Sunday, April 29, 2012

a hot mess

just trying something new. acrylics and palette knives. i wanted something bright and energetic. i started applying the paint and took a twisting motion for each color. i realized it looked like a chromosome which provoked me to think of life and creation. as i continued on, i thought of color and the emotions evoked by each:
yellow: sunshine, summer, bright, happiness, optimism;
blue: cold, winter, peace;
orange: enthusiasm, cheerfulness, energy;
purple: royalty, magic, imagination;
red: passion, danger, love, anger, speed.

so when i finished with this "experiment" i tried to make sense of it all. it was created intuitively but i wanted to keep in mind the compositional elements and principles. i have mixed feelings about it, whether i like it or not. i couldn't help but make it into a form of self portrait. my life is a hot mess right now. the yellow at the top being my destination, a place of happiness and brightness. the twists and turns in the middle representing areas of need such as finding peace, energy, and imagination through the stress of my current life. and then the red, the large wave of passion always waiting to take over and as it waits it gets angrier and angrier.

it could also just be me and my girls hanging out at the beach on a hot sunny day :)
i love art!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

final drawing presentation

this class is done. i can honestly say i have learned a lot. my confidence is better. this may sound silly, but i looked at my portfolio today and thought "i do know how to draw". i may not be at the skill level i'd like to see but i need practice. lots of practice. something i do take for granted. so here's a look at what i turned in. i think i missed taking pics of a few pieces. i do know i passed the class :)











Thursday, April 5, 2012

what emotion does this convey?

the assignment was to create an emotion or a feeling in a drawing without using a human figure. well...
my idea looked good as a thumbnail in my sketchbook but i look at this and all i can think of is "monster eye". maybe i'm just being silly. we had to use space, light and perspective to convey a feeling. i thought i could convey fear. so many people have stage fright (myself included). the perspective was suppose to be from high in the balcony. i probably should have made the stage scene a bit smaller. i don't know. the spotlight is a focal point. the spotlight was also suppose to have a dramatic light effect. i don't know how i feel about this piece. i think i need to darken the curtains to match the top curtain. and maybe the shape of the stage just isn't working for me. hmm...

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

rejection = motivation

it's tough being rejected. i know it's all part of the process. still, it doesn't feel good. funny how it seems to put a microphone in front of my negative self talk. that self talk i'm trying really hard to change. so my apples painting was rejected for a local college student competition/show. out of 153 submissions, they only kept 79. i was in a bit of shock when i didn't see my name on the list.
my self talk has been talking a lot lately. always saying that maybe i'm not passionate enough, maybe i don't have enough skill, maybe i don't have enough creative talent, blah blah blah. being rejected for this show just added fuel to my self doubt. i know it's all fear talking. i'm always scared to take that leap of faith. scared to quit my job and go for something i know will make me happier. something that will fill my spirit. i do have a fear of rejection. i do find excuses to stop myself from moving forward. excuses has kept me from my dreams for too long!

so i started browsing the internet. something i do when i decide to procrastinate. i read some blog posts & then i came up on this: "don't listen to your fears" from things we forget #843. here's the link http://thingsweforget.blogspot.com
you know i had to analyze and say that message was sent for me :)

making a short story long, within an hour i found out that my school is having their student show. with their student show is a scholarship competition. if my painting was stuck at that other competition, i wouldn't have it to submit for this one. so there you have it. like the saying goes, when one door shuts, another one opens, right? then i remembered how happy i felt to get the piece ready for the show and actually deliver it to the place. i loved the excitement. the process! remember, it's all about the process. i am enjoying the process and i need to focus. this one rejection is just a distraction. a distraction that should motivate me to work harder. rejection has motivated me in the past why shouldn't it continue to do so now?