Drawing Chris and Melissa
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Simple Line Drawings
I needed to take a breaks from the projects and "mandatory" art I need to finish. So I found a couple of faces that I turned into simple line drawings. They are both 3.5"x5"on hot press watercolor paper.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Starting a New Routine and a New Direction
It has been some time since I have posted on my blog. However that is going to change. My life has taken a turn and I am very excited to let everyone know! Here is the story:
At the beginning of 2013 my parents reminded me that I was going to be taken off of my dad's insurance in August when I turned 26. To prepare for this my parents suggested that I talk to my employer to figure out what steps I needed to take in order to have benefits starting in August. After talking with my employer I found out that I needed to be working full time for 6 months before I could start getting benefits. So in March I started working full time at 7C's (the child care center at my church). Everything was going smoothly. I got to work with toddlers in the morning and still hang out with the school age kids in the afternoon. About 2 weeks into my new work schedule I started coming home extra tired every day; which is understandable when you work with kids for 40 hours a week. At first this was not a problem, but soon I realized that I was too tired to work in my studio. Every time I tried to go to my studio after work, nothing ever got done and the pieces I did work on were frustrating and I usually messed something up. I also putting a lot of time into planning a mission to Romania with my church. That also took away time from my studio. But I am not upset about planning for Romania! That was an amazing mission that I hope to do again!
To put it in perspective, over the last 6 months I have spent less than 30 days in my studio working on my drawings. This was not acceptable. I was basically paying for a nice storage space at my studio since I wasn't using it to draw. Not being able to create or feel the desire to draw was really disturbing. I was fed up! One of my goals in life is to support myself with my art; so not producing artwork was a problem. My solution? Work part-time!
This is the part that I am most excited about! I am working part-time with a split shift. That means that I will work in the morning, have 3 hours of break, work again and then have the afternoon off. This schedule is great! I have designated my break in the morning for my "Studio Time". I will spend at least 15 hours a week in my studio working on projects that need to get finished. Doing that will give me room for the project I know are coming my way as well as give me time to work on pieces that I want to do. In one year I want to have a body of work that represents what I can do. I have never been able to have daily time drawing. I am a little nervous that I wont be able to stay consistent, but I will do my best. I am truly excited to see what I am capable of and what I will be able to accomplish with the amount of time I have dedicated to my artwork.
Another exciting opportunity I have been given is a book deal. An author from a local community college came into my studio and asked me if I would illustrate for the book he is writing! I jumped at the chance! I never would have thought that I would be asked to do illustrate for a book!! Both the author and I are still in the early planning stages, so I will have more information on this subject in another post soon.
So there it is! My "New Routine and New Direction". I am very hopeful. I am working on coming up with short-term and long-term goals for my artwork, development and growth of my drawings, possible teaching opportunities and much more. This is a time of accelerated growth for me in terms of my art and my growth as a child of God. I have a lot going on at my church as well that all ties in to my art and my abilities as an artist within a church congregation. God gave me this gift and I am finally ready to start using it for His glory! This will be tough, but I have all the confidence that I will be able to do it with God's help and guidance. So many things can happen in a year! Let's get started!!
At the beginning of 2013 my parents reminded me that I was going to be taken off of my dad's insurance in August when I turned 26. To prepare for this my parents suggested that I talk to my employer to figure out what steps I needed to take in order to have benefits starting in August. After talking with my employer I found out that I needed to be working full time for 6 months before I could start getting benefits. So in March I started working full time at 7C's (the child care center at my church). Everything was going smoothly. I got to work with toddlers in the morning and still hang out with the school age kids in the afternoon. About 2 weeks into my new work schedule I started coming home extra tired every day; which is understandable when you work with kids for 40 hours a week. At first this was not a problem, but soon I realized that I was too tired to work in my studio. Every time I tried to go to my studio after work, nothing ever got done and the pieces I did work on were frustrating and I usually messed something up. I also putting a lot of time into planning a mission to Romania with my church. That also took away time from my studio. But I am not upset about planning for Romania! That was an amazing mission that I hope to do again!
To put it in perspective, over the last 6 months I have spent less than 30 days in my studio working on my drawings. This was not acceptable. I was basically paying for a nice storage space at my studio since I wasn't using it to draw. Not being able to create or feel the desire to draw was really disturbing. I was fed up! One of my goals in life is to support myself with my art; so not producing artwork was a problem. My solution? Work part-time!
This is the part that I am most excited about! I am working part-time with a split shift. That means that I will work in the morning, have 3 hours of break, work again and then have the afternoon off. This schedule is great! I have designated my break in the morning for my "Studio Time". I will spend at least 15 hours a week in my studio working on projects that need to get finished. Doing that will give me room for the project I know are coming my way as well as give me time to work on pieces that I want to do. In one year I want to have a body of work that represents what I can do. I have never been able to have daily time drawing. I am a little nervous that I wont be able to stay consistent, but I will do my best. I am truly excited to see what I am capable of and what I will be able to accomplish with the amount of time I have dedicated to my artwork.
Another exciting opportunity I have been given is a book deal. An author from a local community college came into my studio and asked me if I would illustrate for the book he is writing! I jumped at the chance! I never would have thought that I would be asked to do illustrate for a book!! Both the author and I are still in the early planning stages, so I will have more information on this subject in another post soon.
So there it is! My "New Routine and New Direction". I am very hopeful. I am working on coming up with short-term and long-term goals for my artwork, development and growth of my drawings, possible teaching opportunities and much more. This is a time of accelerated growth for me in terms of my art and my growth as a child of God. I have a lot going on at my church as well that all ties in to my art and my abilities as an artist within a church congregation. God gave me this gift and I am finally ready to start using it for His glory! This will be tough, but I have all the confidence that I will be able to do it with God's help and guidance. So many things can happen in a year! Let's get started!!
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