Artistic Goals for the New Year

My blog began on January 8th of this year. I had made goals for my New Year's resolution. One of the goals was to start a blog and on the 8th that goal became a reality. The second goal was to build a portfolio of work. I admit that I could have been more diligent, but I am very proud of the work that has been completed to date. Looking through my old composition notebook (my resolutions/goals have been entered there since 2005), I see more goals were achieved and others were not. (My style has always been to free write my thoughts and aspirations on the 31st of December.) Not accomplishing everything on a long list is to be expected. That is why, I put all of my resolutions/goals in the same book. It can be pulled out to check on current goals and complete those that were overlooked. So what will the artistic goals be for the year 2011?

First of all, I will devote more time to drawing. My slacking at the drawing board has caused me great stress when resuming a project. My excuses for not remedying this flaw of character were abundant, when it should have been addressed this past year. My set goal will be to create 10 new drawings for the new year. My s-t-r-e-t-c-h goal will be to complete at least one drawing a month.

Second, I will join at least one artist guild or chapter in the area. It would be good to be part of a bigger picture and be more involved in the arts around me.

Third, I will make up a card that will showcase my work/blog and distribute them in my area to let people know about my artwork. There are only a few people that know I am an artist, and even fewer that I have spoken to about my blog. I finally feel that I have enough quality work built up behind me to share with others. (And maybe built up enough confidence in myself, too! :0))

Unless more goals enter my mind tonight in my scribbling... that will be my artistic goals for 2011. I attribute this post to Painted Thought's Blog and thank Laure for encouraging her fellow artists/friends to post their goals for success in the upcoming year. I will also take her challenge to take up a word-of-the-year for 2011. My great nemesis last year was 'distraction', who was always accompanied by his buddy 'procrastination'. When lured into following these two, one is in danger of becoming best friends with 'self doubt'. So with such strong villains to contend with, I needed a word that comes to a sharp point and strikes a mighty blow. It must be able to be put into action in every aspect of my life and improve myself in areas that are in dire need of refining... My word of the year 2011 will be FOCUS. Focus will keep me on track in any endeavor that I choose to tackle until completion. It will help me to center in on goals/tasks and help me to have a more productive schedule.

With 2010 rapidly coming to a close, I raise my cup of hot spiced cider to a New Year and wish everyone health, happiness, and prosperity with all of your endeavors in 2011.

Happy New Year!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house not a creature was stirring not even...

my CAT??

Here's hoping that this Holiday Season finds you all healthy, happy, and in a warm cozy place. Where ever that may be! ;)

Drawing of a Boxer

Well, Christmas is right around the corner. The 'to do' list is almost completely checked off, so I thought I'd take some time to myself and get my next drawing started. Here is the line drawing of a boxer pup that will be approximately 9 1/2 x 8 inches when finished. The original color pic is roughly a 5 x 6. I didn't like the size it would be if I enlarged the line drawing on my 1 inch grid. So, I created a new 3/4 inch grid, mounted the transfer paper, and went to work on the line drawing. Working on line drawings is one of my favorite parts of creating art. It helps to build up my hand/eye coordination. But I must confess, I had a couple of misplaced lines. ( I won't tell you where his right eye was located for a little while!) That my friends is the main reason that my sketches are done on transfer paper. It is sooo forgiving! Overall, the sketch went pretty fast, even though there were a half a dozen interruptions. I must say... it feels good to be back at the drawing board! :)

Update to the Bulldog Drawing

Just a quick note to let you know that my hubby delivered the Bulldog drawing to its rightful owner. She was very pleased. And yes, I took my friends' advice and signed my name. My signature is by no means stylish or fancy, but I am resigned to the fact that it is like my drawings...no frills, just clear and to the point. My new resolution is to sign my work upon finishing a drawing. Thanks Laure ( http://paintedthoughtsblog.blogspot.com/ ) for all of your wonderful advice. I had forgot what a name truly represents. I am proud of how far I have come in my work, and my family's name that my abilities are derived from. And thanks Carol ( http://firecrackerkid.blogspot.com/ ), my work did feel complete once my name was on it. It is always a great thing to have friendly advice in the decision making process! :)

It was a little odd to not have the drawing in my studio, but as I said earlier, it never felt like it ever belonged to me. I would like to set the record straight on one thing though, during this entire process I referred to the Bulldog as a 'he'... Well, this beautiful family member in fact was a 'she'. Her name was Lucy, and it was my pleasure to have had the opportunity to draw her...