Art, Inspiration, Creation
Art, like life is a Quandary - Learn to Simplify
6/19/2017 3:05:24 PM
One of the 7 elements in art is Texture - the "feel" or appearance, consistency or inconsistency of a surface. It can be implied or really there.
Have you ever seen someone wear something and you just had to touch it? I remember when I was a child and velour was so popular. I had to touch it! If I wore it, all I did was rub my legs. (HA) Maybe that is why we do not wear velour anymore. It is too distracting! I also remember The velvet elvis paintings! (that is what I called them). People painted on velour, maybe we should make a comeback and plein air paint on velour. Not sure how that would go.
But painting on a textured surface, definitely adds texture to your painting. What I want to talk about, is the implied texture of a painting or art form. If the texture is really there, such as impasto style paint, (or velour) that is obvious and no one has to tell you a painting has "texture". But implied texture is more of a skill that artists learn, and add to their art.
Texture, implied or not, can create emotions, share messages, or simply add spice to your painting. Implied texture is used, in conjunction with shape and line. Van gogh was wonderful at creating implied texture with his short brushstrokes side by side, varying in values.
This painting of my garden peppers shows implied texture. It had some impasto style work on there as well, but not much. The variation between dark shadows and light, opposing colors on the color wheel, and the splashes of cool blue, on the warmer red and orange hues, created the implied texture.
Fur on an animal is "implied texture". This painting I did for a customer shows the feeling of a fluffy dog. I hope it makes you want to brush your fingers through his hair! This is implied texture with the use of curvy lines, small brushstrokes and shapes of color. I did NOT paint every hair. If you find yourself painting every hair, or spending an eternity on a piece trying to "imply texture", go back and start it over. Unless you are a hyper realist painter. These artists can spend months on a painting implying texture. It is just preference.
So if you have questions about "implied texture", please email me. Send me your painting and I might be able to help you "imply texture" or let you know if you have accomplished "implied texture".
I would love to hear from you!
Happy Creating!!!!
6/16/2017 8:39:28 AM
"If you bring out what is inside you,
what is inside you will save you.
If you fail to bring out what is inside you,
what is inside you will destroy you."
The Gnostic Gospels
Isn't this true? Isn't this true in life as well as art? Sometimes I feel my art is my life, and sometimes my life is my art. It gets swayed by the currents and waves of life. The acceptance of others can sway what we do, or how we do it. But what is our true nature? Where inside of us, is that peaceful place, where only I am myself, and see myself as truly an exceptional human being?
We are that, we are the exceptional human being, intricately made to be ourselves. But we are pushed and pulled, and brushed about by other motivating factors in our lives, many that take away from our original purpose. We look into he mirror and wonder who we really are. This effects our art! Sometimes we may produce art because it symbolizes our inside turmoil, peace, love, or anger. Our art, should be the outpouring of what is in our heart, this may be the reason why beauty is hard to find in some art. Many of us are responding to the negative things going on around us, and the only way to express it is through our hands. Is this being true to our core? or pushing back from the prodding of society? If you question someone's art, look deeper into it, and it may reveal what is inside of them, that they were able to get out into an art form. It will also be indicative of our times.
One year ago, I turned off my TV. I watch an occasional show or movie, without commercials. But I do not even watch the news. I want to meditate on beauty, and be closer to my core, my true self. I am entering another era, and about to create rules for myself about other media inputs, like the phone, social media, etc. to only use it once or twice per week. Most of us use it to pass unconscious time away. I try to use it to serve my personal higher good. This is a very narrow way of life, and few will be able to do it. We are addicted to communication and what is happening across the globe, despite our crying neighbor that needs our attention.
Limiting my attention to the advancements of technology may be hard, but in order to keep myself truthful, loving, kind, and not judgmental, angry about the world, or worried (I would rather be in a state of love) I must not indulge in the "happenings of this world". i.e. I do not want to read about everyone's anger towards our government. If I want to change the world, I have to change my environment directly around me. Keep my heart as pure as possible. This is where I can find what I truly want to paint; My heart's desire. If I am painting what I love, others may fall in love too. When I had a studio at a large art center, where there were over 100 artists, I had several people come into my space and say "At least you have cheerful and happy art. There is very dark art here." I am thinking, that we artist's are only putting out what is in our heart, and we can not help what others see in it. That is why we produce it, to get out our inward thinking.
We have a whole COUNTRY inside of ourselves, yet to be discovered. We have unlimited potential that if we would stop watching TV, or social media, we might actually get something done, or find a more creative self, or serve others. I know I have esoteric ways of thinking, and creating, but it works for me.
So as I continue discovering and exploring the country inside of myself and produce art, I hope to find an output that I can be happy and proud of, regardless of other's judgements. It takes courage to be yourself. Do not ignore your gut feelings, make some incredible choices -today.
My latest reading that inspires some of this thought is Finding Inner Courage by Mark Nepo. Honestly the ONLY reason why I was attracted to this book was the beautiful painting of oranges on the cover by Carl Vilhelm Balsgaard. Moved by beauty!
Keep CREATING, with your true self in mind and heart.
6/12/2017 2:34:50 PM
Shape is one of the 7 elements of design. I am highlighting each element individually, (Please refer to my blog) but I want everyone to realize, that ALL elements should be intertwined in a great piece of art. They are separate elements, but connected in a painting, with a web of strokes, decisions, careful rendering and planning. They feed off of each other, like hydrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water and other elements that use each other to sustain and energize life. Clearly, I am not a tree, but I need the tree to exist. Clearly a tree is not a human, but needs humans and animals to exist. The seven elements are like this connection, together they give LIFE to an art form.
What is SHAPE? and how does it differ from FORM?
The quick and dirty description is that :
SHAPE is 2D
FORM is 3D
SHAPE is measured by Length and Width
FORM is measured by Length, Width and Depth or Height
SHAPE is to a CIRCLE
as
FORM is to a SPHERE
But I want to get into a little more depth when discussing SHAPE.
My students probably get tired of hearing this phrase, "Every Color has a shape".
As an artist, inspirator, and teacher, I try every way possible to explain what art IS to people. I do not believe it is "left up to the viewer" or "left up to the artist". Art should be a conscious decision, created (and viewed) with a battery of tools that the creator (or viewer) has mastered.
What does it mean that every color has a shape? I have cited Edward Hopper before, because he is one of my heroes. I love the shapes in his work. Here is an easy visual describing how every color has a shape. You can see more of his work HERE.
This piece, "Chop Suey", you can break down every shape in a color description or note.
Now look at this impressionistic work that I recently painted, "Leonardo". The phrase "Every color has a shape" is also in this piece, squint down and see the shapes. Even though I have added texture, and a variety of values here, the shapes are very clear.
Take some time to view people's artwork you admire, and see if you can pick out the color shapes in it. Sometimes you can get really close to the artwork and see how the different shapes, create a FORM. If a piece is a strong piece, usually the forms and shapes are evident.
Stay tuned for more of the descriptions in elements in art.
Keep Creating!
6/9/2017 7:14:41 AM
Form is one of the seven elements of art described in my blog DESIGN in your Art. Form is the name for describing a 3 dimensional object in space, whether on your canvas or as a sculpture. Form can be Geometric or Organic. Geometric forms are items like buildings, vases for flowers, or any object that forms what we know as a SHAPE (square, rectangle, triangle, circle, etc). Organic forms are curves, free-flowing lines and are not symmetrical, mostly occurs in nature.
Most art contains both of these types of forms. FORM starts as a shape, and in order to make it 3-dimensional, the use of value, tone, light and shadow, will be used to accentuate the FORM. This article by Lisa Marder really goes into some depth about FORM, including sculpture.
This toy bear, I painted from life. I think has a pretty good form, not extreme on the value scale, but still has the "feel" of 3D. I put dark cloth behind him and put a light on one side to help me find his FORM. In order to show better FORM in your painting, working from life is certainly the best way to learn how FORM is created with shapes, lights, values and shadows. When you are learning, try to work with values that are strong and extreme.
Start with a small canvas or large canvas with lots of squares in a grid to practice seeing FORM. This 6"x6" canvas is a little Color Study, with a bright light on the left. This helped me to see the different planes, and how intense the value shapes were so I could create FORM. I can not emphasize enough to perform daily exercises to help your brain retain information and learn! There is so much science behind this that it is proven we learn best when we "CHUNK" information. Taking 15-30 minutes each day to learn a new task, will create two neurons to fire together to create a memory (If you want to explore this brain information Thorin Klosowski wrote an excellent article " The Science Behind How we Learn"for LifeHacker) He also states, that learning something right before we take a nap or go to bed, seems to be the best time.
So start practicing FORM today! Even if you sketch it out, it will help you learn the shapes that pattern a FORM. Creating Art is a puzzle with many pieces to it, and sitting in a chair or standing in front of your project, is where the work begins. Make it fun, but challenging.
Happy Creating!!!
6/5/2017 7:26:42 PM
So you enter a juried show and ....you get these words back in an email..."Thank you for entering your art this year, (which means you have been REJECTED) but due to the quality (which means yours was not up to par) and number of people who entered (What does That mean, you didn't have time to SEE my art?) we are not accepting your work." It goes on and on, but I never read the next sentences. The feeling of being rejected is never fun. Whether a serious relationship or your artwork in a show, it can feel intimidating, like you have wasted your last 20 years of life, or just downright TIME TO GIVE UP!!
I have been on a wonderful rejection streak lately, and it seems I will not come out. But after the first 10 times of being rejected, throwing my brushes across the room(in my mind really), quitting, and getting in the yoga CHILD POSE, ...the pain is not quite as bad, and it just means another $60 to enter another contest, and a push to become a BETTER artist. So I have to rethink what I am putting into my work.
When Thomas Edison was asked about how many times his light bulb failed " Edison replied, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps." "Great success is built on failure, frustration, even catastrophy." Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. I am not inventing a light bulb, but I am inventing a JS TAYLOR original piece of Beautiful art that WILL get recognition one day. I have had many wins in the past, it feels great, but we get complacent, and think we are good, and then the failure streak, or the "steps to success" taunt us to say....the world is getting better than you, and you need to step up your game!!!!
So do not let rejection kick you in the tail and put you in the bed for a week. Look at it as another Opportunity to be better. To stand out among the "number of people who enter" and be brave. It is a must to paint. A must to do something with your creation! I have had a conversation with many professional artists and we ask each other ; Is it the sales, or the awards that take the cake? Sales are always nice, but when you get the awards....sales go up, friends.
The judgement behind who gets an award and who doesn't is a numbers game. It is very biased...just admit it. I am sure you have looked at a show and seen a $10,000 winning piece next door to honorable mentions, and said ....What made that the winner? Sometimes it can be evident, but sometimes, not so much. So judging is biased and do not t take it personally! Just skip over the rejection letter, and create another masterpiece that may sell, or may win an award. Do not give up. (I am patting myself on the back, after being in my fetal position for awhile, since I just received another rejection letter). Hard to admit it folks. Like I said, I have a lot of wins on my resume, but if you could see the amount of rejections needed to get the win, it would take all night.
I budget money for my rejections every month too, it is just like gambling...So here is $150 a month to "get my art out there", throwing it towards the possibilities of getting a REJECTION or an ACCEPTANCE letter. Then on top of that, mailing usually costs $65-100 depending on the size of your art.
It is hard to write about rejection, because it does hurt, no matter what. But opportunity awaits.
Keep painting and accept those rejections like a duck, with water rolling off of your back. Just keep getting your feet dirty!
6/1/2017 8:18:08 AM
What a bitter sweet day this is! Drinking my last cup of coffee on the bay in this lovely space. I have spent the last 2 days packing back up my cargo trailer (my life) and saying goodbye to this inspiring home, and the long dock, 250 steps from the door to the end, a hypnotic experience every time my foot would take a step. I spent many mornings doing my meditations, prayers, and yoga at the end of the dock. I spent many nights lying on my back staring at stars and feeling so connected to this whole life experience. With each falling star, I recognized some old part of myself shedding away. I left the last of the blueberries out for my turtle friend, a delicacy for him or her. There were three dolphins out in the water today, when I was at the end of the dock, that waved good bye as they glided so easy through the water, reminding me that life is what I make of it, and to be determined to swim towards my dreams, ....it will all work out.
This sleepy town was like living in the 1970's again. I have so much material for a novel, it has inspired me to download Scrivener and attempt my hand at writing a book. I have already many chapters with titles. I will see how this will pan out, along with my art, and teaching, helping my father with his business, and being a wife. What a strange place this has been overall. I have fulfilled many of my intentions here.
I had intended to paint more, but I believe what I have done has given me a great launching pad for new ideas and wonderful new pieces of artwork. The main experience I will walk away from this has been to simplify my life, seek truths, laugh with others and at yourself, breath deep and stay calm. Hesitate before you act. Dig deep into your soul and find the YOU that has been covered up by life, by busyness, by stress. It is like finding a $100 in a pocket of a shirt you haven't put on in a year. Or better, like finding a treasure that is so valuable, you will sell everything you have to be with it. I fell in love with myself again. That is the most valuable lesson that I will come away with from this cathartic month. When you know yourself, it is easier to put yourself into your work and brand it with your DNA.
What a month! May you be filled with blessings from within, all of which are G0d-given, and 100% you. The bliss I referred to in another blog, the "heart swell", I have again, and will remember where I can find it. It is in me.
So smile today as you create. Create something beautiful, and with crazy love for yourself. When you love yourself, you are loving God, and all those around you. It is a more comfortable place to be, than trying to please those outside of yourself.
