"After the Fall"

Oil on canvas

16 x 20"

This past weekend, I was one of fifty artists chosen to participate in an art competition at the Arnold Fitness Classic in Columbus, Ohio. On Friday morning, we worked from live models who were also athletes competing in several of the events that weekend. Then Friday afternoon, were turned loose with our cameras to photograph whatever we liked.

Bright and early Saturday morning, the competition began with all 50 of us setting up and painting from whichever photograph most inspired us. Mine was the little girl you see above.

After seeing her fall (she wasn't hurt - but emotionally, devastated), I realized that most of the time, the winners of any sporting event are the ones photographed, highlighted and painted. But so many don't win; I wanted to show the emotion they might experience after months and years of practice have gone into a single moment when the outcome is not so glorious.

This paint out is an emotional event for the artists competing as well. We paint with each other and can see our competitors work progressing and can judge ours rather harshly in the process. Over 250,000 people attend the Arnold Classic and many, many of them stopped to watch us work, which also adds to the excitement/anxiety. All the while a clock is ticking: 8 hours to complete a painting or drawing which is judged the next morning.

Oh, I forgot to mention that at one point, I was in my zone, headphones on, brush in hand and suddenly I realized that there were a LOT of cameras all around me. I turned to find Arnold himself leaning over my shoulder and looking at my work. He wanted to know why the little girl was crying, so we had a heart to heart about my motivation. Pressure there, too.

So Arnold, media, crowds, peers and a time crunch all make for an exciting day. I loved every minute of it.

On Sunday, we arrived early again to find out the results. First, second and third places were awarded and, alas, I was not one of them. No bitterness; all of the winners' work was fabulous. Just disappointment and creeping self-doubt.

I guess my painting was apropos for what I, too, was feeling after my competition.

Continued Progress - Poison Ivy

Whew. This represents about 4-5 hours worth of work. The fiddly bits on the right side with all the water spots and mold are a real challenge. One I am enjoying, though.

Poison Ivy - More Progress

More work on the "poison ivy" piece.

I wanted to share how I am rendering the fence with all of the mold and character. Instead of using browns I have chosen to use chartreuse and various light green colors along with lavender and purples while throwing in some pinks and peaches for good measure.

The colors are mixing beautifully and giving me the effect I had hoped for. Check out my color mixing blog here if you are interested at all in learning more about mixing colored pencils. Remember, they are translucent and layer very well for color mixing.

"Poison Ivy"

14 x 22"

colored pencil on Stonehenge

More Work In Progress - colored pencil

Boy, this one is slow going. To try to render the moldy wood realistically is a challenge. But, overall I think it's beginning to come together.

I haven't decided yet on a title. So, I'm just calling it poison ivy right now.

I am working exclusively in colored pencil for this one on Stonehenge paper. Rather large: 14 x 22".

New Digs; New Work

Recently, I was accepted into an artist studio group, Junctionview, where an old warehouse was renovated with many art studios. I couldn't be happier. I have my own space away from the house where I only work on my art. It's fabulous for me.

I have an amazing studio at home; however, I just had the hardest time working there. There was always a load of laundry to do, a phone call to take, a visitor - you know the drill. I just wasn't good at working at home. Has anyone else had this problem. I can't believe I am the only one.

So here's a little bit of my current work in progress. It's a colored pencil drawing on Stonehenge paper which measures 14 x 22". It's very slow work and the piece is large for a colored pencil drawing (and for me), but I am very happy with it so far.

Backlit Roses WIP - 2

More of my current colored pencil project. This one is very grainy and not burnished at all. Am rather liking it this way. We'll see what I come up with as it progresses.

Roses - WIP

My next work in progress: 9 x 6 1/2" colored pencil drawing on Stonehenge. Got to thank my brother, Brian, once again for a fantastic reference photo.

I am really enjoying this one and can't wait to work on it. Maybe it's the complimentary orange/yellow/blue/purple colors.

Not sure yet of its title. I'll keep you posted.

Shadowplay at OneTrueMedia.com

My video montage of my latest colored pencil drawing, "Shadowplay".

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Shadowplay WIP - Almost Finished

This piece is almost finished. Just a few more tweaks and touches should bring it around.

Shadowplay WIP - Continues

My goal with this piece was to create a work of realism but with an abstact-like composition. I have a few more planned with this idea in mind as well.

"Shadowplay"

colored pencil

7 1/2 x 9 1/2"

Shadowplay - WIP Continues

Continuing my post from yesterday, my current colored pencil drawing in progress.

Shadowplay - New Work In Progress

Finally, I have started a new colored pencil drawing. It has been a long time and I was beginning to think I had forgotten how to use my pencils. Only time will tell, but so far so good.

My brother, Brian, has been taking some incredible photographs which he generously has given me permission to use as reference photos so I hope to have several more of these done soon.

I am using Stonehenge paper and the drawing measures 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches.

Meeting Arnold

"Number 9"

16 x 20" oil on canvas

What a great weekend! I can't remember when I've had this much fun with my art! Heady stuff, too. Lots of press, paparazzi, stars and attention.

We artists at "Art at the Arnold" painted our competition piece on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. In that time, we had crowds of people (over 150,000 people attend the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic) watching us and asking questions. Oh, yeah, and Sly Stallone stopped by and interrupted me for a bit.

Sunday was showtime. The judge had chosen the top twelve pieces for Arnold to view and I was so excited to see that I was included in this group! But we had to wait over an hour to see the Governator, and when he arrived it was with such an entourage (I don't know how people live like this) and greeted and spoke to each of us in the final dozen.

My patron/husband/photographer was kept behind security lines under threat of death or imprisonment and could not get a great shot but here I am talking to Mr. S himself.

No, I didn't win any prizes this year, but I truly hope they do it again and I am able to participate. I had the time of my life. And my 15 minutes of fame. Now I am off to put my head back on straight and get back to work. (Contented sigh......)

Arnold Art

Graphite and chalk sketch

8 1/2 x 11"

Arnold Schwarzenegger (aka: the governator) is in Columbus this weekend. I hope to get the chance to meet him on Sunday.

Why is this even on my blog, you ask? Because every year, Arnold hosts a huge Sports and Fitness Expo here in our fair city http://www.arnoldsportsfestival.com/. This year, along with the bodybuilding competitions and various other sports, 50 artists from all over were selected to paint or draw the athletes. I was lucky enough to be chosen to participate.

So, today we had athlete/models to sketch and draw for several hours then we were turned loose throughout the convention with our digital cameras and sketchpads. Tomorrow we will show up bright and early (7:30 a.m.!) to begin to create a piece that we will frame and have ready for a show on Sunday. There are prizes awarded and Arnold himself is choosing a favorite.

Today was so much fun and such a pleasure to have these amazing athletes to model for us. (However, they had no idea that holding a pose for hours could be so physically challenging.)

So, now you know why the Terminator is on my blog.

I'm Back!

For anyone who is still reading my blog after all this time, I am back! I have some new direction, motivation and purpose and will be sharing shortly.

200 Posts!

"Ashley"

8 x 11"

graphite on Stonehenge paper

This is my 200th post since I started blogging in Feb, 2007. Blogging has been very good for me: I've made some fantastic connections with other artists around the world; I've sold some of my art; and I've been asked to teach some classes and workshops both about my work and about getting started on blogging.

But I've found that the most important thing that has come from blogging has proven to be a boost to my credibility as a working artist and one who is committed to her craft. I must say, that because of the positive feedback and interactions with other artists and readers, I have a much stronger feeling of confidence in my work. That is HUGE for anyone who works primarily alone day in and day out. You can only get so many "atta girls" from your family and friends; but those from you guys carry a lot of weight.

Thank you, readers! Wouldn't have made 200 without you.

A Daisy Today

"Daisy"

ACEO - 2.5 x 3.5"

colored pencil drawing on wood veneer

This has been a very busy and productive week for me; however, none of the busy-ness included making art. Oh, there were a few jabs at the sketch book, some planning and some creative thinking, but no real time for drawing or painting.

I was only able to get this little ACEO done. I drew it with colored pencils directly onto a small sheet of wood veneer. This is another technique where you can frame the piece without glass. Just a spray of acrylic varnish and its all set.

But I wonder, does the lack of time to make art cause other artists to become as cranky as I have been this week?

April Virtual Sketch Date

Rhododendron

watercolor and colored pencil

on Arches 140 hot pressed paper

I thoroughly enjoyed working on this month's Virtual Sketch Date drawing of a rhododendron from a reference photo provided by Jeanette Jobson. After getting the composition I wanted from cropping, I realized that what appealed to me about the image was that it reminded me of a stained glass window. While wanting to retain that, my goal was also to keep the flower as the focal point and not let the background overwhelm it.

This month, I also decided to work in mixed media with watercolor and colored pencil. Here's my progression:

Step 1 - watercolor wash

Step 2 - First layer of colored pencil. Establishing the dark areas.

Step 3: Second layer of cp. I work all over a drawing at once and build my layers of color. Here I'm still working on layering in the darks and establishing more realistic shapes.

In the final step (above), I've continues to build the color and then began muting some of the background with complimentary color in order to establish foreground and background.

Frequent Sketches

Ooh, boy, I've been busy: cleaning out the studio, moving things around, reorganizing, taking inventory, and just generally doing some spring cleaning.

Because I'm not motivated to make commitments and changes in January when most people do (I just don't have the energy), I wait until spring. This year, not only am I making some much needed physical changes but I've made some much needed new commitments to myself and my work. Here are the biggies:

1. I've written out my mission statement and have it posted where I read it daily.
2. I have also posted my list of professional goals where I can read them daily along with their deadlines.
3. Each goal is broken down into workable steps with each date marked on a goal calendar.
4. To avoid the inevitable (for me) lag time between finishing a piece and starting a new one, I will strive to have more than one project going at a time. This is also very helpful when I am struggling or bored working on one particular drawing.
5. I will sketch. I am not committing to a daily schedule, but a frequent one. It's just impossible for me with a young son and so many other commitments to sketch daily. But I have promised myself to try to work on a simple sketch for 30 minutes or less. I plan to share many of these sketches here.
6. I have made a daily work schedule to block out large chunks of time to commit solely to my artwork. This schedule is then being shared with my family so they can be aware of when I am working.

Making these commitments and cleaning out that studio has given me a new boost toward my work and creativity.

Does anyone else feel the need to "spring clean" to recharge the batteries?

WIP - VSD for April

April 09 VSD

Watercolor

4 x 6"

This month for the Virtual Sketch Date, I thought I'd try a mixed media piece: watercolor and colored pencil. I love the reference photo sent in by Jeanette Jobson and hope to do it justice. While I want to achieve a more saturated color, I also want to retain some translucence. Hence, the watercolor decision.

This is the first stage with just the watercolor wash; tomorrow I will begin adding colored pencil to the piece. I am working on 140 lb. hot pressed Arches Aquarelle watercolor paper as I like the smooth finish for my pencils.