May The Force Be With You

'May The Force Be With You'

10" x 14" watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper

This is number three in the Work of Childhood series

One benefit of being a mom to three boys and having a very manly husband too is that my house is usually filled with very. . . 'boy-type' things. Like super heroes, action figures, Nerf gun battles, lightsaber fights, things like that.

Maybe some moms would not see that as a bonus. But me? Well, I was the kid who loved He-Man just as much as She-ra and got up early on Saturday mornings to watch the latest X-men cartoon.

There, I've done it. I've suppressed my inner dork long enough and can hide it no longer! Confession: I have a thing for super heroes. Cool gadgets, tricked out cars and hovercrafts, mutant powers (speaking of which, the new X-men movie, First Class is completely AWESOME!). I love em all.

And when the last Star Wars movie came out I was the one who had to talk my husband into going to see it.

Don't look at me like that. I mean, come on, it was the making of Darth Vader! Epic coolness!

But I digress. This painting was the result of a sunlight filled morning and my middle child playing with his lightsaber and wearing a hoodie. He looked like a Jedi (or a Sith, but let's hope not!) in training and I thought it would make a great addition to my Work of Childhood series.

Imagination. Can't get much better than that for childhood work now can you?

Have a great day everyone and. . .  may the force be with you!   :) 

Huzzah! 

A Reason to Pout and three pictures of pure AWESOMENESS

"A Reason to Pout" acrylic on gessobord, 8" x 10"

The Work of Childhood series #2

Lately I've been feeling very drawn to acrylics. I don't know why. It's not because it comes easily, because it doesn't. It's not familiar and comforting like my watercolors, or soothingly meditative like my colored pencils. It's unpredictable and challenging. Maybe that's the appeal. I love a good challenge.

I really like this painting. I like the colors in his face and I like seeing the brushstrokes. And those pouty lips. :)

But. . . I kind of feel like a traitor for liking these acrylic paintings so much. I feel like I should not enjoy painting with them as much as I do, because they're not watercolors and that's sort of what people expect from me.

But they are fun, different, new. And sometimes that's just what I need. And it's not like I'm giving up on watercolors. Not at all. It's just nice to try something else for a change you know?

Now, onto pictures of AWESOMENESS.

The other day the Utah Watercolor Society hosted a demonstration given by one of my favorite artists ever.

Can you guess who it is? (If you follow my Facebook fan page you probably already know)

That's right! Alvaro Castagnet!! Can you even believe how awesome that was? Seriously, I felt like I was meeting a rock star. I may have stuttered when I asked if I could have a picture with him. I was a little bit fangirl. . . ok, ok I was a lot bit fangirl.

It was incredible to watch him paint, he's so confident and passionate that it was infectious. It made me want to run for my brushes. And hearing him speak about painting with passion, and being bold, holding nothing back, going for major impact was so cool. 

He was funny, and warm, and just plain AWESOME. 

I wish you could have been there. :)

And then last week I got to meet one of my favorite authors of all time!

Photo by Jenny Martinez Photography

Sarah Dessen! I have loved her books for years, read all of them, own most of them, and she is a major source of inspiration for my writing. I just love her. Her book "The Truth About Forever" is coming with me if ever I get stranded on a desert island. It's one of my top five favorite books of all time. (Which is saying a lot considering my list of favorite books is about five miles long)

And she was so nice and humble and just truly genuine. I think she and I could be friends if we were neighbors. :)

And yes, once again I was a fan girl of epic proportions. I just couldn't help it. I mean this is the Dessen we're talking about! She is incredibly AWESOME!

It was so cool. :D

It's inspiring to be around creative people who want to share and help other creative people. It's just one of my favorite things in the whole world.

See you next week everybody!

P.S.

Dear Alvaro,

I hope you will forgive me for posting this photo of you with your eyes closed, but I simply had to. For the sake of AWESOMENESS. I hope you understand. :)

Sincerely,

your most devoted fan girl,

Crystal Cook

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Finding Dreams

Finding Dreams

15" x 20" watercolor, The Work of Childhood Series #1

This is the first in a new series of paintings I'm going to be working on called, The Work of Childhood. I want to focus on all the things kids do that make up their life, when they're finding out what and who they want to be. Things that might seem of little importance, but really they're not. Those small things that are really big things. 

Do you remember when you were a kid and you had these great fantasies about what you would do or be when you grew up?  How it seemed impossible to not achieve everything you were drearming about?

I do.

I don't know about you, but my 'dream career' changed a LOT when I was a kid. I wanted to be a marine biologist, a horse trainer, a writer, an animator for Disney, an artist (of course), an equestrian in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and a lawyer.

Don't ask me how that last one slipped in there because I'm still not sure. I think it may have had something to do with my desire to win an argument with my older sister. (totally kidding) Love you sis!!! :):)

Now I get to see my kids have their own dreams and hopes for their future. And while some of them may seem a little fanciful (really? because an olympic equestrian was totally realistic right?) I will never say to them choose something else, or anything that might come across as unsupportive or doubting in any way.

Because I don't think those dreams you make in childhood ever really go away. You change them as you grow up but you always remeber how fiercely you felt about every single one of them. And how hard you may have fought for it. Those dreams make you into the kind of person you grow up to be.

Dreams are a fragile thing, and who am I to be the one crushing them before they've even had a chance to grow yet? My oldest son loves archery. He's passionate about it, he studies all the different kinds of bows, arrows, targets, sights, and everything else that goes with it.

I loved seeing that. Seeing him so interested in something that it occupied every thought he had. Sometimes I'd check on him at night after he went to bed and he'd still be awake, reading archery magazines by flashlight. It reminded me of some other kid I used to know who did the same thing with horse magazines and art supply catalogues. :)

What about you guys? What did you want to be when you grew up?