Its been a long time since I wrote in this blog. I wish to do it more often but the truth is, I'm busy! Well, isn't everyone? But I really am: I'm busy at my daily 9 to 5 job (actually I work 6am to 2:30), and I'm busy with my family and all that is involved with that, I'm also busy working on my painting and my art business. Okay - enough with the excuses. I do want to talk about my blog. I am not a writer, as you can probably tell. My blogs are not very long and I'm not the most articulate person. I write the way I speak rather than worry so much about punctuation and grammar. I prefer to connect through my words like I connect with my paints.
I want to share with you my reasons for being an artist ' So why do I spend what free time I have painting and working on an art business when I hardly have time to myself? Simply put, I love to paint! If I could have it my way, I would paint every waking minute. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night thinking about my next project. Or, I'm thinking about the project I am currently working on and actually get out of bed to paint. Yes, I do lose sleep over it and I am extra tired the next day when I get up for work, but I feel so fulfilled when I do.
For instance, the project I am currently working on is a distant rocky mountain top with a waterfall closeup. Evergreen trees surround the scene in a surreal and beautiful manner. However, I am stuck on making the waterfall look as lively and flowing as well as a canvas and paints could get. I have re-painted it twice now, and I'm still not happy with the results. In case you're wondering, yes, I did get up in the middle of the night to work on it. I believe it was around midnight, and I went back to bed by two, waking up at 6am for work. It's one of those projects that I feel needs a lot of attention. It's a challenge for me because I don't think I am very good at waterfalls , and it won't go up for sale until I am completely satisfied with it.
In the past, when I get stuck on a painting, I put it aside and don't think about it for a while. It clears my head and I'm able to think about the next project that I might be more familiar with. I did this with a particularly popular painting I did a few years ago called, "Girl Running on the Beach". It depicted a lady running along the beach on a gloomy day. I wanted the figure to be as realistic as possible, so I bought some books on how to draw the human body and practiced the structure of bones and muscles. It was not easy. If any of you have ever studied the body and what is involved in drawing the muscles, skeleton, shape, the length of the arms and legs compared to the torso, and so on, you know it's a daunting task. After painting the background, I moved on to drawing the figure, and then I got stuck again; or, rather, I got scared to move forward. I put the painting aside for almost a year. During that time, I worked on many other paintings that I am pleased with, but I did not attempt another human figure. I came across the unfinished painting one day and said, "Okay, lets try this again."
When I finished the painting, I was so pleased with the results that I kept it close to me for a long time. I did not want to sell it, and even started referring to it as "My Girl," seen below.
My mother loved it so much I made a canvas print for her for Christmas one year. She does not have a lot of room in her home for a 16x20 painting this size, so the print was an 8 x 10. She was so thrilled. In fact, "Girl Running on the Beach" was discovered on my Etsy account by an author who wanted to use the painting for his book cover. That was very thrilling and made me so proud! We drew up a contract and the book can be found for sale on Amazon titled "The Wife of a Jealous Man."
Finally, The day came, when I sold my Girl. I was at an art show in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was cold outside, and the wind kept blowing my paintings and prints off of my display table. My daughter was helping me hold down the paintings when the wind would gust. It seemed like a waste of day until right before the art show closed. A lady from Brazil was walking by and was instantly enchanted by her. She told me that the painting reminded her of herself when she was younger, wearing a white dress with her long, dark hair on the beach. She couldn't walk away, and was compelled to buy my Girl. And I said good-bye.
My daughter made me laugh because she asked me if I was going to cry, I was, in fact. And I did.
But I am so grateful that she went to a woman who truly appreciated her. And this is another reason why I paint: Even though I am satisfied and pleased with my paintings for myself, I am ever so thrilled that someone else is too. Having another person appreciate my art so much that they need to purchase it, makes my soul sing.
My reasons for painting is not for the sole purpose of selling, but for the enjoyment and excitement of making a canvas come alive and resemble a photograph. Not all my paintings look like photographs, but I do my best. I've been an artist for almost 10 years now. I started out painting different types of artwork which through this experience, has shown me my style is Realism. Realism, or Naturalism, depicts a painting in a natural non-artificial way. I like to blend my paints which softens the edges and creates the realistic look I prefer. When painting landscapes for instance, I prefer this style over Impressionism, because impressionist painting are done with short bold strokes to create and resemble a figure or background best viewed from a distance.
My Girl, however realistic I made her, does have some edges of course, but first and foremost she has a soft flowing look. In painting her, the difficulty I encountered was due to desiring a realistic body perspective, with an accurate muscular and skeletal system. Once I achieved that, and after gaining the confidence I needed to continue, her figure, dress and hair all came together. She was a great joy to me and I enjoyed painting her immensely.
I love to paint, I love putting paint on canvas to produce beautiful realistic paintings. It expresses my feelings and accentuates a need to express those feelings. It is a way to relieve stress and it relaxes me during the process, which gives me confidence in my ability to create. I also love to see the enjoyment of having my artistic creations admired. I look forward to sharing my painting and receiving pleasure from people appreciating them. My Girl gave me both, the love to create and express myself and happiness that the woman from Brazil really loved her.
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