No Time to Paint

Well, between trying to spend some time in this beautiful hot weather and having to work more in the office, I haven't had any time to paint.  Up until now, I haven't even had time to add anything new on here.  Tonight I thought I would share with you where I do all of my painting and creating.

I have to admit, it's usually much, much, much messier then these pictures show, but "creative minds are rarely tidy".

Four Paintings Ready to Go

I spent most of yesterday taking pictures of four of my paintings, editing the photos, loading them onto Etsy and Saatchi Online, and then editing my website (which I'm still working on).  I always forget how time consuming it can be, even for just four paintings.  Here are the four paintings I was working on, including the finished cactus (one of my favourites).  The originals are available for sale on Etsy and prints can be purchased through Saatchi Online. 

Because I prefer to paint on canvas board, I would normally have to frame them in order to be able to hang them on the wall.  I actually quite like the look of un-framed art.  You don't have to worry about the frame matching the room the piece will be displayed in, or if it matches the taste of the buyer, and it also saves the buyer a lot of money (framing can be quite expensive, even for smaller pieces).  So instead of framing my paintings, I've started mounting thin wooden frames to the back of the canvas boards.  This way they can be easily hung on the wall and they'll look beautiful in any room, regardless of the style.  Here's a quick snap of the wooden frames.

Comparing Ourselves to Others

Quite often I make the mistake of comparing my art with the work of other artists.  I usually end up feeling inadequate as an artist and completely discouraged.   I also worry that my skills as a painter aren't strong enough or that others won't appreciate my work.  I have to constantly remind myself that every artist has their own personal style and strengths. 

I think a lot of artists think this way sometimes.  If we're happy with the end result, then who cares what others might think.  Art is so subjective, we'll never be able to please everyone with it so we need to stop worrying what others think of it and stop comparing our work to the work of others.  The most important thing is that we enjoyed creating it.  Creating art is like taking a journey and sometimes it can be a bit rough and other times we sail straight through with no problems.  If we reach the end and feel happy with the completed piece then we should consider ourselves successful (even if no one else likes it or understands it ;) 

From now on, when I'm looking at other artist's work, I will look at it for inspiration but I won't compare myself to it (at least I'll try not to).

Warm Paintings Bring Me Closer to Summer

While looking for ideas for my paintings I find myself drawn towards warm images such as dessert landscapes, cactus and succulent gardens and country and farm landscapes with golden fields, dried by the hot sun. Since I still have to wait for summer to start, I'm getting my fill of hot weather through my art.  i'm currently working on my first cactus painting and so far I love it.  i'm quite happy with how it's turning out.  I can't wait to paint more cactus pictures.  Once I get my fill of cactus paintings, I may move on to some desert landscapes. Here's a quick shot of my cactus painting, still in the works.  I'm hoping to have it finished this weekend so I'll post the picture of the finished piece as soon as the paint dries.

Hummingbirds Wars

I appologize for the terrible quality of this video but I just had to share this with you.  Last year we hung a hummingbird feeder and couldn't believe how busy it became.  I spotted our first hummingbird three days ago so I knew it was time to fill the feeder and hang it up for our little friends.  I think they must remember it from last year because within two hours of hanging it we saw them visit it four times that evening and within two days, they had gone through three cups of sugar water.  This evening I watched as about ten little birds all fought over the feeder.  I did my best to capture the hummingbird wars on my phone so I could share it with everyone.  If it's anything like last year, it's going to get a lot busier.  I may have to buy a second feeder for them.  They're getting a bit daring too; as I was holding the feeder I had two little birds land on it to eat.  Each time they'd float off, I'd feel the wind their wings created as they hovered around me.

Finished Paper Mache Runner Ducks

Just as I was scrolling down the page, I saw a picture I had posted of my paper mache runner ducks before they were finished.  I finished them about a month ago but completely forgot to post a picture of them.  So, here's a very quick shot of them.  Ok, now I'm really going to bed this time.  Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite... but if you see one on the wall, get a spoon and eat them all!

Two Pictures Painted Today.

Just a quick post before I head off to bed.  I just finished these two paintings today.  Both are painted using acrylics on  9x12 canvas boards.  The brightly coloured scene was a bit of an experiment.  I'm still not sure if I like it but I do like the other, more natural landscape.  I think it turned out quite well.