Jun 27, 2016

Sketchbook Project - Week 25

This week I truly felt pressed for time to finish most of these pages. We moved on Thursday, which was incredibly HOT.  Add the heat to the giant hill that is our current driveway and you'll get pure exhaustion.  We are settling in, though, and still unpacking.  Only a few boxes left to deal with at this point.  I'm feeling very spoiled with all the space we have moving from 600 sq feet to double that.   I'm dedicating one and a half rooms to studio and office space, and it's glorious!

My sketchbook pages this week are reflections of each day, from our UHAUL arrangement and the blaring red heat, to a great horned owl (feather) we heard our first night here. I hope you enjoy them!

Check out previous weeks here.
Colored Pencils
Watercolor
Left:Micron Pen and Crayola Marker                     Right: Watercolor
Watercolor
Colored Pencil
Acrylic Paint


Jun 21, 2016

We're Moving!

 We've been back in Arkansas for a year now. Living on Brandon's parents' farm has been pretty dreamy.  We've made some sacrifices to live here---we downsized our possessions (not nearly enough though), we live in about a 600 sq ft space with no doors or storage, and we've given up some privacy to a degree.  But having a huge garden and orchard outside the front door is wonderful. And it's so peaceful here.  There's a constant choir of birds and frogs, punctuated with the occasional bellow of a cow and the daily chicken clucks.


An incredibly pleasant home environment doesn't make up for what else we're lacking.  I miss the community and friends I had in Springfield.  Living in sleepy Mountain Home is also not helping me grow with business or artistic opportunities very easily.  The opportunities are still coming in, but executing them is much harder.
We weren't actively looking for a place to move, but we knew that we wouldn't stay in Mountain Home for too long. So we've just been a bit open-minded and using this time as a stepping-off point. When we were in Springdale, AR last month, Brandon did a bit a research on local jobs while I taught a workshop.  We've been impressed with the revitalization of that area, and it seems as though we'd fit right in to the local communities. As it happens, Brandon found a job that perfectly embodied his skill set and resume.  He applied, and we waited.  He then interviewed twice and got it!  This was earlier in June, so since then we've been planning the move. 

We really like Fayetteville, so that's where we want to live. For now, we'll be renting a home, but we'll likely search for one to buy after a while.  *Side note-it's not easy to find a rental in a town where you don't live. It's also even harder finding one that will allow one cat and two dogs that are not 25lbs or less. But we finally did, and we officially move this Thursday.  Brandon is excited to start his new job on Monday. And I'm excited to feel like I belong to a community! So here we come, Northwest Arkansas! 

Jun 20, 2016

Sketchbook Project - Week 24

I've nearly completed six months of this project, and I'm discovering valuable things about myself as an artist. I'm learning that the more I have on my plate and the more concerns running through my mind, the less inspirations and "sparks" I have.  It's almost like there's a temporary barrier that blocks those good ideas from surfacing just so I don't have to think about them. So I don't have to worry about yet another thing.  But sometimes these stressful times are when the magic happens, yes?  So I will be TRYING to keep that barrier knocked down and keep the ideas flowing. 

This week's sketchbook pages were definitely a tug-of-war with my creativity.  Most days, I wasn't "feeling it." But I persevered and filled these pages.

Thanks for reading--I hope you're enjoying the different weeks. And hopefully you can glean some inspiration from my pages.

Watercolor
Left: Colored Pencil                  Right: Watercolor & Micron Pen
Acrylic

Watercolor
Mechanical Pencil & Colored Pencils

Acrylics


Have a great week!
Catch up here.

Jun 13, 2016

Sketchbook Project - Week 23

In case you were wondering exactly how many sketchbooks I've finished....it's THREE!  I filled my third sketchbook last night! I've contemplated changing things up with a new kind of sketchbook, but I like the size and simplicity of these Moleskines, so I'm probably going to keep using them for the rest of the year.  And really, it handles all the mediums that I like to use besides Copic markers. 

I get to crack open a fresh book today, and I can truthfully say that I'm excited to make those first marks.  Making a daily habit of this is definitely making me less apprehensive when I see blank pages.  I wonder if I'll feel the same with a larger canvas....

Enjoy the pages this week!

Watercolor
Gelly Roll Pen and Crayola Marker
Colored Pencils
Acrylic Paint
Left: Micron Pen                 Right: Watercolor
Gouache


Have a great week!
See previous posts here.

Jun 6, 2016

Sketchbook Project - Week 22

Happy Monday!  I've been REALLY busy this last week.  I have some exciting things coming up, and I'll be able to share about them soon. I've been preparing for my class  at Crystal Bridges (that starts in a few weeks!) and catching up on pet portrait commissions.

My sketchbook this week is a collection of images that have been inspiring me lately.  Pineapples are everywhere, and though I initially wanted to paint this one, I enjoyed getting some time to work with colored pencils.  I had fun creating some hand sketches, using my own hand as a model.  The watercolor sunset pages came out better than expected.  I used a photo from Instagram as a reference, and I was afraid I might not be able to capture the colors.  But I love the final piece.

I hope you have a great week! As always, you can catch up on previous weeks here.
Colored Pencils
Colored Pencils
Watercolor
Watercolor
Left:  Watercolor & Gelly Roll Pen                              Right: Acrylic Paint
Acrylic Paint