Resolution

     Instead of writing about all of the things that did or did not happen in 2014, I want to look forward to 2015 by sharing some lyrics with you that I recently heard on the radio. I listen to Air1, a Christian radio station who's mission is, "to create compelling media that inspires and encourages you to have a meaningful relationship with Christ." I love this radio station and all that it does to keep my heart, soul and mind on God!  During the month of December I heard a new song being played by a band I had never heard of. The song is very upbeat and has a great message to start off the new year. While listening to the song for the first time I felt excited, encouraged and empowered. 

Here it is:



"Resolution" by Everfound

Counting down it's so much closer
What seemed forever now is over
God bless me with a persevering heart
No matter what this year will bring me
I'm ready for a new beginning
Watch over me and keep me marching on

With eyes wide open, ooh
With eyes wide open, ooh

I run the race, my feet are steady
I'm on the edge, there's no more waiting
Tomorrow's come and I am marching on

With eyes wide open, ooh
With eyes wide open, ooh

Won't let fear hold my heart back
This is my Resolution
Wont follow the ghosts of my past
This is my Resolution

     The last part of the song talks about not letting fears hold your heart back and not following the ghosts of your past. To me that's basically saying that your past is exactly that. PAST. There is no reason to worry about it or let it control your FUTURE. And do not be fearful or afraid. Jump in with both feet this year and land wherever jumping in takes you. Trust God and he will provide, protect and challenge you to be the person He created you to be.
     I want to live this new year with renewed faith in my God, who loves me and will work things together for the good of those who love him. I love my God and cannot wait to see what He has planned for me this coming year. I already know of one super awesome project that God has placed in front of me, that I will not allow the ghosts of my past or fear to get in the way of.

I hope this song inspires you as it has inspired me. May your life be changed by God in this coming year!

A New Possibility Reached!

Before I left for my Annual Thanksgiving Trip I wrote a post about the 4 commissioned drawings I have due soon; two of them before Christmas and two before the end of January. When I received the commissions I was nervous about being able to finish them on time, especially when 2 of them are going to be difficult to draw, because the photos are blurry or need alterations. 

In the past it has taken me weeks-months to complete a drawing, especially if there was no deadline attached. Sometimes I would plan a deadline for the drawings I wanted to finish, but I have never been able to keep the deadlines I personally set. With no real consequences if I didn't finish, there was no drive or motivation to work on the drawings every day and stick to my set deadlines. Only once in the 2 1/2 years in my studio have I been able to finish a commission in a week. That drawing was for a memorial service, so there really was no choice but to complete it by before the memorial.

However, this time it's serious! No goofing off or being lazy allowed. With all of the things to do for the Holiday Market (more about that here) I had to make sure that I was setting aside enough time EACH DAY to work on my commissions. I even took off time from work to have more time to daw and get things done. Normally I have to be to work at 7am. So instead I was at my studio at 7am, just to make sure I wasn't going to waste the time I could be getting paid for. Each day I set aside at least 3 hours to work on my drawings. I decided to work on finishing one drawing instead of working on all of them at once (which is how I normally work). This turned out to be a great idea. I ended up spending a few extra hours on Thursday and Friday to finished the drawing in time to display at the Holiday Market. I DID IT! I can't believe I was able to complete a drawing, from start to finish, in 5 DAYS!!!! That is the quickest I have ever drawn a commission! 

Yet, there is catch to all of this. I now know it is possible, that I am capable and that I have to time this month to draw every day for at least 3 hours. There is no excuse now. I need to continue to hold myself up to the new standard I have set and not fall back into my old way of not drawing regularly.

Here is the sequence of images for my finished commission:

Travels and Time Management

I haven't had the chance to post in about 4 weeks, due to traveling for Thanksgiving and preparations the Holiday Market at Studio Channel Islands Art Center, where my studio is located. Here is a brief update of the last few weeks:

Traveling to Oregon for Thanksgiving

Every November I get to to go to Oregon to visit my mom's family for the whole week of Thanksgiving. We left the Friday before Thanksgiving week, and returned on November 30th. I have been making the drive up to Oregon with my family every year since I was a young kid and it is one of the events I look forward to every year. Every day was busy with activities but also time to rest and visit with family. This year we got to make a special trip up to Seattle to visit my Uncle Dan and got to see a few different sites in Seattle. It was also great having my brother, his wife and her parents come to Oregon to share in the events as well. They all added to much fun to the trip.

Here is a glimpse into my week:

In Seattle & Portland:
  
   

My Grandparent House in Lyons, Or.
       

   

  I used the week to relax and rest before the Christmas/Holiday rush that I knew was going to take place the day I got back to my studio. And it did...

Holiday Market

The name of the game for the week after Thanksgiving was "TIME MANAGEMENT". From the day I got back from Oregon I started in on preparing for the Holiday Market at Studio Channel Islands Art Center. The Holiday Market is one of our bi-annual markets where many artist, musicians, food & drink vendors, visitors and holiday shoppers converge on the old elementary school campus that houses SCIART (Studio Channel Islands Art Center). There is always so much to do to get ready and everyone was very busy. Not only do we artist-in-residence have to get our own studios ready for guests, but we also have to get the whole campus ready. The planning process and marketing happens months in advance, but the week before the event the campus is alive with activity. Lights and decorations are hung, everything is cleaned, new signs are put up. I personally had a list of about 30 things I needed to do just for my own studio. I ended up dividing everything to do by day and did a pretty good job of getting everything done.

 
On the day of the event we had so many people come through the campus. I saw many friends and met new people who were very encouraging and supportive of my drawings. It was a great day. Time went by pretty fast because of all of the people that came through my studio. I calculated over 400! This is what my studio looks like for the Holidays:

One Finished and 4 To Start

This week has been more "normal" than past weeks. I still have not been able to keep my "one drawing a day" challenge this week, but I was able to finish a commission. I should clarify that my "one drawing a day" is a small 5"x7" line drawing. The other drawings, commissions and portfolio drawings, are my detailed value drawings, that, on average, take between 20 and 50 hours over the course of a few weeks to many months. At times I need to focus my efforts on drawing my value drawings over my daily line drawings.

The commission I finished was a drawing of my family friends, The Boykins. Last year they purchased a gift certificate of mine from the Heart of Hope Silent Auction. Heart of Hope is the non-profit international ministry organization that focuses their missionary work in Romania. I have been apart of going on mission with this organization for 3 years. Below is the drawing that resulted from last year's Auction Gift Certificate.

Finishing a drawing always gives me hope that I can complete drawings. That might sound a little funny, because I know in my head that I can finish drawings, but sometimes it takes so long that I feel I will never finish. So right on the heals of finishing a commission, I now have 4 new commissions and a personal commission to start and try to complete by the end of January. I would like to say that this would be no problem for me to accomplish, however, I know myself well enough to know that completing these drawings is going to take a lot of hard work, long hours and focus during the time of year when distractions, gatherings and events are plentiful. All of this on top of drawing classes, holiday travel and the SCIART Holiday Market coming soon.

I'm getting ready for a very busy drawing season! I better start this all off with a good night sleep.

Roller Coaster

Well, as awesome as Saturday was with a sold drawing, new commission, and last week being able to complete 4 new line drawings... this week has been pretty much the opposite.

Monday: My week started out positive with a trip to City Hall to see the plaque I helped with for Camarillo's 50th Birthday! It is being displayed at Camarillo City Hall, not sure for how much longer though.

I then went to my studio to start the new commission I received on Saturday. Since I was told I was on a time crunch to finish it, I decided to start as soon as I got to my studio on Monday [Side Note: when I am told I don't have much time, I don't waste time getting started, knowing how long some of my drawings take. I prepped the photo Sunday night and stated at 8:30 Monday morning]. I spent about 4 hours on it, making significant head-way and really excited that my energy about the drawing was up and my focus was all there.

  (There is a sketch on the first image)

However, about 4:30pm that afternoon I was called by my client and told that the commission was canceled.... I took a deep breath and sighed. The drawing was turning out well enough that I wanted to finish it, so thankfully the man who was originally wanting it done is allowing me to still finish it, and I will be putting it in my portfolio. He now wants another drawing done, but this time with no time constraints.

Tuesday: This is usually the day I look forward to the most because I have nothing planned except my job. That means I get an entire day of drawing, w/o meetings, plans or distractions (usually). Yet, that morning I woke up in a completely drained state, both physically and emotionally. I felt like doing absolutely nothing all day... So I did exactly that, nothing... It was hard knowing that I had so much time to draw and get things done, but I did none of it. I didn't feel good about it, but I also didn't feel like doing anything about it either.

Wednesday: I woke up feeling refreshed! I felt like my day of doing nothing might have paid off and now I was rejuvenated for a day of productivity. I was able to work more on a drawing I have been trying to finish for the Boykin Family, as well as get some errands done before Friday. Overall it seemed to be an average day, which felt better given my state of mind the day before.

Thursday: I woke up in a state of physical and emotional lack, again... However even though my day was wrought with internal conversations, dilemmas, and planning for decisions that need to be made soon, by the end of the day all was well again. I am working on getting prints of my drawings made for the Heart of Hope Auction Benefit next Friday as well as the Holiday Market at my Studio on December 6th. As of 9 pm last night I had no idea what I was going to do to pay for getting the prints made. I have been trying my best to save the money I have been getting from my classes and commissions for my rent and necessary purchases for my studio. I just paid rent last week and it came pretty close to depleting the earnings I have made. I prayed about it to let God know how I was feeling and that I needed help figuring out what to do. When I got home after my class (which was fun and enjoyable, despite my worry earlier in the day), my dad reminded me of a stash I had been saving for a while (and honestly forgot about) and that I should use that money to help me make the prints!  So cool how God uses others to help us out!

Friday: It is now Friday and I have been able to have a productive morning, using my time to prepare for getting prints made and getting ready for an event I was invited to tonight to show my drawings at. The New West Symphony is performing tonight in Oxnard and I have been asked to show some of my drawings in the lobby before the performance along with my fellow artist in residence Marion Wood. This is shaping up to be a great day and evening.

All in all my week has definitely been a crazy roller coaster of ups and downs emotionally and physically. But even though I did not get the chance to draw every day like I had challenged myself last week, I was able to draw during my class last night. A partially finished still life of pumpkins and gourds.

SOLD!!

For the first time EVER, I have sold a drawing right off of the wall in my studio!! Yesterday during SCIART's Open Studio Event a couple from L.A. came in and fell in love with my drawing "Brothers in Christ".

I couldn't believe it! They asked how much it was and then said they would take it. I was in shock at first. This had never happened to me before. Nervously I exchanged information with them, still not sure this was really happening. It was all very bittersweet for me. That drawing is in my top 3 favorite drawings that I have done. It will be so hard seeing it go, but I know it is going to a very good home. The wife stated this in an email to me, "The drawing depicts a universal brotherhood of caring and support...Your drawing skills are outstanding, and the subject matter conveys true emotion." It is so nice to hear affirmation form someone I have never met before this moment. I am thrilled to know that this will be a gift for their daughter-in-law, who they assure me will absolutely love it.

The other cool thing about this exchange is that they couple is allowing me to keep it for our Holiday Market on December 6th! Such a nice and generous gesture. This will also give me some time to get used to the idea of it not being in my studio anymore.

New Challenge

My Challenge: do one drawing a day (Monday-Friday), equaling 5 drawings total during the week.

Reason: Because my value drawings take a long time, sometimes upward of 60+ hours, it can feel like it takes forever to finish a drawing. This kind of goes along the lines of "30 Paintings in 30 Days" from Leslie Saeta's Blog. I am modifying it a little however just doing it on the week days.

Week One:
   This being the first week I have done this challenge I have found some cool, positive things that have come out of this challenge as well as some struggles I will have to work through. A cool thing was my excitement to do these line drawings each day. I was able to choose subjects that interested me, and draw them, from start to finish. It reminded me of when I was in Middle School and High School, doing line drawings of my favorite Anime characters in one sitting.
   Something I learned is that it takes me about 1-2 hours to do a line drawing, like the ones below. This is both a good and something that might not be so good. The way my work schedule is for the Day Care I work for, I only have about 3 hours between my morning and afternoon shifts. With drawings that take 1-2 hours to do, I now only had 1 hour to work on projects and commissions that have deadlines.
   My other issue this week was that Halloween landed on Friday. I was so busy I only had a short time in my studio and that was to get ready for Open Studio on Saturday.

Below are the 4 line drawings I was able to finish this week.

 

 

2 Year Anniversary and a New Beginning!

   I can't believe I have passed my 2 year anniversary of being an Artist-In-Residence at Studio Channel Islands Art Center in Camarillo. Over the last 4 months I was involved in a "Studio Shuffle" which allowed me to move into a new and larger studio space in September!!! I took a leap of faith and requested a half-space when it became available (I had a quarter-space in D4). Now I am in A3! There was a lot of artists moving around among the newly opened spaces at SCIART. Originally I did not want the A3 space I currently have, but in the end I absolutely LOVE it and would not have my space in any other place. Yet the most important thing I want to explain is that this has all been a huge blessing from God. I have been trusting God to provide for me in my larger and more expensive studio. He has provided new commissions, drawing classes and students. He is the one I am trusting to teach me, guide me and provide for me.

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them." Romans 8:28

Because I am now in my new space, I am trying to take a more proactive approach to everything I do in my studio to start building up a career. This includes daily time in my studio drawing, promotion and preparation for my drawing classes, updating my website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and now my blog regularly, at least once a week, and to prepare and send out my E-Newsletter, too. In a nutshell, I am learning to be disciplined and focused on my art and my career. Now, this is so much easier said than done. I have a bad habit of getting lazy when I am busy and tired, and I always seem to be busy and tired....  It is amazing how much I have learned about myself over the last 2 years of being an Artist in Residence. There is so much more to having an art career than I ever thought. However I am in a community of professional and successful artists at SCIART that have shown me it is possible and something I am capable of doing.

As I was thinking about what to write for this "new beginnings" blog, I remembered an interesting conversation I had with one of my high school drawing students recently. This quote came up in our conversation:

"Do or do not. There is no try."

Anyone know who that quote is from? If you guessed Yoda, from Star Wars, you are correct! This quote is pretty spot on for how I feel right now. I either need to do it or not do it, I can't just try. Trying indicates you are giving yourself room to fail. And I will not! I can DO this! Even though I know myself to have a history or "try until it gets hard and then stop" kind of attitude, I will persevere and keep moving forward no matter how many times I step off course.

One way I can inspire myself is to see how far I have come. Below are the three different studios I have had since 2010.

This is the studio that my parents let me have when I first moved back home from Humboldt State.

This was my studio in D4 at Studio Channel Islands Art Center. You can see the progression of this studio and how it changed over 2 years here.

Here is my new larger half room in A3!! I have sectioned my half of the room so that I can teach on one side and do my own drawings on the other. It is so nice having all of my drawing/art stuff in one location!