or so!

Happy Painting!!!

Massive Chaos

"Silent Comfort"

Melody had another relapse last week with her injury and ended up going back in for surgery. It's now been a 7 month nightmare in trying to keep my horse alive. Every time I see the vets they tell me that my horse should be dead. I just keep trekking, and treating her because I know if I slack off even slightly she could get infected and die.

Back when she first injured herself I put my entire life on hold while I stressed out and obsessed over keeping my beloved mare alive. I felt empty and alone, but I figured this was all because of what was happening right in front of me. My horse was seriously hurt, and that's all there was to it. In reality it wasn't. It wasn't the stress of the horse's injury that was making me feel empty- it was the lack of creative energy that was doing it.

It's only been the past 3 months that I've realized I HAVE to paint, I HAVE to write, I HAVE to use my creativity or there's really no point in being here. After I complete a painting or write a short story I feel so warm, so full of life. It doesn't matter what kind of day I've had, if I come home and do something creative everything is instantly better. Art is a part of life, and I have to do it. Since I embraced my creative side again I'm not as stressed out. The threat of dire things still looms heavier over my head, but I can deal with it now. I can take it and channel it into something- a painting, a short story.

Poor Melody still has a long way to go. She came home Friday after her surgery and it confined to strict stall rest. She's such a brave little mare. Everyday when she sees me she nickers happily and rests her head on my chest. I keep praying everything will be alright, and any doubt or troubles get washed away in layers of paint on canvas.

Belle ACEO

"Belle" 2.5 x3.5 Colored Pencil on Paper

This beautiful mare is owned by my Barn Manager, and I couldn't help but try my hand at painting her! She's a Champion Arabian Halter horse, and full of attitude! Around the stables we call her "Barbie" because of how she struts around! It's always amusing the personalities these creatures have, and that's most of the reason why I'm so drawn to horses. Their beauty and grace is just the perfect subject for a painting!

I also like completing these smaller works of art. They come in handy if there isn't a lot of time to complete a larger work, and they help keep things challenging. It's very hard to come up with a pleasing composition with such a tiny work space! Colors and contrasts become even more important than the subject matter as one trys to make the painting successful. With the time factor, I can usually have one of these completed in less than an hour. And in a busy work day between school, writing, music, and exercises- like I said, larger works just keep getting pushed back. This is especially true with school since I'm an art major, I have so many paintings due for different professors there just isn't time for personal work sometimes!