Any artists out there?

[GingerRose]

I'm in the Selma art guild which has helped get me out of my blank canvas syndrome. I mainly do watercolor or oils but I've been on a pastels kick of late. But my real love is needle felting! Here's a progress picture of one I did as a commission.

I absolutely love needle felting. I have never attempted a project though.
My love is canvas and any medium.
I have been taking custom orders for standing gnomes with specific detail. I'm enjoying it, it definitely challenges my creativity. I try to create the whole gnome without having to go purchase whatever is requested. I impressed myself with the last one. It was an Atlanta Braves catcher gnome. I made a catchers mitt to scale just like the mitt of the birthday boy. He was so happy with it.
I'm not as confident as I should be, I am always nervous about turning the loose when I'm done...

 

[Chookmama72]

I'm in the Selma art guild which has helped get me out of my blank canvas syndrome. I mainly do watercolor or oils but I've been on a pastels kick of late. But my real love is needle felting! Here's a picture of one I did as a commission.

 

[SarahLadd]

They glow

I might be able to dig up the reference photo. This is a still life painted from an orange I stopped eating. The sun was hitting the counter in just the right way to project light through my orange slices and it was strangely compelling... So I needed to paint it.

I ate the rest of the orange. It was tart.

I have never used this. I don't have any "education", LoL. If that makes any sense. I can draw, paint, sculpt, craft, etc.. just about anything. I guess it's what's called natural ability. I can't tell you what brushes are technically called, or what they are supposed to be used for. I can just do it. I do wish I could have some formal education earlier in my life. I could be so much better and efficient than I am.

I do too. I'm not the greatest at it, but I can accomplish my idea in the end and it be "readable". Or, I can make it look - on my surface - like what I have pictured in my mind...

Never has there existed a better time in history to be a student in search of knowledge. The internet is such a wide and vast resource and you are a few simple questions in a search engine away from solving a niggling problem (how do I not smudge my pencils?), to learning a tip or trick you might not have known, to learning a completely new technique to try. I've never limited myself. I might have an Associate of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree but that doesn't mean I stopped learning after the diploma came in the mail. Just last year I took a class to learn fine art hand engraving, I spent a week in the middle of nowhere Missouri, learning from a master engraver, and it was an invaluable experience that I sponged: to be a better artist, a better maker, to see my visions more clearer. It's curious to me that an artist would want to experience art in their own vacuum. Not that this is incorrect. There is no wrong way to do art, many famous artists were very focused on their own projects. That said, scholastic art is very much about growing as a collective, sharing and inspiring others, in large groups of people all sharing the same goal but doing it their own unique way.

edit: grammar/punctuation/do better at english schlub

 

[Chookmama72]

I absolutely love needle felting. I have never attempted a project though.
My love is canvas and any medium.
I have been taking custom orders for standing gnomes with specific detail. I'm enjoying it, it definitely challenges my creativity. I try to create the whole gnome without having to go purchase whatever is requested. I impressed myself with the last one. It was an Atlanta Braves catcher gnome. I made a catchers mitt to scale just like the mitt of the birthday boy. He was so happy with it.
I'm not as confident as I should be, I am always nervous about turning the loose when I'm done...

Sorry, we don't have internet so I use my phone data and it's hard to upload photos, it came through in my reply lol

 

[GingerRose]

I might be able to dig up the reference photo. This is a still life painted from an orange I stopped eating. The sun was hitting the counter in just the right way to project light through my orange slices and it was strangely compelling... So I needed to paint it.

I ate the rest of the orange. It was tart.

Never has there existed a better time in history to be a student in search of knowledge. The internet is such a wide and vast resource and you are a few simple questions in a search engine away from solving a niggling problem (how do I not smudge my pencils?), to learning a tip or trick you might not have known, to learning a completely new technique to try. I've never limited myself. I might have an Associate of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree but that doesn't mean I stopped learning after the diploma came in the mail. Just last year I took a class to learn fine art hand engraving, I spent a week in the middle of nowhere Missouri, learning from a master engraver, and it was an invaluable experience that I sponged, to be a better artist, a better maker, to see my visions more clearer. It's curious to me that an artist would want to experience art in their own vacuum. Scholastic art is very much about growing as a collective, sharing and inspiring others, in large groups of people all sharing the same goal but doing it their own unique way.

That is very well said.
I am in a *situation* that doesn't really, I don't know how to say it nicely without saying too much in a public setting... I have to work on my projects when I can. My husband requires a lot of attention and I work on my projects when he isn't home.
That's about all I will say..
I think you can pick up what I'm putting down..

 

[Chookmama72]

I absolutely love needle felting. I have never attempted a project though.
My love is canvas and any medium.
I have been taking custom orders for standing gnomes with specific detail. I'm enjoying it, it definitely challenges my creativity. I try to create the whole gnome without having to go purchase whatever is requested. I impressed myself with the last one. It was an Atlanta Braves catcher gnome. I made a catchers mitt to scale just like the mitt of the birthday boy. He was so happy with it.
I'm not as confident as I should be, I am always nervous about turning the loose when I'm done...

You should! Let those creative juices flow!!! I love gnomes too, would love to see yours!

 

[SarahLadd]

So I can do this now, when a year ago, it was just a dream I had.

 

[GingerRose]

You should! Let those creative juices flow!!! I love gnomes too, would love to see yours!

I can post some.

 

[GingerRose]

So I can do this now, when a year ago, it was just a dream I had.View attachment 3067134

So gorgeous!! That is flawless.

 

[SarahLadd]

That is very well said.
I am in a *situation* that doesn't really, I don't know how to say it nicely without saying too much in a public setting... I have to work on my projects when I can. My husband requires a lot of attention and I work on my projects when he isn't home.
That's about all I will say..
I think you can pick up what I'm putting down..

I have to keep telling myself that there's no countdown timer on art. There is no invisible clock. I spent 5 years to paint one painting. I have a few paintings that are going to end up 2-3 year paintings. Sometimes I can sit and crush it with sheer determination and willpower, like the d'anvers hen I posted. Other times I just can't, and the painting sits on the easel half finished, calling me names when I walk in the room to water plants. It's not a race, so it's best to just enjoy yourself and the journey and let it come.