It can often be hard to figure out the answers, sometimes the info you are looking at just makes no sense. Everyone has this happen with something, math or music, schematics or sculptures. More than once I have been stymied trying to make sense of something. On occasion I can get the information to help figure out enough to get by. Other times it remains a mystery. And that is ok.
February has arrived. A short month, but one filled with many things to celebrate. Birthdays for some, anniversaries for others, the odd holiday we call Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, and all month: Black History. There is plenty for the artist to explore in order to fill up the visual library for future reference. It is a great month to visit a museum or gallery, check out what one in your area have on exhibit, or do a virtual visit if you can’t get out. Even coffee houses and libraries often have exhibits you can enjoy.
“Trust the process” is a line often used in art, the giving over of yourself to the act of creating with no set outcome. Sometimes it ends with a lovely piece, sometimes a less than lovely, and often something in between that you didn’t expect. Yet it can be hard to loosen our grip on things, to let go of the control we usually try to have over how we want things to unfold. This is true across life: work, relationships, even vacations, we try to exert control to bend events to our will instead of working with them to find another result. Guilty as charged, but working on it.
These brittle pages were perfect for a vintage look. “ He sows the wind” is what is in the circle, which is a nice little graphic. For those of you who are mixed media artists, dictionaries are great to use. The tightness and variations of the type create a wonderful visual for backgrounds. Foreign language ones add the benefit of unusual letters or words in addition to the visual variety. A local book sale at your library or a thrift shop are just a couple of places to look for foreign language books. Often the books are in tough shape, but don’t pass by them, the more aged the better! Even though they can become very brittle and need to be handled carefully, they are worth it. That patina is just what you want to add interest to your works.
We often don’t know we are growing until we step back and see the distance from where we are now. As a child this is the hash marks on the door frame, as a student it is the grade we are finishing, as an adult it can be harder. Is it promotions, fancier cars, weight? It seems our adult benchmarks are often about how we appear to others, such are the general views of success. This isn’t a terrible thing, but it can be a distraction from the growing we really need to do., which can be harder to see.
I guess I was in a purple mood last weekend as all my pieces were drenched in that color. At the rate I am going all my art journals will be filled up this year pretty quickly. Good thing I have several in a variety of sizes, they have really caught my interest and fill a creative need. If you are curious about art journals you can check out my Youtube channel https://youtu.be/ugVAJhkAq8g, or any one of the many out there, to get inspired!
Never back down 🔱⚔️
Photo ⋅ Pictures ⋅ Poetry
Picture Books I Treasure
discover a magical world
by Lize Bard
The Little Adventures of a Hiking Schoolboy
trying to bring a little creativity into everything I do
Adventures in Watercolor Painting and Sketching, Watercolour Magazine, with Charlie O'Shields
thoughts from my mind to yours
NATURE FINDS A WAY
Photographs of beautiful abandoned and decaying lost places from around the world. Urban Exploration and Dark Tourism blog, with galleries and portfolio.
A Personal Journey through the wild Moors and Mountains of Northern England, Scotland and Wales, in Search of Myths and Legends
portrait photography, iPhoneography, and thoughts on living a creative life
Andrikken
sketching everyday since 2010
Wild Bird Creative 