Informational

Daily Drawing #184, Enjoying Your Time in The Cloud

| Whitt’s End Art

There are times when I just like to hang a simple cartoon out there for my daily drawing. This is one of those times with my drawing “Two Cats Caught in the Cloud.” I am not a big fan of the Cloud even though I use it from time to time to store some photos. Why? You may ask. The answer is simple, storing stuff on the Cloud, or in the Cloud, depending on what terminology you use, gives someone a false sense of security. All you need to do is read or watch the news once in a while and you will see any Cloud server is not immune to hackers.

A lot of personal information as well as incriminating photos have been leaked because people have put there trust in the wrong place.  So the next time you’re thinking about storing something on the cloud think to yourself, “Is this something I don’t want the wrong people to see?” In lieu of the Cloud I use one of those portable hard drives to backup my photos and docs. I think it is a little safer. There are times when it is better to keep your head out of the clouds.

 

 

 

Replicate or Recreate, That is the Question

| Whitt’s End Art

When I first started to draw and paint I wanted to be one of those artists who replicated what they saw. You know what I mean. One of those artists whose paintings looks exactly like a photograph. So over the next few years I struggled and put a lot of pressure on myself trying to grasp the secret or making an exact copy of the image before my eyes. Art became more of a chore and less fun. One day I decided replication art was not my cup of tea.

I felt art should be more about re-creation than replication. As an artist I felt the need to recreate what I saw. Right then an there I decided to create paintings and drawing using my frame of reference with a little whimsy thrown in here and there. I leave replication to those artists whose talent rests in creating exact pieces. There is nothing wrong with being exact it just never settled into my temperament. These days I find myself creating a lot more abstract paintings consisting of a little exactness woven into a tapestry of whimsy.

In the end the question for all artists is going to be whether to replicate or recreate? The choice for you is going to be found in your heart

Daily Art #135, What A Real Fungi

| Whitt’s End Art

The prompt for today was to draw something low to the ground. Since I live in an area that provides mushrooms for a good part of the United States I chose to draw of them. Mushrooms from what I understand need the right combination of compost (manure and other products),moisture and temperature in order to grow. Believe me when the wind is just right you can smell what the workers at these plants go through doing their job.

Over the years living here I have sort of gotten used to the smell. It is funny, however when out of town visitors come. They often wrinkle their noses and utter the phrase, “What’s that smell?” to which we usually reply with a chuckle, “What smell?”

Why tell you all this because what it takes to grow mushroom reminds me of the Parable of the sower in Matthew 13. In that parable the seeds must be planted in the right kind of soil before they are able to grow. Mushrooms must be planted in the right kind of compost in order for the spores to grow. So the next time you’re complaining about your life stinking remember, like the mushrooms, God planted you in the right kind of soil for you to grow.

How Do You Draw Thee, Let Me Count the Ways

| Whitt’s End Art

I still think when it comes to art I am a little ADD. I like to tinker with so many different mediums there are times I feel like I am as the proverbial saying goes, “A jack of all mediums a master of none.” I in my own opinion need to pick one or two mediums and practice with them until I get proficient in their use, but I just can’t seem to be able to differentiate as to the ones I like the best. Here is the list of the mediums I use.

Drawing pencils, which I use everyday. Drawing pencils for me offer the most simplistic way to render a picture.  I use mostly Faber pencils from HB to F. My favorite pencil to use is the standard #2 HB writing pencil. Where I work you can literally find them on the floor so they are real cheap.

Pens, I also use a lot. I like the flow of ink across the paper, especially a blue ballpoint pen. When to pens I also go cheap. I feel you don’t need to pay a fortune to get a good looking drawing.

Colored and Watercolor pencils, These are the newest additions to my stable of mediums. My colored pencil of choice is the Prismacolor colored pencil. I love the way the colors flow across the page and the ease of use. I prefer the harder colored pencils to the softer ones. The harder ones hold the point longer and need less sharpening. As for watercolor pencils right now I am using a set I get at the local craft store on sale.

Hard Chalk Pastels, use to be my favorite way to render a picture. These days I have gravitated away from chalk pastels though I still use them for highlights in some of my pictures. The problem for me with chalk pastels is not the colors. I love the color palette they pro, uce. Their only drawback is the messiness they produce with all the rubbing and the blowing off of the powder. They of course their is the fixative you have to use each time.

Acrylic and Watercolor Paints, I lumped these two together because they both can be used straight out of the tubes or diluted with water. While my use of watercolors had been limited to some of the paints which come in the pads, I have also used some colors right out of the tube. Watercolors still mystify me, especially washes, so right now I limit their use. Acrylics I love, and use them a lot in my pictures. Right now the only drawback for me is getting those fine little details in my painting so will sometimes use markers or colored pencils to fill in the details.

So you can see I dabble in a lot of mediums, there are still some I have lying around the house like crayons and oil pastels which I have yet to dabble. I still feel a little ADD but I guess being an artist is experimenting and trying a number of different ways to create an image. I have even started to use a little digital editing in my pictures.

Doodle #103, America Stuck in the Dessert

| Whitt’s End Art


What can said about Americans but that we love our desserts. According to a USA Today article published in 2013 at least, “40% of consumers surveyed say they’re eating desserts after a meal at least twice weekly,” but that number is probably higher.  Why the love for sweets? America seems to have developed a taste for overindulgence for sugar.

I know I am one of those people. As a small child and beyond my mom always told me, “Timmy stop eating all them sweets, it is not good for you.” Now as I age and hindsight being what it is I should have headed her warning.  I, for the last 15 years, am a diabetic. Part of the root cause was eating too much sugary foods and soda. The other part was being to sedentary. Truthfully my doctor told me I would have developed diabetes at some point in my life, but I could have put it off for many more years had I been in better health.

Today’s advice is both Biblical and just that advice. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:27, “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” In other words avoid the sweets and other things bad for you and eat right. Also make sure not to be sedentary and keep moving. I wish I would have sought to be healthier when I was younger maybe I would have been in better health now.

Looking Back at an Art Life

| Whitt’s End Art

I have been creating art in one form or another for as long as I can remember. I decided to become an artist simply because I wanted to be cartoonist like Charles Schultz among others. I saw cartooning as a freedom from the constrictions I put on myself in trying to create the perfect painting.

A number of years later specifically in 2015 when my art life was at a standstill I decided to pick up a pencil and get a couple of art books and revive my love for art. Over the past two years I have had many up and downs with my art. I have created pieces in acrylics which I love working with and still use in my paintings but I have also turned back to drawing.

I decided when I was diagnosed with cancer last year I wanted to kick my art up a notch. I started my art challenge this year not to become a great artist but to try an expand on my art abilities. Over the past two months I have created pieces I am satisfied with, others I might rework for later blog entries and some, well lets say I am done with.

I have also discovered over the two months I would rather produce pieces in pen and ink that have more of a doodle feel to them instead of full fledged paintings. I will still produce paintings in acrylic because I love vibrancy of  the colors but am going to head in a whole new direction with my art. The new name of the blog will be Daily Timeout to Doodle.

The whole point of this ramble is to remind you when looking back at your art life and forward to what you will create in the future stop worrying about trying to create the kind of art others may like but be faithful to yourself and create  the kind of art you like.

 

Don’t Take Art Criticism Personally

| Whitt’s End Art

Criticism, what are you gonna do with it, absolutely nothing? Well maybe not. If you’re like me when you create a piece of art and release it to the world the last thing you want to to hear is criticism. No artist wants there work panned but criticism should not be taken personally but creatively.

As an artist the first type of criticism  you deal with is internal. As an artist you know what I’m talking about Internal criticism is the little voice inside your head that tells you your work is not good,so why even try completing the piece, just scrap it and move on. This type of criticism is the easiest for me to ignore. I just press on, standing back from time to time, evaluating my piece, making adjustments and then moving on. There are times I will even step back from a piece and move on to something else until I feel my internal criticism has waned.

The hardest criticism for me take is the external kind. There were times in my art career where the fear of external criticism caused me to keep my creations from the eyes of the world. I still have those fears but now I have learned to hear the criticism, thank the people for their view and move on to the next piece of art.

The reason I can do this is because I no longer create art to please the masses. I create art which satisfies my soul and brings me the most joy. In the end no matter the outcome of the piece I can release it the world, realizing there are going to be those who don’t like the end result, those who love the end result and those who don’t care one way or the other.

So, if your concerned over criticism, don’t be, it is part of the process of having a creative spirit given to you by our Creator. An artist’s life like any part of life is not going to be easy but the rewards at the end of the road are worth the trials and tribulations or criticisms with which you’re going to have to deal.

As a teach shirt I once saw stated, “Keep on Arting.”

Art is in the process?

| Whitt’s End Art

I have always thought of art as this complicated and illusive process whereby you spend hours trying recreate something set before your eyes. In the same light I must say I have never really thought of calling myself a true artist. When I survey my body of work I see some highlights but more even more low lights which are not offered up for view.

However over the last almost two months of doing the simple drawings on this blog I have discovered that the meaning of art for me is in the process of creating a simple drawing, a full fledged painting or an assemblage of paper and paint. I no longer worry what the end result of the whole process will be but have fun delving into the process of creating which I believe is one of the reasons God,our Creator out on this earth. We ate meant to create and enjoy our creations.

While someday I would love to sell some of my art work I will spend whatever days I have left reveling in the process of creating art.