Someday I'd like to be an artist. Those aren't my words, they are ones from my niece, Desea. She wants to be an artist like me. Funny I didn't even know she knew I was an artist. When I was young I don't recall ever thinking or saying that I wanted to be an artist. I was crafty and somewhat creative but it was never something that I thought I could be. I thought about being a psychologist and my grandfather wanted me to be a secretary but artist, no. That was definitely not on the radar. So I think it's super that at this young age Desea has already decided she wants to learn certain things. Judging from her picture above she's got a good start. She's a cutie for sure.
Have any of you wanted to be an artist when you were young?
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It's so beautiful out today that I had to move outside to work. Much has happened in the last little while. It all started here. Nothing is feeling settled or sure. With all the changes, I've had a need, a yearning, to get back to painting. Creating. So, my projects are underway again. This project has always included a little participation from others. A little experiment of sorts. Here is one of the parts of it in this post. I included, and am including, some of the things you say or share in the artwork somehow. I might include "you" prominently or in the background somehow. Every piece will be different so we'll see how it comes out. Sometimes I start with an idea and it changes as I go but however I include "you" i'll try not to embarrass you or make you wish you didn't reach out. Here's a little thumbnail of this part of the project (I was outside today) and here is a question for you.
I remember ignoring things when the kids were little. They would do something and I would see them from the corner of my eye and purposely not look at them so they wouldn't know I knew. It was usually something very minor but I would have had to do something about it. It reminds me of when little kids hide THEIR eyes thinking that you can't see them then.
If you have a story and feel bold enough share it. Thanks beforehand. Here's today's 50th Birthday portrait painting. Logan and Erica. I have a few things to fix on it but I'll do it when I get home. Having FHE at Leila and Sky's home right now. Hard to believe I finished this before 3 am. Nice.
Got back from a trip last night and I can't find my regular camera anywhere. So, it's the iPhone. Lots of glare, sorry about that, I'll take another photo later.
Portrait painting 15 of 50, sent in by my sister, Sara. This is of our parents. And today is my mom's birthday so I thought it was really fitting to do. I haven't done one of my mom and dad. My dad's been gone for several years now but this is a photo of them on one of their trips. Sometimes you just make a big deal of things mentally and never get to them. This 50th birthday celebration has made me just get over it and do them. No time to fuss. Just paint. Happy Birthday Mom. My Sam sent this in. My portrait 8 of 50. The 50th birthday celebration goes on. Upload an image on Shannon's Studio FB page and read this post to be considered.
I did warn you that my days go long, right? Especially if I start a painting at 11:00 pm. This took me 2 1/2 hours. I can only do a monochromatic in that amount of time with little effort. If I use color it's not as quick for me. Here's number 5 of 50. I just wanted to squeeze her cute, little sleeping face. Smiles in her sleep. I've never done oil paints on watercolor paper. New thing for me.
Independence day has been filled with parades for a very long time for me. The marching bands are what the Boyfriend likes best but my favs are the floats. I'm delighted and it's almost like being a kid again. I had another chance to do a parade float this year. Part of me really enjoys it and another part doesn't. It's a great creative DIY outlet that's a lot of fun but the uncertainty of how to do it and if it will turn out is a challenge. Some people think it will come together automatically because you're a creative and that it's no big deal, whlie others think it isn't going to work out at all. In the process, you'll swing back and forth like a pendulum. There's a lot of people web searching this time of year for DIY float building info. Last year's 5 Parade Float Quick Tips (found here) has been viewed and reused. So, I thought I'd share 7 ideas about parade float designing. Parade Float Designing • 7 Quick TipsSince the float this year had a fish theme I thought I'd play that up with the tips. #1 Fish for the Big Picture You're likely doing this for an organization of some type. Think of their purposes for wanting the float. What do they hope for an outcome? Are they interested in the process and having a lot of people involved? Or is it an outreach in the community? Or is it a tradition of fun? Or is it to show a strong brand? Whatever the reason, you should understand it. This float was about involving people in the process, name recognition in the community, and a Christian message. People: We had about 40 people work on the float Recognition: Passing out info cards & candy during the parade Message: Free to be Fishers of Men - Bible verse used as the message #2 Fish for an Original IdeaIt all comes down to having an idea. Sometimes that can be hard to do. One tip is to look for inspiration to borrow and then make it your own. Here are 2 inspiration images that I found. I liked the idea of dots and stripes. I thought that would be easy for our group of varying ages to do. I also borrowed the color scheme of the group of Nassos' fish. Here's how our fish turned out. We made them out of paper plates, poster board, & paper mache. Another idea I borrowed was from Helen Friel's paper work of an underwater scene that displays jewelry. I took her small version and went up in scale by a lot. You can see that ours doesn't look like Helens but that you can see the similarity of the borrow. I used foam core (instead of plywood) so that we could have many young people involved in the cutting and painting. #3 Fish for the LoveYou're going to be with this idea awhile. Make sure you love it so that you can hang in there with it. Nothing says failure like hating an idea. #4 Fish for SolutionsThings just aren't going to go 100% your way. Have that in your head at the start so when it comes up you already knew it would. Listen to others ideas during the process. #5 Fish till the EndDon't give up. Sometimes things don't look like they're going to work out, only to be proved wrong. Stick with it. Creativity is often messy in the middle. #6 Fish for HarmonyWith a big group, you're likely to have a wide range of interest and skill levels. To make it look good and like everyone worked together keep a 1) limited color palette, 2) repetitive shapes, and 3) easy to accomplish tasks. #7 Fish for the Wow!Wow them in some way. Surprise them with something a little different. Make it stand out - in a good way. For this float I had the whale shoot water out of its spout. The crowd loved it especially since it was hot. I left an opening in the top of the whale and had one of my kids sit inside with buckets of water and a pool water shooter. You can see him trying it out on a passing friend. During the parade he was hidden from view. The water shot up about 15 feet in the air. It worked perfectly. Hope these tips help you in your parade float madness. I don't know if I'll be asked to do a float next year but if I do I'll read through my own notes as a reminder but until then we'll say good-bye to float building.
It's the middle of summer and I'm thinking snowflakes. I did my first how-to demo video (with Wade's help) and you can find it here. It's DIY watercolor snowflakes. So easy. It's adaptable to any age. Hopefully taking it up a notch makes it so adults might like to try too. We were doing the video for a specific reason and we couldn't include these idea images in it. So, I thought I'd share it here. Sometimes it's hard to come up with ideas once you do the artwork. I took the project pieces from the video and turned them into these. Maybe this will spark a few of your own uses. Or you can just stick with putting it on a shelf just because you like it that way. What would you do with your artwork?
I've been doing a lot of creating lately but nothing I can share right now. But, I decided to share what's happened with my umbrella project. Six of the eight panels were done. One day it rained here, so I used it before it was finished. Then, it rained the next day and I couldn't find it. I thought to my self, "Self, I just used it yesterday." (Yes, I talk that way.) But, I was in a hurry so I left. Then a couple of days later I walked into the studio to find the umbrella in this condition. You get the general idea even if you can't see the torn sections or the teeth marks. One word - dogs. Grrrrrrr. I must have dropped it on my way from the car to the house, though I'd really like to blame it on someone else. And the dogs leave no opportunity untouched. Mutilated. Dang it! (We swear with a G-rating around here.) I'm wondering if I should do another one or cut my losses.
Why couldn't it have happened when only 2 panels were done? Don't you hate when you're the one who wrecks something you've spent a long time to create? Take your own photo. This one is of glitter laid out on a piece of white paper, laying on the ironing board near a window. I got really close so that it focused on one area and blurred the others. I could have taken it farther away but it didn't have that great of an effect. The only change I made was to make it a little darker because I wanted to use white lettering. Here is a download if you want to use it sometime.
Add your own text with no more than 2 font types. If you're not sure which ones, just use one. It's better to error on the side of understated. Vary the size of your font, it makes it more interesting with little work. Also, leave a little "white" space. In this case, it's really not white but glitter, but it's space that the eye can rest while viewing.
It doesn't need to be used for only New Year's Eve, it can be for any type of party in the future. Before all the wedding madness started last month I did a triptych painting for my lawyer daughter's office. Something in the colors she loves, that wouldn't distract her clients but be interesting, and that I could do quickly. Viola! It's not what I normally do but it was a very fun, easy artistic workout for me. Now when she sends me a photo of them in her space I'll share it with you. For now, you'll have to see it in the studio. It's very different from the one I did for her Graduation present. And I use the term "Graduation present" loosely here, since it took me 3 years to finally finish it. And now that I have tried to find an image of it, to upload, I realize that I never had it professionally photographed for my files. Geez! An artist is never supposed to let a piece out that hasn't been recorded. Someone should fire me. Dang.
I'll upload a version when I take a photo of it. So what do you think? (Reposted from the blog I'm closing.) The Boyfriend built a boat! There was nothing Bitesized about it. Well, except the kid's efforts compared to his efforts (which the Boat Builder was very grateful for but jeez, he built a boat! And it floats!) Since they did add here and there with their small efforts they are invested in the "we built a boat!" My Husband gave them a chance to be part of something bigger than they could ever do on their own. And making more memorable moments has just begun. I love that man!! Have you ever built a boat?
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