On becoming an 'ARTIST'

Painting Buddha will always be my favourite activity - it feeds my soul, and is calming and meditative. I am already doing another!

Something very strange has happened to me in the past few weeks.......it would make an interesting psychological study for the world of art. At what point do people who love to paint, draw and create, at what point do they become an 'ARTIST'?

Painting this last week helped........

'Love of my Life' It has taken five years for me to paint a tribute to my guy who died in 2009. I think I have made a start, and have plans for others, too. I love portraits - I am painting a real person with character, personality and individuality. I try to find a person's uniqueness.....

Is it a self-imposed term that is rooted in the way we perceive ourselves?
Is it to do with our daily routine, output and number of hours at the easel?
Is it measured by the standard and quality of work as we learn and improve? Who exactly is judging this?  We are hardwired to criticise ourselves, the inner gremlins see to that. Our friends are hardwired to be kind and love everything we do.
Is it when we finally gather the courage to show our work online, to cease talking about ourselves in a derogatory way, to actually LIKE some of our work. We join groups, do classes and chat with hundreds of people doing much the same.
Is it the drive to perfectionism that I seem to have been born with? I hate mediocrity, shamefully I have never taken up anything that I knew I couldn't shine at (like sport, for example)?

.......or is it when you are seen as an artist by the public, in your posts and albums, in comments, in follow up communications?

Crazy, fluffed out drama queen of the house - Gracie!

All I know is that, after five years of trying, starting with crude stick figures, I do feel that I can call myself an artist. Good or bad rests only in the eye of the beholder, I realise that it is not for me to judge myself. My mantra is to paint what I love, to paint from my heart, from the inside out, to paint things that move me or have elicited an emotional response. I need to paint with authenticity. That's what makes me happy. The fact that some people like my work is an added bonus, a privilege.

A more expressionist take from a very old but much loved photo from a distance. Roy was leaning against the wall of out 16th century fisherman's cottage by the sea at Minehead Harbour. A fleeting moment from the past.......now in shadow

So my conclusion? It's just a word. I am a lifelong teacher - doesn't mean I am a GOOD teacher 9I think I was!!)...therefore being called an artist is meaningless unless you create for yourself, with truth and daring, when you are driven to it by some inner force which guides you instinctively to that easel every day!

Yes, I want to sell my art on sites such as Fineart and Redbubble. In a gallery. Wow!!!! But one's own satisfaction and happiness in the very act of creation must be at the very heart of it all. Still a WIP!

Arizona Rocks revisited 

Experiencing Monterey - one of my favourite places in the world

Getting going.....home and away

Whilst planning and dreaming of my next holiday - YES, I am going to Florida in the New Year ...hooray, on the road again!!! - I have done quite a few courses recently in my quest to acquire better technique. I know they won't necessarily make me more creative or talented (I wish!) but I do find that they stimulate ideas and give you practice in a very positive learning environment. They get me going...

 My favourite workshops are those of Jane Davies, especially the ones on Composition. She has a wonderfully straightforward, practical way of explaining both her theory and practice, reflecting a vast amount of preparation which she must have done previously. I love her work, too, but don't wish to copy it, and she ensures this by demonstrating a process and then setting guidelines for our subsequent follow up which are flexible and which allow for all of us as individuals to use our own ideas and inspiration . Much more importantly, she gives a kind but meaningful critique with constructive criticism - much better than the gushing sycophancy often found on other courses! This particular course is very similar in any case to what I like doing, so it really appeals. Here are my first attempts from Lesson Two - a fairly basic technique of abstract landscape composition but with some interesting collage elements, too.

As I said, this gets me going. Once in the zone, I can't seem to stop until weariness takes over, and the thought of having to work the next day. I then did a couple of colour studies in my large sketchbook, where I gather ideas for paintings.....

A productive day is a happy day......

Buddha Day

My Buddha is finished!! I can't believe that I have done it! From such a simple idea, and some good instruction, it seemed to spark something off inside me and I became much braver than ever before.

Procrastination is my enemy - I can make excuses not to work good enough for an Olympic medal - I get so easily distracted and my attention span is normally equal to my mad cat Gracie! I get round this by forcing myself to get my paint palette ready with the colours all sitting there waiting for me and threatening to dry out if I don't show up at the easel, so that I just have to get on with it. Like any other passion, once I get started, I lose all sense of time and place until I realise that I've missed my favourite soap, or haven't had my expresso coffee at all, or some other phenomenally important event has been missed!

I took part in a webinar yesterday....given by Julie Fei Fan Balzar about blogging. She did a fine job, beautifully delivered. It is still very vague about how to attract people to your blog and get followers - patience and consistency seem to be the key.  I also learnt that Typepad may be a much better platform for making your blog look prettier, so at some stage soon I am going to change over and produce a really PINK blog for which you will all need sunglasses and some form of neon protection!!!

I'm really tired tonight...will be back soon. Thanks for joining me.

Journals - some recent classes

Just finishing doing some online classes with Joanne Sharpe - mainly using bright, vivid colours and using our stashes of markers for lettering. Usually I study the techniques used in the class and then make something completely different, but this time I loved the idea so much that I made one for me!!!