MidAmeriCon 2 (WorldCon 2016) has come and gone. I had a lot of great experiences and conversations. One such experience was a conversation I had with a wonderful jewelry artist and writer. I asked her a bit about her creative process (her piece titles are wonderfully evocative). One particular...
Aug242016
WorldCon 2016
Aug102016
2016 Paws on Grand Wrap-Up
Another fabulous afternoon at Paws on Grand! Thanks to Virginia at Wet Paint for inviting me to participate again. I had a lot of fun and I hope to do it again next year. To get through the line of pets and owners we had to keep our sketch time...
Aug32016
Losing Steam, Regaining Momentum
The piece is almost done. It just needs that something more to finish it up but I’m losing steam. Here are a few things that have helped me reinvigorate myself to finish a project. Try and go back mentally and emotionally to that initial seed idea, or nugget that...
Jul282016
Is it Finished?
How do I know when a picture is done? I’ve been working on some new paintings lately. I want them to be the best that I can make them (with the skills I currently have), and at the same time they need to be done. I could paint, and...
Jul202016
Paws on Grand 2016
Saturday August 6, NOON – 3pm, some artists (myself included) will be donating their time to create quick pet portrait sketches in front of Wet Paint Artist’s Materials and Framing. With a donation to the store’s chosen group, People & Pets Together, you can receive a free pet portrait....
Jul132016
Different Words Same Idea
I had a great conversation with another artist about the different ways we think about the same picture construction tools or methods. He thinks in terms of carving form out of space. I currently think in terms of building up form from the flat surface. They seem to be...
Jul62016
Is Your Media in Your Way?
In the context of getting ideas out and working out a picture, one of the things I learned at The Atelier was that maybe the media is in the way. There are many things happening when I’m generating ideas and working out a picture (I’m guessing others have a...
Jun302016
The Creative Process
What I mean by creative process is the process used by anyone who’s making something or finding a solution. This evening I’ll be participating in a panel discussion titled “Creative Process Across Disciplines” at CONvergence. (Sorry, you’ll need a membership for the convention to check out the panel). It’s...
Jun222016
Lightfast
There are plenty of resources defining lightfast but I wanted to know what it looked like when something wasn’t lightfast. I wanted to use brown ink as a sketch tool by filling a Niji Waterbrush with it. I was told by one of the sales people at the art...
Jun152016
Using Crayons to Create
Frustrated with getting marks on paper or keeping a journal? Here’s one idea to help ease the frustration: crayons! Yup, wax crayons. Here’s what I noticed this does for me: It changes my mindset to one more of play time, a child-like mind of exploring and just being and...