Tuesday, January 31, 2012

apples!

i'm having so much fun painting again. our assignment was simply direct observation. it was difficult deciding on an idea but i went to the grocery store thinking of fruits and veggies because of their colorful displays. well, i got a few shots before the manager told me i had to have corporate approval to take pictures in their store. whatever, i guess i understand, geez. 
i'm actually pretty happy with the results. i really enjoyed painting this. i did the highlights today and added the reflective color. now that i'm looking at it i might need to tone down the red reflections on the green apples. 

lesson learned: i still know how to paint, i can let go of the insecurity
what i'm most proud of on this piece: i enjoyed the process

Saturday, January 28, 2012

it's all about the process...right?

i am enrolled in 2 classes this semester. i felt i needed a freshen up on my drawing & painting skills. i was a little nervous. well, in the drawing class, we were given an assignment to draw 16 different views of a paper bag. then we were to take 2 of those drawings and morph them together into a composition. what? i told myself that i don't know how to draw what i don't see. my problem was that i was not looking. i forgot how to see! negative spaces, contour lines, angles, relationships, value, perspective, oh my! it was all so intimidating. i struggled.
 i struggled some more and ended up just doing anything, just to have something to turn in. i'd never use conte' crayons before. i suppose it's like charcoal but geez. i was not happy with my results. i thought it was dumb. i didn't like the assignment. it was so frustrating!
i turned it in. i got to see my creation up against my classmates. i was so disappointed in myself. then my instructor shows off his creation. he is a portrait artist and the 2 bags he morphed together actually looked like a female figure! he gave us a second chance and voila!
i don't know what it is but i decided to let it go and just have fun with it. i was excited and while i was drawing i went into my "zone". that feeling i get that i love so much when i get involved in creating something. i really don't know how to explain it but i assume it's when i access the right side of my brain.

this was a great reminder for myself to relax and enjoy the process!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

homage to grandma quinn



so i felt like baking today.
every christmas my grandmother would bake cookies. my brother and i decorated the sugar cookies but my favorite were her molasses cookies. unfortunately, i don't have her recipe. yesterday would have been her 93rd birthday.
i found this recipe on a blog i like to read every now and then. the recipe is for ginger molasses cookies. not like grandma's but they turned out yummy.

i also baked some chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and made a batch of chocolate fudge. yum yum :)