Maybe A Little Early...

I know it's a little early for Christmas music still, but I just had to share this song with you. I think it will completely revolutionize the way you think about Christmas music. And it will surely become a staple in your holiday playlists. This song brought so much joy into my life today and I'm sure for years to come. I hope it does the same for you. Enjoy

To get to the song...scroll down to the middle of the page that it links to and hit play.

Pictures

These are a few of my favorite pics of us in Denver a couple of weeks ago. I just got them from my awesome friend Lauren who took these beautiful pictures.

Simple Design

The more my artistic talent has grown, the more I am torn in my design aesthetic. In my paintings, I am meticulous, detailed, and try to be as close to perfect as possible. I love to have a lot to look at, much to draw you into the piece. But the work that I am most fascinated by and drawn to is very simple. 

Design has always been a big part of my life. I could spend hours in Ikea just soaking in all the brilliant design compositions. Anywhere with good design really gets me, like anthropology. My goodness, I'm happy just thinking about it.  It's like my crack...the drug...not anatomically  (Chuck and Suzanne).

In my home, I want simple, elegant, good design. Problem: too much stuff. I either need a much bigger house to achieve the simple look, or I need to get rid of a lot of what I own. Problem #2: I am a poor college student with ghetto stuff and no money to update. Not that I have any desire to pay a lot of money for furniture or anything. I would be very happy with ikea bookshelves and curtains, but alas, I can't even afford that. So I have to work with what I've got. I have the organizing, redecorating/rearranging bug. Suzanne is going to love that...Hehehe.

So here is my updated picture of my painting. I know...they have hair. Oh yes...it is amazing. I am so close to being done. I just have a lot of little things to do, which means a lot of paint mixing. I am ready to have this done with. I have so many ideas just bursting to get out onto the canvas, but won't allow myself to start another one until this one is done.  I would have about 12 going right now if I could.

This is an artist named Justin Quinn. These are all E's. So simple, intriguing, and brilliant.
Oh I want this room. I found this pic on design sponge today and salivated over it for a while. I especially love the dandelion picture in the back ground. The space is simple, clean, and designed brilliantly.
Jill Moser. This is an oil painting. One color, simple, so beautiful.
So the moral of the story kids....  Okay, so there really isn't a moral. But I will be doing some throwing out of stuff, rearranging of rooms, and attempting to simplify my paintings. Stay tuned for results. I think I will take some before and after pics of the rooms that I redo....ohh that would be so fun!!! Okay, i'm doing it. Suzi...buckle your seat belt and get ready for some change.

Sigur Ros in Denver

This past weekend Phillip and I boarded a plane for Denver. What an amazing difference from Texas in September. Everything was so beautiful from the weather to the scenery.  On Saturday we went hiking in Pike National Forest. As you can see in some of the pictures, the aspens were starting to turn colors. My goodness I miss it already. We went and stayed with some awesome friends of ours, Evan and Lauren Perkins. We went out to downtown Denver on Friday night and had some really good Russian food. Yeah, Russian. I know that's random. We ate at this restaurant called the Red Square. It was really yummy. On Saturday afternoon we went for our hike, then took showers and went to the Sigur Ros concert at the red rocks amphitheatre. It was truly incredible. The weather was cold, but not too cold. The venue was amazing. If you have never been, then you should go. It was definatly worth it. During the concert there were the red rock to the side and back of us, starry sky above, and the denver skyline in the distance past the stage. If you haven't every listened to Sigur Ros, I would highly encourage you to check them out. They are from iceland, sing in a made up language, and are very talented musically. Then sunday morning, very early (4:30 am) we got up and headed out to the airport to catch our flight at 6am. We were running late and barely made our flight. Needless to say, I was a little cranky that early. But we were back in dallas by 8:30am and spend the rest of the day resting. Sadly, I never could get back to sleep on sunday and am still catching up on my sleep. But in all it was a wonderful trip. It was some rest that I desperately needed. It was so fun to see Evan and Lauren, and to get to marvel at God's magnificent creation.  

 

Phillip and I in Pike National Forest
The Storm we out ran on the way down the mountain
Posing with some Aspens
Phillip and I at the Concert
Phillip, Evan, and Lauren in the bottom of the picture

Kate Has A Face

Well, she sort of has a face. She is still missing her lips and eyebrows which make her look a little freaky. But I think it is coming along well. I haven't had that much time to work on the painting now that I have started school, and I have all kinds of other art projects that have to be done. But the times that I have been able to paint have been extremely fruitful. I am hoping to get some more done this week, but who know if that will really happen. I don't have much time that is open for the rest of the week. I hope you enjoy seeing the progress on this update! Let me know what you think. I love getting feedback.

Hands

Face
Neck

Current State of the Painting.

Desires of the Heart

Lately I have had no desire for the Word, or much desire to pray. I just seem to have a frustrated spirit a lot lately. I have no idea why. I find myself complaining all of the time, if only to myself.  I don't even know why. Life is so good right now, the Lord has been gracious with me, and blesses me daily. But I just can't seem to enjoy those things. I am constantly picking out the little things that are frustrating or bad throughout my day. Ever Been There? 

So here is my prayer, for myself.

"Finally, Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable --if anything is excellent or praiseworthy --think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me --put it into practice. And the God or peace will be with you."    Phil 4:8-9

So my war today is over my thoughts. I have to choose to dwell on the good things in life, on the blessings, and most importantly on the Gospel. Because Christ died for me, he saved me, and promises that all is for His glory and my good, what can I really complain about?

In an effort to get my mind going in the right direction, I'm going to list some good things that have gone down today.

1.Class went great. I really like screen printing so far. It's very fast, easy, and painterly. I love all those things in art. 

2. My dog Stella is doing much better today after getting spayed a couple of days ago. She just follows me around and leans on me. Such a Love!

3. I made a delicious cake, that turned out better than the last time I made it, even though I took it out and let it cool before it was done, then had to put it back in the oven. How that worked, I have no idea. It really is amazing that anything I bake turns out well. I mess something up EVERY time, no joke, just as Suzanne.

4. I just got my hair cut for the first time in I don't even know how long, and I love it. It's so much better. It is shorter and actually has shape! Yippee!!!

5. I'm hanging out at Texas Roast drinking free coffee (because I work here). Mmmm

6. I get to see Phillip today for a while. Awesome.

7. I get hang out with at least one good friend that I haven't seen in a long time today in Dallas.

8. I am having a nice relaxing day, which I haven't had in a long time.

See, 8 things that are great in my life today. I feel better already. Maybe this will be my new strategy, write things down when I'm frustrated for no reason. I like it. Now I can see clearly, in writing, God's blessings in my life today. How could I possibly not praise him for all of that?

Lots to Say

Okay.... So much to say. I may have to write a couple of blogs today to get it all in. For some reason my computer won't let me rearrange these pictures, so just browse through them to get the progression. I am really excited with how fast the painting is coming together. I did all of this in about 6 hrs, which is really fast for me. I am really happy with how the figures are popping off the canvas. I am really liking the stamping better now that it seems to make the figures stand out more. Hopefully I will be able to have this one done by next week. I can dream right....

My sweet Stella is getting spayed today. Poor kid. I really hope that this takes some of her aggression out of her. That may be a pipe dream. She has so much energy and is just wild sometimes. I am trying to train her, but I feel so clueless. I haven't ever trained a dog before, and apparently I'm not so good at it. 

This is a pic of when I brought Stella home back in March. My how she has grown. 
I decided to put a reminder picture of what I am working from on my painting.


I started School once again this past week. This is my last year and honestly I can't wait for it to be over. This year is going to be so hard. I don't have that many classes, but the ones I do have are very demanding in every sense of the word. I have a hard time with enjoying the present. I'm always looking to the future and longing for what's next. I want to be working as an artist full time. I don't want to be making art for a grade and I don't want to be working in a coffee shop. But alas, I am where I am right now. I am trying to learn to be where I am, to love the Lord, to praise him, to grow in him in the now. It's hard to remember sometimes that God has me right where I am because he has my good and his glory in mind. It seems like I learn this lesson all the time...anyone else? If you know me at all, you know how scatterbrained I am. It's bad. Thank the Lord for my planner, I would be lost without it. I have written down all of my projects and papers due throughout the next 4 months and it is daunting. I have so much to get done. Life is so busy and I know that something in my life is going to suffer....currently it's my social life....I hardly ever see anyone. I hate that. I feel stretched at every end. I have so much to do and just enough time to get it done. And you say...isn't that a good thing? Well, sort of, but it doesn't leave any time to rest. Well, I think that's enough complaining for one day. I really do think that this semester is going to be good. I'm very excited about the artwork I'm making over the next few months. I am also excited about what the Lord will teach me throughout this year. 

P.S. I just did spell check on my blog....no misspells....it's a miracle!

New Painting

Oh yes...is there anything I really need to say here? My first self portrait done in a painting. I think it was quite appropriate that I chose to depict me in 80's fashion, since I am in fact a child of 80's. And the fact that I look absolutely ridiculous here makes it so much better. I actually finished this painting very quickly, in about 8hrs. This may seem like a long time, but I normally spend at least 20hrs per painting. I would have done much more detail work on this painting if I could have, but I am still very pleased with how it turned out.Kathryn and I with my ridiculous portrait.
We had my Dad and Sister at our house this weekend. We had Chuck, Ginger, Ruby, John, and Phillip over for dinner on Sat night. It was so much fun and the food was delicious. Above is a picture of Dad and John...I think they dressed to match.

Suzanne and Ginger

Kathryn, Me, Phillip
Me, Phillip, Suzanne
And after dinner, Ahhhhh.....Hammock Time. So very nice.
Well, it was until Phillip and I fell out of the Hammock. We all had a good laugh over that one.

What Now?

So life if busy, to say the least. I am working two jobs, leading a home group, serving at the church, working on two paintings, dating, trying to have some semblance of a social life with my girl friends, doing recovery at the Village, and keeping my house clean. Busy yes, but manageable. Now comes the problem. I start school in two weeks, and it's going to be a tough semester.  How do I do all that I am doing and add school in there? Well, I have no idea.  I'll be done with recovery at the end of September and I'll have to stop painting for a few months. I may have one job, or two. I'm still working on that one. Either way, I still have to work a lot. 

The Lord has put a desire in my heart to be a working Artist. I have had this desire for a while now, with really no idea of how to achieve that. Over this past year, the Lord has thrown so many opportunities and wisdom and advice my way. It has been so encouraging. So now I know what to do, but where do I find the time to pursue those things? If I do all of it now, like I need to, I may kill myself. But if I wait until after I graduate, I may be homeless.  Which could kind of be cool. I would help my starving artist look and I would have truly suffered, and thus could make magnificent, meaningful art finally....Or something like that. I want to take every opportunity that the Lord has provided for me. I want to chase the desires of my heart. But at the sacrifice of what?

Well kids, here is the moral of this story is that I have to choose between good things and necessary things. There will be much prayer in this decision as well as a lot of seeking the Lord's face to find out his will in this.  I admit that I have no idea how to deal with this. I need to Lord. I need him to show me his will, to guide me here. I am praying that he will make those things clear to me. I would appreciate your prayers in this. Thanks for listening.

Oh and I will be posting more picture of the paintings I am working on as soon as I have a free minute at home when I'm not sleeping.

Finally an Update

I am again sorry that I have left you to wonder what my painting must look like now. I have been painting when I can. But mostly I have been crazy busy. Every time I could use Suzanne's computer to upload pics, I was gone. Every time I was home to upload pics, she was working on her computer. It kinda put a kink in things. So I am now staying up late to update you. You should feel very special...because I am tired.
Okay... So here starts the new progression. I'm not going to explain all of these. Pretty self explanatory I think.





There it is. I know it's kind of freaky just having a floating head there and all. I have to finish the stamping before I can do anymore of the painting, because the stamp overlaps onto the canvas I need to paint. So I have to be able to paint over the stamps for it to make sense. I am liking the stamping more now. I think I may cover all the color and just do black and white now. Still working on the idea, but I'm very happy that it may be salvageable. I am so thrilled with how well the face turned out. Every time I sat down to paint I was frustrated at the way a certain feature ended up. But as always, I left it as it was to look at later. I still can't believe that I painted this. God is so good to give me the ability to do this. I am always so blown away by it. I am really excited to get more done. Hopefully I will have a lot of time to paint this weekend, but the weekend is already filling up. I need a vacation! Anyways, let me know what you think. I love getting the feedback.

Sorry I Left You Hanging

So sorry I left you hanging on the painting. I have done alot of work on it in the past few days, but have not had the chance to upload picutres and blog. Life has been incredibly busy lately.
So here is update pic #1. I put in the background, with the help of my lovely friend Shaina, a pattern. Yes, it is a paper pattern. I have been using these a lot in my art lately, and I LOVE them. They give color, design, direction, and interest with very little work. I simly put clear gesso on the areas that I wanted the pattern to stick. Then I stuck the pattern to the canvas, trimmed the edges and put more clear gesso on top of it to keep it from ripping anywhere.


So I started on the face. It is still prett rough and needs so much more work, but I'm excited to see where it's going. I have been told many times that when you paint a face there should be blues, greens, purples, reds, yellows, and skin tones. I have yet to figure out how to do this. But I am going to give it a shot in this painting. I am going to put colored glazes over the face after I have done all of the skin tones. Hopefully I don't ruin the whole thing by doing so. We will see.
Gotta love experimentation.
Here is a close up of the face.
Okay, now for the fun part. I made stamps, then stamped the canvas. I still don't know if I like it. I have put black over all of the colors except the white and red. The plan right now is to stamp the entire back ground. I'm still not sure what the pattern will be, or what colors will show up. So many options. I really don't like it right now, but I think I can salvage it.
Here is a close up of the stamps that I made and stamed onto the canvas. You can also see the pattern paper better.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Oh To Create

I am working on a new painting right now. It feels so good to be working on a new piece. I decided that instead of finishing the whole thing, I would update you on my progress as I work. I know that this may irritate some of you, like Suzanne. If that is the case, I am very sorry. Just don't look as my blog for the next couple of weeks until I am done.

Here is the image that I am painting from. Below is the first day's progress. All together I think I worked for about 2or 3 hours, but a lot of that is setting up. I probably only painted for about 1 1/2 hrs.

These are pictures of me in my class in South Dakota a couple of weeks ago.

Here is the first piece that I carved and printed. I think I spent about 1 hr carving this plate.
This is the second piece that I carved and printed. I spent about 8 to 10 hrs carving this one.
Here is the sketchbook that I made. I am so proud of this! I cut and sewed and glued all of this myself. So cool..... Awesome.