"The Gathering"

This is a real painting finally (unlike my journal pages) on board with acrylics. I painted the back painting using some of my favorite colors and let it dry. Then I began to look at the board to decide what kind of drawing I wanted to start with- I had NO pre-conceived ideas.

NOW THIS IS THE FREAKIE WEIRD PART!

These little creatures just began to appear!! I am not lying- and I wasn't smokin' anything or drinkin.

I just took a pencil and began drawing around what I saw as quickly as I could before they disappeared. The first one was the little woman/ground squirrel in purple thing. She just made me smile and then there was the next and the next. They were all just standing there looking at one another like they were having an animal meeting over a serious subject. The fence was sort of there, but I went ahead and filled it all the way in to give the painting some continuity.

It was so much fun and SO EASSSSY to draw them, then to just paint them and darken the backgrounds so that they would stand out.

I'm sure this has happened to someone else besides me- but you need to share it with me - because I'm a little freaked out. I mean, I've been practicing making watercolors and "finding" fun little animals since I got the new book from Carla Sonheim but this was different. Mystical- Magical. These little creature/peoples just said, "I'm waiting- draw me out" like a Beatrix Potter moment.

I've tried it again but it didn't happen. So, I want to know from those that it has happened to if I can expect it back -whatever IT was.... BECAUSE IT WAS A BLAST!

I'm just feeling so much blog love right now. Where would I be without the blogs and art sites that I can visit right from my little ole desk? It constantly amazes me. But more than that, it feeds me. Literally. My mind craves and hungers for art. It's like music and nature and love to me. It must be a part of my everyday, walking around life.

I'm sure many of you have been following 30 Journals 30 Days . If not, you are in for a absolute treat. Within those blog post and interviews were reminders to me that I can't fail, that I have to let go.

Ahhhhhhhh.......letting......... goooooooooo. I do Yoga to let go and I do art to let go. It sounds so cliche "letting go" but letting my mind spill out (not my mouth)- letting my creative dreams have a new birth outside myself. It's a silent revolution in my soul's deepest heart. (can you tell I struggle for the words?) while I silence my critic that chases me around and tells me to hold tight, expect failure and mediocrity.

It's still true that my art bounces around everywhere- that I haven't found my style, my own niche. But I'm okay with that. Really. It's too soon still. That would be like a child who wants to know what they will be when they grow up. The truth is.. I've never known where I was going. For instance, if someone would have told me that I would fall in love with learning to ride dirt bikes when I turned 50, I would have laughed at the ridiculous idea. But here I am - with my grandson-having the time of my life!

So I'm just growing up. I take a new trail pretty often and I'm enjoying the scenery.

I'm using a lot more tools these days, less rules. Lots of paper. Lots of instinctive-gut-stuff. Using the Internet and books for inspiration. The main thing is: I really get that if I don't like a drawing or a painting- I just haven't finished it yet.

I'm learning the same acceptance for myself.

I'm so happy that I wake up everyday with another new chance to grow toward up.

Full Nest

All my chicks came to visit last week, including my Mom and Dad. We had a full house and when they left, although we love the quiet, we missed the constant energy they created while they were here. It truly was a singing, busy little nest.

I layered on this page in my journal while it laid on the kitchen bar between meals, and snacks and visits.

But I wasn't the only one creating.

My mother had taught my daughter, Joli, to make a ruffle, and this is Joli now passing on a sewing lesson to her little niece.

My son-in-law took some Sculpey and made this adorable cowboy head because I told him I wanted to make an art doll sometime. He is a very talented cowboy artist.

Then my Dad tried his hand at it. This was his first time to mold a head with clay. Isn't it amazing?

It still needs baking and paint.

Then, of course, I had to try and I started this head and then my Dad put the finishing touches to it. We think these would make interesting and clever wine stoppers.

There was lots of love and lots of creative energy flowing around, where the corn is growing high and pumpkin plants coming up for fall make the perfect back-drop.

I caught Cash loving on a toad.

I'm a blessed little bird to have such a sweet nest of goodness.

New Art Book

ALERT- to those who have a weakness for new art books.

If you need a little fun in your life and need to loosen up - well, I've the got the book for you.

I just got my signed copy in from Carla Sonheim - hot off the press.

I went crazy devouring it and experimenting with the new ideas.

It gives you 52 little creative exercises to improve your drawings and make drawing fun and stress free.

I had a lot of fun with the 8th chapter where you just paint red, yellow and blue on a page and then "find" the creature(s) in the random paint marks. I found that it really helped train my eye to work with the paint and encouraged my imagination and also helped me to trust my instincts.

Aren't these funny?? Like my little grandson says: "Sometimes I just crack myself up".

(This one of the cat came about by looking at a cracked wall and finding an image .)Exercise 38

Is this serious art? Maybe not. I think these will make great collages for cards and make my friends smile. They will be fun exercises to share with my grandsons. I think I will go back to this every time I begin to take myself too seriously. Thanks CARLA Freakin Awesome SONHEIM!

Go ahead - crack yourself up today and we'll share the grins.

Draw, and don't waste time.

Odd little portrait, isn't it?

Some of the strangest, unusual people are coming forward in my new journal. This one inspired from a quote from Michelangelo to his apprentice:

"Draw Anthony. Draw, Anthony, draw and don't waste time."

I'm a Drawer. Drawing relaxes me. Quiets my mind. Stills my soul. Takes me away. Brings me home. It is my resting place. A meditation. A prayer.

A practice.

A journey.

Did I mention that drawing really matters to me?


I gain a little confidence in these sketches and then try to draw a portrait of a real person, my oldest grandson.

This is Gus. Except it's not quite Gus. There is something definitely missing and wrong but for the life of me, I can't fix it. I caught something of him, but there is something still very elusive just beyond my seeing eye.

And then I lose my confidence- put my book down. Throw my pencil. Walk away. Discouraged.

Until I look up a portrait I tried to draw of Gus in a earlier journal (two years ago).

And I realize, my drawing everyday does matter . My failures and attempts are bringing me closer to that elusive dream and higher goal of good art, and my eye is getting finely tuned and my hand is getting more skilled. It's right there in the old journal page. Thank you sweet portrait. I love you too, even though you're raw and basic and young and awkward.

So I tell myself again.

Don't give up. Keep drawing. Draw and don't waste time.

New Ways To Enjoy Your Favorite Art Pieces

I've been having some fun over here by taking some of my favorite art pieces and making them into little glass pendant necklaces that I can wear with my t-shirts or give as gifts.

This is certainly not a new thing but it was the first time I've tried it. It might be new to you also

so here are the links that were very helpful in getting me started:
http//www.willowing.org/2009/03/how-to-make-glass-art-pendant.html


If you're like me and live out in the middle of nowhere, you can buy your supplies from this excellent on-line merchant, Annie Howes ,who sends them very quickly and sends good quality materials.


The cable necklaces or cord necklaces and can be purchased at Hobby Lobby or Amazon.com. I like the ones with the magnetic clasp. They are also pretty on unique silk ribbon cords. Shop around because they really vary in prices.


I can just imagine some of the beautiful jewelry my blogger friends can make with their fantabulous images and then share them with their friends and family.

I also have a new art journal (moleskin) and I decorated the cover with some molding paste and paint.

It's the 7th for me, but a new one always feel like a fresh start. It holds the hope of my new art, my improved art and my own art signature upon the universe. I often imagine that a great-great-granddaughter will open them up and they will be like a treasure chest of inspiration for her own passions someday....

If you some ideas and better links about these projects please share them in your comments for myself and others who might be interested.

Sacred Moments Meets Real Life DO-DO

Little did I know that once I actually applied the concepts of my last post , Chaos to Colorful, to real life that it would be such a wrenching experience. You see, I thought by letting something come forward, come to life, by taking a chaotic experience and seeing the beauty in it- that it would be some sacred experiment..a peaceful, beautiful thing. But instead, the experience ended up being me and Sweet Farmer cleaning out the garage. UGH.

Now there was more than chaos out there. There was my stuff and his "crap" as we fondly call the other's saved treasures. We have two, completely different organizational approaches. Of course, we tried to impress our own upon the other and there was not much giving in either way. We argued which is rare, honestly. It wasn't pretty or peaceful. It was hot. It was dirty - downright nasty in places. You gotta be asking, "why do you do these projects in the middle of summer???"

But we didn't walk away from it. And we kept talking it through.

And you know what? We did it. And it really looks great. Sweet Farmer isn't finished with his stuff yet (because his organizational approach includes not handling the worst stuff first, shuffling the stuff back and forth before putting it up, a more relaxed (translated sloooower)approach... need I say more).

All sarcasm aside (it's never helpful, by the way). Actually, he bought some shelves and put them together and arranged them and without that "big picture" detail- nothing would have happened to improve the whole situation. Something great came out of something very messy and dirty and miserable. We actually worked as a team to organize which may be a first! I saw real progress that went deeper than just a clean garage.

So be careful about applying your art concepts to real life. Sometimes it can get very REAL.

And the sacred moments can be drenched in sweat and dirt and tears.

Chaos to Colorful

I'm on the last pages of my 6th art journal. I have another moleskin ordered and in the mail.

I love to drop serious watercolor on the pages, make a colorful mess of washes and blends, and then find a face. Found faces are so fascinating to me because they just seem to emerge from the page like a spirit that says, "Draw me. Bring me forward into existence". They are always so much more interesting than my preconceived ideas.

And then I got to thinking about the idea of applying this concept to my daily reality and walks. Say I come upon a mess of activity and energy. I will really look at the thing and really see what is trying to emerge to the surface? What can I see that's beautiful? How can I take the mess and chaos and see something more creative? How can I just LET something come forward without manipulating too much - loving what is there, as it is. How can I be more present in the moment and actually find joy in simple images and find the complex and the exquisite? Can I add a touch of artistry of character or speech, and help someone, something come full bloom?

I think I shall tuck that little secret in my heart and go about my regular day and see how I can make it extraordinary.

Slippery Slope

Behold
the slippery slope.
you know the one.....

The one that let slips one little tight word of anger and out pours the resentment in the caged heart.

The one that takes in too much poison in the body, food or drink, and months later cringes at the collateral damage in the mirror.

The one that quits taking risk and scaring one self a little and finds itself in the padded room..safe & bored.

The one that lets a friend, any special someone, slip away and then waits so long... too long.

The one that lets a thank -you note pass.... until the giver of good gifts is thankless.

The one that forgets kindness and generosity toward its mate one too many times.

The one that lets time slip away-

The one that lets creativity slip away-

The one that lets dreams slip away-

The one that lets YOU slip, slip, slide.... away.

-peggy krantz

art: ink & watercolor

Two Good Reasons

I'll give you two guesses as to why I've been absent from my blog lately.

I had a week with my two grandsons. I tried to talk them into letting me take them to Six Flags or a water-park and stay in a nice motel- but all they wanted to do was go to the farm. So we farmed and played in the park and swam in the little pool in my little town and they (and i) were perfectly content.

I did get to sketch a little and work on different expressions.

But, hey, it's hard to watercolor in 109 degree heat sitting at the swimming pool so these are a little rough.

I'm getting a little bored with these and would really like to be working on canvas or watercoloring on Yupo but these will have to be my art fix for right now.

(she's got serious complexion problems, but she'll get over it- maybe on the next page)

I've enjoyed some serious inspiration from the blog world and hope to share some of that with you soon.

I hope you're enjoying your summer.

There are some days when I think I am going to die from an overdose of satisfaction. -Salvador Dali