Answers to Questions . . . and a Little More

Sandra: If you could choose one painting for Crystal to paint especially for you, what would it be of?




Crystal's Husband; Brodie: Sandra what a thought provoking question. I am lucky because she paints so many pictures of our kids. Our home and my office always have a fresh supply of beautiful pictures of our children. I am often approached by other parents yearning for works of their children - I tell them I discourage Crystal from doing commissions. Part of the wonder of Crystal's work is her heart is in each one. She has painted work for other people and started over time and time again because she is either not "feeling" inspired or something, in her opinion, is wrong with the painting.



With that said the direct answer to your question is pictures of her. All of the self- portraits that Crystal has done have been posed, beautiful but posed. They are lacking her true nature. I never suspect her self portraits to capture the essence of her as she captures it of other largely because she doesn't allow her to see herself as favorable as she should.



Kim: Were you into art before you met Crystal? Has her love of art influenced you?



Crystal's Husband; Brodie: That is a tricky question. I, like everyone else, love beautiful things. So if that beautiful thing happened to be art, then yes I was into art. I'm not moved by art because it is done by someone who is revered by the world. I hated my college art classes because they told me that certain art should mean this or move me a certain way. I feel art is unique to everyone and should be left to individual translation.



Her love of art has influenced me. I have watched her pursue her dream tirelessly. She was talented ten years ago, but she is not one to rest on plateaus. The average painting used to take her 40-60 hours now they are much faster and she has continued to perfect her skill.



One More Thought: Crystal is an extremely humble and modest person. She does not like to brag on herself which is fine because that is one of my favorite things. Crystal enters shows because I have almost forced her to do so. She was convinced that her works were not good. So I wanted her to be compared to others because I knew she would do well. She won two awards in her first show and has continued to enter more competitive shows and do well even on a grander scale. I recently had some business cards made up for her. Her father was over here the other day and I asked her to show him one of her cards. It was only very reluctantly she did so. When we go to shows she is happy to have gotten in and I am mad that the judges couldn't see she was the best.



Thanks for putting up with my ramblings.

Sketchbook Mondays # 3

Chauncy, our Giant Schnauzer

      In keeping with the spirit of sketchbook Mondays, this is truly a super fast sketch. It took me less than ten minutes and it really is far from finished. I've been going to paint this image for a few years, it's a picture of our dog looking out the back door, waiting for us to let him out :)

       The appeal here, other than the fact that it's my cuddly, cute, huge dog, is the light. I think I'll paint just about anything if the light is hitting it in just the right way.

      Also, if you look closely you can see I had trouble placing the bridge of his nose. I had to try a couple times to get it right, and I left most of my original marks there because I liked the sketchy energy that it gave. As always, if you want to post a sketch for Monday leave a note in the comments and I'll try to come check it out.

      I say try because things have been crazy busy around here lately. I'm sorry I haven't gotten around to comment on anyone's post, I've been getting ready for a week long camping trip with 11 teenage girls for my church, and it's been hectic. I'll be gone the rest of the week, but I have a guest host for our Wednesday question. :)

      My husband said he will answer any questions you may have about me or my art or anything else, so leave a question in the comments if you want and we'll see what he has to say. It should be interesting, and certainly a  change of pace :) I'm seriously curious about what he has to say about me, but I'll have to wait until I get back because he won't say a word. *pouting*

      Anyway, I hope you all have a great week and I'll see you when I get back!

Trying Something New

work in progress

      I'm taking a break with the painting of my son, it just wasn't working. I think I killed it, too much fussy painting. Ah well, live and learn.

      So here we have a new project :) I don't paint very many flowers, I think I've only painted one before actually, but I was at my mom's a few weeks ago (and she is a MASTER gardener, let me just tell you) and we were walking around her garden. I saw this tree peony and absolutely loved the way the light fell on it. And, it's pink! My favorite! I am unashamed that I have fallen victim to gender sterotypes because pink is my favorite color ever :)

      Also, here's a very rough sketch I did before I started painting, focusing mostly on shapes and hoping to have some interesting line work too. Because there are so many different shapes in flowers I needed to have a map of where the darks and lights were, otherwise I get confused and it doesn not make me happy when I am confused. That's the purpose of this little sketch, my own little shape map.

      And can I just say how much fun it has been to paint so far? Because it has, a lot. I needed a fun painting, I was letting myself get too stressed out about paintings not working. I think I have trashed about three in the last few months. Not good, but part of the whole experience for me, I've come to accept that. Sometimes a painting works and sometimes they don't, no big deal. Right? Right :) 

      Wednesday's question has come and gone I'm afraid, but I still think we can have some good blogging fun :) Here's a picture of my youngest when we went to the park yesterday, he just discovered how to blow those dandelion puffs and he saw these clover flowers, which he thought were the puffies. So he spent a lot of time picking them and trying to blow them, it was so cute. It took him a little while to figure out they were not blowing away :)

 

I think I'm going to have to paint that.

      Now it's your turn, that was my random little bit of news for today, what's yours? Tell me something totally random, like what you had for lunch today, or what's the worst movie you've seen lately, or what song do you listen to the most? Please share, it'll be fun, just wait and see.

      Here's something random about me (actually I think you guys know a whole lot of random stuff about me), I am terrified of moths, that's right, I said moths. I don't know what it is about them, but they totally freak me out *shudders* 

      See how not scary that was? The randomness, not the moths. Okay, your turn :)

Sketchbook Mondays

      Technically this isn't from my sketchbook, but it is a more unfinished study than what I usually do, and for that reason I'm saying it counts. I know I say I usually don't do studies before I do a painting, but this time I am. This is going to be a spiritual painting, based on one of my favorite scenes from the New Testament, and I want to make sure I get it right. I'm also working on a more finished drawing right now, and then will move on to the painting. The eyes are my favorite part of a sketch or a painting, there's just something so satisfying about trying to get them just right, so the person looks alive and full of emotion.

      I was out of town for a few days last week, celebrating my anniversary with my husband, it was SO fun, loved every minute of it. We browsed around a bunch of different art galleries, and it was inspiring to see all the different work, I love doing that. It ignited that spark for me again and now I'm just itching to get some paintings finished and start on some new projects. 

      Also, if you want to post a sketch for today, just leave a note in the comments so I can come check it out, I'd love to see it :), and let me know what you're working on, it's always fun to see.

      And here is a fun and inspiring quote about sketching from one of my favorite artists ever, Robert Barrett, it comes from his book "Life Drawing." Enjoy!

"A sketchbook allows you to draw for the pure pleasure of it. Most children draw because they want to, and so should you! Your sketchbook will become a self-portrait of sorts, reflecting your understandings and limitations, your assuredness or timidity, and your ability to devise solutions to problems."

What I'm listening to: Stolen by Dashboard Confessional, and Panic Switch by Silversun Pickups

WIP Wednesday

work in progress

15 x 21 watercolor

      Here's my latest work in progress, it doesn't look like much right now, but I'm hoping it will turn out just right. This is a very early stage (obviously) with only 4 layers of color and minimal shadow modeling. His right side looks a little wonky because it's so brightly lit by the sun, once I put in the background it will read as more of a figure, hopefully :) I'm loving the pinks, reds, and yellows in the skin tones, it's been fun to paint so far.

      And now to our Wednesday question, this time I have a blogging question for you. When you leave a comment on a blog, do you like the blog host to answer you? Do you expect it? And do you go back and check if they do, or subscribe to follow up comments? Also, do you prefer to hear back from them via email or just within the comment section?

       I have been wondering about this for a while. I love to hear back from the blog host, and a lot of the time I will go back to see if the person responded to me (especially if I know they usually do). Sometimes people send me an email reply to my comment which is nice, and fun to read. But not everyone has their email enabled, so when someone comments on my post I can't always send a personal note back to everyone, so I usually just reply in the comment section. Anyway, forgive my rambling, I've just been thinking about this and was wondering what all you awesome people thought about it :) My main goal is to let people know that I appreciate the time they took to leave me a comment, I want to make sure that it's the best way possible for you guys. Because I love your comments, they totally make my day :)

Sketchbook Mondays

     I thought I would try something new. I love to get a peek into artist's sketchbooks, it's SO fascinating to me, so I thought I would be brave and post a sketch from mine every Monday. If you want to join in, leave a link to your post in the comments and I would love to come and check it out!

      This is a sketch of my youngest when he was still pretty little (I think about six months old). Grandma had given him this puppy hat, and he was just adorable. Also I love how wide and clear his eyes are, and his little round nose. I could go on, and on, but I won't :)

      My sketchbook is kind of small, and it's a hardbound book (I stopped using spiral bound sketchbooks because of how they smear, but then I discovered that if you sketch in colored pencil it doesn't smear! So I may go back to spiral after this one's all filled up) so it's kind of hard to get a good picture of it. If any of you have tips for me about this I would love to hear it. 

     Also, I would like to give a big welcome to my new followers: Kathi, Rafael, Beth, Noemi, and Linda. Welcome! I'm so glad you're here and I'm looking forward to getting to know you :) I'm just starting this now, so any past followers that didn't get a shout out, I'm sorry, I'm very glad you are here too :) Happy Monday everyone!

Opportunity

"Opportunity"

10 x 14 watercolor

Finished! And I kind of like it. I think white subjects can be difficult to paint, but I really enjoyed this one. I've been a slow painter lately, kind of having to force myself to get started. I hate that, but I've come to realize that that's how creativity works with me. It ebbs and flows, when it flows I try to ride it out for as much as I can, and when it's not I just keep painting anyway, but not with that verve that I had before. It will pass, I just need to find something that sparks with me again. I'm working on it :)

Wednesday question time! I'm trying to rack my brain for a nice easy one. Hmmmm. . . here we go. If you're an artist, of any type, what is your favorite subject? In painting, drawing, photography and writing. I think I've covered all my bases there. Mine, obviously, is people, but in particular babies. I love to paint babies, there's just something about them that makes me want to try and capture that feeling of having your little one be brand new, again and again.

And, I forgot to mention the poll I posted a few weeks ago! Thanks everyone who voted, you flattered me with your answers. I've just about got the contest figured out (it's going to be so cool!) and will have it up in the next little while, so make sure to check it out! Have a great day everyone!

Answers!

     Thanks so much everyone for your comments and those great questions you asked me! I would honestly love to know the same about each of you :) Here goes:

Suzanne Berry asked: "How old were you when you realized you had a gift and how did it make you feel?"

my answer: I honestly have never felt that I have a gift. I do believe that we are children of God and that he gives us talents and expects us to use them to bless the lives of others and our own life, but I have always had a hard time with the idea that I have a gift. I think it's because I have chronic low self-esteem :P, and there are so many truly gifted artists out there that leave me 'breathless with envy' that just do absolutely amazing work. And this is not just me trying to be humble, I really feel this way.

       But I also feel that I have talent (in my mind talent and gifts are two different things), and I think I am realizing it more and more as I practice and study through the years. It makes me feel very grateful, humble and joyful that something that brings me so much happiness and fulfilment makes other people smile.

Michelle Teacress asked: Is there any one person who taught you what you know or did you discover things by trial and error?

my answer: Most of what I've learned has come through trial and error. I did have a high school art teacher, Mr. Crowther, who taught me how to make completely flat, perfect watercolor washes, using his technique of 'carrying the bead'. That lesson was invaluable, I swear we practiced it every stinking day for two years! Love ya Mr. Crowther! :)

      But I've learned the most through studying paintings that I really love, reading a lot of books about art technique, and then practice, practice, practice.

Jane Minter asked: What will be the title of your first book?

my answer: Thanks Jane for asking this question because I have seriously been stumped for a title! You got me thinking about how I would answer it and I had an idea! The book I'm writing right now (a young adult novel) is going to be called "Incinerate." Heeee! I'm excited.

Meera asked: How much planning do you do before you start a painting?

my answer:  Hmmm. . . That depends on how complicated the subject is :) For a basic portrait, just head and shoulders, probably thirty minutes or so. Most of that time is spent figuring out how I want the composition to look through sketches. Color choice is more intuitive for me, kind of a seat of my pants kind of thing, so I don't spend too much time planning that.

she also asked: How much time do you set aside as studio time every day?

my answer: I kind of just take whatever I can get :) With three kids and a husband and who knows what else comes up every day, I have to be flexible. Some days I don't get more than thirty minutes, others I have a couple of hours, and I get even more if I feel like staying up really late. But I do try to paint every day, except for Sundays, those are off days, unless I'm painting a gift for someone.

Kim asked: "Which artists are currently your favorites? The ones that make you sigh with wonder and inspire you? You know. . . if you got to browse in a book shop and purchase a few good coffee table art books who would they be of?

my answer: Oh jeez, it's hard to narrow it down! Right now the artists that are my favorites are Arne Westerman, Lesley Harrison, Dawn Emerson, Burton Silverman, Steve Hanks, Ali Cavanaugh, and Robert Barrett. And I have always been seriously in love with the work of Edgar Degas and Vermeer. :)

Nureeya asked: Were you educated at a university about art or did you learn to paint by yourself?

my answer: By myself :)

Carrie asked: Do you have a favorite painting that you have painted?

my answer: I think this is one of my favorites, it was the first portrait I painted when I thought "That's it, I've found how I want to paint." And the funny thing is that I had it in an art exhibit after I painted it and marked it for sale (because I was so sure no one would actually buy it!) and it sold! I was so sad! I actually asked the gallery owner if I had to sell it *blushing* they looked at me a little funny and said  'yes.' :) I seriously almost started crying.

"Just Right" watercolor

'Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.' Wyatt Earp

Carrie also asked: Do you have a favorite artist that you draw inspiration from?

my answer: Right now the number one artist that is inspiring me is Ali Cavanaugh. She's amazing!


And the winner for most creative question (he, he) is Sandra! Here's her question:

You are dressed for a very, very important function - it's the launch of your new book.  As well as photographers, many other very important people will be there so it's important to make a good impression.  You are wearing a stunning and very expensive cocktail dress with very classy accessories, and even if you say so yourself, you look simply fabulous! Just as you are about to climb in your taxi, your small child hands you a necklace to wear which he has made especially for you. It's made of giant sized dried pasta tubes, foil milk bottle tops and popcorn, all threaded on to a piece of fluorescent string! You know that your child will see the photographs in the magazine of you at the launch, so what do you do? Do you wear the necklace or not?

my answer: Absolutely and without any doubt, yes. I would rather look like a fool to the world than a failure to my child. Great question Sandra!


Thanks again everyone for the great questions it was so fun! I hope you all have a great long weekend!

Progress, and you get to ask me this time

"My boy, in summer"

10 x 14 watercolor

     I finished the portrait of my boy, and when I looked at the two photographs (the one I posted last time and the new one) I couldn't see much of a difference in them. But in real life I could :) So here is just a close up view that I kind of liked. I didn't end up adding that much to it, I decided it was better left fresh. I just glazed some rose on the cheeks and some yellow under the chin.

     I am making some progress with my horse painting too. I think I can finish this one up tonight and then it's on to a new project that I'm pretty excited to start :) I have the drawing all finished, I just need to get the paper stretched before I can start. I love starting new projects :)

     This week's Wendesday question is going to be a little different. I thought it would be fun to turn it around and let you ask me a question this time. It can be about art or not, anything you want to know (of course I'm assuming that someone will have a question :P), and then on Friday I'll post the answer.

 

Have a great day everyone!

Almost finished!

      I am so close to being finished with this painting. I just see a few things I need to fix and strengthen. Overall, I think it's going well. It's been fun to paint, that's the most important thing right? I like the background, but for some reason the photograph here makes it kind of hard to see. Since I painted this for a demo I'm going to go ahead and describe how I got to this point, from the previous post.

      I continued to layer colors over the skin tones, mainly using permanent rose, raw sienna, burnt sienna and a very, very small amount of my purpley-gray shadow color. That has been one of the hardest things for me to learn, don't paint the shadows as deep as you see them in the photograph. I always think it looks better if you don't make it really dark (it took me several paintings to understand this, finally!), and I like to do the majority of my modeling with the yellows, reds and oranges. They will build up form more than you think they will. At least that's what I was thinking :)

      While the face was drying, I would then go in to the hair and also sharpen up the eyes and mouth a bit. The hair is finished at this point, well. . . maybe. I might go back in and soften it up a little. I try to stop before I really overdo it, but jeez it's hard sometimes! But I can see that I definitely need to darken the cast shadow under his ear. And I'm thinking I might use some more rose on his cheeks and under his chin. All of this will be done quickly, get in and get out, no wishy washy brush work. That's the goal anyway, sometimes my brush just can't help itself :)

      Now, I am planning on having a contest here for all you wonderful, supportive, awesome people who follow along on this journey with me. You guys are great and it never fails to make me smile when I open up my email and see a comment from one of you. It really means a lot to me and I thank you for taking the time to be so kind and helpful :):):) I'm going to be attempting to repay that kindness, and so there is a poll on the sidebar of my blog that has a list of what kind of a prize you guys would like the most. Unfortunately there can only be one winner :( But I may be doing something like this on and off throughout the year. So stay tuned for that. And know that you are loved here! Also, this is going to be an interactive contest, so comments and input are welcome and appreciated! More details to come. Thanks everyone :) 

Another work in progress

      Another work in progress. I'm going to finish both of these I promise :) Last night I went and did a demo for a local art group, and it went really well. I was of course, so nervous, and positive I would make a huge mistake. But I didn't, it was a lot of fun, and I'm really glad I had the chance to do it. It was pretty cool to be around people who were interested in what I do, to me it's just so ordinary. It's just how I paint, I don't think it's anything that someone else couldn't do a whole lot better. I've just spent a lot of time learning from a bunch of paintings I really messed up on :)

      This is what I did for the demo, a portrait of my middle child. It's still pretty rough, but this is how far I got last night, in about two hours. I told the group I would post the finished work on my blog so they could have a chance to see it, so I thought I'd start with a post of where it is right now. I'm at the stage where I'm still really excited about painting it and I can't wait to jump back in.

      Now, my good friends, we are back to our Wednesday question! And just as a side note, my feelings won't be hurt if you choose not to answer, honest :) No pressure, this is just fun socializing between bloggers. Here it is :

"When faced with rejection of your work, how do you bounce back to believe in yourself and your abilities again?"

      I think about this a lot. Because it happens to me a lot. Just a couple weeks ago, I received three rejection notices for art competitions I had entered within three days. That's one 'we regret to inform you. . . ' a day! Ouch. I try not to take it personally, because I know that jurors are under a lot of pressure to pick a balanced show from a variety of artists. And there are usually so many more pieces than they can hang, and there's a time limit. The list goes on and on. But still, ouch. I guess something that helps me, is to just remember that I paint because I love to, and that it's ok that not everyone likes what I do. Also I try to get started right away painting something else, something that excites me, that helps me feel better. And cookie dough, lots of cookie dough. And then running, lots of running to burn off all that cookie dough :)

      Now it's your turn, what do you do?

Work in progress

      Here's the latest painting I'm working on. Just a simple horse portrait, but the lighting was so beautiful. This grey horse was full of violets, blues, oranges and rose colors. I loved her, and the way she was leaning over the fence with the wind blowing against her. I wondered what she was looking for? It seemed like there was something over the fence she really wanted to see, but I couldn't see what it was.

      And just a quick shout out to my new followers! Hello! Welcome! So glad you are here! I'll be stopping by to visit your blog soon :) Also if you are following me and I haven't been to see your blog yet, will you leave me a comment so I can find you. I'd love to see what you're up to :)

      Have a great Monday everyone!

What I'm listening to: 'I'm Still Here' by John Rzeznik

                                                            

FInished portrait, and I've been tagged

"Joy, unrestrained"

10 x 14 watercolor

     Here it is, all finished. I kind of liked it. Although I always look back on a painting and think I could have done so many things better, or at least differently. But, overall I'm happy with it. And it was just so fun to paint. It really went pretty quickly, which always reminds me of something I read in an art book. This woman who paints portraits was asked how long her portraits took. She said something like the good ones don't take too much time, but the bad ones take FOREVER! I would have to agree with that, for the most part :) Now, I'm wondering what to paint next. . . I have a few ideas, and some drawings started. We'll see :)

     Instead of a question this week I'm going to do this five question/five answer game that my good friend Michelle Teacress, tagged me with. Here goes!

Where were you five years ago?

1. staying at home with my boys, just two of them at the time. Our youngest was just a few months old, so I was short on sleep but long on love :)

2.  My husband had just graduated from college WOO HOO!!!!

3.  We were living in a little basement apartment getting ready to buy our first home.

4.  I was on a total health food kick and was constantly looking for new, healthy recipes that my family would actually eat.

5. I was FINALLY understanding how watercolor worked, and had just completed two portraits that I thought I could actually let other people see.

Where would you like to be five years from now?

1. A signature member of the American Watercolor Society, or at least closer to that than I am now :)

2. Still a stay at home mom

3. Completed not just one, but two marathons (Park City is on my list of must runs!)

4. For those of you that don't know, I'm also a writer, and I would dearly love to be published one day. just to have someone hold my book in their hands. So maybe in five years I'll be published, but maybe I won't. But I will be that much closer to the goal.

5. More confident, and happy with who I am.

What is/was on your to do list today?

1. A bunch of boring housework :(

2. go to the reception for two of my art exhibits

3. play with my kids

4. write something that I feel good about

5. try to shorten the time on my sketches. See how accurate I can get in the shortest amount of time.

What five snacks do you enjoy?

1. Kazoozles (fruit punchy licorice candy, yummy!)

2. Reese's peanut butter cups

3. chocolate chip cookie dough

4. apples with peanut butter

5. red vines

What five things would you do if you were a billionair? (of course I would donate to lots of worthy charities, especially animal rescue, children's hospital and my church. These answers are after all that is done, purely selfish things :)

1. Buy my mom a new house

2. Buy us a larger, newer house with land for a horse

3. hire a maid

4. go on a family vacation to Disneyland. And a trip with just my husband to Fiji.

5. Buy all the books I wanted ( I would have the most awesome library ever!)

     Fun huh? Now, in the true spirit of all good things bloggy, I tag the following people. Who then post the same Q and A on their blog, linking back to me and then tagging more people. If you want, don't feel like you have to. But come on, it's fun :)

Rachel from Open a Window

Suzanne Berry

Kim from eat, drink, paint
Sujit Sudhi
Kim from under the umbrella
Catie and Stefanie from Run on (yes both of you)
Sandra from Sandraws
Susan Liles
Carrie from Carrie's Creations
Nureeya
Michelle Smith
Carol Blackburn
Arti

     I can't wait to read them guys! Also, if your name's not on this list but you would love to do this then consider yourself tagged. Have a great weekend everyone!

work in progress

     Here's the current portrait I'm working on. Last night I worked on the eyes a little more, and also the skin tones. I'm trying to really convey that sun kissed look. I love the look of light on his skin, it's rosy and golden and just gorgeous. Sometimes I think I pick a subject to paint mostly for the light, I'm kind of addicted to full sun. :) I'm just about finished with the skin tones, just a few more light layers, and then will move into the hair and touching up the facial features. I usually prefer to paint subjects without big open grins, but this is my boy and look at that face! Also he doesn't have teeth in this picture yet, so that's just cute. I hate painting teeth. :)