Raising an Artist

Portrait Surprise SketchRaising an artist is a challenge. We got kudos for individual creativity in art, teaching ourselves, and entrepreneur-type creative ideas always. If my folks had not been encouraging in these ways, I would never have been able to follow this direction in life. They noticed the signs of artist tendencies in me from the beginning and encouraged me to practice and explore. Thank God our family tends to encourage creativity and guide us to educate ourselves in an entrepreneurial sort of way.

Traits

I was one of those kids that lay on the ground looking up into the sky, seeing images in the clouds. I still like to do this. My earliest memories are of loving fishing on weekends with beautiful mountain walks. Discovering wonderful panoramic views with warm sun and bright mountain skies. Evenings spent coloring on a fold-up card table at my Grandma and Grandpa’s home. Skiing with my family and seeing some of the most gorgeous views in the snow from a very young age.

Have always doodled, consequently, getting in trouble in school for drawing horses in the margin of the test papers. There are many many scrap pieces of paper with eyes drawn in every position in my wastepaper packages. Noticing beauty around me, shadows and shapes, coloring, drawing and painting has always been a large part of my life. A pen or brush has always felt natural in my hand. The other stuff in life squeezes in to fit around the edges.

Categories

As you go through this blog, you will notice that the “art” articles are divided up into different categories (listed on the right), allowing you the ability to search for a specific category of blog articles that may interest you.

I hope that this division into categories will make it easier for you to find the art subjects that you are most interested in reading about. Additionally, if you want a complete picture of the art I do please feel free to visit my traditional website.

There are also the categories covered in my Blog about things I like to do Outdoors and Needlework. Outside activities include hiking, sports, and gardening. My inside needlework hobbies of sewing or embroidery fill my spare time. All of these are now on separate Blogs.

 

Boxer Dog Breed

dog Boxer Sketch

This is the boxer dog breed, sketch initially submitted. Isn’t it a trip to see how many wrinkles are in their foreheads and their lips hang over the jaw bone? They seem to have very expressive facial features as a breed. Working in b&w can be a very tricky thing. It was very difficult to choose a number of black areas in a manner that showed the black parts of the snout and the less dark tan areas of the rest of the face and ears, then resort to extreme minimal marks to show the white chest area.

I’ll be able to finish rendering this in a more realistic vein, using a pencil with gradual gray tones instead of just black and white areas. I have even felt pulled to pen and inking it. I will post the finished pencil portrait when completed next week.

Dozen Dog Breeds

I did rough sketches of a dozen dog breeds, and then started to finish them for a client and found out the finish I was providing was not what she needs for her wood burning templates. Ooooops. This kind of error in communication (by me) happens in an artist world, today I will redo it the way that she needs it, because, having a happy customer is always worth a rework to me.

Australian Shepherd dog breed Rough
Australian Shepherd Rough

Here is the Australian Shepherd rough sketch.

Australian Shepherd dog breed pencil
Australian Shepherd pencil

Here is what I thought would be the final for burning the image onto the wood. The dog breed, Australian Shepherd What is the result of all of this?

Pencil Drawings, images that I think are worth finishing are sitting on my desk. I glance at them and think of the time invested and energy showing in these dog faces…. I think, I could finish these into great pencil drawings.

The drawing speak to me, they are saying, “Finish me, finish me!” Consequently, another project after the project is created. My love of dogs comes out into more pencil drawings in the studio, anyone want to buy one? Another crazy artist  “finish it” desire in process.

Don’t Miss “Art on the Green”

Art on the Green at the University of Idaho, clothesline booth directly behind the information booth in the food court area. A great art show happening, I have 42 images for sale at

“The Clothesline Booth”

Art On the Green
The “Clothesline Artist Booth” at North Idaho College – Art On the Green

AUGUST 3, 4 & 5, 2018
THE 50TH ANNUAL
ART ON THE GREEN!

FRIDAY:  NOON TO 7:30PM
SATURDAY: 10:00AM TO 7:30PM
SUNDAY: 10:00AM TO 5:00PM
ON THE CAMPUS OF NORTH IDAHO COLLEGE

Evergreen Plein Air

Skyhomish Hwy2 plein Air
2015-painted alongside Hwy 2 in Snokhomish WA just north of Goldbar.

Evergreen Plein Air Competition. There was talk between the artists present at the Elk painting day 7/21/2018 at my home about doing Plein air painting again together soon. Here is the next outside painting event that I know of that is close.

2nd Annual Plein Aire Competition

Wednesday
August 15th, starting at 10am

is hosted by the Evergreen Art Association in Newport WA Continue reading “Evergreen Plein Air”