INSPIRATION UNDER FOOT

Mice taking a Shower in the Rain

Here are two new pieces that I designed just this week. I call them posters but I just enjoy taking my artwork and combining them into encouraging or funny images with the help of a little Photoshop.

The first image here I call, "Showers of Blessings". I had this idea of the drawing some mice taking a bath in the rain. I thought the one with the toothbrush and his mouth wide open was cute and then I really got a kick of drawing the little one on the right has a life vest on. That made me laugh for sure.

Kitten with Ginger

The second piece is kind of close to home for me. While I was off visiting our son in Georgia a couple weeks ago, Brad discovered that we had a litter 4 feral kittens born in our backyard. When they were old enough, he set out to trap them so that we could socialize them and find them good homes. This is actually the last kitten we caught and we are crossing our fingers that today he too has found a good home. In the meantime these past several days he has been running around our house getting into about every tiny space or crevice he could find. He has also found a new best friend in my chihuahua Ginger. I'm not sure that the feelings are mutual but he seems to have a great deal of fun chasing her wagging tail.

Dog Art

After I had finished to "Showers of Blessing" piece I had already found a reference photo and decided I would try my hand at painting a chihuahua. I wanted to use watercolor and pen and ink. Here is a scan of my original drawing. I still have to finish the background but I usually try to get a scan of it before the background goes in. This allows me more freedom to use the image in other compositions.
As I was trying to think of a creative and funny way to use this drawing in my digital art, I realized that I didn't have to look far for my art inspiration. I realized that I didn't have to look any further than at my feet.

What was Ginger thinking when all of a sudden her world was rocked by a tiny ball of fluff that persisted in following her all around the house with the occasional pouncing on her wagging tail or grabbing at her as she walked past. I'm sure she was thinking, "Seriously! Is this some kind of a bad joke?"

Cat Art

I had drawn this little kitten with colored pencil just a month ago for a cat themed art show that I was participating in. I knew she would be perfect as the feline companion to my single chihuahua.
Photoshop is such an amazing program. With just a little adjustment here and a swipe of the eraser or the lasso tool you can create almost anything. I decided to add only the one word, "Seriously". In my mind the whole story is so clear but I wonder if I really convey the feeling of the drama of the situation with just this one word? Does this make sense? I guess the jury is still out on that one and I maybe pulling this piece back into Photoshop if down the road I think of something funnier to say.
If you like my artwork, then you might want to check out my website at Julie Townsend Studio. You can follow me on Instagram or Facebook @JulieTownsendStudio and I also have an Etsy Shop you can check out where I sell posters, prints, jewelry and mugs with my images on them.

"Seriously, Is this some kind of a joke?"  Dog and Cat Drama

Two Little Birdies Sitting in a Tree

Work in Progress -"Pair of Nesting Bluebirds"

Most of this week I have been focused on sketching a pair of blue and a little bird nest in a tree branch.  I thought that this concept might make a good gift for a wedding or anniversary.  In my first sketch I have left it incomplete at this point because I could either include eggs in the nest or I thought putting two hearts in the nest might work well for the gift idea.

One thing that I really think is important and I have learned this lesson the hard way.  I know scan my sketches when I have finished the pen and ink work and before I begin to apply any color or consider background treatments.  I don't want to ruin my original and regret a decision later which will result in my having to start all over again.

Trying out different mediums and treatments-One is Watercolor and the other is Colored Pencils

The first copy I did was on a piece of letter size card stock.   I took that copy and applied an abstract watercolor background and finished off the nest by hearts.  The second one is again copied on card stock but I printed it as a 5 x 7 which made it smaller than the first.  This one I used Prismacolor Premium Pencils and added a ink background of small circles.  I really liked the colored pencil one but I felt I had made the nest too dark.  So when I do get ready to finish the original sketch I have a much better I idea of how I want to handle it.

Bird Nest with Eggs- Pen and Ink only

I started a similar sketch just this morning while enjoying my coffee.  I just find bird nests to be so fascinating and the detail pen work is a real challenge.  I really like how this one is turning out even if there are no birds to be found in my composition.  

I had some struggles with the first nest sketch of the week.  It wasn't until after I had it drawn it all out I began to realize that most bluebirds build their nest in holes it seems.  Here I have them building their nest on a branch.  This is what comes from depending on reference photos and not have live subjects to study.  While the Mountain Bluebird is the Nevada state bird, they must only be in the mountains up north as I have never seen one down here in Southern Nevada.  The Mountain Bluebird also doesn't have the orange belly feathers that we see in my most recognizable bluebird species.  They are still magnificently blue and therefore beautiful but just not as stunning as the ones with orange feathers.

So this nest is just a nest with two tiny blue eggs. That of course leads to the question, "What type of bird lays blue eggs?"  Well surprisingly there are a number of species.  Of course the robin is well known along with the bluebird but there are also starlings and mockingbirds and cowbirds to name a few. 

Either way, no matter why exact species of birds nest this is that I'm drawing, I hope you enjoying my sketches this week half as much as I didn't drawing them. 

My original sketches are 8 x 10 draw on Strathmore Bristol acid free art paper and are matted to a standard 11 x 14 for easy framing.  I will also have matted prints in various sizes available.  I will be adding these drawings to a collection of greeting cards that feature birds if you are interested they are available on my country store gallery on my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com

"Bird Nest with Blue Eggs"- Pen and Ink w/Colored Pencil

Draw Where You Live

The other evening, I was inspired greatly while watching several YouTube videos on the subject of plien air painting.  Both of the artists featured in these videos are extremely successful and skilled artists. They are  Lori McNee and Jim McVicker.  I have signed up to take an online webinar with Lori McNee on the "Secrets of Social Media" and am very much looking forward to all that she has to share on that topic since I love blogging and FaceBook.

The video that Lori had filmed showed her painting a river scene that is just a couple miles from her home in Idaho.  She is there quickly catching the colors and lighting with her paints.    You can really see the scene unfolding as she works.  Right in the middle of her filming session, a moose comes wondering up the river like he wants to be a part of the painting.  I have experienced the thrill of seeing wildlife up close and seeing a moose while camping in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming was certainly a thrill.  I was immediately jealous of her ability to be surround my such amazing scenery with such a minimal effort."A Day in the Life of Lori McNee"

The video on Jim McVickers is actually a documentary on him as an artist.  It showed him traveling all over the rugged Northern California countryside painting from a variety of landscapes.  He never uses a reference photo but rather will return to the same location several days in a row or even up to a year later to capture the same lighting conditions.  The film showed several pieces as he started with just sketching roughly in paint and then immediately blocking in the canvas with vibrant colors.  The painting rapidly took shape as the camera man captured Jim working.  Jim McVicker "A Way of Seeing"

Being thoroughly inspired, I was determined to have a positive plein air experience of my own when yesterday when we decided to head out to the desert to do some 4x4 exploring.  I usually paint in acrylics but the air is so dry here that I struggle the whole time trying to keep my paints wet enough to even get it applied to the canvas so I packed my sketching box that includes my travel watercolor kit.    

With our lunch packed and some folding chairs thrown into the back of our old Toyota 4 Runner, my husband and I headed out to the hills.  The day was absolutely amazing.  We had an overcast sky and pleasant mild temperatures.  Usually the afternoon sun wears me out but there was a perfect blanket of clouds that allowed plenty of light but not the glare and radiation that you usually experience whenever you are out in the Southern Nevada desert.  

We did some exploring of some roads out near the area of Coyote Springs and while the scenery wasn't breathtaking and the wildlife we saw wasn't anything as impressive as having a moose walk past there was still something satisfying about sketching in nature.  I did see a couple lizards and a fuzzy tarantula spider that I guess can count as wildlife.  Now that it has finally cooled off enough here I will be heading out more often with my watercolor and pens to practice some plein air of my own.

My plein air sketch of some driftwood I found in the wash

Impressive desert wildlife

I always want to know what is at the end of every road I see.  Well this was the end of the road.

In my adventures that day we had to pass through a barbed wire fence.  My shirt didn't quite make it as you can see.

Telling a Story with a Paint Brush

As an artist, I'm having a blast with this project that I recently started. It has been something in the back of my mind for some time and this week I took the initial step to actually start putting my idea to paper.   I know that I am just a few sketching into it but I really wanted to share some of the fun I am having.  I'm not sure if the end result will actually be a published children's storybook, but I am having fun illustrating what I hope will be at least a real keepsake for my grandchildren.  I have a lot of work to do since I currently have 6 amazing grandchildren all wanting their stories to be told.  

I'm just using watercolor and pen and ink to make these sketches.  I have no idea if this is the best medium to actually use to illustrate a story, but I feel I just have to get the ideas on paper and they can then be refined as I learn the correct processes.  It is going to be a learning experience for me but I'm feeling up to the challenge.  

With a real dog that is very much as big as a small pony, the inspiration for this story is not hard to come by.  I have all kinds of funny ideas about the problems and benefits that one wee little girl could face with such a large pet.  

When you are just a snip of a girl, taking your giant dog for a walk is more like a fun park thrill adventure than a chore.  

Sleeping can be a challenge when your bed dog is more like a bed HOG!

Tea parties can be very frustrating affair when one of the guests have such bad manners that knock over all the invited guests, break the table, step on your entrees and spill the party beverages.

CONSIDER LEAVING ME A COMMENT....I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

I promise to keep updating this blog as I come up with more and more pages to my story.  If you are interested in seeing more of my artwork, please click the gallery tab above or visit my webpage at julietownsendstudios.com

Accounting and Art- Used to be Like Oil and Water

I  know you have probably heard the term "Creative Finance" but I have just given that term a whole new interpretation.  It is probably hard for many of you to imagine that it would be possible to pull off combining both accounting and art together in the same piece but I think I've accomplished just that here in my new series that I call "Confessions of a Recovering Accountant".  

These pieces are both colorful and expressive and yet at the same time simplistic.  For me these 3 pieces represent the sum of my professional life after spending 30+ years in some capacity doing bookkeeping, accounting and business administration.  At times, I consider with some regret those years where art was for me but a distant memory of a youthful passion.  I feared that somehow that ability to be creative had totally disappeared and I would never get it back.  People that I had worked with side by side for years had no idea that I had once possessed a hidden talent to draw and paint and now they express shock as they come to visit my solo shows or the galleries where my art hangs.  

In less than two years, my life really has changed drastically.  Rather than stressing over the accounts receivable collections report, balancing the general ledger or working to prepare my monthly board presentation, I am now always working on a current painting, planning a new painting, sitting a gallery or sketching in my journal.  This series has been so freeing to me and I already have ideas to includes several more pieces. I have ideas to include my beloved Monroe 10 Key and another that I have already titled "Cooking the Books".  

To check out these and my other works, please visit my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com

Coloring My World

Right Brain vs Left Brain

Creative Finance

Confessions of a Recovering Accountant

These are a couple of small watercolors and ink pieces I have done this week.  Colorful and expressive, they both have a personal meaning to me and were just plan fun to create.  I have been sketching in volume with pen and ink for quite some time now but I am new to using watercolors to add color to my drawings.  I'm quickly falling in love with the look and freedom that this medium gives me.

This is a little watercolor I painted on Wednesday that I'm calling "Right Brain vs Left Brain". It symbolizes to me the struggle the exists inside of me as detail, analytic person that actually is an artist deep inside. I went years, 27 as a matter of fact, working for an organization as their accountant and business manager and it wasn't until the last 2 years that anyone even knew I could draw or paint. There just didn't seem to be enough time. I'm so blessed because my time requirements have reversed so that I am now free to create art whenever I want and do taxes and some bookkeeping in my spare time.

Right Brain vs Left Brain

This piece I am calling "Right Brain vs Left Brain" and it symbolizes the struggle that I felt for years as I was consumed by deadlines, financial reports and board meetings.  These demands sucked the creativity right out of me and I used it as an excuse to push aside my desire to let the creativity inside of me out.  

Coloring My World

This one I am calling "Coloring My World".  If you look closely at the black and white drips you will notice they are actually full of numbers and mathematical symbols. They have become so swollen that the bulging drips have ruptured and spilled numbers all over.  The colorful drips of paint and the paint brush symbolize my new focus.  You can never remove the accountant in me, but I can sure make my life more colorful by filling it with art! 

I am blessed that I am now able to dedicate my time to creating art and still do taxes and some bookkeeping in my SPARE time.  I already have an idea for a 3rd composition in this series that I am tongue and cheek calling "Confessions of a Recovering Accountant".  I think these might make an excellent greeting cards but I'm not sure of that.