Daily Art

Fast is the New Slow, Doodle #91

| Whitt’s End Art

image

Today’s prompt was the word, “fast” so I created a picture of some butterfly’s. While butterfly’s  are  not the fastest things around they do flit from place to place which kind of reminded me of the people I see each day. We live in a world where time is a commodity to be used as efficiently and as quickly as possible. Everybody seems to be in a hurry even some of us artists, including me. I have loved art and have been drawing in one capacity or another since I was a child drawing blue prints.  There is one aspect of my art I still have yet to grasp. Getting the details the way I want them.

The reason, I like to get my piece done and move on to another one. There are so many things I want to paint or draw I feel I must keep going, not taking the time for details. Some of the art work I have created doing using this method have worked out well, others not so much. Case in point. I love to draw faces and flowers. Each one is unique and require a little more detailed observation. I need to learn to slow down when drawing theses subjects in order to get the detail I want. Speed will come later.

Life I feel is the same way. We need to slow down in order to insure we don’t miss any f the good stuff in life. There are so many people I talk to who say, ” I wish I would have taken time to go to my kids games” or “spent time with my wife maybe we’d still be together.” There are times in life when fast can’t be the new slow but the old slow must become the norm.

Love is a Many Splendored Thing, Doodle #84

| Whitt’s End Art

image

The word love has become a multifaceted overused  word in the English language.  In the same breath we love our pizza and our significant other. We can love our car or our pets, which is my doodle for today, “Love My Pets.”  What I’m getting at is that when we love it does not mean what it once did. There seems to be no more deep rooted conviction to loving something or someone.

In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul gives a definition of love we can all hold onto, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

In truth love is not self centered , it is not self concerning and the word is not used to donate affection for those things which cannot love you back. Let us love with a true heart.

Where Did the Magic Go?, Doodle #83

| Whitt’s End Art

image

The first thing that popped into my head when I heard today’s prompt, magic, was Supertramp’s The Logical Song and the lyrics, “When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful, A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.”  When we are young it seems everything is new and magical. We accept what comes our way with a childlike faith and a lot of questions including the proverbial..why?

Then as the song on to say they, “send me away to teach me how to be sensible,
Logical, responsible, practical. And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable, Clinical, intellectual, cynical.” As we grow up and learn in school the wonderment in the world around us fades away. We no longer see the things around with wide eyed faith but try to analyze what we see.

Jesus however in Matthew 18:3 says, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”What he is saying is simple. Have faith like the faith we had when we were children. We did not sit around and try to analyze everything we around us, we simply believed and had faith we could do whatever came our way. As adults we think too much. We need to go back to those carefree days and just have faith.

View in the Window, Doodle #82

| Whitt’s End Art

cat 3

Today’s prompt was the word transparency. I settled on the offered doodle “View in the Window,” because a commercial reminded me of one of my former cat’s favorite pastimes, looking out of the window. I often wondered what fascinating sights out the window kept the cat there for hours at a time.

I am also reminded of the number of times I have looked out through the same window at my neighbors going about there daily business wondering about their lives. In the old days when I was a child up to my young adult years neighbors hung around with each other, talking over the concerns of life or just sharing a little laughter. It seems times have changed.

I have talked to many people like me who do not share much time with their neighbors or don’t even know the least little bit about them. Perhaps it is time to step out from behind our windows and get out there and talk to the neighbors.

A Little Texture Attracts the Eye, Doodle #78

| Whitt’s End Art

image

One of the hardest things for me to as an artist is to convey texture in my drawings. Over the years I developed into pseudo cartoonist. I like the simplicity of line drawings which can convey a lot with only a few lines. Once I started to play around with pastels I found textures can be conveyed with a few strokes of the chalk pastel. Even in acrylics I can convey texture by the way I lay down the brush strokes or the materials I use to create mixed media creations.

Now that I have switched back to pencil, pen and marker to create my daily doodles I have again been trying to learn how to create texture with a few strokes of the pen. Today’s doodle is a pencil drawing where I have tried to convey texture in the woman and her clothing using a few pencil strokes. While the work is incomplete I have learned to be more patient with the details and look for the texture in whatever I am drawing.

I think life is the same way. We spend so much time speeding through each day we forget to take the time to look at all the textures which abound in the people we meet and places we travel. It is the textures which give the world and people God created their beauty, their individuality and uniqueness. Life is all about textures so stop trying to smooth out all the rough edges and create what you want, instead be satisfied with what is already there.

Watch the Mood Set, Doodle # 76

| Whitt’s End Art

image

In my opinion art is both subjective and objective. Our main objective in creating our art is trying insure the subjective piece of art will invoke a response in the observers of our pieces. Part of the response is what kind of mood your piece invokes. Is your painting a lighthearted piece with a lot of vibrant colors and a lot of movement or is it a brooding piece done in monochromatic colors or layout. This is why it is important as artists to watch the mood set of your artwork.

As an artist I try to create colorful, upbeat or corny pieces of art because I feel they set a happy mood with their content. Today’s doodle a mixed media, collage illustration of some flowers simply entitled, “A Bunch of Flowers.”

In life just like in art we set the tone of each day by our mood. If we are bubbly and upbeat around others they will respond to us in a kind manner. However if we choose to treat others in a brooding and defiant mood, well you can guess what is going to happen.

I know we all have bad days but I set in my mind years ago to be upbeat each day no matter the circumstance of my life.  I always try treat others in a kind and inviting way each and every day. Believe me there we times during my dealings with my cancer treatment that I wanted to bite people’s heads off not because of what they did but because of the anger inside about the disease. I had to step back and take a deep breath, say a prayer asking God to still my angry words and move on. Paul says in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

 

What’s Art Got To Do With Life?

| Whitt’s End Art

 

I must admit as an artist there are times I struggle with the whys.

  • Why am I spending so much time creating art?
  • Why do I get so frustrated when I can’t get a picture to look the way I picture in my mind?
  • Why do I think I am any good at this thing called art?
  • Why, why why?

Then I remember art is in my blood. It is something I feel compelled to do with my time. Not because it is essential to my life, no wait, yes it is essential to my daily life. Art to me set up everything else in my life. It helps me to see the details in every situation. It helps to insure I have as much determination and drove to learn in everything else I do in life. Most importantly my art helps me be me by allowing me to show my creative side.

Art is life drawn from the inside. It helps you relax when times are tough. It allows someone to express themselves when words can’t come to mind. We were all created to create art in one form or anther..

A Strange and Wonderful Feline, Doodle #73

| Whitt’s End Art

image

When I was young I had a lot of cats. Most of my cats were of the grey and brown tabby variety. I also had some whose coats resembled tortoise shells, LaPerms I think they’re called. The variety of cats I owned seemed endless except I don’t think I ever owned a Siamese cat. I still love cats more than I do dogs. Sorry to all those dog people out there.

While I had a lot of cats growing up there is one cat which stands out as my favorite, my Manx. I don’t remember the cat’s name but I do remember the cat had the tortoise shell look with brown around one eye. Why did I like this cat more than the others?  It was that the cat stood out from the others. It had an exotic look which stood out from all the rest. If you don’t know a Manx has no tail but a little stub kind of like a Lynx.

My Manx was a cool looking cat. I don’t know where the cat came from. How I ended up owning the cat or as cat people a cat kind of owns you, but I loved the cat and it’s look. The cat was set apart from the other cats. Thinking back to the Manx it is a reminder to me in my life as a believer of Jesus the Christ I must stand out from others, not because I think I’m better but because of the love I have for others.

As followers of Jesus we must show the love of Jesus to all. Not the ones of we select to give our love to but to all.The Bible says in Luke 6:31, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” If you treat others like crap don’t expect them to treat you like a kind person. Cats are interesting creatures they can sense those people who like truthfully like them. I have news for you so can people. So don’t be hypocritical in you love, be truthful in order to be fruitful.

A Sign of Warmth, Doodle #72

| Whitt’s End Art

image

I live in the greater northeast and am looking forward to warm weather returning so I can take my sketchbook and hit the road to make some drawings. Sorry to all you skiers but I have been looking for the first signs spring is on its way like flowers peeking through the soil and the robin’s return. Today my wife saw the first robin this year.Woo who warmth and sunshine are on their way back.

I learned long ago, like the robin is a sign spring is on its way bringing the warmth, people are looking for signs in your life to validates the claims you make about yourself. This is true about your faith as much as many other areas of life. People can spot a fake a mile away.  Proverbs 28:18 says, “Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.” While this verse is technically not about being a warm person it is a part of living a life of integrity.

My mother instilled in me a long time ago the need to show warmth to others in everything I say as well being generous in all I do. I may not have a lot of money but I do have a lot I can give. You never know who you touch in life so you must always be who you are not who you feel people want.