Sunday, August 23, 2015

August is Artist Appreciation Month!

Did you know that? 

I didn't either! And August 13th is also National Lefties Day!  I am both an artist and a Lefty! Raise your hand if you are a LEFTY!
I hope that I am not the only lefty artist that didn't know about these two events until last week!
Sorry for all of the exclamation marks, but I'm trying to show my excitement. Maybe a selfie would show that, but I'm not going to subject y'all to that.

I totally 'left' out Lefties Day this year, but I didn't find out until the end of the day. But next year...well, I will definitely be more prepared!

So back to Artist Appreciation Month.

Since it is Artist Appreciation Month, I want to feature some artists! This may even take a couple of posts. I have been influenced and motivated by many artists. Some personal friends and others that I admire from afar.

Where do I Fit?

Being a whimsical artist, I find inspiration everywhere! As I look through my Pinterest boards and search online for whimsical artists, I find so many creative and whimsical artists out there! For many years, I couldn't figure out where my art fit in. Before the internet, before we had all of the resources that we have now at our fingertips, I thought that I needed to have a realistic or abstract style to make it in the art world. But I don't fit into either one of those styles. Yes, I like to draw realistically, I love to create abstract art. But actually my style fits somewhere in between those two. I like colorful art, and happy art. I like design. I create a lot of stylized images. More like illustrations. But I didn't consider myself an illustrator either.

Artists Who Inspire
Today, I would like to feature two well know and successful whimsical artists that I have admired over the years. Both have influenced my style. These talented women are artists who both became successful with their creative businesses.

Mary Engelbreit
Many years ago, my husband brought home a magazine for me, to cheer me up. At the time, I was struggling to find my way as an artist. I was actually pretty depressed about it. So he brought this magazine called  Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion. It was more of a decorating magazine, with articles about working artist's. Of course, Mary Engelbreit's art was all over the magazine too. But that magazine, and the articles about artists, were so good for me. Her art is bright and cheery and whimsical. And many of the artist's that she featured in her magazine were too. I think that is when I realized that my art did not have to be realistic and I could play and experiment and try to come up with my own style. I was really sad when the magazine stopped being published. But I had every issue since that first one my husband brought home to me. He also bought me a planner and/or calendar every year for Christmas. Now we have the internet to bring all of those inspiring images and stories to us!



Patience Brewster
I am always looking for other artists who share my vision of a fun and whimsical world. A few years ago, I came across the whimsical artist, Patience Brewster. She creates some wonderful and whimsical art, especially for the holidays. Her Christmas ornaments are beautiful! You can find the story about how her illustrations are turned into to 3D sculptural ornaments here: About the Ornaments .

 If you love unique ornaments and Holiday cards, then check out her website! View some of her latest Christmas Cards , because they are also beautiful!  And she has the coolest name!


Who inspires you?
I don't know these women personally, but I still feel like they have inspired me to be who I am, not what everyone else wants me to be. Because they have worked hard to make their style work for them. Every artist must find their own way. It's okay to be inspired and learn from others, but be yourself.

Be True to Yourself! 

Beth 






Sunday, August 16, 2015

Ink and Colored Pencils

I call this drawing a "Butterflower".

When I drew it, I started with the flower patterns of a flower, but the shape of it reminded me of a butterfly.  I added color with colored pencils, using some of my favorite colors.

What colors would you use to color the 'Butterflower"? 

The line drawing (without color) is available for purchase as a download in my Etsy shop here:  ButterFlower
Color your own Butterflower and show me what you did! 

Hop on over to Sunday Sketches with Alexandra H. MacVean to join in or see what others are creating!

Have a great Sunday and the rest of this week!

Beth    

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Line Doodles

While finishing up several different custom orders, I've been spending some time in the evenings doing more sketching. I create original line drawings, paint with watercolor, then print the original line drawings for coloring pages.

Line Doodles
Here are a couple of my latest line creations in ink. I will share updates later, after I add watercolor to the originals.


As for supplies, I like to use Sakura Micron pens (black), and Zig Millenium pens. The both come in a variety of pen tip sizes and are archival and waterproof. For paper, I use Strathmore Mixed Media Paper. It is smooth (good for pens) and will take wet media.




ART Design Doodle

And here is what I have been doing with the ART design that I shared here, a couple of weeks ago. If you haven't downloaded and printed the free design, you can still go copy it to your computer and personalize it how you want! But I want to see what you do with it! Let me know if you blog about it! I want to see how creative you can be!

First I added some line doodles in the background, Then I started adding color. On this one, I am using thin markers. You can use what you are comfortable with!



Be Creative! Have fun!
This will be one that I will work on a little bit at a time, between projects. I will share an update when I finish with this one!

 I am also linking this up to Blue Chair Diaries blog linkup. Hop on over to Alexandra's blog to see what she is up to!

Have a great Sunday and the rest of this week!

Beth    


My Kiln

My Little Kiln She is small but mighty. She gets the job done.  The size of my kiln does limit what I can create, but I get a lot of use o...