Twitter, Facebook and Blogs

Mike Ayers' sketchbook project work.
Go check out the whole project!

One of my twitter peeps, Mike Ayers, is doing the "Stranger" theme for his sketchbook project this year... and has chosen to paint his twitter followers. I don't use a full photo for my profile, so when he told me I was next I was curious to see what he would come up with. Very creative solution to the problem...
He took my bird painting from a couple weeks ago, and reworked it, adding in my little cropped photo.

I would never have thought of that.

Mike's sketchbook is shaping up nicely... way better than mine, I must say. Right after I posted about what I intend to do I discovered that my dogs had, once again, wrecked havoc in my studio. My poor little sketchbook sustained some damage, but not enough to make it unusable. As if I weren't having enough problems with this particular undertaking... now I have to figure out how to deal with a bunch of chewed pages and a cover missing the bottom corner. Yipee.

Other artists I follow who are doing some interesting things online are Lisa Myers Bulmash and Emily Cline. Lisa has started a Pinterest board for artists who are moms, and Emily and a friend started up a Facebook group where creative people can share what they are working on and get some feedback. I had the pleasure of meeting both these amazing women at Artfest last spring. A fantastic things about the internet... being able to keep in touch with people from all over, and meeting people online that I would probably never have come in contact with otherwise.

My own work this week:
This is a small study on paper that I intend to work into a larger piece on canvas. I like the pose, though something is looking a bit off around her back... I think I need to redraw it and get that shape right. And maybe make the palette a little less blue. Worth taking to the next step, I think.

New Artwork Created at ArtFest

After writing about how great my Artfest experience was, I think I need to post what I created while I was there. Photography of my art usually poses a problem for me... I really need to get myself a good camera and figure out how to light things to avoid the glare. I'll put that on my "to do" list...

Both these pieces were from Jesse Reno's class

The third piece I did from this class I think I inadvertently ruined. I rolled it up to fit it into my suitcase, and even with a week of having very heavy books lying on top, it won't seem to flatten out. Well, lesson learned. It's my least favourite of the bunch anyway. 

These next three pieces are from Erin Faith Allen's class. After two days with Jesse Reno, I found starting very easy and just got right to laying in the background. I think I might have had a problem starting if I'd done this class first... the blank page can sometime stop me before I start.

Acrylic and charcoal on paper. 

Acrylic and collage on paper

Acrylic, image transfer, charcoal and pastel on paper

These classes were probably the most productive workshops I've ever attended. I approach a class as a learning experience, really not expecting to produce anything I'd ever show anyone. My work gets filed away, I move on and sometimes what I've learned shows up in my future pieces. I think these classes have definitively changed the way I will forever approach my canvas.

Artfest 2012

I finally got to an Artfest, that wonderful art retreat organized and run by the amazing Teesha Moore and her husband Tracy. I'd been wanting to go for a couple years, since a friend had attended and told me how life-changing it was. But given the distance and the cost involved, it wasn't something easily achieved. When I discovered this was to be the last one, I knew I had to get there... it was just as wonderful as I had been told and though I'm sad I won't be able to do this again, I am just happy that I got there at all.

The dorms

I got home from Seattle on Wednesday totally exhausted, exhilarated and needing a bit of time to get my thoughts and photos together. Where does one start? I guess the best place is the location itself, the historic Fort Warden in Port Townsend, WA. The dorms were old army barracks. See those old windows? They are as drafty as you think they would be. The first night I was so cold I hardly slept... but overall the site was great. A short walk to a very scenic beach, deer so tame they wandered around on the site, lots of space for the classrooms. The two women I arranged to carpool with were so much fun, we ended up spending most of the week together.

Jesse Reno doing his thing

I signed up for a two day workshop with Jesse Reno called "Freedom to Create". He's an unbelievably prolific painter, and he works completely intuitively, which goes against everything I've ever been taught. I love this process. For two days we painted with our hands, diving right in and making decisions as we went along. No thumbnails, no sketches. After  two days I came out with three finished paintings completely different from anything I've ever done before. My next day was spent with Erin Faith Allen, whose process is also very intuitive. Both artists do the work first, then examine it to see what the images are trying to tell them. I found the coincidence in this pretty amazing, since I had no idea of their methods before I signed up.... obviously, this is exactly what I needed to hear, and I think it has totally changed how I approach a painting.

The crowd at the artist market

There was an Artist's Market one evening at the Fort. This was a complete eye-opener for me. There was actually a line-up outside the building before the doors opened. I have never been to any kind of art event where there was this kind of interest (of course there were 600 artists already in the area... I'm sure that helped). The crowds were incredible, and people were buying, not just browsing. Even the big events here in Toronto don't generate that kind of interest. For the first time in my life I'm seeing that it's not impossible to make a living as an artist, you just have to be creative in getting your name and your work out there.

This was truly an amazing experience. I made some wonderful new friends and connected with a lot of like-minded people. Artfest formed a community: artists from all over gathering once a year to create and learn. I got to attend only one, and that will just have to do. I hope something pops up to fill the void.

me and my new friends on the beach

Artfest Trades

With 3 weeks to go before Artfest, I've been busy trying to get my trades together. It's not been an easy task... I'm busy at work, and in my free time I'm trying to juggle housework, cooking, shuttling around my kid, redesigning the website for the gallery I participate in and, of course, trying to create some art. I have a half finished painting staring at me as I type this... so many possibilities that I'd love to explore, but the list of things to do keeps growing. I fear this one is going to have to wait until I get back.

Just the same I've been having fun working on these trades. This is the first time I'm participating in something like this (but I hope not the last!). A few people have posted photos of stuff they've collected from previous years... I hope the stuff I'm making won't pale in comparison. I feel honoured to be able to participate. 

I'm making bookmarks for the general trade. I took some small pieces I've been working on, scanned them in and added the Artfest logo. Contact info on the back, just in case someone wants to keep in touch. I laminated them to give them a bit of extra weight, and put on a colourful ribbon to jazz them up a bit.

I read that usually people make something special for their room-mates in the dorm. I'm in a room with 3 other women... I guess spending 4 intense days creating can be a real bonding experience. I'm really looking forward to it. So for these people, I'm making a wire necklace, and a bookmark with a special touch. 

Now, I'd better to get back to work.....

Up and coming: Artfest

So, I've signed up for Artfest. I think this is going to be completely awesome. It's been eons since I even considered doing something like this, just for me. Someone else always comes first. Well, that's how it is when you become a mom. It's what you sign up for. But suddenly I not only have the time, but also the money and a hubby willing to do all the familial duties and carting around for a week. How did I get so lucky???

Now all my plans are made: classes signed up for, dorm room booked, flight, hotel, car etc. all looked after. So, next? Time to get involved. I signed up for a trade: a book of faces. I haven't done life drawing in a year or so, I never really concentrated on faces, and line drawings are not really my thing. But in the spirit of trying something different, I signed up anyway. Hopefully it won't be a complete disaster. There are other trades going on that look really fun, but I can't commit to something I don't honestly think I'll have time to complete. I do have a full-time job, after all (along with a pile of other commitments I barely have time to live up to).  I'll have to figure out something else to do as an Artfest trade, as this seems to be one of the highlights of the retreat, at least according to what I've read on other blogs. If I'm going to do it I want to jump in with both feet. This is going to be so much fun.