Missin my microns

Hey there! Happy Almost Halloween! Only a few more days and I think this year I am gonna be Frida Kahlo. Expect pictures:)

So, I got three compliments at church today, and all three were about how strategically I put my outfit together. So, starting from the bottom: black boots, mint tights, green skirt, black belt, black shirt, cream cardigan, mint necklace. Yah, I didn't realize you could be strategic when you put clothes on, but now I realize I do it all the time! I totally balance all my colors! I think this is why I can pull together a decent outfit even with my zero sense of style hahaha.

Yesterday I decided to take a break from my watercolors and pull out the old linoleum print block and carving tools. I was tired of doing the same thing day after day so, although I have no printing press or ink, I decided to carve myself something fun. Three hours, two insanely sore arms, and one movie later this was born:

I know it's nothing fancy, in fact it's quite small and simple, but I kinda like it and can't wait until I can print it (not sure when that will happen)! I know the lighting is bad, but I wanted you to see the texture.

I also started getting homesick for my micron pens-because you can totally get homesick for art supplies-and  pulled out the sketchbook. Unfortunately I couldn't find my micron pens so, ten minutes, four Mumford songs, and one prismacolor marker later this was also born:

This is an old highschool friend, Tori. She is supes pretty and supes cool and we took art classes together way back when (really it hasnt been that long, only two years). This is a super super rough sketch, but I plan on making a watercolor of her eventually. Isn't her hair fantastic! Some faces just need to be painted. You will probably see a few more drawings of her because her face is one of my favorites! Anyways, I think that's it for today. Have a good one! bye!

Rock me mama like a south-bound train

Well hi there! How about that 10 inches of snow yesterday huh? It went from fall to Christmas in a mere two hours. I just want to break out the christmas tree, holly, and my christmas mix CD's. See that's the problem with snow, it just gets me all excited for my all time favorite holiday that unfortunately is still two holidays away.

Anyways, two things to talk about today. First, I don't know about you, but I love (as in I can listen for six or seven hours straight day after day after day) folk music. Have any of you heard of Mumford and Sons? or Old Crow Medicine Show? These are two of my favorites, and let me tell you they make my soul happy. No joke, I can be sitting in bed crying my eyes out and I will play some Mumford and almost immediately I am wrapped in the warm blanket that is Marcus Mumford's voice. He has more passion in his voice than I have ever heard before and it makes me glad to be alive. Now don't be fooled, I love a lot of music, but I have learned that it is folk that I really really love to listen to. It speaks to my roots, brings back old memories, and just plain makes me want to pick up a harmonica or fiddle or something and play (not that I can play those instruments, but you know if I could play them I would). So, thank you Marcus Mumford for your terrific vocals and for the way you make me cry when I listen to your music on those lonely days, thank you Ben Lovett for your mad accordion skills, thank you Winston Marshall for your twangy banjo, and thank you Ted Dwane for your beautiful bass. And a big thank you to Old Crow for giving me the song Wagon Wheel. Please know that you have made my heart happy.

So, yesterday as I was once again singing along to these two great bands I decided to try a new style of watercolor. You may have noticed that my work tends to be quite tight and meticulous, however, I am trying to branch out. So, I looked up one of my favorite watercolor artists (known on the internet as dimdi) and painted some animals. No pre-drawings, no outlines, no thought, just music and paint. This is what happened:

I think I like it! It is really different for me, but I feel like I could perfect the style a little more and I would really love it. I could see a whole bunch of these in little white frames in a nursery or little boy's room. I don't know, maybe I will do a few more. Anyways, I think that's it for today. Bundle up and stay warm cuz baby it's cold outside! k loves bye!

Baroque

I am currently studying for an epic Art History test on the Baroque Era, so I only have time for a short post.

 This is my favorite still life of all time! And it comes from the Baroque Era which is my all time favorite era of art ever! I feel like everything created during this time period was absolutely amazing and so dramatic. This image sums up the whole era perfectly. The detail in the fruit, the influence of Caravaggio, the lack of religious symbolism, the colors, everything shows the beauty that was this time period.

Seriously, just look at that melon! Feast your eyes on that skill! If one day I can paint even a third of that good, my life will be complete, and it will probably be in the next life so yah haha. Anyways, I have to go, but if you are ever bored just look up some of the Baroque artists and be entertained because they are amazing! Caravaggio, Rubens, Bernini, Rembrant, Vermeer (Vermeer!!!!!!!!!!!), Velasquez, Ruysch, and Steen to name a few. k loves bye

Movie Magic

Hi there! I hope everyone had a good Sunday! Mine was quite fabulous mostly because I got to wear mustard colored tights to church and because I took an afternoon nap where I had one of those really awesome dreams that just makes you all happy inside. It was quite the afternoon!

I also happened to watch Mirror Mirror for the first time today and really really loved it. Now, it has its awkward supposed to be funny but really isn't all that funny moments, but I feel like overall it was a success. It had some of the coolest artistic elements I have ever seen and one of the things I love most about movies is the artistry behind them. So, that's what I want to talk about today! Three of my absolute favorite movies/movie directors!

1. Baz Lurhmann. I talked about him a little bit ago, but if you need a refresher he is the genius behind Romeo and Juliet, Australia, Moulin Rouge, and (soon in theaters!!!!!) The Great Gatsby! Yah it doesn't get much better than this guy. He has a way with color and music and casting that I just fall head over heals for. His movies just leave me feeling inspired ya know? I also want to paint every single still image I see from his films, because most of them look like a piece of art already. Take a look!

 Beautiful right! I love all of it!

2. Hayao Miyazaki. I know anime can be a hate or love art form, but I have chosen to embrace it. Not all of it, and no I don't go crazy over it, but yes I do collect Hayao Miyazaki movies because they are beautiful and enchanting and are usually filled with the strangest assortment of characters. His movies are definitely worth your time! They remind me of Cirque du Soleil a lot of the time, or my favorite fairy tale books. Even if anime is really really not your thing the stories are beautiful too! Here are some of my favorite images from his different movies.

3. Last, but not least, is this sweet little movie Mirror Mirror, which has captured my heart with its bizarre costumes. Get ready for some of the most amazing dresses you have ever seen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwfHHmD6Ku4

Ahh it is just perfection! This link at the bottom of the photos is a link to the end dance scene where you really get to see just how quirky and beautiful all of the dancing and costumes are. Soooo beautiful! I would give anything to wear the queen's huge white dress! Eiko Ishioka, the costume designer for Mirror Mirror really outdid herself! I think she is my new favorite haha!

So now you have seen a few of my favorite artistic movies. I guess I just love being able to come away from a movie with a desire to create art. Films have taken the place of paintings in today's modern art world, and I love that I can recognize this and use this to my advantage. Expect to see some future artworks to come from all three of these different pieces, because I plan on making some! Have a wonderful Monday....Ha! k loves bye!

Trying to copy a master

Hello there! I have two things to share today.

 One: I have had an emotional last three days. On Wednesday I was sitting in bed and I had a prompting to end my tv watching. Now, for those of you who know me this is probably the craziest thing you have ever heard. Why? Because I love my tv. Love. It. My favorite thing to do is curl up at night and watch a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother, White Collar, or Gossip Girl. Not to mention Vampire Diaries season 4 just started and I have to know how that ends! So, of course I dismissed that thought as the silliest thing imaginable. However, fast forward three days and that thought would not leave my head. How much stuff could I get done in the few hours a day that I spend in front of the tv? How much art could I work on? It started to make sense to me. So, last night I prayed. I asked that if I did this that I would lose interest in my shows; that my life would no longer revolve around fictional characters, and you know what? I stopped watching tv, deleted my Netflix, and packed up my tv on DVD, and I am happier than I ever thought possible. Stress gone! I feel free. Now, I let myself have Community...not all the time, but one saturday a month. I don't feel the need to watch it anymore though, so I might not even indulge in that. I know this isn't a  guideline for anyone, but for me it works and is essential for my happiness, and I am happy. So so soooo happy.

Two: my watercolor assignment. This week's project was to copy someone else's work; the style, the colors, everything. So I hopped online and googled watercolor images and found some fun stuff. This is the picture I chose to replicate.

And this is how it came out. Of course mine is still pretty different and a little muddy, but it is kinda hard to copy someone else's style. I like the finished product though.

If you ever want a challenge try this out. It will blow you away on how difficult it is! So that's all for tonight, loves bye!

Roy Lichtenstein

So the weather has reached the point where by the time I get to class I not only have frostbite and hypothermia, but I also want to throw up because my head is still spinning from the 100 mile an hour winds. It is not even November yet...in fact, it's not even Halloween yet. How am I already this cold?

So, I finally FINALLY got some pictures off of my phone from my trip to Chicago this summer! If you didn't know I had to chance to spend a week in a huge beautiful house in Old Town Chicago in July of this year, and while I was there I filled one of my days with the Art Institute. It was probably one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had, and I know this because I still carry my ticket stub around with me everywhere. It sits happily in my wallet bringing back good memories and inspiration. I got to see some of those paintings that I have been studying in Humanities and Art History classes my whole life. The original American Gothic? Saw it! Van Gogh? Saw it! Monet? Saw it? Serat? Totally saw it! I have never been around so much amazing artwork in  my life.

Now, guess what was on display at the Art Institute while I was there? A tribute to Roy Lichtenstein with over 70 of his original paintings. If you know me you know that I am a huge fan of Roy, his style, and all pop art in general. So, I almost had a heart attack when I saw the collection. I wish I could have taken pictures of all of it, but I did take a few pictures of some of his pieces that really inspired me. One room of the museum was filled with all of his paintings from his black and white series. I think I stayed in this room for over 20 minutes and most of my favorite pieces actually came from that room. Anyways, it was wonderful and really showed me just how big and beautiful I can make some of my future screenprints and blockprints. So thank you Roy Lichtenstein for being the amazing artist you are. You are pretty much my hero now.

My favorite of what I like to call Roy's Overly Dramatic Damsel In Distress paintings.

And here are two of my favorites from his black and white series. The yarn was my absolute favorite. I kept walking back over to look at it hahaha.

There were a few other paintings that I loved, but because the museum don't own them I wasn't able to take a picture, however I found some images of them online for you.

There is also one other in a book I bought of his paintings, so I will take a picture and post it tomorrow. I hope his work inspires you as much as it does for me! Have a wonderful warm day! k loves bye

Plein Air Painting

Today I tried two new things. First, I combined mint pants with dark blue stripes and pretty much rocked it. Second, I sat outside for two hours painting trees. This was slightly successful. I prefer my watercolors to be very detailed and realistic, so plein air has always been a bit intimidating for me. Today, though, I decided to give it a go and I actually kinda like the finished product. I chose to paint in my sketchbook just in case I didn't love the end product so the size of the piece isn't all that great.

The building on the side was a huge mistake, I should have kept the whole thing pretty simple, but it's too late now I guess. I really love the texture of the leaves, though, so I took a closer picture for you to see!

I have two sketchbooks, a normal one that I use for pretty much everything, and a watercolor sketchbook with thick watercolor paper. I use both frequently, but so far I have only shown you drawings in my regular book. Here are a few of the things I have been/am working on in the watercolor book.

Pretty fun! I love watercolor because it gives you so many options. You can go loose and sketchy, tight and controlled, dark and opaque, light and watery, detailed, not very detailed, or you can combine it with lots of other medias. You will probably see me use it with pen and ink a lot because it's my favorite combination. I also wanted to show you some photos of watercolor portraits because that is what we will be doing soon and I am looking for inspiration. Here are a few of my favorites.

So that is it for today. I think I am gonna go paint a little more:) Have a wonderful day! k loves bye

old sketches of my favorite bloggers

Nothing much happened today. I worked away on another drawing and have been wasting time trying to avoid a watercolor I am doing. Unfortunately it is due tomorrow and is one of the most boring subject matters for me. Architecture. Sorry if you are into that stuff, but I am not, and painting buildings just seems like torture. On an exciting note I bought myself a pair of new winter boots in the hopes that my feet will stay warmer this year. So, since there is nothing to talk about except my online shopping addiction and my boring daily activities I guess I will share some old sketchbook stuff.

If any of you read The Daybook this is Sydney. She is pretty cool! I did this super quick ink sketch of her about three years ago when I first discovered her blog. I debated about sending it to her, but quickly abandoned that idea after fearing she would think I was some kind of creepy stalker. Ink pens are my favorite things to doodle with. They allow you to get a lot of texture in a simple drawing, and are permanent enough to teach you how to really look at an object in order to put down quick confident lines with no need to erase.

This was done about the same time as the image above. It is a super rough sketch of my favorite Jane Aldridge from the amazing blog Sea of Shoes. Unfortunately I can't find the picture of her in this red scarf, but I will keep looking!

So, I think that is all for today. I really should get on that homework. Hope you have an awesome day tomorrow! loves, bye

This kinda HUGE thing that kinda just happened today...

Last post I talked about how happy I was. Today I want to talk about how that happiness has increased by pretty much a hundred in just these last 24 hours. At 10am this morning I was blown away with the announcement from my dear prophet Pres. Monson that all worthy women at the age of 19 could choose to serve a mission. Now this is crazy because up until now all women in my church have had to wait until they were 21 years of age or older. No longer. 19 it is.

 Of course the first thing that popped into my head was friends. My two amazing friends that have been with me through thick and thin and were both planning on serving a mission as soon as they were able. Audrey, my kindred spirit, turned 19 along with me in January and is completing her second year of college. Caitlin, my bestie from childhood, turns 19 in four days. In a matter of months they could and most likely will be out serving the lord in a mission for our church. I admit it. I about started crying. I am not quite prepared for this!

You see, I have this deep fear of being left behind. But you know what, the second thought that entered my head after hearing this announcement was that I could go on a mission as soon as my semester ended. And you know what I did? I freaked. It has been the same reaction for years now. I think hmmm...I could go on a mission....wait, no, no no no, no I can't! I don't know what I'm doing! I'm too scared! I cannot do this! So I calmed myself down and you know what? Relief came. I realized that it's ok that I am still really scared to go on a mission. It's ok that a lot of my friends will be leaving soon and I will be left to finish up school and make a career for myself. Just because I am able to go at the age of 19 does not mean that I have to. It will probably take me until the age of 21 to figure out if I am physically and emotionally able to do this, and you know what. I might never be ready. Maybe it's not my place to serve and that is okay.

So, my dear friends, I will miss you dearly and I will probably cry when you head to the MTC, but I will be cheering you on from the second you put in your papers to the minute you get home. I love you and am so proud of you and want you to know that I wish I could be right there with you out serving, but it's just not my time. Audrey, I hope you end up in Europe because girl you deserve it! And Caitlin, I am guessing Brazil. And here's to me because I am happy with who I am and happy with this choice I have made. Mission or no mission, I will go when I am prompted to go. So that's that ma friends, let's see what the rest of conference brings! I don't think it can get quite as exciting as today, but I would love to be proved wrong!

Too Happy To Handle

I have had one of those days that is just one happy moment after another. It's been complete bliss! I skipped my morning class in order to sleep in and believe me there is nothing better than waking up when you feel like waking up instead of being jerked awake by the insistent beeping of an alarm clock. I sat outside in the sunshine for an hour and then had the best lunch ever: a turkey bacon avocado sandwich on toasted wheat bread. Heaven in a sandwich ma friends. Then, just because I have time I decided to watch a movie...and not just any movie. Australia, that wonderful movie created by the artist Baz Luhrmann. The way he puts together his movies is a complete art form and it just leaves you happy. So there I was curled up in bed with Baz's epic Australia music playing and I stumble upon a board on pinterest. Oh yes! Pinterest! Now this board was filled with some of the most inspiring pieces of artwork I have ever seen. One right after another, like I didn't even have time to catch a breath. I was just left in awe with a complete feeling of excitement and desire to go out there and make this dream of mine come true. I am going to be an artist, and right now I am so so soooo happy about this decision I made. I love that I get to create and bring feelings and emotions to life. I love that I know how to put down on paper pictures that people understand and love. I am so blessed to be able to find joy in the simple beauty of lines on paper and the contrast of different colors beside each other. It makes me so so happy. Best of all I want to share some of this inspiration with you so that you can feel some of that happiness too! So here you go, you are welcome!

So much greatness! I really think I need to get in on this digital art trend that is beginning to pop up everywhere. I think it might be time I invested in photoshop and use my little art student discount (because yes I do get one of those and it is AWESOME!). So here's to a day filled with one great thing after another. I think to top it all off I will go make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. It is finally fall so let's bring on the pumpkin! Have a wonderful day! K loves bye!

Head drawing

Ok here we go, finally some pictures! I am not quite so mad at this class at the moment, so I will share. Head. Drawing. Who knew a class could be so difficult and so rewarding? I hate it one minute and then love it the next. It makes me feel slightly bipolar. It also forces me to use charcoal, that oh so horrible black powder that coats my fingers and hands and throat and refuses to release me from its chalky hold. I hate the stuff! And then there's the paper. Now friends, I am a fan of expensive paper. Believe me, you can feel the difference between a stack of white printing paper from Walmart and a $3 sheet of paper from an art supply store. In this lovely little class we get to use a whole pad of the thinnest, most unprofessional paper in existence. When I simply pull a piece off it bends and rips. Let's just say it is terrible, absolutely terrible.
However, I am making progress. I am learning; I am growing; and my people are starting to look like people! Let's start at the beginning:

Yah, it's ok. Not great though. This isn't actually the first, but the real first was so dang ugly that I had to get rid of it! That thing was in the garbage so fast I didn't even look to see what grade was on it. I actually really didn't want to know.

Ok, I know this one is sideways, but I just spent forever trying to get it to turn and it wouldn't so you get to see it sideways! So, it is starting to look more like the person I am drawing! Yayyyyy!

Hmmm, minor setback. Her face is way out of proportion. This was the class period that I got my art therapy session with the teacher. Turns out my personality influences how I draw. Who knew right?

Big finish! Last line drawing for the class! I feel like I did a pretty decent job, besides the fact that his eyes are too oval and way too close together.

Moving on to light and shadow in preparation for shaded faces. This is when the class started getting emotional. Let's just say my teacher has lost all patience for students he feels are unworthy of being in the class. Who gives teachers the right to decided who should and shouldn't draw? NO ONE! That's who.

My latest project. He got mad at me for shading the whole upper lip, but I still think it's looking pretty good. I don't know, what do you think?
So, yah that would be my progress so far. I can see the improvement, but it is still stressful every stinkin day. I promise to do more updates, but I kinda like the idea of doing them in groups like this that way you can see my progress as much as I can. Well, I think that's it. Have an awesome conference weekend, hopefully filled with cinnamon rolls and funeral potatoes(that would be my conference tradition!) and if not I suggest making it happen:) K loves bye!