What to Paint?

Well, the weather has cleared up and we have sunshine with slightly cooler temperatures. My husband has gone back to work and things are somewhat back to normal here.

So why can't I find anything I want to paint? I've been all through my photo reference stash a few times. I've wondered around the yard full of spring flowers and along the edge of the woods where some wild flowers/shrubs are blooming. I've checked on the cows across the road to see the new calves but they've moved so far back into their pastures that I can just barely see them. I just don't seem to be inspired by anything right now.

But, I need to turn my attention to the garden anyway. It's been too soggy to get into recently and I noticed that there are snow peas to harvest along with a few late spears of asparagus. There are also some green beans coming up from where they went to seed last year because we couldn't get to them for all of the construction work going on. I'm pretty sure they were some kind of hybrid bean and who knows what kind of bean we'll get, but since we have a pretty large garden this year, my husband wants to leave them.

We've had an abundance of lettuce, spinach, asparagus, cilantro & parsley this spring but for some reason, one of my favorite greens, the arugula, came up quickly then bolted before it had enough leaves to even harvest! I think it might do better as a fall crop and I'll certainly plant some for those cooler fall days. The same goes for the radishes which also were something of a disappointment as they got woody by the time they were large enough to eat.

We also have seedlings that are ready to go into the garden - the warm weather veggies like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and we even seeded the okra in pots this year. We usually seed the okra directly into the garden but wanted a head start for them this year. So, all of those will go into the garden as soon as it dries out enough for us to get in there! I think we're supposed to get more rain tomorrow evening so I guess we'll hope for the weekend!

Even if I'm not inspired to paint, I guess I'm well compensated by all of the great fresh produce from the garden. And, of course, the good news is that the produce is eat all I want as it's not fattening!

Time

My husband went out of town for several days and just returned last evening. Even though I hate for him to be gone even overnight, I was looking forward to having some uninterrupted time to paint and to plan some paintings at least. I don't know what happened but suddenly the time was gone and I had hardly done anything I'd planned to do.

To be fair, much of the time was stormy with lightning and thunder and tornado warnings and some electrical outages. Since I use the computer monitor to show my photo references and the computer was unplugged much of the time, I didn't have photo references handy.

But, I was also determined to get the house in order with the laundry all caught up and I did that. Of course, my DH filled the hamper right back up when he unpacked his suitcase!

So, now the weather is bright and sunny, the electricity stays on all the time and my husband is off work today & is coming into my studio every few minutes to ask me something or share some thought & I still can't get anything done!

Don't get me wrong - my husband is my best friend and my staunchest ally and critic and I love him dearly. I'm so glad he's home & we've spent all last evening and all morning together catching up. He's the one who said he had things to do to catch up on from being gone so I came in here to get out of his way. Am I glimpsing what it may be like when he retires?

Ferret WIP - Final Edition

I'm one to continue to tweak and fiddle even after a painting is supposed to be finished. This is a habit I'm trying to break although it does a lot of good sometimes to put a painting away for a while then bring it back out when you can view it with fresh eyes. However, there is a point where too much fiddling can do substantial harm so I'm calling this finished - at least for the time being! lol

Painting by Jan Gibson
 It is a copyright violation to copy, or use in any manner, any 
art, text or other material from this site without written permission.

Everytime I do a pastel pencil painting, I always say I won't do another one. I'm learning to never say never in this case though. I won't say that the pencils have become my favorite medium but I will say that there are subjects and instances where they seem to be the best choice.

For instance, they're way faster than colored pencil but even so, I probably have 20 hours or more invested into this painting. Jeanette, on her Illustrated Life blog, was talking of how long paintings/drawings actually take while most non-artists believe that that they can be done quickly with no effort. She was also saying that artists aren't compensated for their efforts as others in different fields are.

I've been pondering that. I'm not a girly-girl but I do like to have a manicure and pedicure from time to time. It usually takes the manicurist thirty minutes or less to do both finger and toe nails & that's if I've missed going for a month or so. Counting drying time, I'm usually out of there in less than an hour and I leave nearly $50 poorer if you add in the tip.

I realize the manicurists are professionals and the salon has overhead expenses but so do artists. Not even counting renting studio space, artist materials are really through the roof these days. And, unless you're a BIG name, I don't think most artists are even thought of as professionals and very, very few even make minimum wage with a painting when all is said and done. I know I don't.

Perhaps it's because artists are so passionate about their work and enjoy what they do. But, I think professional singers are both passionate about and enjoy their work also. Basketball, baseball, football players, etc., movie actors/actresses - well, you get the idea. And, I also know that not everyone who enjoys those activities makes the big bucks. But, they are usually not asked to do something for free and their skills are still respected. And, I guess that's really the bottom line. It would be nice to be respected for the work we do. Yes, it's actually work even though I think most people believe artists are born with some magical skill and therefore it's nothing the artist has done that deserves respect.

I think most artists are born with perhaps a leaning toward art but that doesn't mean they don't have to work at becoming skilled at it. There are some child prodigies who may have had a heavenly vision or visitation and had talent and ability conferred upon them but most artists have to learn to use their tools of the trade just as any other profession must learn their tools.

So, this pretty little ferret was part of my artistic education - it cost in terms of time and materials but all professionals pay for their education in some way or another! I'm just glad I had the opportunity to paint her.

Update on Ferret Painting WIP

Ferret painting by Jan Gibson
It is a copyright violation to copy, or use in any manner, any
art, text or other material from this site without written permission.

I had a post almost ready to publish then hit a wrong key & it was long gone! I hate when that happens!

I've worked for several hours this morning trying to get this pretty little ferret out of the "ugly" stage and I think it's beginning to emerge! Most of the time, I get to that stage then start over because it appears that it will never become the painting that I had in mind. This time I was determined to work through the uglies and, while I still have much more to do, I think I may be able to pull it off. If not, then I certainly will start over!

I got the nicest email from "Mrs_Center", the photographer who posted the photograph of their family pet ferret on the Stock.XCHNG. The Stock.XCHNG requires that the photographer be notified whenever their photos are being downloaded and used and I'm always happy to do that. Artists in every field, including photography, want to know where their creative "children" end up.

Anyway, I had emailed Mrs. Center and directed her to my blog here when she requested to see the painting from her photo. She replied with praise for the first posting of the WIP and I certainly don't want to let her down with the finished painting. It is both intimidating and an incentive when someone with a vested interest is watching you work!

Another WIP

I'm getting to the point where I almost hate to post a WIP (work in progress) as I either forget to take progressive photos of the work, or, mess it up and abandon the painting!

But, since this painting is being done with pastel (which is not my favorite medium), I wanted to be sure I finished it. I'm counting on all of you to hold me accountable! lol

Painting by Jan Gibson
Reference Photo by
MrsCenter, Stock.XCHNG

I realize that I've already done quite a bit to this but it's nowhere near finished. Basically, I'm just blocking in colors and trying to get the fur colors in the right places! Since this is a practice piece, I guess they don't have to be exact but I want to get as close as I can.

As always, if you see anything amiss, please let me know.

More of Miracle

Well, I thought I had done all I could do with the painting of Miracle but I wasn't satisfied. Even though the photo references didn't show any detail, a friend pointed out some things that are common to all cats and that gave me direction for tweaking this painting.

I'm still not sure this is finished but I'll sit on it for a while and look at it again with fresh eyes.

"Miracle"

copyright
Jan Gibson

It's a Cat - I'm a Chicken

Well, this is Miracle and I apologize for not sharing the steps I took to get here but I just got to painting and didn't stop to scan or take photos. In every photo I've seen of this cat, he looks like a stuffed animal with Little Orphan Annie eyes so I guess I've done ok with him. I wish I had seen him in person but don't know that that would have done any good either. All of his features are somewhat of a guess and I see a couple of things to tweak but overall, this looks very much like the photos I have of him. I'm calling him finished unless I get more photos that show him a little better.

I love black cats and don't think they're unlucky at all unless it's unlucky for them to have been born black. I know shelters have a hard time adopting out black animals period and I don't know why. It could be that they suffer more in our Southern summer heat and humidity but I don't think that would matter to an indoor animal. I'm really partial to black animals and have two black Lab mixes. If I could have a cat, it also would be black. If you would like to adopt an animal from your local shelter, please give the blacks ones your attention first.

"Miracle"
copyright
Jan Gibson