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Friday, December 22, 2017

Merry Christmas

Wishing You A Wonderful
Christmas!



Hope everyone has a great time with your family
and you enjoy some time off,
great food,
and lots of  fun and hugs.

See you next year! 

Monday, December 18, 2017

Craving Creativity - Motivational Monday

Do You Crave It?

I Know I Do!

Creativity!  What Were You Thinking?

Everyone is creative!
I mean it.  Everyone is creative!
I say that because creativity comes in so many different forms.  I'm not talking talent,
 (that's a whole different discussion)
 but creativity is, can be and should be all around us.

Creativity isn't just limited to artists.
(although some artists have it on steroids!) 

We are creative when we pick out our clothes,
when we fix our hair,
decide what to eat for breakfast,
the route we take when we go to work,
the way we landscape our yard,
the way we decorate our homes,
the way we decorate where we work,
how we work,
 
It's all creativity and I believe we crave it.

I believe we are creative beings.
I believe we are creative from the moment we wake up until the moment we go to sleep, and we are creative even then by what we wear to bed and the dreams we have.

There is in each of us, I believe, a desire to be different than everyone else, somehow, some way.
Maybe not purple hair, one blue sock one red sock different,
but something that sets us apart from everyone else.

I believe we need creativity to help each of us fulfill our dreams and our passions.  

I believe if 10 people were given a problem to solve,
there would be 10 different solutions found.
Some may be similar, but there would be some component that is different from every other solution.
That's our individual creativity at work.

We each have colors we love more than others.
Creativity!
We each have a style we love more than others.
Creativity!
We each have books or authors or
 movies we love more than others.
Creativity!
We each have food we love more than others.
Creativity!

How can loving Mac and Cheese be creative you ask?
How do you make your mac and cheese?
Blue box or home made?
Sharp or mild?
 Add other ingredients or no?
Crushed crackers or chips on top or plain?
Baked or nuked?
Salt and pepper or do you add other spices?

Those are all creative choices and solutions.

Think about your most recent problem
and how did you creatively solve it?
(Leave a comment about it)

Where are you most creative?
How do you feel when you use your creativity?
(I'd love to hear about it in the comments)

The purpose for this post today is to help each of us realize that we have creativity we use everyday,
 whether we realize it or not.   

I've heard many people say, "I don't have a creative bone in my body", and that simply isn't true.
You might not be the craft queen,
 but that doesn't mean you aren't creative.

Ever watch someone do something and then think to yourself, "Wonder why they did it like that when they could have done it this way so much easier?"
Yep, That's your creativity bubbling up to the surface.

I believe that is why art is so subjective.
The creativity of the artist is definitely present,
but then the creativity of the viewer comes into play.
I believe 10 people could view the same piece of art
and each would come away with a different viewpoint 
or impression of what they saw.
Their own creativity is sparked by the piece and their brain starts firing questions like:
What is that?
Why did the artist paint, draw or sculpt that?
I wonder what the artist was thinking?
Why did she use that color?
Why does he paint that?
I don't think a flying horse looks like that.
I would have done this to it.
and on and on...

Creativity!

You've got it!
USE IT!

(And now for the obligatory painting, because after all, this is an art blog.)

 ...and now you ask -
Sharon why did you select that painting?
Well, it's not everyday you see a bear wearing a fascinator.
I made that little hat for my daughter's wedding
and I plopped it on this bears head so it didn't lose its shape until the day of the wedding.
Then I loved the bear so much wearing the fascinator,
it called out to me to paint it.  
So to me, this painting ooooozes creativity
maybe more so than any other painting I've ever done.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!.
If you've enjoyed this post,
please share it with others you think might also enjoy it. 

 
 
 

Monday, December 11, 2017

Fun Unique Things Still Available

Time Is Running Out For FREE Shipping

I've offered FREE shipping on many items
in my Etsy shop that will ship by the end of 2017.

Here's a few of my favorite paintings included in the sale.

Click HERE to view or purchase this painting.
 
 Click HERE to view or purchase this painting.
 
Click HERE to view or purchase this painting.
 

 
Click HERE to view or purchase this painting.
 
Click HERE to see my whole Etsy shop.

There's only a few days left to place an order 
and then have time to get it shipped.

I'll do my best to get your item out immediately.
 




 

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Did You See That Supermoon?

When The Moon Hits Your Eye,
Like a Big Pizza Pie...

That's pretty much what happened December 3.
Hope you saw it.

A supermoon could be seen
 and there was no equipment needed. 
No telescope,
no binoculars,
just a clear sky and boom...
it was fabulous.

This was taken out in our field early in the morning.

 According to earthsky.org A supermoon is a new or full moon closely coinciding with perigee – the moon’s closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit.

Click HERE to see the full article
 with some pretty cool pictures. 

I took this in a little different place. 
 I used it for my inspiration.  

Here's a fun time lapse video of me painting 
my supermoon.
Boy I'm fast!  hehe



 Here's my finished painting.

Click HERE to grab it in my Etsy shop.
This one just flowed off my brush
and was so much fun to paint.  

Click HERE to hop into my Etsy shop and browse around.

Click HERE to browse around my website for my online beginning painting course. 



Monday, December 4, 2017

Motivation Monday - Everything Has A Season

Everything Has a Season

I've probably written about this before,
but this morning as I was taking a walk,
it hit me again.

I have a long lane that has hills and this morning
as I came up over one of those hills I saw an interesting sight.


Part of my drive way was covered in leaves.
The bradford pear trees lost their leaves overnite.

It's funny how the trees get their leaves in the spring at different times and they loose them at different times.
My Japanese maple held onto its leaves until my husband cleaned out that bed and then just like on cue, the next morning its beautiful red leaves were all over the black mulch.

Yesterday the bradford pears were the last tree in the yard to have leaves,
and now,
not so much...
 
This morning the trees taught me
 that everything has a season.
 
Everything.
 
Even art.
 
Sometimes seasons pass us up,
but they almost always come back around again.
If we're lucky.
 
Somedays I can't paint a lick,
and other days it just flows off my brush.
 
Somedays I have no desire to paint,
and other days I can't wait to get out in my studio.
 
As a young mother, I had a creative itch
that needed to be scratched.
But I also had a family
 that needed to be provided for. 
I worked at my job as creatively as possible,
and I raised my children as creatively as possible.
Along the way I learned some painting skills,
improved my sewing skills,
gained some organizational skills 
and I tried using them as often as possible.
However, when I got sick and I still had
"learn to paint" on my bucket list, I really got the lead out and worked at it.

You might not have time to learn something this year,
but keep it on your list,
in your head
in your heart,
and there will be time to learn something new.
You will find the time.
We are never to old to learn something.
 

If "Learn How To Paint" is on your bucket list,
I have the perfect course for you.
Click HERE to learn about Painting With Acrylics 101.
It's an online beginning painting course
that teaches you from the ground up the art concepts you'll need as you learn to paint.
 
Now I'm off to the studio to paint something using last nights super moon as reference.
 
This was the super moon about 7 a.m. this morning.
I hope you saw it where you are.
Gotta love the show nature provides for us all the time.
 
Still looking for an interesting gift this Christmas?
Click HERE to browse my Etsy shop.
Not only will you find my art, but I also have listed
vintage linens and dolls and glassware, painted home decor, etc.
 
Thanks for stopping by today.
I really appreciate it and I always love your comments.
 
Have a great one! 
 
 

 

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About Me

My photo
Ghent, Kentucky, United States
I'm a nature artist and I love to paint old barns, rivers and lakes, trees and fence rows and flowers. I work almost daily. You can purchase paintings by contacting me at slgraves6@gmail.com and there is also a tab across the top of my blog for available paintings and one for small paintings with buy now buttons. You can also purchase through my Etsy shop using the name of Fine Nature Art. . Thank you so much for stopping by.