Creative Hyper-drive

My Journal Page

So I have a confession to make this morning....I'm in love the idea of artistic journaling for sometime.  That is where you keep a diary or journal but instead of just writing on the pages you use your creative or artistic skills to fill the pages with drawings, sketches and fancy fonts.  I belong to a Facebook group dedicated exclusively to this form of journaling and some of the posts are simply amazing.  The closed group is very large with over 20,000 members and many are so positive and encouraging that I love to share my sketching with them.  The conflict comes in because my sketching efforts are more to work out renderings for paintings or to come up with designs that I can use to matte and create a greeting card portfolio.  These sketches also don't necessarily meet the groups guidelines for posting because they are no longer inside a sketchpad.  Also, my own dear journal that I started almost 2 years ago sits on my drawing table untouched and not finished.

So yesterday the idea just hit me! I came up with the perfect solution to my conflict and I'm really excited about it.  I'm not sure why I didn't think of it sooner.  As I complete a sketch or painting, I am going to print out the artwork on a 4 x 6 card and attach it to a journal page.  Then I can add my thoughts about the piece, the date that it was completed and in this way I will fill my journal with pages that are especially interesting to me and create a fun portfolio of my work at the same time.  It's a win win in my book (Journal)!

So last night was my first entry using this format and low and behold I got so creative that I actually started writing a poem to go along with my "Resting Hummingbird" sketch.  This whole process got me so excited that I was formulating more poems for a couple of other sketches I have recently completed.  I was scribbling down a flood of ideas on a piece of scrap paper between brushing my teeth and and taking my vitamins.  If I hadn't been just drop down unconsciously tired, I might have filled several pages with madly scribbled pose.  Blow out the cobwebs!  My mind was in creative hyper-drive.

So don't you dare laugh at me but I decided I would share with you not only my journal page entry but my rough draft of the poem I wrote call "The Hummingbird Song".

            The Hummingbird Song
 The song you sing is hardly a song at all
I may not see you in the branches but I can hear your call
While the other birds fill the air with a melody so sweet
Your song is more like a sour off tune tweet
Or maybe it’s more like a chit, chee-dit or a chirp
To me it sounds more like the scolding I get when I loudly burp
 Not at all a pleasant sound to my ear
Rather it is more like I’m being scoffed and chided I fear
Makes me wonder how could one so cute, tiny and small
Have a disposition and attitude that's bigger than all?

Be sure and check out all my work on my website-Julie Townsend Studio

Just a Little Cowboy and His Dog

The years have just flown by and I find it hard to believe that it has been 8 amazing years since my entrance into the grandmother club.  I started just over a year ago creating a special birthday sketch for each of my grandchildren for their birthday.  Usually they consist of  a matted 5x7 ink and colored pencil sketch of themselves or something special to celebrate their special day. Sometimes I have even included a special poem.    As I draw, I make a habit of praying for each of them and asking God to bless their year, protect their family and bring them to a saving knowledge of His love and sacrifice.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending the whole day out in Boulder City at the art gallery there fulfilling my co-op responsibilities.  It is a lovely gallery and I find that it is a perfect place to bring my sketchbook and draw between customers.  I had only penciled a rough outline of what I had in mind for my grandson's birthday sketch.  Mom had sent me a picture of him trying on a cowboy hat that was just adorable so after I settled in at the gallery I pulled out my sketchbook and got started finishing my the sketch shown below.

 I really like how this little sketch turned out of Gavin and his dog Bella and I think he will like it too. Let me know what you think and if you're interested in seeing more of my work, please check out my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com.  

8 years old- Happy Birthday Gavin!

Faces and Feathers

At the beginning of April I started an oil painting that I found to be very fun to paint.  Using a reference photo that contained 7 or so roosters full of attitude, perched on a stone wall and the flavor of a favorite Robert Duncan piece I came up with my own creation of the scene.  I even used a palette knife to lay in the stonewall and that is a first for me.  I had to put it aside as I worked on a large commission piece and so this week I was finally able to get back to give these guys some faces and feathers.

I'm trying to remember to use brighter colors and I think that the mountains came out looking pretty good.  Even though they are close I laid the colors loosely and didn't try to focus not as much on detail as impression.  This is a technique I'm going to use again for sure.

I think a nice barn wood frame is in order and as soon as it drys a coat of varnish will finish it up.

If you are interested in purchasing any giclee prints of this particular piece visit my Fine Art America site at:Julie Townsend- Feisty Fowls