I had a great conversation with another artist about the different ways we think about the same picture construction tools or methods. He thinks in terms of carving form out of space. I currently think in terms of building up form from the flat surface. They seem to be...
Jul132016
Different Words Same Idea
Jul62016
Is Your Media in Your Way?
In the context of getting ideas out and working out a picture, one of the things I learned at The Atelier was that maybe the media is in the way. There are many things happening when I’m generating ideas and working out a picture (I’m guessing others have a...
Jun302016
The Creative Process
What I mean by creative process is the process used by anyone who’s making something or finding a solution. This evening I’ll be participating in a panel discussion titled “Creative Process Across Disciplines” at CONvergence. (Sorry, you’ll need a membership for the convention to check out the panel). It’s...
Jun222016
Lightfast
There are plenty of resources defining lightfast but I wanted to know what it looked like when something wasn’t lightfast. I wanted to use brown ink as a sketch tool by filling a Niji Waterbrush with it. I was told by one of the sales people at the art...
Jun152016
Using Crayons to Create
Frustrated with getting marks on paper or keeping a journal? Here’s one idea to help ease the frustration: crayons! Yup, wax crayons. Here’s what I noticed this does for me: It changes my mindset to one more of play time, a child-like mind of exploring and just being and...
Jun82016
Artistic Development
I asked an artist once how he developed his latest style and way of working. He shared his thoughts which I thought were helpful and maybe you’ll find them helpful too. His most recent way of working was markedly different from what he created in previous years. I was...
Jun12016
Owl Man Progress Shot
Finding a balance between imagination and realism. After the lay-in (getting a first layer to start setting up value and color relationships) this time I decided to tackle the flesh tones in the face first before developing other areas. I’m trying for a dusk or night time look so...
May252016
Quick Display Labels
This saved me some time so I thought I’d share. I needed display labels for my art for a show. Instead of printing them out on card stock and cutting them out by hand, or mounting the labels on foam board, a friend suggested I try something different. I...
May42016
Quick Tip for Mats
I like to have a clean presentation of my work. Sure that outer edge of the mat might be hidden under a frame eventually, but that’s not what a customer sees. They see the matted print. Sometimes when cutting a picture mat the outer edge gets fuzz or looks...
Apr202016
Creative Confidence
I’ve been curious about creativity lately: where it comes from, stumbling blocks, how to develop it, how to sustain it, how it works in different disciplines. First I heard about the concept of “creative confidence” through a TED Talk with David Kelly titled How to Build Your Creative Confidence....