I’m back at the DayJob, vacaation is over. I love the people I work with, enjoy my job and find it to be generally a good time. Today my first day back from vacation I’m exhausted. I slept poorly last night after letting my body dictate it’s natural daily rhythms for a week plus a few days. Getting up at 5am was a shock to my system. Driving at 6am was even more of a shock. Sitting in my 80 degree office for 7 hours was even more of a shock. I was beyond busy all day, righting wrongs and finishing things and doing stuff all day.

It keeps my mental lines clear but by the end I feel as though I’ve accomplished nothing. It’s not like when I spend a day painting or working in the studio, or hell even the garden and I feel accomplished.

Don’t get me wrong I like my job but it’s certainly NOT my passion.

Tonight exhausted I nearly canceled my UStream. Instead I took a 15 minute power nap, awoke not so refreshed and decided to plow through the show. It nears 9:30pm here and I’m still wired and excited by the art I made. I spent 2 hours chatting with like minded people. I’m jazzed. I’m excited about art.

If I didn’t have to head to the DayJob tomorrow I’d stay up late and begin working on a canvas I have in mind, a Birth of Venus riff that I think will be hilarious. It’s a response to a nasty comment I got on yelp and I think my idea could be kinda fun. But this is the kind of thing I think of when I’m done with the show. More art, more ideas, more more more.

What I’m not thinking of is the DayJob.

That troubles me to a point as I need to be invested in the DayJob  until December of 2011.

Shall I start a countdown?

Back when I was in high school my art teacher organized a field trip to Cobscook Bay State Park. It remains today as one of my all time favorite places in the state of Maine. While at the retreat we had 3 local artists (all successful) painting and drawing with us live. At 17 it was an amazing experience. One of the guys (the guy who does the paintings for Coast of Maine compost) was about 2 hours late but we all grouped around him anyway, watching him closely.  I’ve always thought of how cool it would be to have something similar now.

I'm kinda of bummed we didn't get to go this year.

So perhaps for next year we should schedule an artist’s retreat at Cobscook Bay campground? Maybe not with the classes, unless someone wants to organize those, but a group of artists sitting around campfires at night and wandering out into the landscape painting.  I’ll be there at some point. I’ll decide wellin advance and post up info, so any other artists who want to travel to the state can do so at the same time. I’ll warn you though, the good campsites are taken well in advance!

Over the years I’ve had a lot of people tell me horror stories about their art classes in both grade school and high school. Due to these experiences, such as an art teacher tearing up a kid’s art in front of the whole class, many quit taking art, though they have a love for it.

I decided that I’d create an online art class that was kinder and gentler. Obviously you won’t need to do a public critique like you would in a live class.  I’m focusing on the basics, but explaining every step. I’ll tell you why I’m showing you everything.  I was never the kind of teacher to poke fun at  my students but I’ve designed a gentle approach to this class.

I’m using PDFs with clear instructions, sharp photos as well as live UStream videos. Using UStream allows me to record up to 3 hours of video and save it for you to peruse as you wish. It allows me to interact with you live..

Taking this class will teach you better how to use a pencil to create an image in your art journal. I’ll answer questions about other media if asked. I’ll be a resource to you while you take this class.

Check out the class supply list and a more detailed description here.

Though I had my pochade box at the ready for my trip to Maine, in absence of the other things I needed to get ready. I spent no time in Maine painting. I’m regretting that now, but the reality of it is that what I really needed was to relax and not think for a few days.

Sometimes I make art on auto pilot and sometimes it involves a lot of thinking on my part. Sometimes I just don’t feel it. I know that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. During my time in Maine, though my pochade never left my trunk, it was at ready in a moment’s notice, I just didn’t feel it.

Instead of my intended 4 days of arting, I kicked back, relaxed and spent a lot of time talking to my family. It’s not often I get to see both of my brothers, my Grandmother as well as my parents when I visit, so it was especially nice to see them all.

So today amid the mix of household chores that need completing I plan on getting back into the process of art. I’m going to start right now, my pochade box is still at the ready. I’m going to head outside to the patio with my coffee and paint some cloud portraits. Care to join me?

6-26-10 art journal
Originally uploaded by sketchbookbuttons

I love this little ink and watercolor WDM page.

Love this person's art on flickr happy to have stumbled upon their sketchbook flip through on YouTube.

Art Journal
Originally uploaded by ekoblisk

Lovely little contour line drawing, again one of those core drawing exercises you do a lot of in art 101.

I used to be very competitive. I played sports, raced mountain bikes, drove ATV at breakneck speeds through the woods all with the intention of winning, even when there was really no winning. In some cases I raced against myself. Could I ride that trail faster than I did the week before, lift more weight than I did the day before, run the trail faster, could I get a better batting average. I exuded frustration when I wasn’t better or the best.

At some point anger took over and my competitive nature became asinine. I was competitive in situations where it wasn’t warranted.

And then I lost it. I lost interest in competing against myself and others. I saw my behavior and realized that I was angry. Sure you could say I was also driven to succeed. And In a manner I had succeeded in my goal- getting out of small town Maine getting a free ride to UMaine and doing the best I felt I could do.

When I got to college I had pretty much given up on academic competition. I was happy to get the grades I got but I was shocked at the competition in the art room. I was still competitive with myself (mostly with biking) but the art room competition got to me. Crawled under my skin and frustrated me. The women it seemed were less competitive than the men but were competitive in a different way. The men outright would say “I’ll do this better than you.”

I’ve left that sort of insanity behind and I’m happier for it. When I created the artjournaling.ning.com site it was to connect with other art journalers and people who worked int eh book format. I never expected it to take off the way it has. I’m very excited, pleased and happy to see it take off. Most of all I’m really excited to see all of the journalers and artists working together to learn, expand their knowledge and technique skills and chatting and making friends. I’m really excited to have been able to have met and worked with all the fantastic artists who have created workshops. It’s truly something that I’ve felt has become so much more than what I expected.

The thing with the ning site is that it’s not competitive. There is no judgment only working together.

Continue reading →

Light/Dark study #1
Originally uploaded by Archcomix

Great study of light and dark on faces.

Some links from tongiht's ustream.

http://www.journalgirl.com
http://www.dirtyfootprints-studio.com
http://www.artsee.me
http://eveline-timeless.blogspot.com
http://rhomany.org.uk
http://www.artisticbiker.com
http://artjournaling.ning.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leslieherger/4167031739/in/set-72057594051974975/
http://www.make-the-cut.com
http://www.artfire.com/users/comfortableshoes
http://www.comfortableshoesstudio.com/old-skool-art-drawing-101.html
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/journalartista
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/maraspires-tv