Canvas Talk: March 2014

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Artist Goals and Progress

Believe it or not, I'm thankful that some of my goals I set around the New Year are a bit delayed due to some commissioned requests, and that is a good thing. Around the time of the New Year, I started with some goals to stay on track. I had to minimize them to be realistic on how many projects I could complete. One thing for sure is I'm not lacking for inspiration. With my love for Nature, Music, Animals and Art, I have a huge list of paintings I want to accomplish. If only I didn't need sleep. My plan is to focus on Nature and wildlife, but I love the excitement and emotion I feel and put into a painting that is commissioned. I always feel excited for the client that requests a painting because it means something to them or a loved one.

Meanwhile, It's been a couple of weeks since I posted anything and about a month since I posted a new painting, but rest assured another one that is a commissioned piece is about to be revealed. Here is a photo of the Work In Progress.

Two primary factors that cause delays between my paintings: One is that I do have two young boys that are very active in extra curricular activities which takes a lot of time, and the other is my approach to my art.

My approach to my art is one with integrity. I have always put integrity into my work, and the most on my creative work. Just ask anyone that was my client when I was a hairstylist. So, outside of an occasional abstract related work, such as the recent Caring Angel painting, I work slow and work on detail. I want to give you the best that I have.

As you can see in the Lily Pond painting above, I could just be finished with it as it is, but I see more that needs to be done. Also, I see color in a unique way. I have notice subtle differences in colors since I was a child. I love color and you will see it revealed in my paintings. Some are bright and vibrant, some are soft and subtle and some, such as the commissioned Lily Pad painting I'm currently finishing are full of color variations.

If you are a collector or enthusiasts, this is something that you will enjoy in my paintings. If you are an experienced artists, you probably know how there are so many different variations of color. Just look at this example of my pallet filled with greens, and there were more variations I added in the next session.

Lastly, I'm also wrapping up a volunteer project mentoring a High School Senior. Here are a few photos from our last practice session. When not doing a formal painting, we just tape primed canvas sheets to a plastic wrapped canvas and practice right on that. Looking forward to finishing our paintings this weekend. Here is a peek of our practice for our next painting.