I think I've figured out why my paintings often become more of a labor, than a labor of love. My palette is out of wack. First of all I don't use a real artist pallette. I use a paper plate. I thought I was smart, it's disposable and fits neatly into a plastic zip lock bag to keep acrylic paint overnight. Most times when I paint I put the color I plan on using anywhere on my disposable pallette without a plan. Often times I mix right on the canvas, so my colors aren't uniform. I paint in chaos.

I just read Robert Glenn's Twice Weekly letter on “Tales the pallettes tell”. He states that “Whistler believed proper palette organization was the key to all the good stuff. Seurat, as we might imagine, kept his mainly primary pigments in a pretty rigid and unwavering order.”

Glenn goes on to explain how many artists value the organization and planning of their pallette as a fundamental part of their creating. It sounds way too left brain to me. I don't organize, I don't schedule. I jump in with both feet and start with no rhyme or reason. I may have a vision of what I want to do somewhere in the back of my head, but often times my paintings take on a mind of their own and mutate into something very different than I envisioned. I think I need to rethink thumbnail sketches, plan my colors, and decide where my art is going. My chaos must be reformed. It almost sounds like work. I'll let you know how that works for me.

Free Watercolor Classes

It was such a hit last time they are offering it again. Don't miss it this time! It's FREE and open worldwide. There are no excuses to pass this by.

• Course: Watercolor 101
• Instructor: Molly Murrah
• Length: 5 Weeks

Molly Murrah's fun, 5-week watercolor class for beginners will be repeated after a popular first run. Learn about color, papers, brushes, drawing and composition, as well as many great painting techniques that will help you create your own special works of art.

You sign up with your email, get chances to win prizes by spreading the word through Twtitter, and receive an email before each class to get you there on time. Easy and fun.

See ya there!

Collage or Montage?

"Dancing In The Moonlight"

I have always been confused as to the difference between a collage and a montage. So...today I thought I would look up the definitions of both of those terms and share them here for anyone else that may be confused like moi.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A collage (From the French: coller, to glue) is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.

A collage may include newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or hand-made papers, portions of other artwork, photographs, a piece of moss or even a dead mole and other found objects, glued to a piece of paper or canvas. The origins of collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but this technique made a dramatic reappearance in the early 20th century as an art form of novelty.

The term collage derives from the French "coller" meaning "glue".[1] This term was coined by both Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century when collage became a distinctive part of modern art.

Montage (from the French for "putting together") most often refers to collage including photomontage and sound collage.

Photomontage are Collage made from photographs, or parts of photographs. Photomontage is the process (and result) of making a composite photograph by cutting and joining a number of other photographs. The composite picture was sometimes photographed so that the final image is converted back into a seamless photographic print. The same method is accomplished today using image-editing software. The technique is referred to by professionals as compositing.

Other methods for combining pictures are also called photomontage, such as Victorian "combination printing", the printing from more than one negative on a single piece of printing paper (e.g. O. G. Rejlander, 1857), front-projection and computer montage techniques. Much as a collage is composed of multiple facets, artists also combine montage techniques. Romare Bearden’s (1912–1988) series of black and white "photomontage projections" is an example. His method began with compositions of paper, paint, and photographs put on boards 8½ × 11 inches. Bearden fixed the imagery with an emulsion that he then applied with handroller. Subsequently, he enlarged the collages photographically.

The 19th century tradition of physically joining multiple images into a composite and photographing the results prevailed in press photography and offset lithography until the widespread use of digital image editing. Contemporary photo editors in magazines now create "paste-ups" digitally.

Creating a photomontage has, for the most part, become easier with the advent of computer software such as Adobe Photoshop, Pixel image editor, and GIMP. These programs make the changes digitally, allowing for faster workflow and more precise results. They also mitigate mistakes by allowing the artist to "undo" errors. Yet some artists are pushing the boundaries of digital image editing to create extremely time-intensive compositions that rival the demands of the traditional arts. The current trend is to create pictures that combine painting, theatre, illustration and graphics in a seamless photographic whole.

"SteamPunk, a digital Collage"


I was still confused and then I found this answer to the question about what the difference between a collage and a montage was and it cleared it up for me:

"A collage is a piece of art made up of many different elements with different texture, colors, etc. They are pasted onto the surface of a board.

A montage is made up of many images that are put together or superimposed and then printed so that all the images form a single unit."

Sketch Journals

Drawing is the basis for all painting. If you can't draw, it's hard to paint. Everyone who aspires to be a good painter needs to know how to draw. The best way to learn to draw besides reading all you can find on technique, is to do a drawing a day. Get yourself a sketch journal. Take it with you. Find something in the day that you might want to record on paper. Do a quick sketch or spend time to make it a work of art.

Sketch journals are great when you travel. I find if I take a photo, I soon forget the details I saw, however, if I draw the same scene, I remember the details for a long time to come.  Sketch journals are a great way of recording memories too. Mine is a 3x5" black moleskin.

When I went to Italy in 2008 I used my sketch journal obviously to sketch but also to record things that were said to me or just little snippets of something like a sound or my impression of a situation or place. Mind you, my sketch travel journal is not meant for works of art...it's just meant to be quick sketches to record my memories. Most of the time I just have a couple of minutes to put something on paper before I'm moving long to some other place.   It's hard to see the image on this page but on the left is the view from our room Beneath it, it says, "coo coo"...the sounds of the birds outside our window. There is an arrow pointing to St. Francis Bascillica. On the right is the date 3/29/08 and under the sketch is written Assisi Center Square Fountain.

I like also to verbally record  impressions in my journals. Like when I first went to Rome. I have a note beside a drawing "on the street: oranges, lemons, gas stations on the curb, recycling bins, trash, cafes, banco mat, palm trees, scooters, tiny cars, no speed limits." Or when I went to St. Peter's early in the morning for Mass in the crypt. I wrote: "Sense of God's prescense overwhelming emotions at visiting JPII grave. How quiet in the early morning."

So pick up a sketch journal at the store or if you have a spare small sketch book, take it with you on your next outting or keep it handy to do a sketch a day. It's great fun.~~Joann Y Wheeler, http://jywheeler.etsy.com/

My New Zazzle Shop

Recently I've opened a new Zazzle Store for my photos that I take as my reference photos for my paintings. I know, like I need another thing to keep up with, right. Well, I've been thinking about it for a long time and finally just did it last week. You can visit my new site Here.
My original Shop features products with my paintings.
This one was taken at the Minnesota Zoological Zoo.

Leopard Magnet by brendathour
Design a magnet at zazzle

In a slump?

Sometimes I just hit a wall. No matter what I do...can't get that picture in my head onto the paper. I keep my shredder busy with failed attempts. What do you do when you're in an art slump?

I begin scrolling through a large collection of photos or return to my art books or look at what's around me. Practicing techniques usually leads to creating.

Taking a workshop is a great boost but too often my slump doesn't coincide with the workshop schedule. Here are a few places to check out for Tutorials and Workshops on line. A place that matches your schedule! Just what I needed...

Daniel Smith Tips and Tutorials

Artist's Network TV

JUNE 3rd and STEAMPUNK ART

I was at a loss what to write about; an idea came to me of an art form that you may not have heard about but might be of interest to you called:
STEAMPUNK Art
Steampunk was influenced by and often adopts the style of the 19th century scientific romances of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Mark Twain, and Mary Shelley.[2]
While most of the original steampunk works had a historical setting, later works would often place steampunk elements in a fantasy world with little relation to any specific historical era. Historical steampunk tends to be more "science fictional": presenting an alternate history; real locales and persons from history with different technology.
I have included a video, the artist is NOT me, but found this very interesting and hope you will too:




Also Steampunk jewelry is most popular, so if you enjoy making jewelry you might consider viewing this Squidoo with instructions; PLEASE do visit this squidoo.

http://www.squidoo.com/steampunkart

Endless Possibilites

There is an endless possibility with Art! The mediums you can use, the sizes you can choose from, the subjects, it is all endless!

We as artists, big or small, famous or not so famous!, can add joy and color to the world thru art!

                                                                      

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way--things I had no words for.
Georgia O'Keeffe Quotes -

I know for myself, I can't choose just one medium or one subject, there are too many opportunties out there to choose from.   l love to explore them all, it keeps my mind working in ways that it would otherwise shut down.   

Do you find yourself lost in your work sometimes or

 most of the time!

I am thankful we can express ourselves thru our art.  I am blessed that I am able to dabble in the arts to show off my ideas thru colors and textures.

We are so blessed by God when we can create!