Need Inspiration?

Need inspiration? How am I inspired? People ask me this all the time.  Hello!  This is me with one of my paintings I just created!

I don’t create paintings this size without inspiration!  Now look at the next pic; it’s a tiny artist trading card.  A whole lot of my inspiration begins on teeny, tiny pieces like this.  I really liked the leaves in this little card and have been painting leaves big and small ever since. You need to also note my blue fingernail polish and long fingernails.  I haven’t polished my nails in a LONG time, during this lovely quarantine, but we’ve been ‘stepping out’ a bit lately so I’ve been inspired.  Pretty much thinking that when it wears off I’m also going to chop my nails off.  They’re getting a bit TOO long!

This big painting, which I named ‘Enter,’ was done entirely with palette knife. I gave you a couple closeups so you could see and feel the texture.

(It IS for sale on my website)
 Sooo... if you feel uninspired, start small.  Small things don’t intimidate.  Small things beg to be created.  Do it! 🙂 Just one tiny thing! 

Teeny Tiny Art Time

Here’s a tiny piece I created inspired by a building I saw downtown.  Sitting at a stop light I looked to my left and there it was in all its beauty!  Believe it or not, it was a parking garage.  A very NICE parking garage!  

I like doing these tiny works as they inspire me to bigger works.  I can get the inspiration out with no pressure and it’s down for when I have time or need to be inspired.  Here I’ve got it sitting on my palette for a nice pop of color.  I think it’s time to get back into artist trading cards.

Leaf Painting in Negative Space

A couple years ago I went to ‘Picasso, Black and White’ down at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.  I was not excited about it and had an appointment after my museum visit.  You may have noticed that I’m a pretty colorful girl, so I was expecting a bunch of tiny black and white sketches.  

Picasso blew me away!  I staggered out of the museum about five hours later hungry, exhausted, missed my appointment and inspired to the hilt! His work was monumental and in many pieces he entirely covered the canvases with colors, only to cover them up with white paint and quickly sketch in his subject. The ‘sketching’ was eliminating the white paint to show the colorful ‘underbelly’ of the piece. 

He inspired me to use negative space in my paintings and this is a good example.  Can you see how the entire piece was once entirely color? By painting the transparent white behind the leaves, the leaves are now the subject. This is for sale on my website, shown below.   It’s called ‘Oh the Beauty of the Earth!’

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

My Mother’s Hands

My goal is to keep this feed related to art because I’m a professional artist; however tonight I must make an exception. Actually, maybe it’s not that big of an exception.  These are my mother’s hands. She’s caressing our cat Calypso who loved cuddling with both my parents.  My mother is gone now, and so is my father.  So is our beautiful, good natured sweet kitty.  I miss all three of them.  This photo brings it all crashing back.  But really, what IS art? It can be many things, but taken down to its very essence, I believe it’s living a life to glorify God, loving people and caring for your own.  And boy am I thankful that God was gracious enough to give us animals to love us and to teach us how to love. And living a well-lived life?  Now THAT’S art!

Creative Inspiration

This is so very true.  I’m wondering if other creatives feel the same way? There are so many things I’m interested in, so many things I want to learn, so many things I want to try.  There is always something I want to create and it takes time alone to think in order to produce.  And ya know what?  If you are good company with yourself, you’ll be good company for others as well. 

This is my own quote on a mixed media piece I did. ❤️ 

Cat Painting Installment #5, Creating

Okay, here we go with Installment #5 spelling out how my creative mind came up with my recent cat painting and the steps I took to get ‘er done.  These four shots show the next set of layers into which I brought golds to pull those royal colors together.  You can see I used my handy dandy linoleum acanthus leaf stamp that I recently carved.  Now... we’re getting close to actually painting a cat!

For me, a painting has to hold my interest, just like music.  With all the layers of color and texture, I never tire of work like this! :)

Creative Process Installment #4

Installment Four to my Creative Process Cat Painting explanation.  Good old thumbnail sketches.  Here are SOME of them.  Get the composition perfect or you might as well give up and go home.  Once I got the composition nailed down I did color testing to hone in on the exact colors I wanted to use to paint the cat himself.  After all these gorgeous blues, I ended up with Payne’s Grey, Carbon Black and Titanium White. The blues didn’t stand out against the background so were a poor color choice. Also, it’s funny to note that I always end up with my hand-scissored paintbrush.  It’s one of my faves because it’s EXACTLY what I want! Hold on for Installment Five, coming up next time! 

Creative Process Step Three

Creative Process Cat Painting Installment #3; for those of you curious as to how an artist works. You’ve seen a closeup of my cat painting and a pic of me sitting next to the finished piece in my previous two posts. This picture shows the third stage of my painting; first, paint the wood in blues.  This particular color pairing has been one of my favorites since I was a teenager, and that was a long time ago! Second, imprint it with garden leaves, and now third, adding the circle with rays.  My original intent was to put a halo around his head, Alphonse Mucha style, so the charcoal lines delineate that.  In a later stage I ditched that idea and decided to go with gold to indicate royalty. These leaf textures peek from the very back of the painting as you look, and beckon you to not only see the cat, but dig deeper into the mystery.  The same way I like complicated music, I like to give viewers a lot to look at and think about. There you have it! Lupus Regem, the start of my Wolf King cat painting creative process.  Look for Creative Process #4 next! 

Portrait of an Artist

There are many ways to do a self-portrait.  The important part is that you reveal something of yourself. This photo, shot by my friend Stephanie, is a telling portrait of me.

How would you do a portrait of yourself?

Creative Block

Are you ever creatively blocked? You can be blocked in business, writing, art... whatever. Get into your workplace and do some mundane cleanup! I find the very act of hand sharpening pencils inspiring. Sometimes simple studio cleanup or paint testing will do the trick as well.  The point is... do something! I’m not often blocked, but I’d say I’m more creatively-time-challenged.  I haven’t had a chance in my art studio for TWO WEEKS so a little pencil sharpening is a relaxing way to ease me into the ‘zone.’  What do you do to get over your creative block? 

Abraham Lincoln Quote

Abraham Lincoln quote on one of my embossed metal pieces.  It’s so true.  It doesn’t even matter what you choose to do (as long as it’s legal and you WANT it)!  Just go for it!

Yes, I photoshopped this piece to make it look cool, but honestly, I think it looks better the way it was!

Grand Ole Oprey Painting

An artist’s life is ALWAYS interesting, and one never knows what one will be doing next!  Here I recruited Melody of Refine Arts to help me paint the Grand Ole Oprey for a very special event the choir and orchestra had at church. What fun that was!  Ladders again.  It’s always ladders. #afraidofheightsoverhere

We only painted on paper that had been taped up.  VERY quick job for a temporary ‘installation.’ Yet I think it turned out really well for the time everyone spent on it!

You can see that this was a quick job.  I used to be a perfectionist.  I learned a long time ago that you do the best work you can in the amount of time you have.  We had very little time for this and it was for a one-night event.  It fit the bill perfectly and I think it turned out great.

This is how the final looked under lights.  

Watercolors

Oh my goodness I love watercolors!  I usually use tube watercolors but am stepping out and trying some liquids for a change.  Yes, because the bottles were pretty; that’s a valid reason for purchase.

These bottles glowing in the sun really do make me want to get busy!

 Sometimes even one color will inspire me, then I’m off painting again. What inspires you?

The Traveling Artist

This floor.... you know, most of us don’t recognize the artistry that goes into the everyday products that surround us. I was captivated by these tiles and they inspire me in all kinds of ways. Yes, that rolling suitcase is paint-splattered and I think it is downright awesome.

A Creative’s Summer Gardening

If you feel something wonderfully warm, if you hear something stretch within itself, it’s my squash. ❤️ ❤️ 

In the North we grew so much squash everyone would come to church with grocery bags full of the stuff. We would look at each others’ bags and try to give it away to someone, anyone!  This is the first time in 19 years, since we’ve lived down here, that I’ve been able to grow squash.

We shall see if it can stretch itself into yummyhood before squirrel, opossum, coon, humidity, mysterious phenomenon or Act of God takes it out. We shall see.  Artists are forever optimists.

Oh, the beauty with which God has surrounded us! Thank you, Lord!!

Artist Palette

Ya know, every now and then I just really love the look of my palette and think it should be a painting.  Such is the case today. Happy Memorial Day.  Today I will paint a little, we will remember. We will eat, swim and celebrate,and plan to go down to ‘our’ sculpture down on the Waterway to pay tribute to our lost friends.  Thank you to all who have served to keep us free and great, and grant us the freedom to plan our days in such a wonderful way.

Inspiration for This Artist

These are my Peruvian Lilies.  I prefer to call them Bad Hair Day flowers.  Aren’t they just lovely? Even though they are beautiful, they DO look like bad hair in the morning, though, don’t they? Scroll down to see what the background pattern is.

It IS a nice background.  Actually, it was serendipity.  I washed one of my summer dresses and hung it outside on our umbrella table.  It just happened to be hanging there. Of course, turquoise is such a nice compliment to red that it seemed like the perfect foil.  So there you have it!

I spend a lot of time outside. Working in the garden, puttering around, biking, swimming and of course having coffee in the morning with my guy. ❤️ I cannot overstate the inspiration I draw from the beauty of God’s creation.

Inspiring Flowers

One thing I miss about the North is the flowering trees.  Here I’m enjoying a nice crabapple.  We were lucky to be able to go to Minnesota during the beginning of the heavy flowering season.  My wooden ‘bracelet’ is one of my mom’s necklaces.  Intrepid person that she was, she went on a trip to Israel with a tour, leaving Dad home to work.  She got this there.  I’ve been wearing it a lot lately as it makes me feel close to her.  It’s been one year this month now that she died. Aren’t these flowers just gorgeous? 

Looks like I’m going to have to paint some crabapple flowers.

Art Studio Inspiration

This feed is supposed to be about art, but really, all art we create is just a cheap imitation of the art God creates.  This is my delphinium sporting what I think is one of the most perfect combination of blues in all creation, tying for first place with the bluebird.  Because we had such a nice cold winter and a long, cool spring, it’s on its second bloom. 

Meet the Artist

Just thought you might like to meet the artist behind this crazy feed. I put my hair up a lot at home, 1) to keep it out of my face, and 2) then I don’t have to fix my hair! Two really good reasons.  But some of my scarves are kinda cute so I decided to break free and wear them out in public.  Here I go! Don’t laugh when you see me, just nod and smile to yourself and think, ‘there goes one crazy lady.’ You won’t be far off the mark.

Honestly, it’s been a really tough week for our family with a few things, actually three (trouble often comes all at once,doesn’t it?) hitting us. Tough decisions to make.  But... I can be thankful for life and for this day, and remember to treat every single person I meet with special kindness. I can pray about problems, act, and then forget about them.

AND...I can put on my happy scarf and smile.