The Wheels are Turning

Taking notes and doing preliminary sketches. I'm going to work on my first "Illustration Collection" for licensing purposes. The theme is Woodland Animals. This is an excellent way to continue my "Year of Drawing"!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Craft-A-Doodle

 

I admit it. I am obsessed with this book, Craft-a-Doodle by Jenny Doh! I carry it around the house with me or to the park so I can refer to it while the kids are playing. It has 75 creative exercises from 18 wonderful artists. I am not a doodler. I'm sure I did it when I was in grade school but I don't do it now. I actually find it kind of hard. I want my doodles to look like other artists' elaborate doodles. Well, that's not what doodling is about. You're not supposed to think. You're not supposed to compare. You just play. So, I've been playing like crazy with this book! I can draw and not necessarily be pretty and when I least expect it, I find treasures I can use and expand on in my art.

Here I attempted Cori Dantini's " Recipe for a Face". I can't draw like Cori but it was fun trying!

I loved doing some of Flora Chang's exercises.

 

One of my Fave's Carla Sonheim has exercises too!

Then I was inspired to create my own. I put random watercolor blobs on a page and drew what I thought they could be. Some failed and some were super cute.

I can't recommend this book enough. There are tons of exercises so, you can find the ones that speak to you and give them a go. It helps me get unstuck. No more "what am I going to draw?" and it gets you to play. I am very guilty of feeling "this has to be an amazing piece of art that I can sell" when I sit to create. I sometimes think playing is a waste of time. It's not. Every mark you make feeds into your art and teaches you something. All that matters is the act of creating. This book helps you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

P.S. I've opened an Etsy shop! Each week I'm adding new things. Please click the link and check it out!

 

Back Pain!

I did a number on my back pulling weeds yesterday. I've been bed bound with a heating pad watching "Lost" and doodling a little. 

 
 

Doodle Fun!

Yesterday I got a lot of time to play in my sketchbook while my kids were playing. I had the book 20 Ways to Draw a Cat on my iPad to inspire me and I drew, drew, drew. 

These were fun little doodles to make. It's all part of my Year of Drawing. 

I am also continuing to add items to my Etsy shop so, please stop by! 

 
 
 
 

A Year of Drawing Returns

I have been bad. I admit it. My goal of drawing every day and posting to my blog got sidetracked. I got a new app for my phone so, I intend to be better at drawing and posting from now on! (At least I hope too). 

I was sketching and this girl was my fave!

 

New Supplies

There are some new things on my desk this week.  

New neons from Golden's High Flow line!

And some fun new markers from Liquitex and Montana. They are acrylic paint markers and they are great for detail work and mark making. 
 
 

Abstracts? Me?

Artist, Carla Sonheim (one of my faves) recently did an awesome thing, she had a series of art classes with a couple of guest artists. I took Between Speech and Silence with Diane Culhane. Her work is abstract and colorful and very, very fun. I created very interesting pieces of art. Lots of color and texture. The classes are now available for self study so I urge you to check out Diane's and the others offered.

We took a line for a walk.

And we collaged and painted abstract landscapes.

 

 

 

I am really enjoying this style of painting. I can make it my own. There is lots of texture and even though its abstract I can include my characters. This is quite different from the art I usually make but I can incorporate my style in there. I also like this style as it's a little more "grown up". A lot of my art is great for children. This style is more adult and yet whimsical. You know I'm going to be me making more. You can purchase prints in my Etsy shop too! How cool is that?

 

Making the Transition

Well, we have survived my son's first week of kindergarten. We only had one glitch the first day, he missed the bus home. Other than that everything has been going very well. I'm more relaxed too. It's easier managing one child at a time. As far as I know, Evan is enjoying Kindergarten. I ask him, "What did you do today?" and he replies "I don't know? Why do you keep asking?". At least he's not complaining, right?

I spent last week simmering, getting a feel for my new schedule and thinking about schedules and what to accomplish on what days. After taking Part A of Make Art That Sells and participating in The Global Talent Search I realized I have a long way to go in building this career. I have a good grasp on creating art. I need to learn how to adapt it to licensing. I knew I wasn't going to be in the top 50 (I'm pretending I made the top 100) of GTS and I think I would've had a panic attack if I did end up as a finalist. I am so not ready to meet the demands of licensing. I really need a Monday - Friday schedule free of kids to be a full time artist. Right now I need the flexibility to drop what I'm doing if I have to. Caitlyn is only in school twice a week and at Nana's a couple times a week. I also suffer from migraines which will knock me right out. So, the next twelve months will be about building my business and portfolio.

I made a brief list of things I feel I need to do in the next 12 months. I'm analyzing my schedule to determine what days are best for creating art, building my business and learning Photoshop and Illustrator. When Caitlyn is at Nana's I have a huge chunk of time to work so, I'm leaning towards those days being dedicated to art making. Caitlyn's preschool days give me over 2 hours of kid free time so, those may be business or uninterrupted learning time. The next twelve months are going to be about discipline too. I am terrible at planning my week and setting goals. I've got to be better at that! Maybe I need to add that to my list of "things to do".

I did accomplish one thing on my list and I'm not referring to buying packing supplies. I opened an Etsy shop! I'm polishing it up and filling the shelves. I still have my Fine Art America store for prints shipping outside the U.S. I will only be shipping within the U.S. with Etsy for now. Fine Art America will also matte and frame prints if that is what you desire. I won't be doing that in the Etsy shop. Etsy will be signed prints and original paintigs Please, visit it often! Make me a favorite. I'll be adding things each week!

Here is the link for my Etsy shop!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LyndaMMetcalf

And here is also the link for my Facebook Page. Another goal of mine is to utilize Facebook more in showing works in progress and promoting new work. If you like my page you will be updated on new happenings!

https://www.facebook.com/Lyndammetcalf.artist

Thank you so much for stopping by. I appreciate all my readers who follow me. Taking Make Art That Sells has really changed my attitude towards my business. I am motivated and excited about it. I hope more and more people will come along for the ride. I love sharing this journey with you!

 

P.S. If you are serious about your art and want to build your business, I highly, highly recommend Make Art That Sells. The class I took has an awesome Facebook group and Lilla Rogers is an inspiring teacher. I am sure all future runs of the class are going to be as exciting as the first run. Lilla is filled with excitement for part B (you don't need to take Part A first) and may have other things in the works down the road. It is the best investment I have made for my art and my business.

 

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Changes Are Coming!

Starting Monday, August 5th, this little guy

Starts Kindergarten!

What the heck happened? Where did those 5 1/2 years go? Okay, the years didn't actually pass by that quick. My daughter is 4 and when you have two kids that close in age time can drag some days. I'm very excited for him. His school is new (built in 2010) so it has all the new gadgets. He is doing a year round schedule which is 45 days in and about 3 weeks out. I actually like this because I won't have to figure out what to do with the kids for two months of summer and the kids won't forget everything they've learned. Our family will also be able to take vacations when some people are still stuck in school.

So, my little man will be on the bus at 8:30am and home at 4:30pm! What a long day! Back when I went to Kindergarten, it was a half day of school. My daughter will still be home with me some days. Nana will have her a day or two and she goes to half day preschool twice a week. I'll have a lot more time to pursue my art. I have to rethink my schedule.

My little boy is turning into a little man! Like I said, changes are coming!