A little portrait

When I was a little girl, about 5 years old, I was completely obsessed with Native Americans. Only back then we called them Indians. It was before we were politically corrected. My brother and I used to play cowboys and Indians, and I was always an Indian princess. I was totally caught up in the romantic notion of sneaking quietly through the forest never making a sound. Hunting with my bow and arrow and generally being at one with nature. I had no concept of what a real female native Americans life entailed and pictured myself closer to an Indian brave. I imagined all sorts of scenerios where the animals were my friends and I lived off the land. But I never could imagine away my blonde hair, even though I tried. So eventually I settled on myself as a rare blonde Indian!

 This obsession lasted all through my childhood. I used to wear moccasins until they had holes in the bottom and then I would beg for a new pair. I discovered the Little House books and lived in them for literally years. I loved the romantic notion if living off the land. And even now, knowing how hard a life that really is, I still find it romantic. I guess I always possessed an independent entrepreneurial spirit. 

 I always knew I was not a 9 to 5er, and that an office cubical might kill me. 

Working with Willowing

I have spent the last week working through the Whimsie class given by Tamara Laporte. I have learned so much! Things seem to be clicking in my head-a wonderful feeling! It's been a long time since I have had that feeling. But I can see a path forward with my art, which is kind of a relief. It's so hard to be floundering around. I know it is necessary, especially when you are learning new techniques or going down a new artistic road. There is a process of experimentation that can be at once exhilarating but also frustrating when results are not living up to expectation. 

But alas, after plodding through I have found a path that I want to explore. I love mixed media but I also enjoy a whimsical side to it. I love doing the whimsie characters, but I also love more classical portraiture and I think I want to work toward striking a balance between the two. 

I am still experimenting with substrates. I love working on watercolor paper, but I also love gallery wrapped canvas. I need to find a substrate that is both! I want to try mixed media board, maybe that will be the thing. 

Hello Friends!

Just wanted to let you know I am having a sample sale at my Etsy Shoppe. 

All cross stitch models are 40% off.

 Just think you don't have to stitch them, just purchase and hang! 

Each one is framed professionally.

These days I am mostly blogging at:

My Artful Journey

Come on over to have a look.

xx

~Annie

More whimsy action!

Really having fun with whimsies

I have always sort of tried to do this, but painting along with Tam at willowing and learning a few principles has made them come to life for me!

I am really enjoying this and have lots of ideas for future paintings!

I really want to take her World of Whimsies class now!

My journey has begun

I decided to take one of Tamera Laporte's summer classes over at willowing.com because I have always admired her style and I wanted to do something a little more stylized and whimsical. I think I can tend to get too serious and bogged down in my art, and that is not what I want. I want my art to be fun.

 So I decided on the Summer Fae class because it is a profile and that is something I have yet to master.

I had so much fun!!!

I loved doing it so much that I then went over to her site and took the free course Art Heart and Healing. I skipped over most of the healing stuff, I don't have a lot of issues, (although I did find it interesting). But the techniques were also really fun and I had a grand time following along. Especially the face shading lesson and the lesson on whimsies.

So now I think I am going to take her Wonderful World of Whimsies class.

I love whimsies. But for a long time my inner voice has said, "If you do whimsies no one will take you seriously. You will be irrelevant."

Now its not that I have some agenda with my art where 

I want to change the world or make some kind of political statement.

So where are these doubts coming from?

For years I was a dollmaker and in some situations it actually made me

 uncomfortable to tell people what I did.

 They would look at you like you were a child.

Playing with dolls.

There was no way to explain how hard it is,

 how much work I put into it, 

or how much I had studied and developed my technique.

I thought that this time around I could avoid that.

But I'm beginning to realize that the majority of people out there have no idea what art entails. They will look at you that way no matter what you are making.

And WHY DO I CARE what random people think?

Thant is so silly!

If I care about developing my own style and finding my voice 

I have to follow where my muse is pulling me,

 don't I?

This is what I'm thinking today.

So of course I realize...

Its not September yet.

 Its only August 12. 

But freshman orientation is on Aug.19th this year(I swear it gets earlier every year).

So for me there is essentially one week of summer left. 

And with 2 ministry commitments, Monday night and Tuesday night,

 this week is going to go very fast.

So that is what gets me thinking about new beginnings.

And all of these life changes I have been going through has me thinking about new roads in my life.

This last year I seem to be standing before a fork in the road.

I can continue to do what I've been doing,

 and now with more time than I've ever had to really dive in.

 Get it really going. 

Crank out new patterns every month. 

Really use my expensive Constant Contact newsletter list on a regular basis.

This is the time I've been waiting for for so long.

But alas, as I stand here looking down the two roads,

I find that  my heart just isn't in it.

If I take the familiar turn, 

I have a big motivation problem.

I wish I could be simply motivated by money.

 But if that were true I'd be working some 9 to 5-er, and pulling in a steady income. 

Sadly, that is not what has ever gotten my juices flowing.

So I turn to the other road.

The unfamiliar road.

The road that has been there all my life, gently calling; 

but not loud enough to drown out my commitments of  family. 

Not louder than my desire to mold and nurture my 4 masterpieces; 

the ones that took me 26 years to complete.

 The ones that are almost there but not completely done.

The scary unfamiliar road that is also somehow soooo enticing.

I turn and look down, 

and I am beginning to understand what it is going to take to go down that road.

Commitment

 and letting go.