Cougar Kitten Sketchbook Saturday and some randomness

prismacolor on sketchbook paper

Just a little cougar kitten sketch that I did back in June. :)

Do you ever feel so excited to paint that every minute away from your easel (table, desk, what have you) is kind of torturous? I kind of feel like that right now.

I think I'm starting to get the hang of these oil paints (at least a bit), I painted my first portrait with them the other day that I'll post on Monday, and I can't wait to paint another one!

And then I have all these watercolors drawn out and ready to paint, and of course a colored pencil portrait in the works, three new commissions of darling and beautiful animals to start. . . . Who wants to vote to add more hours into the day hmm?? :)

And I found this quote the other day by Julia Cameron that I thought I'd share (I already shared this on my Facebook page so sorry about that if you've already seen it) because it seemed to fit my feelings of trying oil paints for the first time:

"Remember by being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance over time to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one."

I love that. There's nothing to be gained by an artist who doesn't take risks and try new things. Constantly exploring new subjects and media is what keeps me inspired and I know if I keep doing that I'll be able to express the deepest feelings of my heart. . . But perhaps badly at first. ;)

And I can't leave you guys without sharing this pic of me with a streak of pink oil paint that somehow ended up in my hair. At least it washed out. . . mostly. :) I've always wanted pink hair anyways.

Huzzah!!! :) For pink hair!!! :)

Tricks and Treats - SOLD

Tricks And Treats

7" x 9" watercolor

SOLD

Lately I have had a big fascination with shiny or reflective objects when it comes to painting. It all started with that dang glass of apple cider I did. I had SO much fun painting all the different colors and details. There's something kind of magical about really seeing what happens to shiny stuff (for lack of a better word) in the light.

I wanted to paint something Halloweenish (have I mentioned that Halloween is my favorite?) so I spent some time in the candy aisle looking at all the fun treats. And, lo and behold! I found these pretty little foil-covered chocolate bars. Which I then stacked up next to good old Jack here to find some kind of composition that caught my eye.

When I saw those little spots of reflected color on that silly looking pumpkin I almost did a villainous laugh. Seriously. I was pretty happy. The only problem with this painting? Painting the candy before the four menfolk (and one womanfolk, who has a serious sugar weakness) in the house ate up all my props/treats!

Now,  onto some random Halloween fun. :)

Favorite Halloween movie: "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown", or "Igor" (which technically is not a Halloween movie, but, it has Igor's in it for goodness sake! 'Igor!!! Pull the switch!!!' :)

Favorite Halloween book: Nevermore by Kelly Creagh (Edgar Allen Poe spookiness abounds!) or The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancy (very, very creepy, in a good way)

Favorite Halloween treat: My mom's popcorn balls. She makes these to-die-for super soft and gooey, buttery caramel popcorn balls that are totally worth all the stickiness you WILL get on your face after you eat one.

Favorite Halloween song: Thriller by Michael Jackson of course. :)

Favorite Halloween costume I've worn: For the last two years I have been a pirate because at least one of my boys has been too and it was fun to be pirates together. Also, because then I can channel Captain Jack Sparrow who is the best. pirate. ever. Savvy love?

Feel free to share your favorite's with me in the comments or in your own blog post and I'll come check it out!

Have a great day everyone. :)

WIP Wednesday and a very random thing that made me smile

more work in progress 15 x 20 watercolor

First of all thank you so much for all of your wonderful, heartfelt comments from my previous post. You guys are the best. :) Thank you.

Second, I've made some progress with this WIP. I was hoping to be finished by now, but I'm not quite there yet. It's coming along though. I like the warm colors in this piece, and that very different green apple. 

Third, sometimes you just really need something to make you smile you know?

Yes, of course you do.

That's why when I saw this:

I just knew I had to share it with any fellow sugar junkies out there.

You're welcome. :)

And last of all, I started a Facebook Fan page for my art and would be honored if you wanted to come and 'like' me. The widget is on the side of my blog.

Thanks everyone!

Until Friday.

Huzzah!!

WIP Wednesday, and more randomness behind the scenes

      I loved reading the comments from my last post. It was awesome to read all the different things you guys love about the way you create. So many of them were things that I love too, proving once more that blogging is cool and we are very like minded people. At least when it comes to being creative. :)

      Here's my answer: Something that I love about how I paint. . . hmmm. . . I guess I would say that I am confident in my ability to control my medium, watercolor. It took me many years and many, many, many failed paintings to reach the point that I'm at now. And I think I can say in all honesty that I'm proud of that.

colored pencil portrait, work in progress

      This piece is moving along slowly, mostly because I've had a stack of paintings calling out to me to hurry up and finish them already! I'm not finished with the face, but I felt like I needed to have some of the hair laid in so I could get more of a feel for how much I want to push the rest of the face. Truly, this is a work in progress. Those finishing touches that pull it all together are still to come. And yes, I think he might still need an ear.

      And, I've changed the commenting format for this blog. I've been getting some really nasty spam, so I've now limited comments to registered users (meaning that you either have a blogger account or some type of google open ID) Sorry guys. If you're not able to comment anymore and you'd still like to get in touch with me feel free to send me an email at crystal(at)crystalcookart(dot)com. I'd love to talk to you!

       Arrr! Scurvy bilge rat spammers!

      So, Crystal (you may be thinking) . . . what's with the pirate talk?

     It just so happens that I have missed two very important milestones this month. One: September 19 was National Talk Like A Pirate Day. Arrr! Avast me hearties! This saddens me as I was planning on incorporating pirate speak into my blog post for that day. *wipestears* Oh well, there's always next year.
Right? ;)

     And Two: The other day was my one hundredth post! So exciting! I feel like such a blogging expert now! (kidding, of course) Thanks everyone for reading along with me this far and for all your excellent conversation, encouragement and friendships.

      I think it is pretty darn cool that my 100th post coincides very neatly with my portrait giveaway. Just a quick reminder that if you still want to enter for a chance to win just click on the banner above and fill out the form, there's only two days left! Special thanks to everyone who has helped get the word out! I appreciate it so much :)

      See you tomorrow guys, have a great day!