First Solo Painting

I decided to attempt to paint my first solo panting. I took art classes when I was younger and recently went to a Sips N Strokes event. But I have never just painted all by myself with no help. So I went to Micheal's and bought some painting supplies. I set up my table in my library, taking the proper precautions to cover the floor! I used a picture I had taken of some flowers as an inspiration. I started of course with a blank canvas.

I then painted the whole canvas with thick, black paint to form my background. This was my favorite part because I knew I could not mess that up:-)


Next, I took a soft pencil and drew the design I wanted. Now this was one of the most challenging parts because I can not draw. Even though I was copying the flower from a photograph I had to do it several times before I had the petals the way I wanted them. I wanted it to look like the photograph with some of the petals very long and finger like and some of them smaller and chunkier.

That took me awhile and then it was time to mix my paint. Now this is also very fun! It does make me nervous though because it is so hard to mix the same, exact color again so I have to make sure to get the right amount I need. I used red, blue and white to mix this purple color.


Don't I just have the fanciest, most expensive palette you have ever seen? So I then began filling in the pencil outlines with the paint. This was pretty nerve wrecking. I messed up several times and it took me 3 days to get the petals where I wanted them to be. But if I messed up a petal too bad I just took the black paint and fixed it. So my purple shade did end up being a different one from the original. I had to repaint the whole thing at one point since I couldn't mix the right shade again. So when I was done it looked like this:

Well I knew it wasn't done yet because it looked too blank and boring. So I added some white details to the flower petals. I still don't necessarily like it but I don't want to do too much to it and ruin it. I have decided to be happy and content with my first attempt and leave it at that. I hope in time I will get better. We shall see. So here is the final result:



It's a good start and it makes me happy that I was able to move out of my comfort zone and attempt something that I am not good at. Next I am going to attempt a painting of a bunch of hydrangeas in a pot. We'll see how that goes:-)

New (Old) Equipment

Well I am pretty excited about some new photography goodies I received.

Yesterday I was at my parents and telling them about an upcoming photography job I had taking pictures at a father/daughter dance. I was telling my Dad how I needed to go buy a tripod and lights. He got this look on his face-- Mysterious smirk. He told me to go to the bonus room which is our storage area and bring down the old, brown box. So I did.


I opened it and there were some cool lights. My dad said they were my Grandpa's. He used them as movie lights. I plugged them in and they are BRIGHT! They got hot really fast so I am not sure if they will be practical to use but they are pretty neat. I am not sure how old they are but they look pretty old.
He also gave me a tripod that used to be Grandpa's. It is very sturdy but not too heavy. I am very excited that I don't have to go buy one now. And I think its really cool that they were my Grandpa's. My dad also used them when he used to be in to photography. Family heirlooms are pretty special!

"Attempted"

The title of this blog should be Attempted Artistic Endeavors!

My whole life I have had to deal with the artistic talents of my whole family: Musical, painting, writing etc. They are all extremely creative people. Well apparently I received my mother's gene which means I am tone deaf and un artistic. As I get older I realize that what I thought was artistic and creative doesn't have to be just one person's definition! In my last job I realized that planning leagues and creating programs was my way of having a creative outlet. Since I lost my job I found I was at loose ends and I really needed creativity in my life other than just planning meals. Although I will say I was very proud that after 2 years of marriage I learned to cook and found that I was pretty good at it! And I may share a few of my favorite dishes on here(Does that make me a frightening suburban housewife?)

Anyway back to my artistic journey :-) I decided to go back to one of my first loves which is photography. When I was younger I used to use my dad's Pentax camera to take pictures at Macon Braves games. I remember just trying to get that perfect shot and having to wait a few days to get the photos developed. I love digital cameras! I was planning on going to school to be a photographer until I was around 15 or 16 when I decided that I wanted to major in English. Of course once I realized that I didn't really want to teach I switched to Sport Management which is now my true passion. But photography will always be a huge part of my life and it is my chosen method of "creative outlet." And probably what I will end up doing as a profession when the sport industry burns me out in 10 years:-) So I bought a really nice camera with my retirement money(thanks Y!) and I have spent the last year trying to learn all I can about photography. Anyway this blog will be dedicated to artistic endeavors whether it be photography or my new attempt: painting.

Ahhh painting. I cannot draw a straight line! But I have decided to push my creative envelope and attempt to paint. We will see how it goes. But this is a time in my life when I think its time to jump out of my comfort zone. The thing about losing your job is it opens up a whole world of possibilities and options. So I hope you will join me on my artistic endeavors, whether they are failures or successes!