I started the series off...kinda of testing the waters...feeling like I had a little bit of direction with women's faces, words (quotes/lyrics) and a focus on pencil and watercolor...then I made it just a little bit more streamlined after piece #5 (the Maya Angelou quote on the far left below)- I decided to draw portraits of the women that actually SAID the words...or were credited/associated with those words. This ups the ante a bit for me because if I am doing recognizable faces then they need to resemble those people...challenge accepted! In other CREATIVE news...I saw a post about Bullet Planning in an art teachers group I am in on Facebook and it caught my eye...then I forgot about it. 'Til today that is. I decided to look it up and wow...just...WOW. It's a whole 'nother world. Now, first off- I have made no secret about my love for planning and organization;
After spending about two hours reading blogs, looking at pics for inspiration and watching videos (I know...I'm an nerd) I realized that this type of planner could possibly be the answer to my on-going quest for the perfect planner. It's all about lists...and I kinda dig that. Plus, I can be creative since I am making the whole thing. Here's a peek at the mess I made working on this thing; And here's what I have so far- keep in mind, it's a work in progress and this is day one so much more to do! ...that's all I got for now! Looking forward to doing more research and filling this baby up!!!
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Somewhere between the holidays, travel, being sick and prepping for a new semester...I didn't get around to a proper introduction of my new series, even though I have been posting the daily pieces as I create them in this brand new year. I knew for this month I wanted to get back to working with pencil. Originally my intention was to just work with pencil on paper portraits- no frills. But...I kinda like the frills, and the first piece just needed a little something. And then it came to me- pencil portraits of ladies...right now random ladies but I have thought about using specific faces, not sure about that yet...and I am pairing each face with a quote I feel goes with the expression/feeling of the face I render. And...heck, why not throw in some watercolor too. So...here is what I have so far; I decided to call the series 'Girl Talk' (#GirlTalkJLG) because I am drawing ladies...'cause ladies are so lovely...and...because there are quotes. The quotes so far haven't been all ladies talkin'...but now that I am kinda solidifying the series...well, maybe that might be a consideration for how I choose my quotes from here on out. I can be so regimented when I work, especially when I start a new series so I try to leave myself a little wiggle room if I can.
My goals for this month's series are to get back to drawing with pencil...getting lost in shading...playing with tight rendering and loose sketchy line...and using color as way to contrast with the pencil and emphasize it. Okay...not going to go in depth, but I did want to go over just a few thangs from the last part of December... I guess it goes without saying that with this whole 'daily art habit' of mine sometimes I have to 'create' my own studio. It may stay the same, depending on where we are and for how long, but when we are traveling it can get a little crazy. This past trip home to NC we were in a hotel for few days (THANKS AGAIN CHRISTI!!) and for the most part I used this great big ol' tray on the coffee table, an end table and the couch for my creatin'.
One thing that happened over the break- a special #AngelDropART happening! Instead of my usual angel paintings I created custom ornaments with my signature design and dropped those off at the emergency room at Moore Regional. I figured if it was Christmas Day and you were at the ER...you could problem use something to brighten your day, right? Another thing from the break...and this is kinda big for me...I had an art show! After my last solo show at Harold's back in November I started thinking that my friends and family from NC aren't able to be at my shows since I am so far away. I actually had not shown my work in a solo format in my home state since my graduate show back in 2009. So I started brainstorming possible venues and sending inquiries. One thing that I am thankful for is all the contacts I have back home thanks to my husband and his family...so I contacted Con and Betty, the owners of the Bell Tree Tavern- and it was on! I originally had 31 paintings in my #NovemberBlueJLG series, but some were already sold/promised prior to the end of the series, so twenty-three paintings made the trip back home to NC. And it went kinda like this; And I sold many pieces that night...it was really just supposed to be a pop-up show...but Con and Betty said go ahead and keep it up, so I did. Here's a peek at the second half of the show, about fifteen pieces left; And a the end of it all...I only had twelve paintings to bring back from the twenty-three I took down...and two pieces to 're-create' because they sold and someone else wanted 'em. And that...well, that made me kinda happy. Thanks so much to Con and Bettie O'Mahoney...and to all of my friends and family that came out to support me and my work. I think this might be an annual thing...so stay tuned! So anyway...here is a mini-video celebration of my fourth year of daily art. Come back and see me...I'm in year five and ready to see where this year takes me!!! ...and at some point I WILL sit down and do a recap of the Christmas break...go over some highlights of 2015...and talk about my goals for 2016 and newest series...But not now, no way. These are my last few hours before I have to go to sleep at a decent hour and get up to play grown-up tomorrow...so...gonna relax... and work on my daily art, of course!!
Please check out my Instagram @artinw_damuse to see what I have been up to til I come back to the blog! Hope your 2016 is going GREAT! -Jenny |
AuthorArtist and Art Teacher
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