Take a Step Back - Motivation Monday

Take A Step Back

As an artist,

sometimes it's hard to see

 where the problems are in a painting. 

The answer is almost always,

"Take a step back".

A painting is meant to be viewed at a distance of 6 feet.

If you're closer than that things get muddled.

Unfortunately,

there are few people with 6 foot arms,

so we're often on top of our work,

and can't see the problem.

We're so close we can't see the forest for the trees.

So we need to take a step or two back.

Then we can begin to see where the problem is.

 This is about where we are when painting.

From here I can't see the problem.

I need to take a step or two back.

 When I step back I can see the whole painting.

If I needed to fix something,

this is where I'll see it.

I took a step back in time this past week.

My husband, Jim has always wanted a Victrola.

I found one in an online auction 

at www.resettledlife.com.

This is a great business to help people 

who are trying to downsize their lives. 

Amy helps people find the accommodations they are seeking and she holds an online auction of items they are not taking with them.

That's where I found this wonderful gift for my husband.

 

It is so interesting to see how things used to be made.

How they worked.

And after all these years how they still work.

I showed the Victrola to my son, and he was explaining it to his 7 year old daughter.

He was telling her, this is how people used to listen to music.

Then when it started to play she laughed and giggled

with delight.

I told her it was like a CD.

My son looked at me like I had 3 heads.

Then he said,

"She doesn't know what a CD is.  We download music".

Boy am I goofy.

It's also amazing how far we have come,

 technologically speaking, in a short time.

All these things have been built on the advances of the ones before hand.

But sometimes we have to back up and look where we've been

to see where we're going.

We can look at art we did years ago,

and usually we're not too happy with it.

We see all the mistakes and things we didn't get right.

But, what we should see is,

how far we've come in our art journey.

We are better,

we are technically more sound,

we are more experienced,

we know more.

What do you do to get unstuck?

What fun things from the past do you enjoy?

Click HERE to view my online art course.

Click HERE to see my available art. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

   

Who Are YOU? - Motivation Monday

Who Are YOU?

 

What makes you, you?

 

Who do you think you are?

 

Are you who you think you are?

 

 Evidently,

this echinacea knows who and what it is.

It knows it's not a lily.

It's not yellow.

It will last longer than a day.

It has value as a healer.

Butterflies, bees and hummingbirds love it.

 

It knows what it is

and

what it isn't.

 

Just like each of us,

it has many facets, talents and abilities.

 

Just like each of us,

it has its own beauty.

 

Just like each of us,

it lives its life on its own terms.

 

Just like each of us,

its surroundings do not determine what it is.

 

Often times we feel like square pegs in round holes,

or maybe like an echinacea in a lily garden.

 

We didn't plant the echinacea there.

It just came up on its own.

I'm not moving it to where my other echinacea are.

I love that it reminds me every time I walk by,

that I am not like anyone else.

Neither are you!

 

We are all different and we should celebrate that.

We can admire each others talents and abilities,

without using them as our measuring stick.

 

My measuring stick is me.

Being the best me I can be.

 

My best me is as a teacher, instructor, guide.

I may never make a lot of money with my art,

but I love it when a student gets something they've been struggling with and I was able to help them understand and correct the problem.

 

I love it when a person leaves my studio with a piece they've done they are in love with!

 

For me there is so much satisfaction there.

 

What is your best you?

 

What makes you, you?

 

Leave a comment below.

 

Thanks for stopping by today.  

Click HERE to sign up for summer art camps 2017.

 

Click HERE to see my online art course. 

 

Don't forget to leave a comment on your best you.

 

Willing To Try - Motivation Monday

Give It A Try

  

Don't Let Fear Stop You!

Fear stops us so often from trying so many things.

Don't let it stop you!

Do not compare yourself to anyone else.

Try new things,

even though it may be uncomfortable.

We stop ourselves because we are afraid someone else will be better than us,

faster than us,

more talented than us,

and most often, that is not the case.

 

This group of ladies came to my new studio to paint.

Some had no art experience,

some loved art

and one had a degree in art.

Lots of fun going on here.

That's the goal.

Have fun.

Learn something new.

Play In The Paint.

These are the stones outside after we finished.

I sprayed them with an indoor/outdoor clear acrylic varnish.

I love that everyone was in the same class,

took the same instruction

and yet everyone created something different.

That's where our own personalities come in.

We add ourselves into the painting.

That's what makes it art!

That's why some pieces of art speak to us

while others do not.

We feel the spirit of the artist in certain pieces

we are drawn to.

These ladies had fun and created art!

What a wonderful day.

Great day at the farm.

Click HERE if you would like to see how to have a painting party either at your place or mine.

Click HERE to see how you can win a painting I give away every month. 

Click HERE to see my online art courses.  As you scroll down seeing what I have to offer, at the bottom you will find three boxes for three different courses.  There is a FREE daisy class all the way to the right.

Put your email in the box and then click the confirmation link when you receive it in your inbox and you will have almost instant access to that complete FREE class.

Enjoy!

 

   

Lots of Ways To Skin A Cat

And Lots of Ways To Paint A Peony

We raise peonies,

lots of peonies!

We have two 50 foot rows of peonies.

One row is several shades of pink

and one row is white.

 

 

And I love to pick them for the house.

 

Love, love, love them!

 

Another flower that is difficult to paint,

but there are lots of ways to accomplish it.

I'm just showing you one way here today.

 

Here's a short explanation of where I'm headed today.

 

Here's a very short time lapse video of the background.

 

This short video explains

 what happened in the time lapse video. 

 

This video shows step by step how I painted the peonies.

 

I have a free class on my website for painting daisies,

so I added some after I finished the peonies

and I added another peony going off the page.

 

 

 Click HERE to go to my website.

Scroll all the way to the bottom and there will be three boxes for my course, a single subject class,

and my free daisy painting class.

Click on that box and then add your email address

and confirm it when you receive a confirmation email address in your inbox.

The whole class will be available to you after that.

Enjoy. 

 

 The next day I painted this peony and daisy painting.

It's funny how when you paint something over and over,

you can begin to loosen up

and things just seem to emerge and happen.

You really start to see things differently.

 

Well, now you have no excuse for not painting peonies.

You have some photo reference,

you have video and explanations of how I did the background

and you have step by step instructions for how to paint the peonies, and you have a free class available to you to learn to paint the daisies.

Once you learn pieces you can put them together in so many ways to complete new paintings.

But it's in the doing and the re-doing,

and the learning and doing again,

that you'll really see progress.

 

You can't just try it once and say,

"Oh, I'm no good, I can't do it".

 

So go get out your paints and give it a go.

 

Have a great day

and thanks for stopping by.

 

Never Give Up - Motivation Monday

Never Give Up

In January, 2017 an injured eagle was found in the Ohio River near Carrollton, KY.

Several volunteer firefighters found it

and got it to Broadbent Wildlife Sanctuary

in Louisville, KY.

The eagle is approximately 5 years old.

June 1st it was released back in Carrollton, KY.

This video was taken right before Carol was released.

The cage is sitting atop a volunteer fire truck.

You can tell she really wants out.

This is the actual release of Carol.

It is a once in a life time opportunity to see an eagle

released back into the wild.

Jim and I went and stood in awe as the cage door

was opened and out she flew,

dropping down and then headed upriver.

She headed right to the tallest tree on the river bank.

She stopped and perched on a very high branch.

She sat on the branch and scoped out the area.

Ready to hunt.

 Nearly 6 months after being in that cold frigid water,

she didn't give up and had been in rehab for over 5 months.

Then, the door was finally opened and out she went!

Back to the area she had lived in her whole life.

What do we learn from Carol?

Never Give Up !

Regardless of the situation,

we should never give up!

Some birds are never able to return to the wild

because of their injuries.  

But they have lives in the education program.

These birds are able to go to schools and organizations

for educational programs.

These are some of those birds.

 This is a screech owl.

You might have to zoom in on him 

because he sort of blends in with the tree.

 This is a barn owl!

These birds were impressive and enjoyed by all.

You don't get the opportunity to see these kinds of birds up close very often.

We are lucky in this area to have two different rescue operations that work to save these magnificent birds.

Click HERE to learn about Broadbent Wildlife Sanctuary.

Click HERE to learn about Raptor Rehab. 

This and all similar organizations survive on donations.

Please consider giving to one of these or one near you.

Need an art experience for your child?

I am offering 5 different art camps this summer.

Click HERE to learn all about them. 

To all my local followers,

my studio is open M-W-F 2-5 pm

at 1996 Bucks Run Rd.,

Ghent, KY.

Stop by, I'll be painting and we have all the produce we raise here on the farm available as well as our jellies, syrups, vinegars, and pickles.

If you are a beginning painter or would like to learn to paint,

my online beginning painting course could be just what you need.

Click HERE to visit my website and check out the iris class and the full art course offered there.

There is also a FREE daisy painting class there as well.

You merely have to put your email in the box and you will have instant access to the FREE class.

I have taught hundreds of beginners and 

I created this class just for you.

I teach every class or course step by step so you can see exactly how everything is done,

what brushes I use,

and how I mix paints.

the strokes I use.

Give it a look at https://www.paintingwithacrylics101.com