Renovation Cabin and the Creative process

Evening Painting classes that I am teaching at the local community college (Vance Granville) started Jan 12. Four newcomers came with no supplies but I managed to put oil pastels and paper to good use in an Op Art exercise that always inspires participants :-) So they were happy campers. With a break for MLK day, classes will resume Jan 27 with the everyone bringing paint and canvases!




Below is my Jan 14 post Renovation Cabin and the Creative process that got lost in the shuffle of slow Internet and things to do :-)

Renovation cabin and the creative process!

The recent extreme cold has really slowed  down the cabin renovations! It's hard to put up sheetrock when you can't feel your nose..BUT we managed to get the ceiling done with help from our son who was visiting (haha no one is coming by all of a sudden!) and the longest wall (the other side has cabinets)

The other side was just hubby and I with a little hep from our four egged friends who are always delighted to find their humans down at their level!

And today? Outside lights are going up before the rain and sleet come back in a day or so!

sheetrock the longest wall-done!

Getting some help

Happy New Year and what inspires your art?

Well an entire month slipped by...rushed by...and we're already into the end of Dec. 2013. Not sure how that happened but although I missed shouting out Merry Christmas here-it was definitely on my Facebook pages and newsletters!

The rush is over and now is when I regroup, rethink, plan and relax (as much as I am capable of!)
I gave Steve his Christmas present (and the same to me) to enhance our artist rejuvenation..trekking poles! Yep- hiking poles to get us out of the studio and onto the many trails in our area.

It's been in the 30's but the freezing rains and snows across the midwest missed us and went north.

So what do you do with a new backpack and trekking poles on Christmas evening and the following day? You hike :-)

It's a good place for an artist.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

See our ART STUDIO!

We are asked constantly about the perfect art studio. The post before this showcased a few photos and the addition of a new building adding another 240 square feet to our current 720. That does not included 2 spare bedrooms now used for office space, sewing, storage and library! :-) 
So the perfect studio is the one that will work for you. There is also the old saying (one of my father's favorites) "A place for everything and everything in its place!"
I opted to put a Board on Pinterest to continue to showcase or art studios and surroundings areas hoping it will inspire artists to use what they have. You can see it all and follow it here:
 http://www.pinterest.com/theresabrownart/our-art-studio/

LOTS of photos updated regularly...neat, messy, spring, summer, fall and winter....work with what you have. Don't let the lack of the "perfect studio" stop you from creating. Draw your inspiration from what you feel and see around you. We take regular "random driving" trips around our vicinity to snap photos, inhale the aroma of the seasons and in general-absorb your surroundings.

new studio coming along

See the rest of the story here: http://www.pinterest.com/theresabrownart/our-art-studio/

Painting silk

 

So if you think that an artist just paints, well you might be surprised :-)
 
The fun of an Artsy Journey is just that: it's fun! For the past few months I've enjoyed various forms of silk painting with more or less a YouTube education. That in itself is another story, but I have played with some pretty basic tools to the more traditional dyes used by the professionals and have just scratched the surface. I think I know now,  how my painting students who come to me and say "I know nothing about painting" feel. :-)

Special markers on white silk scarves

So anyway I've played with resists, different dyes, washing, ironing...wow more work than a portrait!  You never know what I'll create next-keep watching!

Dyed with abstracts drawn by hand onto the scarf

Stretched, silver resist and hand drawn and painted

Same horses but with background dye added and silk salt for texture

Silk scarf embellished

Inspired by Nature and keeping it all simple!

Inspired by Nature and keeping it all simple!

I am one of those artists and art journal individuals inspired by simple pleasures :-) It can be as spectacular as our recent art show location near Boone, NC or the light bouncing off a hanging basket of flowers on my front porch.

My husband absorbing the wildflowers on top of an NC Mountain

An art or travel journal is supposed to be fun! It is not all about new techniques or the latest fad.  Make your journal as creative as YOU want to make it.

There are so many magazines now out there with a gazillion "do this" to be creative articles that it is easy to be overwhelmed. Remember that most of the authors are paid to come with new ideas! Do what comes naturally and creatively to you.  If a new method or idea "despires" instead of "inspires" then
wait for another day!

Traveling light-markers, white crayon, couple of brushes and water bottle! 

Often while traveling your supplies are limited by what can be easily carried and used. Stick with the basics and keep it simple!

 

Carry a camera (this from my cell phone) to catch a moment, then enjoy being in the moment!

 

Abstracting Realism

Theresa's 30 x 60 "Racing for the Triple Crown"

Of course I love to create my portraits! I've been doing it a long time!

But this journey into "Abstracting Realism" is merging what I see, know and have experienced into a unique world and takes a lot of energy! With the large paintings especially.......I feel the energy, use the energy, tap into the energy and when I am finally done, feel a little...drained :-) Yep, that's the word. Sounds dramatic, but that's the way it happens. Latest Abstract Realism painting above is a 30 x 60 in size.

Painting on glass, wood, fabric and...rocks?

 When Burning Oak Studio called me to demonstrate the Turner Acryl Gouache, I didn't hesitate to show off this cool art product!

I have to laugh because so many of my art friends "sort of" know what  gouache is but since no one can even easily spell it...... this DVD should be a great introduction piece to this very old medium with the new twist :-)

By the way it is more popular than acrylic paint in Japan where it is manufactured and where it is used liberally in the Manga and Anime art format. 

In my "Single Moms Guide to Making Money as an Artist" I offer a number of ways to make money with your art involving fabric, different painting surfaces...and they work!

You can purchase the DVD at Jerrysartarama or on our website!

It gets crazier!

Oh my, Thanksgiving came and went and I am thinking only of how behind I am! Running a business of any type requires self motivation and above all, discipline....OK maybe I shouldn't have played 5 games of Spider Solitaire, but I was determined to beat the thing!

I am painting, painting and Thank God that if I have anything to whine about, it is only being busy!

So what have I been doing?

Well first let me say that we hiked NC mountains Thanksgiving Day in Brevard! A beautiful day (started with rain) and my son was with us...many families enjoying the great outdoors in this land of the waterfalls!  

So I have added a photo of the stunning Triple Falls in DuPont Forest and one of my latest pastel cameos. Enjoy! Now, back to my studio!

9 x 11 cameo Christmas portrait

Triple Falls, Brevard, NC

The Art Studio in Spring

Well I went on and on in our newsletter about our many blooming old roses at our studio! So I have included some of my favorite photos!
This is a view of the studio from the garden. The fencing, did you notice, are old tobacco sticks!
To really enjoy our spring garden and see more of our studio, click here!