bye 2009~ hello 2010!!

"stop thinking this is all there is...realize that for every on-going war and religious outrage and environment devastation, there are a thousand counter-balancing acts of staggering generosity and humanity and art and beauty happening all over the world, right now, on a breathtaking scale, from flower box to cathedral...resist the temptation to drown in fatalism, to shake your head and sigh and throw in the karmic towel...realize that this is the perfect moment to change the energy of the world, to step right up and crank your personal volume: right when it all seems dark and bitter and acrimonious and conflicted and bilious...there's your opening. remember magic. and, finally, believe you are part of a ground swell, a resistance, a seemingly small but actually very, very large impending karmic overhaul, a great shift, the beginning of something important and potent and unstoppable."

mark morford ~the sun magazine

reflecting

2009 was a year of tremendous heartache that could have broken me, had i let it. but instead, i did heaps of healing, maturing, mending, shifting, and rebuilding with the help of Lazaris, a few books (when things fall apart, eat, pray, love, and i need your love-is that true) and the love and support of a few totally awesome friends and family.

it was also a surprising year in many ways! much to celebrate!

i renewed old friendships through facebook, found a plethora of new friends both on-line and in person, deepened my relationship with my brother, had memorable and joyous times with my family and friends, had a mischievous kitten join our family, spent much time in nature hiking with my dog and finally discovered my path with my art.

phew! that's quite a year~one i will never, ever forget!

and

i am beyond excited for twenty ten to begin! i really feel like this is going to be my year! so many ideas, plans and goals to achieve this year with my art. i also have a few small trips planned and my most exciting news...i'm going to africa...yes!! africa! yeah!!

my year is all about adventure and i am sooooo ready to leap into it!

hope the coming year is as exciting, packed full and over flowing with magic, love and adventure for you as well!

fierce

copyright 2009 kathryn hansen

as i was going thru my abundance of reference photos a few months ago, i came across this image of a clients dog i drew years ago. the image really jumped out at me, along with the word fierce. i am guessing that it speaks to my self-determination. i've always felt like i was a pit bull, never letting go of something until i had an answer or achieved something i really wanted in life. this aspect of my personality has always served me, especially in this past year of my life.

i'm also taking this word into 2010 as i work diligently toward making my art career soar! i have lots of motivation, excitement and ideas to make it now happen. and i have this gut feeling deep inside me that after this past year of healing, growing, and changing ~a year of great transformation, that 2010 is the year that i once and for all, achieve some of my biggest and boldest dreams as an artist!

Christmas past

Wishing you all a beautiful and magical Christmas!!

art basel 2009

Jane Hambleton: from Joanne Matteras art blog

Paul Wackers: from Joanne Matteras art blog

the two pieces above were for sale at the 8th annual Art Basel in Miami Beach. it is apparently the most important art show in the United States with more than 250 leading art galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

i've been devouring the coverage of the fair on these three insightful blogs; Joanne Mattera, Hyperallergic's Hrag Vartanian, and Myartspace. (my favorite being Joanne's)

i entered the Myartspace competition in Nov to try and get into this prestigious show but obviously i did not. surprisingly i was not upset by this news at all, as i knew it was a long shot any way. but i diligently studied the winners of the competition and i discovered that it was mostly installation and sculptural pieces that edged in. and from what i can see installation pieces really seem to be on the up swing lately. luckily this all just inspired me to work harder and to push myself further to be more innovative with my drawings. i was just extremely happy that a few graphite pieces were included in this show! and i was especially impressed with Jane Hambletons work...i absolutely love it!! please check out her work and some of the coverage on these great blogs...it's well worth the visit!!

can you see that thick layer of dust and cobwebs on my drafting table behind sammy? he figured he might as well take over my chair as long as i wasn't using it!!

yes the holidays have swept me away in all it's festivities, parties, get togethers and events. not to mention all the shopping, decorating and cookie baking. i've been too exhausted to draw lately and it's incredibly frustrating even tho i am having a great time being social!

i started this new series of small drawings with collage elements of people and their dogs. the third piece in this series is almost finished but can't get back to it! and i'm soooo close to completing my portfolio with only two more face close ups to work on. then my portfolio will be complete and ready to go out in the world to various galleries! i'm very nervous, but excited about that!

in the mean time......my art work is on hold!

have the holidays taken over your life too?! what have you given up to spend massive amounts of time on shopping, wrapping and celebrating?

josie has given up some of her nightly walks (not by her choice tho!). but she is still keeping the christmas spirit in her own way (okay i forced her to wear the hat!).

new fav

hope you had a great weekend!! i went to two gallery receptions and got in some productive studio time! YAY! i was feeling out of sorts as i had not had a chance to draw in almost a week and half. the holidays, painting interior rooms in my home (which i still have a long way to go on...ugh!) and a soccer party all kept me away from my drafting table. so it was a gratifying weekend for me in many ways! hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow so i can photograph some of my new drawings and show them to you this week!

in the mean time, just came across this incredible graffiti artist named roa on sprayblog. i found a wealth of images of this evasive artist, but no text. so i'll share a few of my favorite characterizations of his/her animals. enjoy!

hope you all had a bountiful, and wonderful thanksgiving! my celebration with family and friends was incredibly awesome and fun and now my weekend is filled not only with an abundance of delicious left overs but of painting as well. painting of hallways & bedrooms.

when my boyfriend first left me, i couldn't stand to be in my home. everywhere i turned i was haunted with memories of him. it was so bad that i was seriously considering moving to colorado near a friend. i endlessly quizzed her about real estate, jobs, schools, even colleges for months. i was so close to pulling up stakes here, but then i started sprucing up my overgrown front yard, fixing the picket fence, placing planters full of beautiful flowers and vegetables on my porch. then i started doing little things around the interior of my home, then painting. and now i have to tell you with all this painting and sprucing up i am in a whole new state of mind! it feels so good to have things looking clean and new! and those agonizing memories are now all in the past where they belong and i am working towards the future, building my dreams in so many ways!!

amazing what a coat or two of paint, along with self determination to live a grander life will do for your spirit!!

a few things i am grateful for: my beautiful children and pets, my incredible family and friends, all the lovely people who stop by and read my blog and look at my website, my art, veggie burgers, all my new art friends, nature, lazaris, the opportunity to grow and expand and love even deeper, chai lattes, comedies, good health, books, laughter and fun times!! I am truly blessed!! Thank you!

"gratitude incorporates both the heart and mind, and instantly paves the shortest road to happiness"

~Alan Cohen~

Chapter 6...how to earn and manage money

this chapter covered A LOT from earning and managing your money to diversifying your talents to pricing your work. i will definitely be slowly rereading this chapter as it really brought up so many emotions for me. it frightened me when she talked about no artist will ever make it just selling their art in a gallery and highly recommended getting a day job you like, preferably in the field of art. i also felt regret that this book wasn't around when i started all this, cuz just maybe i might have gone about this all differently. but then later on i felt enlightened and excited, knowing now that i need to adjust my course.

i keep telling myself that my past was my path to where i am today...no regrets just go forward with all this new information and start making better choices and decisions for myself. i am who i am today because of my past and i REALLY like who i am, the art work i am creating and my life! i feel extremely blessed to have had all the experiences/events/ordeals/struggles/adventures in my life... they've shaped and guided me! no regrets!

harley

HA! I actually made my deadline for harley last night and to boot i finished jenna as well! ohhh yeah...just high fived myself!!

i'm actually very happy with the way harley turned out, considering the obscure photo i worked from. with few details to work with, i started out by using the dirty end of a blending stick as a paintbrush to lay down pure tone. i then gradually built up the dark tones, making it velvety, adding fur details as i went. constantly going back and reworking it as i did both my mirror and camera check.

as i look at jenna now, there are a few minor touch ups i want to do before i call it complete. that's a whole other subject...when is a piece considered finished? when i look at some older drawings i have to resist the urge to go back in and do some touch up work. this is the big problem with being a perfectionist... at least in this area of my life! i scrutinize my drawings to death!

tonight i'm off to a Lazaris seminar... so excited to be going! and besides two soccer games i am hoping to get in a lot of drawing...the ideas and inspiration are just flowing for me right now, so i wanna stay in this groove as long as possible!

have a happy and creative weekend!

weekend update!

this is what a geek i am...i've been waiting excitedly for weeks to go to the show above, the core: art & design of the torso, because a few artists who's blog i follow, taken an e-course with, or have purchased their art work lately were all there in one place...how could i not go!! as i pounced on each artist ( christine mason miller, marisa haedika and pixie campbell) individually last saturday evening, i got to talk with (gush over) them regarding their art and blogs! They were all so incredibly nice, authentic and fun to talk with...now if i can only summon that kind of courage and enthusiasm when approaching potential galleries, there will be no stopping me!

besides stalking fellow artists over the weekend i also got in a lot of drawing. i actually finished jenna's hat, so have just a bit more to do on her face and background. i wanna include her as one of my entries for a competition on myartspace. speaking of which, i got some mind-blowing news over the weekend: We have added an image from your recent work on myartspace to our front page media window which shows interesting work from selective artists. We want to highlight excellent work such as yours on the site and the media window is a great vehicle for that. Congratulations! Less than 5% of all artists on myartspace get featured!! isn't that thrilling news?!! my heart just fluttered when i read it and then, i have to admit, i cried when i saw i was on the front page, cuz this means i am well on my way to achieving the success i have been chasing after for more years than i care to say!

for the next couple of days i'll be finishing up a challenging commission piece as the photo i got was so old that it's basically just a blur, so i had to fill in all the details. surprisingly it's turning out quite nice...i'll share it with you when i complete it.

until then have a creative and fun week!

Let's face it, no one chooses to be an artist for the money...you keep at it because you are driven to create and can't imagine doing anything else with your life. For better or worse, you know this is where you belong.

~Jackie Battenfield~

the progression of Jenna

started this new drawing of jenna last week. making slight progress on it as halloween has basically taken over all my free time this week. i think we hit up every halloween store within an 8 mile radius of our home. but my youngest finally settled on a green punk rock outfit, which she is very happy with. also finding the perfect pumpkin to carve proved challenging as well! now i just have to hit up the craft store tomorrow to get pieces of my costume done.

i will have to put this drawing a side next week as i have a commission due in 2 weeks. and it's going to take all of my attention as the original photo is very old and has no details, so i will be making it up as best i can as i go along. my fingers are crossed that it will come out well! i should get out my lucky rabbits foot and 4 leaf clover as well...i'm going to need all the help i can get!!

hope you have a fun halloween weekend...may all your candy bags be overflowing!!

harmony

june 2008

ever since my mom's last days at a hospice in wisconsin almost a year ago, my brother and i have become close...even friends now! my mom would be very, very happy over this as we have had little to do with each other for 46 1/2 years. in fact we fought hard against each other most of our childhood. i can hear my father's words ringing in my ears as i write this..."if you're going to kill each other do it in the basement." that's so we wouldn't disturb him during martini time!!

but now...wow... we are just enjoying each others company like crazy! i guess we have both changed so incredibly much that we were finally able to come together as equals. as his relationship is ending now and he is telling me his story, all that residue i thought i'd gotten over has resurfaced. i am definitely beyond tired of my own sad story of the love of my life leaving me, but i believe there must be another layer of healing that needs to happen so i can live my happiest life.

so when that negative angry self pity voice comes in my head i override it with a few different mantras. thru much repetition, i am trying to (hammer in) create a clearing for a new way of being. because really, all that nasty negative stuff is not who i want to be and not who i am. not at all!

writing out gratitudes every morning helps as well. i have gained soooooo much from being in a relationship with my ex and then subsequently his leaving me, that i have changed, matured and expanded beyond words! and all of my experiences have been invaluable to me and has led me to my new found friendship with my brother and i am truly grateful for that!

family home

this ruddy brick tri-level is the home i spent my childhood years in and was in my family's possession for 45 years! my bedroom was in the back overlooking a good size hill (perfect for sledding) along with a substantial and bountiful garden. i can almost taste those raspberries now...mmm! our family home finally sold a few months ago.

i just received this photo today from my brother and it's makes me kinda sad looking at it, knowing the anniversary of my mom's passing is almost here. how could close to a year fly by that fast? memories are flooding back as a year ago, right after halloween i got the frantic call from my sister pleading me to rush home, the doctor has only given my mom 1 day to live. my mom hung in there for a month, so we all had the opportunity to spend an abundance of time with her and each other. we laughed, we cried, we hugged, we watched old home movies and we remembered!

giddy up

here's scout, all finished and matted and ready to go to a new home!

sorry for the bad photos. it's getting harder to take photos during the week. the sunlight doesn't hit our home til after i leave for work and already fading by the time i get home. when is day light savings time anyways? soon, i suspect! i guess this means i will have to start planning my blog posts over the weekend. which will be challenging as i really never know what i'm going to write until my fingers start tapping away at the computer. it's like trying to plan out your wardrobe for the week...impossible...i may not be in the mood for my black pants on wednesday. or even meals...how do you know that chili will be pleasing to your palate on thursday? just another challenge in life i guess (smile)!

tonight we are hitting up the halloween store for costume ideas and we just got the last disc of 24,season 7 in the mail (gotta see if the terrorists take out the united states), so i really doubt there will be much drawing done! Hope you have a more productive evening then mine!!

great art picks up where nature ends
marc chagall

here's my hiking buddy...josie. ever alert to mysterious sights and sounds in the mountains. we've been spending long weekend mornings lately just exploring...contemplating...dreaming! my resonance raises greatly when i'm in nature...sometimes it's hard to turn around and go back home where i know laundry, yard work, grocery shopping and so much more is patiently waiting for me. but it's all good...my life is mostly balanced now, but as always, extremely busy!

college is being heavily discussed in our household...and other possibilities as well. and my future has been quietly waiting in the wings to see what Allie decides. that's what's been a bit difficult in taking alyson stanfields e-course, as one of our numerous assignments was to write out our intentions for our future. with my plans hinging on my daughters decisions i've had to have a couple of scenarios in mind.

finished silvia on friday and started two new pieces over the course of the weekend. tonight i'll be putting the finishing touches on my horse drawing so i can send it out on tuesday. and this week hope to get my biography finished (updated my resume last week) and redo my website once again. i want to simplify it and have it geared exclusively towards my drawings. seems a bit helter skelter to me right now.

new life

angeles crest

i did a lot of hiking over the weekend...made it almost to the top of the mountain...but it was kinda cold and i didn't have a windbreaker, so eventually we turned around. because of the fires the terrain was so different...barren, lots of land and rock slides, large groves of ghost-like trees, and very little wildlife. at the basin of the mountain new life started taking hold and that was very encouraging to see.

being out there in nature triggered so many memories and this incredible outpouring of gratitude. even tho i have had to let go of so much this past year, i was just feeling so blessed. lately i have been feeling like a pioneer in re-creating my life. so much uncharted territory lies ahead of me bristling with all of it's uncertainty. i've had to give up the dream of what i thought my life would be like and tho that realization was very painful, it has not broken me. in fact i am feeling so good about myself, my art and life in general, i am really moving forward. and that feels great!

i really wanted to show you all the new updates on my drawings this week but the weather is not co-operating. been overcast, cloudy and lots of rain and so impossible to get good photos right now...but honestly i have been drawing!! in fact, last week for whatever reason, my creative juices were just flowing and ideas bouncing around in my head right and left! i think it might have been because of the art walk last week...all that raw talent stirring me up! will be starting some of it over the weekend...very excited about that!

my e-course just wrapped up last week and a fun thing happened, many of the artists participating wanted to remain in touch and keep that energy going. so we started a group on facebook and altho many joined few have participated. even if we just have a nice small core of people, that will be okay. we're all there for the same reasons~ accountability, motivation and encouragement. there's also connection and friendship to boot! all good!

the weather channel has promised sunny skies tomorrow, if that's true you'll see some artwork by the end of the week. i won't be just babbling on and on and on...so i know you're all crossing your fingers for the sun to show it's face!!

Have a great day!!♥

downtown art walk

as my cold is persisting here and going into my lungs, haven't been drawing very much at night, just taking it easy. so, you'll have to wait till monday to see some good progress on "scout!"

tho i did drag my youngest daughter emi to the downtown art walk in los angeles, as i wanted to check out three galleries i've had my eye on to send my promotional package to. lucky i did go as two of the galleries doors were shut. did find another one i liked but both times i've been there they've had only photography showing in that space. i'll go again next month for the final time before sending my work out.

on the way back to our car saw this interesting cracked pattern in the sidewalk and thought it so cool! took a few shots, then emi wanted to try and got her foot in the shot...but i LOVE it!! we decided this may be our new project together! photographing her feet downtown!!

there was an abundance of great art to be found at the galleries. but this artist, patrick haemmerlein is definitely my favorite. i've had my eye on his work ever since i saw it on the mincing mockingbird blog. next month i'm going to purchase one of his small tree pieces, i can't resist, they're just so awesome!

feeling better

hot water with lemon and honey

homemade vegetable soup

a few bed mates

but hogged the bed

and a little bit of drawing done.

i had to eat my words on thursday as i told my friend that i never get sick, then went and got that nasty cold my daughter had at the beginning of the week! put me out almost all weekend long. felt better sunday afternoon so got in some drawing but will have to book it over the next week to get this drawing done in time.

just over doing it again as i push myself very hard at times to get things done. the blast off e-course i'm taking is very intense with lots of routines to incorporate into each day. continuing to work hard on updating my resume and write my bio. and had to work out a lot of details with our passports and pieces of my trip last week. that on top of being a mom and artist. a bit too much i admit, still learning to keep everything in balance.

altho all that sleep was kind of a nice indulgence....i must say!