Inspiration All Around You

It was back in October that my husband and I had the joy of taking a small (not necessarily small for Brad and I) hike with our son, daughter-in-law and brand new baby granddaughter at Mt. Rose in the Reno area.  The trail is actually called Galena Creek Trail and it was an amazing mile or so up and back.  I understand the trail will actually take you all the way to Lake Tahoe but I didn't need to walk that far to be inspired.

This one little event has so far resulted in a number of paintings that have all be inspired by the photos we took of that area.  I found myself just snapping pictures of everything.  The fall colors were brilliant against the clear sky.  The sounds of wildlife and rushing water made the experience not only a visual masterpiece but also a treat to compare to any concert man could produce.  One thing I know is that there are more paintings coming in the future that can be traced back to that two hours one crisp October morning.  So take a little time this week and find something inspiring and don't forget your camera!

Hectic Days

Everyone on the planet has experienced days that are sometimes pretty hectic and of course artists are no exception.  We may spend a little too much time inhaling paint fumes and turpenoid but life requires an occasional venture out of the studio and into the wilds of REAL LIFE!  This pretty much describes my entire last week.  Between recovering from my own recent carpal tunnel surgery and doctor appointments for both my mother and mother-in-law, the whole week seemed to be spent running just to wait.

It is times like these that make me so thankful for my little studio and my ability to lose myself in a painting.  In no time, I am returning to the pleasant experiences of a recent family hike on Mt. Rose near Reno.  That hike maybe 2 months past and 500 miles away, but painting brings the memory acutely back as I try capture the emotion of the day on a 16 x 20 canvas.  This piece is still a WIP (work in progress) but it has brought a release from the stress of the week.  I find myself traveling back to that beautiful October afternoon.  This piece also has that normal effect of predominately consuming my attention as most of my WIP paintings do.  Washing dishes, folding laundry or sitting in a crowded waiting room will often find me looking at the last photo taken of the piece and mediating on my next correction or addition to the composition.  I know if you even have a spark of creativity in your life you know what I'm talking about.  Here is my current consuming obsession....

The rule of NO KISSING

This past weekend I subjected three of my works to the public scrutiny of the Clark County Fair and Rodeo in Logandale, Nevada. Now, I realize that a county fair isn't known for being a haven for renown art critics, but being that I am such a new artist, any opportunity for public display of my work is a learning experience.

 I had dreams that my newest piece, a large 24x36 inch acrylic painting that I call "Utah Reflections" would WOW the judges and I would arrive to find a number of large colorful ribbons prominently hanging all over the edges of its beautiful old barn wood frame. I was quickly brought to reality, when I saw only one single red ribbon fluttering in the slight breezes that blew off the 4H livestock barn.  Under that ribbon, was the judges score sheet and comments. Not wanting to draw attention to myself, I quickly scanned the words printed there. A paraphrase of the comment I found reads something like this, "Really good painting but your focal point is the bridge and you have placed in the corner."

To my untrained artistic mind, having the focal point in the corner was what I thought made the painting interesting. I also noticed, in most of my other works the focal point is off in the corner too.  Now, I realize that I am a self-taught artist and being that I haven't had intense composition training that many scholarly artists have undoubtedly received in the higher halls of art education and so I can confess I really know nothing about the official rules of composition.  Even so, I still think I have a natural eye for design, so I thought I would do a quick study on the subject.

A quick Google search and I found plenty hits on the subject but found the article written by Marion Buddy-Evans called "Art Composition Rules" at www.about.com, proved to be pretty informational and condensed enough for my purpose of a really quick study.  There are several of the rules I know I now remember my high school art teacher, Mr. Easton telling us about.  One was the "Rule of Odds".  I always arrange things with odd numbers because Mr. Easton told us that made for a more interesting composition.  I didn't consider the why to that reasoning, but the article says it is because our brains can't pair things up on the composition and therefore it keeps our eyes moving across the canvas.  Well, I guess I'm good with this rule since my compositions has only ONE bridge.

I also found out about the "Rule of No Fried Eggs".  This rule is broken when you place your focal point right in the middle of the canvas surrounded by bland background.  Since my bridge is off the to far right corner, I'm assuming I didn't break this rule either and of course there is no bland background in any of my paintings.

There also is a "Rule of No Kissing".  This rule is broken when you allow edges of the objects to touch and not overlap or leave spaces between them.  The example was giving in the article of the horizon edge touching the edge of the sun rather than overlapping it.  There is depth and interest giving when objects overlap.  I think I'm good with this rule.

I think it is the "Rule of Thirds" that pertains more directly with my pieces and the placing of the focal point.  In this rule you divide the canvas space into thirds both vertically and horizontally.  The four intersecting points are hotspots and should be considered when you are placing focal point.  Rather than smack dab in the middle, or in my case the far bottom corner, your composition is suppose to be more interesting if you place it one third up or down or one third left or right. 

I know that all rules are there as guidelines and can easily be ignored, but I think it is important for me to consider these rule each time I rip open another canvas.  Rather than just painting and hoping for a great end result, a little more planning might be just the thing.  In reality, I only had one photo of that bridge to work with and I was really struggling with the perspective of the right side of the bridge and that is why I decided to simply paint the bridge right off the canvas.  As the artist, I have the creative license to do that.  The lesson here for me is that when I find an interesting subject matter, I need to take multiple shots, at all different angles so that I have the liberty to paint the focal point anywhere I want. What is really important here is that I learned something this weekend and that I'm still pleased with my piece even if there is only a single red ribbon hanging there.

The Artist's Vacation

For the past several weeks, I have been working on a piece that got it's inspiration from my Utah vacation last summer.  My husband and I spent some time exploring Marysvale and the surrounding area.  Utah is so beautiful that you can't help but be inspired.  Most people go on vacation for a week or two a year and enjoy their destination, snap some photos and maybe even post some of their favorites on facebook. For the most part, these photos soon are set aside to collect dust on the shelf along with the many other albums and scrapbooks.  Not so when you're an artist.  Those vacation photos are so much more than a pretty collection of sunsets, trees and mountain ranges.  Rather they are important research materials.

So, every time I tear into the plastic wrapping to open a new canvas and I  place that blank, stretched cloth on my easel, I begin to remember those details.  My mind begins sorting out those scenes from the clutter of today's busy life and I soon am dusting off the memories of a pleasant and peaceful Utah afternoon.  Soon I am transported back, walking among the tall grass, surrounded by beautiful trees and the music of the Sevier River moving past.  I can hear the sound of the creaking boards from an old bridge that spans it's banks,  built over 100 years ago and now abandoned.  It is the blessing that artists like myself get to experience when they find themselves deep in the their creation.  How hard I work, trying to capture that moment in time and have my audience feel that same amazement and peace I felt on that beautiful Utah afternoon.

I look at other artists and their amazing talent to paint breathtaking landscapes and know that I may never reach that skill level, but I am so in love with the feeling I get when I am deep in a painting.  That feeling that wakes me up in the middle of the night so that I lay there considering what changes I need to make.  No, I will not give up.  Being an artists is an amazing blessing because I get to revisit my experiences over and over and so while I may be in my studio working, I am actually "Gone on Vacation".

You can read the history of this old bridge at : http://www.marysvaleutah.org/things-to-do-things-to-see-marsyvale-utah/scenic-hotspots/131-marysvale-bridge-sevier-river-marysvale-utah.html