An Artist New Year's Resolution -- Staying Focused

There seems to be a lack of consistency in my work.

Acrylic on barn wood

Acrylic on cardstock with original verse

Colored Pencil

I'll do something serious that takes hours and every stroke can be critical.

Then I'll get some crazy idea to make my own canvas out of paint sticks.  Paint a picture and put a lace stencil around it.

Acrylic on a paint sticks, a frame made of stretcher strips and a doily stencil

Another "bright idea", I'll paint on barn wood!  Sounds like fun?  I turned it into something serious.

Acrylic on barn wood

Well, then I thought I'd try to lighten up on the barn wood and have some real fun.

Acrylic on barn wood

Out of no where I decide to sew on screen wire, whhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Sewing on screen wire with yarn

After that came the idea of building my own crate with paint sticks.

Crate made with paint sticks

And where ever did this come from?  I decided to do a bit of weaving!  With paint sticks!  Well, I couldn't actually weave them, but believe me I tried.

Woven organizer with paint sticks

Which then gave me the idea of weaving with paper rope..............

Woven wall hanging with paper rope and stretcher strip bar frame

And then I wanted to weave a pot, and so I wove one out of paper and then one out of a t-shirt.

vase woven from an old t-shirt

I painted on lace.............

Lace on stretched canvas

Suddenly I decided that I'd like to paint on canvas again and add something real to the painting, so.....

Acrylic on canvas with real butterflies glued to the canvas

Next, okay, let's do a bit of illustration on pages from the Bible.

Colored pencil and pastel on printout from Exodus

Let's throw in a bit of Christmas crafting, again, whyyyyyyyyyyyy?

Angel made from t-shirt, wood ball and old sheer curtain

Oooh, time to paint again!  But this time, for some reason I decided to play with black and white.....

I went serious.                                                                                                

Pencil on bristol board

Then I played around a bit...........

Pale pink paint sticks
black, gray, white acrylic

This made me think of art therapy, so I had to try my hand at that too!

 

Oh and let's not forget painting and sewing screen wire on canvas.............

And making a pair of flip flops from foam and woven t-shirt scraps.....

I decided to put my art work on products, so I opened up a Zazzle store for my fine art.

Then another for my fun art, with quotes and poetry.  

And then another for greeting cards.  

Then I threw another one in for spiritual things and of course I had to have a store for the children's art I love to do. 

 Here's one of those............

Acrylic and water color pencil on bristol board


Oh and lest I forget, I also have a store for the kitchen.  I love designing the kitchen products with my art too!

So here is my artsy resolution, ready, here goes..............

This year, 2016, I'm going to try to be more focused, try to stick to one or two things and work on perfecting those areas.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

Wish me luck.

Art: Encourage a Child with Illustrations

Technorati Tags: art for kids,inspiration,encouragement,illustrations

I can remember as a child not having much encouragement in the areas of my interest.  Sometimes it's hard to figure out just which direction your child is going if they do many things.  There are certain pictures from my memories of growing up that stick out in my mind.  It begins visual and follows with the event or situation that was connected to the picture.

Visual illustrations can leave a lasting mark on a memory.  Something as simple as a poster hanging in a child’s room or anywhere they spend a great deal of time can travel with them through their life.  Even the negative ones can have an impact and let’s face it, children are surrounded by negativity these days.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.  We can change that for them with such simple things; from a special treat being placed in their lunch boxes everyday along with a note from Mom or Dad, to a simple illustration that might touch their little hearts, spark an idea or just inspire a certain attitude or outlook to live by.

Recently my daughter asked me to make some illustrations for some picture frames she had acquired.  These illustrations were to go in my grand-daughters remodeled bathroom.  So I thought long and hard about what I could illustrate for her that she might always remember.  Now, I don’t know if these illustrations will be one of those childhood memories that will inspire her as she grows up, but, if I could do anything to help her dream big, be inspired and have a positive outlook on her life, it was worth a try.

Proverbs 22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

I tried to make the illustrations include something she loved, something she could relate to, to make the biggest impact on her.  She will see these everyday.  I hope and pray she will remember the illustrations and what they are saying to her.  Someday she might need this memory.

If you are interested in hanging these up for your grand daughter click on the picture to purchase a print.  Inspire a child!

                   

Paint your own Sunshine

In this world full of people who have no respect for our children, there should be a place they can go to find peace, joy and love.  Sometimes, for some children, that place can only be found in their imagination.  It's sad to think about it, but it is reality.

By creating art to motivate positive thoughts, I hope to be able to brighten up a child's life, to spark positive and pleasant thoughts and to help them realize that there is a place to go to get away from the pain they may be enduring.  There are good things and wonderful people in the world, but some children haven't seen much of that.  In the process, there just might be a chance that as an adult walks by and catches a glimpse of this encouragement in the form of art or words, he or she might remember what a child's life is suppose to be like, causing them to want to make a difference.

Shouldn't we want to be encouraging to children?  There are many wonderful and positive opportunities in this world.  Sadly, we hear about the bad more than the good.  Possibly that's why I felt the tug to promote more good, share some wonderful and uplifting ideas, help to bring a smile to someone's day.  Art is what God has chosen to give me, so I'm thinking I should use it, for Him, for good.


Paint some sunshine.

If you'd like to purchase a print of this illustration, click here to go to my gallery.