The Freedom to Create

Merry Christmas to you. May your new year be filled with Artful Adventures and excitement.

This year is coming to a close. Are you creating Artful Adventures for 2015? You are taking a train which travels the globe. Where would you like to go? There are a few things you will need in preparation for an exciting new year of success. Do you have your boarding pass? 1) Have a specific website for your art. This will tell your audience that you are serious about your work. 2) Business cards to hand out to everyone you meet. I use mini cds displaying a slide show of my work. 3) If you have a smart phone develop an app which points directly to your art site. Using your phone as a selling tool.   4) Accept credit card payments directly from your phone using a square reader . Catch every sale you can. 5) If you decide to go on the artfair circuit. Begin lining up your shows now. 6) Do you participate in any art organizations? 7) Utilize social media. Be careful not to let that consume you and take you away from your creative flow. Enjoy a new year of Artf

The Wet Brush is on the move painting the town with Google apps. For some time I've been wanting an app that did it all. An app that went to my professional artist site. An app that went to my blog. An app that went to my facebook page. Over the past few days I've visited many app developing sites offering free app construction. A majority of them missed the mark. I was not aiming at getting into the nuts and bolts of app developing. That is not where I wanted to focus my concentration. It seems that for everything I wanted my app to do-it became necessary to put on my "geek" hat. It was challenging, fun and exciting all at the same time. I guess that fits the category of "artist". It boils down to: what do you want your app to do for you? For me, seeing that I am at many sites on the web by means of promoting my work, I needed an app that would point in all directions at the touch of a button. Now that I've upgraded my phone to an android (t

A painting expedition is forming to explore the Vanishing South with Brian Brown. While you wait for the book check out his page at http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/ That's all I'm sayin' so far......

Have you had your Creative Juice today? Once you take a drink of it there is no stopping the creative rush you feel. "Mudslinger" is a video which I spent the day on yesterday. It began with the song in my head: James Taylor's Mud Slide Slim. I grew up with this song and it's always carried a tune in my heart. While promoting is key- I'm promoting our homestead with art. By day I'm a homesteader raising animals, tending the garden. By the light of the moon in the early morning hours I'm an artist. Painting animals and garden fruits, creating characters and writing about muddy boots. I've created my mudslinger and the horse he rode in on. Our cast for this movie have been rehearsing for 6 years. Molly and Flake (our senior does) and all their kids. Lacy and Scout our two horses. Our numerous chickens auditioned but only Petey won the part. I'm not sure if he knows he's a rooster because he's such a "ham". I'v

The holidays are coming up quickly. Have you considered self-publishing your artwork? Turn your work into a memorable keepsake for others to enjoy for years to come. I create over several self-publishing venues. Each venue has it's own unique format. Depending on what I plan to produce will determine the format I choose. I chose Blurb.com to produce this motivational monthly planner to encourage and inspire others by displaying a vision and planting a thought to carry through each month. Artful Affirmations by L. Lindall | Make Your Own Book You can sell and distribute your book through Blurb.com . Other venues for self-publishing are createspace.com and google books at books.google.com and select information for publishers at the bottom of their page. Ring in the Holidays.

Creating the story by adding movement and the number of elements in the painting. Years ago I had created this little watercolor of a boat sailing in the sunset. Floating through the waters it seems rather directionless. I felt it was rather stagnate even though the painting has movement. SS Sailor  In the second painting I aimed for a more loose effect with using watercolors and ink. Loosening the controls allows for more imagination within the painting. The second painting has more depth by permitting the paint to flow where it wants. Thus creating the movement of the sailboats breaking through the waves of the sea. Creating the splashing water was purely accidental as my brush touched the paper mistakenly and I liked it. The colors of yellow, orange and scarlet in the sky flowed where they wanted to as the water provided the vehicle for the pigments to flow.  This painting was created on a 9 x12 watercolor paper , a nibbed pen for inking, my big fat watercolor brushes

This is an update on my last post of "The Right Combination". I am considering what jewels to place on the portrait study. Recreating an image I had viewed many years ago, I am having difficulty with imagining the exact jewels I had originally seen in the photograph. So over the past few days I've been conducting a little research. I've discovered (or so I think) that the plates on the necklace were not necessarily "gold" but may be hammered brass. Giving thought to what natural elements would they have at the ready. What raw materials would they use? Raw gems such as turquoise, bone, beads, clay, metals such as brass, silver, copper. In the drawing below, I used my eraser end to put in place where I want the adornments to be. The shape of the headdress fitting the contour of the head, the nose ring, the earrings, the gemstones and placement of the necklace. This is my working copy of the portrait so I don't want to get hung up with the

Achieving skin tones is a balancing act of stroke and blend to get the right combination. This is a pencil study focusing on the balance of tone referencing the African-American ethnicity. There was a photograph from years ago in a National Geographic magazine which stuck in my mind. The photograph was of an African tribal woman adorned in gold hammered jewelry and turquoise. It was an absolutely beautiful image. Searching the archives for this photo I came up short. I am going to have to reconstruct the image from memory. Before I can piece the complete image together it will be necessary for me to start with skin tones. Blending and softening the transition of dark and midtones to appear seamless. I chose a photo reference of this face as I liked the head position, the eyes looking downward in a reserved fashion, and the lighting against an all black background. A young, soft, innocence. The only white areas reflecting light are on the nose and portions of the lips which lif

The Fly & The Frog Well, you've guessed it! There's always an abundance of flies here around the barnyard. So I came up with this mutant frog (only in my wildest dreams remembering the movie "Frogs") where we have one here wiping out the fly population. It's been hot and sticky this summer just as the flies stick to the frog's tongue. Share & Enjoy

First Flight "He posed with a stance of victory while the reporters took their photographs to record his successful hot air balloon flight.  He is a brave young lad." This is a pastel painting taken from the sketch below. Through the course of this painting their were many challenges. It was a "first" for me in many ways. Something kept telling me to keep going as I'm sure this young lad heard those same words as he soared in the air for days, maybe months who knows. As he poses in his stance of victory I also share in his victory in a small way. I feel we've both accomplished a great feat today. Share and Enjoy :)

First Flight This is my next painting challenge. The sketch came about when I was combing through a magazine in search of subjects to draw. I came upon this ad for boy's attire dressed in the style of vintage wear dating in the 1930's. He caught my eye with his endearing pose and such a serious look on his face. Wearing a shirt and tie with a cream colored cable knit sweater vest, tweed knickers with argyle socks and his "newsboy" cap. He looked as though he had just completed his first flight in a hot air balloon. The backdrop was just as intriguing as the boy himself with a slate blue sky and the contrasting shadows of the hot air balloon at rest as it lay on a field of yellow green grass. Striking. The sketch was created in 2008 (six years earlier). I had tried to do this painting as an oil painting. I love oils. At that time it just didn't seem to go well. I packed the sketch away in my box. In my opinion it is as important to select the right medium as

    The boats are docked The doors are locked "Looks abandoned" some would say "No, they've simply gone On Holiday" I can't imagine ever wanting to leave a majestic place such as this. This is my perfect ideal dreamscape. An oasis away from the craggy confines of life. A sanctuary filled with warm breezes wafting the aroma of the azure seas with the lulling sounds of the waves softly caressing the rocky shore. I had come upon a photo of this painting some years ago.   This is the photo reference. I simply fell in love with it. Having every intention to paint it the reference photo kept being put aside. Not sure of the medium to use, not having the confidence level to do it justice. It kept it's place in my box of inspiration. I would take it out time and again and it still remained a future project. That is until now. I've been exploring and learning different techniques using pastels. Loving the pastels rather than abho

The Gilded Path Whoa! I didn't expect to see that in my emails. This piece was accepted into the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series .

As summer is wrapping up I was sharing moments with my daughter of "my best summers were....", as I was retracing my younger days. We haven't any photographs from our grandparents so I began clicking and sorting through my memory bank. This picture came to mind of sharing moments with my grandmother sitting in the enclosed porch snapping green beans.  I'm not sure if my sister shares the same fondness of snapping beans and shucking peas but it was wonderful to me. Photographs fade over time but the memories are savored forever.

dream doodle Whether you've always been creating art or you are just beginning I would like to offer some suggestions as to how you can do what you love- creating art- and be profitable. You can paint your way into success. Prepare                       Art has many forms. abstract, fine art, illustrations for children, the list is endless. Decide what type of art you create. What category do your creations give you the best representation? Know your Audience For example: If you wish to illustrate for children what age group does your work represent? Ages 3-5 illustrations will most likely require full page art with few words. The artwork will be colorful with few elements drawing the child's attention to the picture. Ages 6-8 a book will contain more words as a child's vocabulary increases with more detailed colorful artwork. Ages 8-12 a story will be more of a chapter book with fewer black and white detailed spot illustrations.  Your creations may

Now that summer has arrived and everything has come alive, grab your brushes and take painting outside. Here is a short video on Plen-Aire painting. Check out my new facebook fan page Fresh Paint @ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fresh-Paint to see whats coming up. Enjoy!

Along the way Along the way we saw this family of armadillo. It was terribly hot that day. I remember the sweat beading off my face while planting watermelon. Then a sudden downpour of  rain came from no where. We ran to the umbrella of the giant oak tree near by for shelter. The rain stopped as quick as it came. Sun breaking along the horizon we walked back to the house when I looked toward the woods. That's when we saw them. A family of armadillo.

The Gilded Path One of my daily pleasures is to make paths in the woods which are located out my back door. I walk them alone or sometimes with my daughter who climbs the trees. We take our goats in the woods so they might enjoy the tasty morsels of  foliage. While raking the paths I take notice of tender new plants that emerge after a winter's rest. These new sprouts change the direction of my path. I have a particular spot that I seem focused on so I began doing a pencil study. The path The log from a dead tree (located on the right) serves as a watering trough for the animals. The tree itself had been a fallen tree and has since birthed a new tree. I love to watch the light play through the leaves onto the paths. Initially, I thought of creating a watercolor from this sketch which I had started. Rather than allowing the painting to take me where it wanted to go I was the one controlling the painting. I stopped. Placed it aside and took another prepa

Dirty fingers, dirty knees Planting lupines,beans and peas. Warmth and water from above Caress these tiny sprouts with Love. Dirty fingers, dirty knees I pray all my days be filled with these.

                                                                  final painting                                                                        sketch I thought it would be fun to use the pony sketch to practice with all the bells and whistles in Corel Painter 12.  Beginning with a simple sketch of the pony, scanning it into the computer to work on the file. Adding layers to develop a background scene I began to explore the different sprays and pattern gradients providing texture for tree trunks, trees, grass, stream, rocks, and even the little swallows swooping up above. Adding another layer by "lifting the canvas to watercolor layer" I gave the pony a painterly effect. This action lifted the original sketch off the canvas (or original layer) and duplicated the sketch on a working layer. For the tail and mane I used a "fuzzy clone" spray which gave this little girl some rich "sweetness". The final layer was added to apply a drop shad

Is art just a pretty thing to hang on the wall? Art can be found all around. Gazing up high in the sky or low to the ground. Art is not merely confined to canvas or linen using paints and brushes. Look at all the things around us and we can create art using the simplest of tools. Here is a way to dress up your house plants and provide them with the nutrients they need. Gold Dusted Goat Poop Raising goats one has a lot of manure. Generally, the first thought is to compost it. These decorative little berries are artful and functional. Each plastic vial holds 8-9 golden nuggets offering your indoor plants much needed food. Simply remove the cap and turn it upside down into your plant medium. As you water your plants the nuggets will decompose. There is no odor. They are all-natural and organic. You can purchase one or several for your houseplants or give as a gift to your gardener friends. The cost is $25.00 per tube.