Silent Night SOLD, and why I paint in oils sometimes

'Silent Night' SOLD

5" x 7" watercolor on paper

Reference photo by Elizabeth Ward Sescilla, thank you! 

I wanted to do a Madonna and child type of painting this Christmas, using horses running through the snow, and this is it. I realize this would have to be a very late (or early) foal to be this age and running through the snow, but. . . I thought it was such a lovely, peaceful image that I decided to exercise my artistic license. ;) 

 Here's a pic of the painting in progress. :)

We're knee deep in Christmas preparations around here and I'm so excited!! I love Christmas. I love seeing the magic of this season through my kid's eyes. It's one of the best things ever. 

The boys and I have been making some Christmas crafts including these Santas above. This is what happens when you have all boys. You get one normal, jolly Santa, and then. . . his evil twin brother. Don't ask me, because I don't know how they came up with that idea. 

And Katherine asked if I'd post a pic of our decorated Christmas tree so here it is. :) Most of our ornaments are homemade and all of them are very sentimental and I love it that way. It's not a fancy tree, but our kids think it's magical, and they are in charge of decorating it themselves. Brodie and I just hand out the ornaments.

I also wanted to give a quick shout out to my dear friend Carol Blackburn, who sent me the most lovely little ACEO that I adore. Thank you so much my friend, I treasure it so much! I'll post a pic of it in my next post so you guys can see it. :)

And now, to of why I wanted to paint with oils. I've gotten a little bit of feedback that people are sort of disappointed that I haven't been painting in watercolors so I wanted to let you all know that I will never give up on watercolors. They are a part of my soul and I LOVE painting with them. I suspect that is where I will always feel most at home, but sometimes I just need to try something new. 

I was starting to dread every time I sat down to paint with my watercolors. I don't know why, I think I was just feeling a little bit burned out. I wasn't excited to paint anymore. And I HATE feeling like that. Art is what heals my soul, you know that quote that says art washes away the dust of every day life? That is exactly how I feel. I'd be lost if I couldn't paint every day. Any time I go a few days without painting I start to feel like I'm not myself, I feel restless and anxious. But as soon as I pick up a brush or a pencil I feel whole again. 

So whenever I start to feel burned out I get a little scared. Because painting is something I HAVE to do, and I have to enjoy it. That sounds a little selfish doesn't it? But it's the truth. Also I have just felt drawn to oil paintings lately, they're what I look for in art magazines, what I search out when browsing online. I try to dissect them in my head, mix the colors and visualize how the artist laid down the brushstrokes.

And that's when I started to feel excited about painting again. I LOVE the rich, buttery colors of oils, the visible expressive brushstrokes, and the simplification of details, and I really, really love how quick they are. I want to be an expressive painter, and while I don't think it's always important to paint quickly, right now when painting time is so scarce that's really important to me. 

So that's it in a nutshell of why I like painting in oils. I will still mostly be painting with watercolors, but sometimes I may go on an oil painting binge again, because it's what I have to do to feed my creativity. Does anyone else ever feel like that? I'd love to hear your story too. 

Thanks for reading this epic post. Huzzah my fellow rock stars!! :)

Motivational Monday, some progress, and some randomness

Making some progress with this colored pencil piece, slooooowly. Basic skin tones laid in here, deep rich shadows are next! And his forehead, ear. . . and hair :)

     No, I could not just leave this alone, like some of you suggested in my earlier post (which was a very good suggestion by the way). I had to finish it. I did really like where it was, but I'm really getting irritated with my stack of unfinished projects.

     Seriously, today I sorted through some paintings that were finished, but still stretched to their board, and paintings that were at varying stages of completion. My tower of unfinished work threatened to topple over on me. It was scary. Note to self: finish what you start!!

     So, I am :) even if it takes me forever.

And just for fun, here is a photo of my current work space. Because we're all visual people here and we like photos, especially behind the scenes ones. Oh wait, is that just me? :)

      My two oldest kids are back in school, and my youngest naps when they're gone so I can work at my desk now, instead of the kitchen table! Huzzah! I feel so professional :) And for those of you who have sharp eyes, why yes that is a nearly completed manuscript of my Young Adult novel sitting on that desk. I am so close to being finished with it, so close!

     And last but not least, since it is Motivational Monday I have a fantastic quote to leave you with. I read this in a magazine yesterday and I thought it was perfect! But just now I had to spend 15 minutes looking for it again because I forgot which magazine it was in. Why, oh why didn't I just write it down in my handy dandy idea notebook? Because I can't find it, it's gone missing at the moment.

     No, I'm not blushing. . . well, maybe a little bit. :)

"Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best."  - Henry Van Dyke

     It's a good one isn't it?

     So, that's what's happening with me. What about you guys? What's going on with you?

Behind The Scenes

     I was never the kid in school who was the most talented artist. You know, the one who was just  AMAZING and everything they drew or painted was just perfect and they made it look effortless. Not me. But I so wanted to be.

     When my first son was born my husband and I decided I would not go back to work. This was a leap of faith because my husband was still in school and working full time, I was working full time too. Once I quit we would take a significant loss in our income. But it's a decision I have never looked back on. I have felt so strongly from the beginning that I needed to be home with my kids. And there's no where else I'd rather be :) Challenging yes, but joyful too.

     Once my son was sleeping through the night I found myself with a lot of free time on my hands (he was a good little sleeper). My husband had a lot of night classes and was studying and working when he wasn't in class. It was then that I decided to teach myself to be the best artist I could be. I went to every library that was nearby and checked out all the art books that I could. And then I went home and practiced every minute that my son was asleep. I wanted to be an artist so bad. More than anything. I had all these visions in my head for paintings I wanted to do and they never quite turned out how I wanted them too (I still have my own horrific first attempt at a portrait). But I didn't quit, I kept trying. And then gradually I began to see that I was making improvement. Slowly, but I was getting better.

     Now I look back on that and I'm greatful for those awful paintings. Because they taught me so much. And with each one finished I had this strong desire to get back in there and try again. I had faith in myself. I believed. I think somewhere since then I've lost that. But I'm going to try and get it back. I still don't give up, I keep pushing along. I guess in a way that's proof that I do believe in myself. Does this post make any sense at all?

    Anyway, I have a new project started. It's a portrait of my baby, I haven't quite captured him the way I want to yet, so I'm hoping this one does. I'm working out the drawing right now, I should have the first washes on it tomorrow. It's always exciting to start a new project :) I also included a few photos of my palette and the brushes I use, because I think it's interesting to get a little glimpse behind the scenes of other artists (I was really tempted to clean up my palette before I took a picture of it, but I restrained myself, this is how it looks when I'm working). The little Spongebob sticker is one my son gave to me, I have it taped to my drafting table. He stuck Spongebob's hand on Gary, so it looked like he was petting him. They were originally two seperate stickers. He was so proud of his little creation. I taped it there to remind me of a lot of things. His belief in his self, his love for me, his simple joy in making something that wasn't there before. It's funny how when we're little we want to grow up RIGHT NOW, and then when we're a grown up we try to recapture that childlike faith and optimism. I don't know how great I am at teaching my kids what they need to know, but I sure learn a lot from them.