March Wind

In keeping with the month of March, I've drawn a girl whose hair is being blown about by the March winds. The common thread in my art work these days seems to center around eyes and wind. The winds are either tossing hair or tall grass. I love the idea of the wind participating in my work - it puts movement in a "still life." And why relegate eyes to the faces of humans only? Maybe the wind has eyes, maybe flowers have eyes - who really knows? That's what creativity does - it puts possibility into everything. Nothing is limited. I love it that as an artist I can play with line, form and color with endless creative abandon! 

The "March" Girl is Finished!

Yippee! I'm always so happy when I finish a piece of art work. It most certainly gives me a wonderful sense of satisfaction, and I really feel like I'm accomplishing my goal of adding a little more beauty to the world. But I'm going to have to call March Girl something else. She doesn't like being called that. I think something a little more personal is in order. She looks like she's daydreaming...Daydreamer? That's not much better, is it? I'll have to think about this. In the meantime, I'm designing another to go with her.

I was extremely busy over the last week finishing a lot of other unfinished pieces. I wanted to take them all to the printer and have some prints made up. So that effort provided the motivation I needed to finish a few pieces like the Cat in the Grass, the Fairy - the tree at the top was never coloured in. And there was a floral piece that I abandoned, which I'm really glad is now also finished. Relief! It really does feel like relief to get these all finished.

March Girl

She's daydreaming about summer, which is something I've been doing. I've had enough of winter (especially that Winter Wind) and I was really in the mood to create a cute little girl, so here she is. But I must say, I've been terrible lately with finishing my art pieces. I have two drawings that I did this month (in addition to this one), but I haven't sat down and colored them in. I think I'm in one of those blocked artist funks - whatever those are! I don't even like to say the words... those are bad words for an artist! So I didn't really say them, okay? Yes, that's right - denial works just fine for me! Anyway, I will work on those unfinished drawings ASAP, now that I told you about them - maybe that will motivate me to finish them. In the meantime, here is my March Girl - in process.

Intuitive Design #2

Here she is - finished! I wasn't going to work on this tonight, I was so tired. But I felt revitalized after a nap and finished it. There really wasn't much left to do, and I always feel a sense of accomplishment when i finish my art. So I'm going to bed tonight knowing that I finished another project! As my fellow artists well know - we start many projects that never see completion, so we do the little happy dance around the studio when we finish something! (as my friend says - I think she does a lot of happy-dancing!)

Almost Finished!

Not quite finished, but almost! I still have to address the stark white background. But I couldn't leave "her" alone. Something drew me to finish this one faster than I had originally planned. Planned - I shouldn't "plan," I'm supposed to just let it happen - whatever "it" is. One of my friends tells me she's scary looking. I'm not sure what to call her...Lady of the Leaves? Grass Goddess? Maybe she belong to the fairy realm - a type of wood nymph or sprite. And maybe she's just an illustration, a feminine interpretation on design.  

An Inuitive Moment

This project of exploring intuitive drawing is turning out to be a rather interesting journey. Albeit, it's just the beginning, and who knows what I'll think of this project in a month or two. Sitting down to draw without anything in mind - a blank mind actually, and an openness requires discipline. I haven't been very good with this kind of discipline in the past. I only produced art when I felt inspired. This new method, however, is a different way of producing art. I'm sitting down at my art table, regardless of how I "feel" (in the mood or not), with a clear mind and a pencil in hand - open to whatever inpiration moves me at that moment. I start drawing lines and hope that something worth looking at is going to materialize. It's a little like meditation on paper. The true lesson for me is twofold. First, I want to develop the discipline of being able to draw at just about any given moment. I don't want to be dependent on a mood in order to be able to draw. Second, I have to learn that whatever is created is valid and worthy as "art" no matter how I think it looks. Logic and ego make those judgment calls as to what is good and what is bad. But intuition creates whatever needs to be captured at that moment, and it's neither good nor bad - it just is. This is part of putting the inner critic away and making room for authentic creativity to unfold. 

This attempt was my "make myself sit down and draw" piece last night (this is my idea of fun on a Friday night!). I will probably do the initial drawing portion on the weekends and then spend the rest of the week finishing the drawing. It seems slow - but it's an exploration... wish me luck, inspiration,  and awareness!

Snow Day

What a day! We didn't get as much snow as predicted, thank God! I thought it was going to be much worse. We were expecting 20 to 30 cm, which is somewhere around a foot of the fluffy stuff. My dog absolutely loves fresh snow. He was rolling around in it, thoroughly enjoying himself. I worked on my winter fairy a bit more - she's not completely finished, but very close.

I'm hoping to make this the first of a series that explores something I'm calling "intuitive" art. It fits the subject matter I've been reading about lately. There's always a connection between what we think about and what we produce on a creative level. And I believe that creativity is manifested by the spirit of inspiration, but the artist has to be available on an intuitive level. Hence "intuitive" art - what happens when one is truly open to inspiration? I guess I'll find out...

All my best,
Kate