#578 and 579, Two In Oil Pastel

I like to you a number of different mediums. One of my favorites is old pastel. I have not used them a lot so all of my current renderings are experiments. These are the latest two, “Girls on the Beach, ” and “Red Flower.” The paintings are both done on 6×9 card stock.

#567 of 1001 Little Blue Dress

The woman is both happy and sad. The New Year has started the old one and its memories left behind. The sadness comes from memories but happiness comes with new memories to be made in the New Year. Little blue dress is a soft pastel painting created on a sheet of white 9×12 Stratford paper.

Being Normal is Boring

How to start this short article? How indeed. All through my younger and adolescent years I heard phrases like this, “Why aren’t you normal?” Or “Why don’t you act normal?” I was always trying to figure out what was normal. To me I was normal.

I have discovered that each person has their own normal which has nothing to do with right or wrong, good or bad. It is just the way we go about our day. The things we do our habits so to speak.

Why is this important to know as an artist? The main reason is this. We need to be ourselves, our normal when we create art pieces. I have heard it said, “Art comes from the heart.” Down where our normal exists. God gives each of us our normal, our unique gifts. It is okay to use other artists work for inspiration but it is more important to be yourself because that is what makes your art, your art.

In the New Year try not to be so normal in your artwork because it is boring. Create art outside the normal i.e art from the heart.