My Big Three: Journal Page

I just bought a BIG sketchbook that I love. It's 11" x 14" with nice, thick pages that are great to work on. I've been a little behind in the Journal Journey group I belong to and really wanted to get a page done for the latest prompt. Plus, I wanted to try out all of my new Golden paints that just came in. ;)

The current prompt is: Name three things that you like about yourself. *groan* Why was that so hard! I decided to have some fun with it and sketched this crazy face to get me started. I've been practicing my Zentangles and thought they would make a lovely jester-style hat for my girl. I LOVE those Zentangles! Check out their newsletter. They will often include new tangles with each issue. These are so fun to doodle, color and even incorporate into your own drawings.

So my three things were: creative (duh!), a big heart, and a sense of humor. These are what I call my big three. I collaged some papers from old textbooks onto the page before starting in with the paints. Oh, these are some yummy colors. More on that in a minute. I love this big surface to work in. Lots of room to play!

I sketched the face on some drawing paper and then scanned it. After printing it out onto copy paper I colored it in and then cut it out and adhered it onto the journal page. I'm doing more with that sketch in another piece. And I've just started another class called Technicolor Faces, taught by Sharon Tomlinson. This is where those luscious colors of Golden paints come in. We are learning to paint faces in technicolor! I'm already loving this! I'm starting to paint my first canvas today. I just reviewed the videos again to make sure I have an idea of what I'm supposed to do. I'll post my results soon. Stay tuned...

I've had four straight days of migraines and have not been able to do much of anything. This is the first day that I've started without pain. I want to paint and play art as long as I can today! :)

Looking In

I admit it: I'm a lurker. I love to join social websites. I love to read the posts, enjoy the art, the tutorials, the conversations, etc. But I rarely join in. I don't really know why. I will occasionally chime in if there's a topic I feel strongly about or have something to contribute that I think will help someone. But I usually just follow the conversations and stay silent.

That's how I go about my art: silently working away in the studio. Sometimes I'll have music on but usually it's just the sound of my paintbrush or whatever medium I'm working on that day. I guess I just realized all of this while taking Kelly Rae Roberts' ecourse, Flying Lessons. We're talking a lot about social networking, especially Facebook, blogging, Twitter, Yahoo groups, etc. and I started thinking about how much I enjoy the Ning sites I belong to.

If you look at my sidebar you'll see a few of the sites listed. I haven't updated these lately so there are quite a few more that I've joined. I like checking in with them everyday to see what's going on; they really are little communities, buzzing away. It's nice to check in on the artists' work and what motivated them to create it. Now I'm not a complete recluse. I DO post my work on some of these sites. And I interact with the folks on these pretty often.

I guess I'm really talking about the Facebook, Yahoo groups and Twitter sites. I really don't do much at all with those. I just lurk. I'll read the posts and then check in later and read some more. At first I didn't understand Twitter at all. Now, it's pretty entertaining. I have my favorite people that I love to follow; not all of them are artists (most are). I've gotten used to how it works now and I suppose I'll eventually have some things to add. Every once in a while I'll "tweet" when I put a new work up on my Flickr or post to my blog. But I'm getting the hang of it.

Facebook, I still don't understand. I'll have to look at it some more to figure it all out. But I don't mind reading everyone else's little snippets. And I receive Daily Digests for the Yahoo groups I belong to. That helps cut down on tons of emails. These groups are very helpful in terms of techniques, new products, etc. So I like to check in with those and skim the messages for news that way.

So thinking about all of these different sites and my interaction (or not) with them, put me in a quiet, contemplative mood. I ended up making this digital piece called, "The Outsider". The tornado siren rang three different times here tonight! Luckily nothing major touched down. I guess that's where the lightning in this piece came from. ;)

Flying Lessons

Yes, I am nervous if I get in a place that's a little too high and I am DEFINITELY afraid of water: I can't swim! So why did I create such a disturbing piece? Well, first of all, I made some CitraSolv pages today and one of my favorite pages left this guy hanging in the sky. Everything else on the page got melted away but he remained. So I had to use him in a piece of art. What's really cool is he came along at just the right time.

I'm taking Kelly Rae Roberts' e-course: Flying Lessons (see button on sidebar). It is fantastic! And it's all about taking the leap in starting your own creative business. I've had this desire in the back of my head for a while but I've never really pursued it seriously. Right now I'm gathering information. That was just one of the things that kept me from really going any further: I didn't even know where to begin. So now I'm getting some answers.

As I learn new things from Kelly, I'll be making changes (to the blog and in other areas). So don't be surprised to see me tweaking things periodically. I'm experimenting with what feels right and trying to find my way in all of this.

I hope to have some news to announce in the coming months. I'm working very hard behind the scenes and I will let you know when I'm getting closer to my goal. Right now, I feel a little like the fellow in the photo: trying to balance all of the different ideas, information and possibilities. It's scary, it's exciting and and I'm entirely out of my element. But I've got to give it a try. And you'll be right along on the journey with me! So periodically I'll update you on how I'm doing in the course.

I've been experimenting with some new art forms and I'll be showing some of those to you next time. The thing I don't like about them: they take so darn long to dry... stay tuned!