Posting to Post!

Yikes! It has been A W I L E since I have last posted!!!!! :/ Sorry everyone! The day job has been keeping me busy. We were sooooo short staffed that I was working A LOT but thankfully we've hired a couple of people and the training process is winding down and I can get back to creating. I'm working on a draft horse now....similar to one I did several years ago that I named Blinders. It's taking forever, though, due to the lack of time I have to devote. I guess I could just sit down and force myself to finish it...but, ya know, projects abound and sometimes I swear I have the attention span of a goldfish!

I'm attempting to deep clean my house...always a necessity after art fair season. Things are just tossed by the wayside, clutter accumulates, half finished tasks pile up and then I feel like I'm living in a tornado. *sigh* So, I watch episodes of hoarders to make myself realize it could be MUCH worse! LOL. Plus, I'm really wanting to build a small house and am trying to purge all the unnecessaries in my life. It's especially hard for me because I DO hoard art supplies. Paper, frames, matting supplies, paint, canvas, etc, etc, etc...I know I don't need it all but I sure feel like I do! I really need to learn to live with less. I think that is really something we need to do as a society too. Maybe it's because I'm older, but every time I go shopping and go to a box store (TARGET IS MY FAVORITE!!!!!) for this and that I'm always surprised at how many things are pushed on us... and mostly through sales. Last week I noticed one store had a big sign announcing a Black Friday type sale with 'LOW LOW LOW Prices!!!!' I was thinking ' IT'S AUGUST for pete's sake. They must really want a leg up on the Black Friday competition.' Things are pushed on us from every angle. More clothes, More Food, Bigger this, Bigger that, Better better better! I guess I'm just feeling that if I'm able to get rid of so much and purge I won't be seduced by the feeling of 'needing' more.

However, It's rather funny I'm talking about getting rid of things and going without because I'm in a position, with my art and creative endeavors, that I hope people want to add to their collections. oh boy! It's a fascinating struggle we are all in. Pushing against some forces while pulling at others.

Well, It's now September, the start of my favorite time of year! We are on the verge of sweater weather, pumpkin flavored and spiced EVERYTHING, Football, apple cider, colorful leaves, crisp mornings, the 3 best holidays all in a row.... I am one happy camper that can't wait to create during my favorite time of year! YAY!

Happy September my friends!

Paper

I had a follower ask if I was going to make a youtube video of my watercolor class that I taught last week. Unfortunately, I'm not quite ready to be taping a class. So I thought I would talk a little about what I mention in class. I'll plan on doing a series of these and focus on different aspects of how I paint and how you can approach your paintings too (if you would like to try something different).

So, this first part series will be on Materials.

The first is Paper. I know I've talked about paper a couple of times but this post is dedicated solely to it. You can get away with getting inexpensive brushes or even paint sometimes, but Paper is the most important thing you can have with a good watercolor piece. It is important not to cut corners on this. Fork out the money for the good stuff and it will save you a lot of headache, frustration, and heartache in the end. Also be sure you get the right type. There are 4 types of watercolor. The 3 main are Hot Press, Cold Press (most often used) and Rough Press. There is also a 4th, Soft Press.

Photo credit to dickblick.com

The difference between these are the hills and valleys. Hot press is smooth, and I liken it to being on ice skates. Your paint will glide around the paper and not really stay put if you are putting down a lot of washes. Rough Press is exactly like it sounds, Rough. There are high hills and deep valleys that will trap your paint and keep it snug in place if you do several washes. Each paper type gives a different look to a finished piece and some techniques are easier to do on one type of paper or not.

Now you can get your paper in various weights, 90lb, 140lb (standard), and 300lb. 90lb is very thin and 300lb is thick!

If you are using a lot of water, your paper will buckle (make giant 'bubbles' on your paper) unless you use a paper with a high weight. If you are using a lower weight paper you can wet your paper and stretch it. I never stretch my paper, but that is because I'm impatient. I want to paint the moment I have an idea/feel inspired. So, I deal with the buckling paper or I plan on using a higher weight paper if I know that I'm going to be doing a lot of washes.

There are a lot of brands out there and everyone has their own preference but I prefer Arches and Fabriano. Fabriano is the company that has soft press watercolor paper (it's kinda a combo between hot and cold and is really fun to work with). I like the way my paint flows on the paper from both of these brands...I just feel like I have more control of the paint when I use Arches or Fabriano. There are others out there that are pretty good too. There are SO many other brands out there. I like Cold Press better from Arches but prefer Rough Press from Fabriano and I like their soft press option. I hardly ever use Hot Press in my work. If someone gives me hot press I'll find a use for it, but I never choose to buy it. I love CP, RP, and SP.

If you want to experiment with different papers to see what you like better but don't want to spend $5+ a sheet I suggest finding sample packs. You can get them from Cheap Joes, Blick and other art supply companies.

#32

Sooooooooooooooooo, It's my birthday tomorrow! Yup, Smack dab in the middle of May :) I'm a taurus (if you're into zodiac signs) and I AM my sign (yes I'm stubborn...I'll admit it). I LOVE birthdays. They are truely the best. I know getting older kinda bites in some ways (where is a vampire when you need one? LOL) But I love the celebration of life and new resolutions. Birthdays are awesome for that...helps you gauge what really happened the past year...more so than New Year's (I tend to think New Year's is a little overrated).

So back to my birthday. Today was a celebration of it. A pre-birthday celebration. A couple of days ago my boss, Jill, (at the day job) said this week is so busy that we'll celebrate next week when we'll all be around. I was totally fine with this. It is a busy week and she'll be gone a bit, I'm planning on doing some traveling so it was all good. Well, SURPRISE! Birthday party TODAY! Yup, my desk was decorated and prezzies were on it with cards and crinkle paper and candies and flowers.

Well as the day progressed it turned into the whole five star family and friends day. Jill's husband John, prepared a feast of homemade hamburgers (which I have been craving for a MONTH) and potato salad, coleslaw, and an amazing Carmel tresleche cake from (my favorite store) Costco! YUM!!!!!!!

It was so overwhelming and touching. I am so blessed with fabulous friends. I really just want to cry tears of joy and thankfulness. I really love life. It is beautiful. I'm so excited about #32 and can't wait to see what wonderful things I have to look forward to!

And, all you followers out there across the country and world, celebrate with me tomorrow! :) Go for a hike, Run a mile, Explore a new area you have been wanting to check out, Hug your friends, Take some time to sit in the sun and soak up the rays, Plant some herbs....Do something simple but fun tomorrow! It may be May 15th, but it is a start of a new year! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE YOU!

A post with nothing to do about art but an insight I felt like sharing.

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. At least, I thought I had earlier today. I chalked it up to PMS or something but I just wasn't in the mood for much of anything today. But, I did what I had to do and I went to church. I won't get into details but I left a lot crankier than when I arrived so I went to the gym to blow off some steam. Well, after looking at myself in the mirror I stayed in my cranky state. (lets just say I gained some weight this past year and am doing something about it this year). While I was changing to go home in the locker room, It finally crossed my mind that maybe I was just hungry. Sometimes (not all the time) I tend to get very cranky when I haven't eaten so I went home and made myself a very delicious and LARGE spinach salad. Gosh it was good and I devoured it. Yup, It was because I hadn't eaten. I felt like the fog and low hanging clouds of Whitefish had lifted and flowers would spring forth from the heaps of icey snow-mounds. I guess that is the problem when you live alone...no one to tell you what you already know and encourage you to chillax and eat something. When I lived in Missoula and had my family around they'd often tell me that. When I was dating a certain someone, he'd often asked if I needed a piece of cheese (I LOVE cheese). That was always the cue that I was cranky because I needed to eat something. Funny how somedays I can go without eating because I'm so busy and I don't even notice and I'm still my normal opptimistic perky self. Thank heavens it doesn't happen very often.

After practically inhailing my salad I figured I should work on my epic painting. I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOO close to finishing but after standing at the table and stairing at it for a good 10 minutes, I didn't feel like it. I just wanted to curl up in a blanket with some bed buddies (sewed bags with rice that you heat up in the microwave) and either watch a movie, take a sunday afternoon nap or read a book. I figured I'd better read. It's kinda funny to say, but I feel SO adult in 2014....I'm part of a book club. We are reading A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. Our meeting is next Friday and I'm 1/2 way through the book and this week is going to be busy so reading won.

I ended up finishing the book. It was good and I mostly enjoyed it, even though it was dark. It's about 4 people who meet each other for the first time on a rooftop where they were planning on committing suicide and they then take the long way day instead of the quick one. There were some very thought provoking lines that some of the characters would say that would get me thinking about how I react, interact, and view things in my own life. But it sure had the word F*** in it a lot. I do swear more than I ought. Usually when I'm upset about something but geesh, the excessive use of the F bomb really began to irritate me. After I finished the book, I was relieved. Relieved about the characters journeys and the insights they gained but most relieved I didn't have to endure that language.

While I was reading I got a hankering for chocolate. Chocolate always makes me feel better. I had started feeling cranky again, So, I found a box of cookies I bought at Target at the after Christmas sale (got them for a $1, Woot Woot) that I hid away for a rainy day and ate 10 of them. I know, I know. If I want to loose weight I can't be eating 10 cookies that are full of high fructose corn syrup, color additives, more sugars, 'natural flavors', and more ingredients than there should be listed for a simple cookie. But I did.

My realization that maybe it wasn't PMS, waking up on the wrong side of the bed, or forgetting to eat that made be so cranky. Maybe it was the language and depressing themes in the book that affected me so. I guess I'm a lot more sensitive than I thought. The book is good and I'm glad about the insights I gained but I just want to warn you, make sure you have a box of cookies or someone to lift you up if you read it. You may need it.