full speed ahead!

making head way on scout.

because he is a small, but very important part of the over all drawing, (not my typical close up) i've been using my new mechanical pencil (with 2B lead) to capture all of the fine details of his coat. i noticed that where i used my 4B staedtler pencil it turned out really dark...very interesting...at least to me!! It doesn't come off that dark in person, but makes this photo look odd in places. i'll have to look at the original more closely tonight.

i'm happy to announce that joseph made it as one of the showcase winners over at artslant!! next phase is the jury process. i'm up against 15 other artists for the title, and if i win that level my drawing goes on to compete for top prize of $5000...wow!! wouldn't that be incredible!! cross your fingers!

monday morning

silvia...working on the upper half of her face

hope everyone had a nice weekend!! mine was very productive as things are quieting down in our lives and i am getting back to my art.

the best news is that i actually finished my artist statement on saturday. remember weeks ago i said that i finally finished it...well, i scraped that and rewrote it again!! i know, i know...i'm insane, but this time i think i nailed it, and only after 10 rewrites in 3 months! not too shabby!! (smile!) and sunday morning, over french toast, fruit and tea, my wonderful friend Bev (who's an amazing writer) helped me polish and refine it. i felt so much lighter when we finished it up...it was weighing heavily on my mind.

so now i'm onto writing my bio, and you get to hear me whine on and on about getting that done...JJ! (i hope not!)

began this drawing of scout, to donate to the frederick county 4h therapeutic riding program in maryland. if any of you recall back in april, i wrote about this wonderful, dedicated group that a client of mine volunteered at.

one huge advantage to being an artist is that i get the privilege of assisting very worthy animal causes in a unique way, that goes above just donating money (altho i do that too). it makes my heart feel really, really good, in some small way to be a part of helping animals. why else would god give me this talent, if not to give as well.

scout, who apparently loves eating!!

with both of my girls sick today, mondays not off to the best of starts. but this week i hope to get silvia finished, my bio started, scout at least half way done, and keep up on my e-course...and that's just the art end of my life. my big project since the end of last week, is getting passports for the 3 of us...they don't make it easy, but i guess that's a good thing when you have children under 18.

getting back to work

wow...it's been quite the month being a mom/soccer mom. altho i can't blame my lack of new drawings entirely on the beginning of school, soccer season, related events, and homework. i have chosen to spend time hanging with friends, a lot of time actually, instead of creating. but that's okay...having had a break has actually been refreshing. i feel much more excited about my art and getting out and promoting it.

as i'm finally back on track...getting our routines and habits in place, i'm now getting some things actually accomplished. except for a few small touches here and there, Sophie (above) is basically finished, and Silvia (below) is progressing nicely. worked on tightening up details on the lower half last night.

and co-incidentally yesterdays lesson in my blast off e-course with Alyson Stanfield was about establishing routines...so perfect timing universe!!

and altho i have just started reading Twyla Tharp's book, The Creative Habit, she also talks about embracing routine. "creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is a result of good work habits."

i know the word habit gets bad press in the art world, but to me it feels really good and reassuring to be practicing new daily routines and getting some drawings completed!

whooohooo...

i'm very excited to say that i just signed up for alyson stanfields blast off e-course. now that i have my artist statement almost polished, i'm ready to get very focused and very motivated to get my art out there into the world. the syllabus looks intriguing with a mix of practical & metaphysical...can hardly wait to see how this goes! i'll be keeping you updated!

Each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. ~Edgar Allan Poe

i have to say that i have been very absent lately from both this blog and mainly from my art.

3 weeks ago my enthusiasm for drawing started wanning , then the fires ravished my backyard, then school and soccer began. a lot of pressure, a lot of fear, a lot of excuses.

the pressure i'm feeling as i earnestly try to finish up my portfolio/promotional package for galleries, reminds me of taking tests in school. drops of blood would form on my forehead in trying to regurgitate all the information we learned in the classroom. and now i'm experiencing that same pain. yuck!

in chapter one of "art & fear", it talks about producing art that "no one else much cares about", so ultimately it all comes down to the artist...about creating art that we care about and creating because it is essential for our well being.

i think if money were no object to me, my dream would be to just attend art workshops around the country and getting totally messy creating. process verses product. for someone like me, who has a hard time dealing with too much pressure that would definitely be the easy way out. but life is not always about ease and exit strategies...."something about making art has to do with overcoming things.." so i have to overcome my fears of putting my work out there in the world.

i am learning that i don't have to prove my worth by getting into the top galleries in southern california. i can take baby steps with my art to take the pressure off and feel secure. i can start with small venues, over coming my fears and still feel good about myself.

i guess i just got comfortable with not achieving much with my art...it wasn't pleasant but comfortable. now the possibility exists for greater success...i will have to give up my issues that made me feel safe and start diving in at a deeper lever with issues of freedom, responsibility and power. i'm going to be challenged with stretching who i believe myself to be, my strength and talent...reaching beyond myself. and with all this success comes chaos...chaos always surrounds change. and change will happen when i put my work out there into the world. as i feel that i've been through soooooooo much change lately with suffering two losses this past year, i don't know if i'm quite finished and ready for more yet. this is why i am stalling...but it is inevitable if i don't want to quit. and i don't want to quit.

so here i go...i'm jumping in...wish me luck!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
hey...guess what? i was inspired after i wrote this post to work on my statement...and i finished it! yahoo! now i just have to rewrite and send it off to my friend who promised to help me edit!

your help is needed

from today until september 16th i will be donating 25% of all sales to the los angeles wildlife waystation to help them with the enormous cost of transporting their animals to safety. Or please directly donate on their site like i did.

here's the article in the los angeles times: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/09/animals-waystation-fires.html

it's snowing....

wasn't sure if it was christmas this morning...but it was definitely snowing! it's the most ash we've seen so far in this close encounter.

new flare ups above us on monday...more evacuations. this was taken by my sister's home that evening, about 9 miles away.

we were there picking up my daughters clothes...she felt comfortable enough with the situation to bring some of them back home.

commenced on this new drawing of sophie last night .