Friday, October 21, 2016

The Artist in Me

So it's been a while since I've done a post and my excuse is I've been busy living life and having fun! When I do get some down time, I'm too exhausted from living life and having fun to blog, I just want to sleep!

One of the things that has been keeping me busy is my Monday Art Class. I love it! Oh my gosh! Where has Art been all my life? I thought writing was my calling! I thought I was going to write the great American Novel or at least be Blogger of the Year at a Blogher Convention someday! But now...now I know that I am meant to be the next Bob Ross! Remember Bob Ross? I loved watching him paint, it was effortless for him and I knew that I could never do anything like that!



But I think I can! Well, maybe not be the next Bob Ross, but I think I can be a halfway decent artist. Well, maybe not "sell my art for a million dollars" kind of artist, but a happy artist that can create some nice little pieces to give as gifts to friends and family (if I can ever make myself part with them)!

I need to share some of these with you all.

First, my owls. I'm not an owl person, but somehow I keep getting owls in my head! I love these two little guys and the way they are cocking their heads. It reminds me of our dog Chorizo and the way she cocks her head when you ask her a question. These were drawn free hand from a photo. 



On the weekend of October 6th, my sister Lisa and I went to her semi-annual conference in Lake Tahoe. The last time we went was October of 2014 and you can read about that adventure HERE

I took my drawing pencils and pad hoping to get some time to sketch, but we made a stop at a Ross Store and I was able to pick up a set of Acrylic Paints, a set of paint brushes and (2) 12 x 12 canvases for about $20! One afternoon while Lisa was in her classes I set up a little paint studio for myself in the hotel room and came up with this pretty little background. I almost wanted to leave it like this, so bright and cheerful!





But that was not what I had in store for this canvas so the next day I added a bit more in the morning ...



and a bit more in the afternoon ...



I had not really had time to do anything further until last night when I finished this little guy up. I say little guy, but with those flirty lashes, this has to be a girl owl right?



And in keeping with the upcoming Halloween Season, I've done two more paintings. Our instructor wanted us to do something abstract, so I did this painting and then at the last minute added the pumpkin just for fun!


As I kept looking at it afterward it looked to me like a blue sky with a harvest colored mountain, so I added a witch flying through that beautiful sky.


And I loved her! Flying on her broom just enjoying the harvest night without a care in the world; but it looked a little bare. I needed something on the bottom and once I added some headstones I realized that she needed some flying companions and Voila! Bats!


My mom, who does not like Halloween things because they scare her actually loved this so much that she went Goodwilling and found me the perfect frame for it. This was so much fun! And the more creative you get, the more the creative juices flow!

This past Monday our instructor wanted us to paint a Sugar Skull. It's a two hour class and this is as much as I completed. He needs a dental visit badly, but other than that I think he's kinda cute!


The first picture is almost the completed project. I say almost because a friend asked me to try adding some white dots around the eyes. I was at work and didn't have the actual piece with me, so I used a computer program to appease him and he had a great idea because I loved it with the white dots. I don't have a picture of the white dots I actually did, but they are almost identical to the computer generated dots shown below.



You can see how that one detail really made those eyes pop!

So you can see why I've been too busy to blog. Not to mention that I have been taking a line dancing class on Tuesday nights as well and planning a surprise birthday party for my mom, plus a full time job! The job, I'm finding is really cramping my style! Can't wait for retirement!








2 comments:

  1. I envy you, Alicia. Your paintings of the owls, the witch on the broom, the skull - denote real talent. Writing will always be your great side.
    Line dancing sounds exciting after sitting at work and in an art class. I know there are different styles: country, cow-boy, boogie etc.. I'm sure you're going to love it.

    You remind me somehow of the canadian blogger Jo from 'A Majority of Two' blog. She also had plans of studying painting and other things, and she disappeared from the bloggie land, albeit I don't think it was because of that. Almost all those who get the 'outstanding blog' distinction quit after a while. Her friend, the lawyer from Yowa, also stopped writing in his blog, at the same time as she did, so who knows, maybe something good happened to them both.

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  2. I'm glad I'm not the only one who misses Jo. I loved her blog and her take on life, I was sad to see her go.

    I don't know if I will ever quit blogging, even though I don't blog as frequently as I used too I think about blog posts in my head all the time, it's just finding the time to actually sit down and get it on virtual paper!

    Thank you on your compliments as regards my paintings. I am enjoying them and I know that practice is what is going to help me get better, while writing just comes to me. Words have always been my friend.

    Yes, you are correct about line dancing, there are many different styles and you can do it with all types of music. The ones I am learning are mainly country. I'll share a video soon so you can see the people I dance with. We're all about the same age, quite a few a bit older so I feel like a youngster! Thanks for stopping by, a pleasure as always!

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