What I Did on My Vacation

Some of you are aware that I have a full time job that is NOT related to my art. AT. ALL.

So in February, I decided to take a week off and not go anywhere or do anything but work on my art and art related marketing. This was a big step for me, because while I've been involved in the art community for a few years now and see myself as an artist, I see myself as a part-time artist who can't spend a lot of time doing art things. I have excuses galore!

My productivity isn't anywhere near what it would be as a full time artist, but I think I did pretty well on my week "off".
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I started off by going to several galleries in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Pittsboro with my sister (check out her blog here).

We visited Fearrington Village and took pictures of the Belted Galloways (rare breed of Scottish beef cows), Of course I only had my iPhone with me. I need to learn to keep my camera with me at all times. I always see things that are be "picture worthy" when I don't have my camera.

We then went to a gallery in Pittsboro, Liquidambar Gallery, where many pieces of art were being auctioned for "Art for the Animals" - a benefit for the Carolina Tiger Rescue. (A place I need to go to WITH my camera!)

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Agh! My first official day off, and it's a snow day. Snow isn't unheard of in the piedmont NC area, but it was the only day this winter it snowed. The kids had the day off and spent the morning making a snowman that would quickly melt by early afternoon.

I had an appointment at the NC Crafts Gallery, and ended up leaving behind some magnets for the gallery to sell. The gallery is exactly what the name says-- a great collection of art and crafts spread throughout.

I loved these watercolor paintings attached to panels here.

During my vacation week, I went to a few artist meetings, one that I've participated in for a while, the other I was recently juried into.

I also went into Raleigh which isn't TOO far, but far enough to wait until I had a few other errands. I picked up my violet painting from the Visual Art Exchange where it was hanging for a month. I then went to Jerry's Artarama...anytime I am in a 30 mile radius of this place, I JUST HAVE TO GO! Plus, if you check in on Facebook, you receive a 10% discount on any item. Not bad. After stocking up on a few things, I then went to "A and B Store Fixtures". I talk about the place in this post.

On Saturday, I went to a pastel workshop that I was looking forward to for a long time (I talk about it here). It was great that I was able to bring home three small pieces. I promptly re-framed one of them once I got home.

OK, so it doesn't look like I was THAT productive, but at the end of the week, I finished a malamute, a goat, a donkey, started an elk and a lesser kudu. AND I received quite a few interested emails from my revamped blog, facebook, and twitter accounts.

I'm fascinated by the daily activities of those who create art full-time and would love to hear how you go through your day!

New Pastel Painting: Alaskan Malamute

So the original post disappeared shortly after it was highlighted on another webpage. Sorry it's taken a few weeks for me to get the energy to piece it back together. (Very strange and since I don't know WHY it happened, or even know HOW to find out why, I'm just going to add the photos back and go from there).

The beginning didn't start out the way I wanted and I quickly discovered that my sketch wasn't right. I remedied that by covering the entire panel in charcoal and then bringing out the lighter pieces with a kneaded eraser. At this stage, it's pretty loose and messy looking.

Beginning stage using vine charcoal and a kneaded eraser

Now I'm adding more detail now that I'm satisfied with the placement, but still using just charcoal and eraser. (There might be a little bit of pastel on the right ear).

Refining the detail

It becomes more obvious that I'm adding color now, mainly a soft blue - both to the background and to the fur.

Next step, adding pastels over the charcoal

Adding a second color, mostly a peach color to the fur, to play with the warm and cool sections. Blurring your eyes on the photo helps pick out different colors. I also take a piece of paper with a hole in it and hold it over the photo to identify colors. It's amazing what you see there that your eye didn't pick up before.

Adding peach

Getting into the nitty-gritty of the painting, playing with the colors and adding more local color to the nose and eyes.

Playing with the peach and blue. Also added some pink to the nose and orange to the eyes.

Is this like watching paint dry? I can't help but take tons of photos. I'm adding more black, darkening sections of the fur. I've also refined the nose a little more.

Darkening the fur and softening the nose

The final step...you can see that I've softened the fur a little. One of my favorite spots is under his chin. It's really soft there, almost as if he's shedding and you can gently pull the hair right out. (Does anyone else love to do that? I could do that to these long-haired dogs for HOURS!)

"Wooly Malamute" | 16x20 | pastel