Time... the problem is that we think we have enough of it. There is never enough time. EVER. I was so happy to find this set of excerpts from the book "How to Fly a Horse : The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery" by Kevin Ashton... which will be one of my next Kindle purchases... One such part of what I read was:

Keep reading below for my discussion about this ARTicle.... (click here to read the original "article")

The creative process is different for every artist, and so personal of a thing, it can almost be hard to totally encompass. In my blog post this week, I will talk about the prominent parts of my creative process and give you a look into my studio as it currently is. You'll also get to see some progress shots of the amazing and LARGEST mandala I've ever worked on! And I will talk a bit about how I actively try to keep it together while working so hard to get my art career off the ground, pay the bills, and learn to do all the things in between.

We are surrounded by inspirations and influences everyday, if we stop to look for them. A simple walk through the park can become an entire series of artwork based on the shapes, textures, sights, and sounds we encounter during the visual adventure. As an artist I purposefully look for new shapes, compositions, ideas, and textures through the course of my daily life and adventures... and allow these inspirations to help shape my artistic style.

In the post below I will show you some inspiring images, talk about how they influence my marks, compositions, and artistic decisions along the way. Through this post I hope you can gain an inside view to how these visual influences have shaped my style and helped me to develop my own unique artistic style.  **WARNING: Heavy Image usage ahead! Proceed with solid internet connection!**

It's happening around us whether you notice it or not.... our space is shrinking. This can be terrifying to artists and gallery owners alike. Small art seems to be where the trends are falling these days. Maybe because people like to support more artists, or because they want to display them in a gallery style fashion (as seen below) which seems popular in contemporary design, either way it's obvious that downsizing your art can be a smart thing to do in the current art markets.

Read below for my response to this article: "Downsizing your art: It may pay to create small."

Okay... here is my full featured artist post! My featured artist this week is Archan Nair. Archan is a self-taught artist, was born in India in 1984, formerly a fashion major working in his family company. Around 2006 he began to discover his love and talent in painting and digital art. Since becoming a an independant artist in 2007, Archan has worked with some major companies and magazines including: Nike, Sony, Microsoft, GQ, Vogue, and you have likely seen some of his car company ads for Chevrolet and others. 

Click below to keep reading about my featured artist!

I still owe you a full blog post. Today was full of wonderful things that took up more time than they should have, so is life and enjoyment. I am also postponing my full official post for other reasons... and trust me they are worth it. For now I shall leave you with these three images of recent work from the artist I will be featuring, Archan Nair. 

Please feel free to post any comments on what you think, questions you might like me to address in the full post, or whatever else comes to mind while looking at these three images. Thank you, please check back in a couple days for the full post!

Have a topic or post suggestion you'd like to see me post? Let me know! 

Here is my (very malleable) schedule for upcoming blog posts:
-February 23rd: ARTicle (an art related article) -"Downsizing Your Art: It May Pay to Create Small"
-March 2nd: Inspiration post/Pinterest Board feature
-March 9th: My creative processes
-March 16th: Featured artist:____________ (tbd)
-March 23rd: ARTicle - TBD...
-March 30th: BIRTHDAY BLOG! (A reflection on 28 years of living a creative life)

For many artists, writing an artist statement is not easy, especially when you haven't been writing them already for years. When coming up with my first post-graduate artist statement, I scoured the web looking for an easy and simple guideline on writing a good artist statement. Many of them had pages of information on all the "Do's and Don'ts" of writing them, and generally just an overload of information. I wanted a simple and straightforward approach that would give me some real content for my artist statement. Questions, I wanted just some simple direct questions and an outline to guide me to the right things to say about my art so I could explain it to anyone. 

I found the basis of my artist statement by asking myself a few questions based on my art and the processes behind it. The questions allowed me to directly focus on the important aspects of what motivates and drives me to make my art. And to figure out what I think about my art, before I start to worry over what other people might think about it. All of this put together, along with my half-way decent writing skills, allowed me to write a professional artist statement in about an hour (with a little extra time to let it sink in and go over it again).

It happens to every artist (I think)... they find something amazing and go with it for awhile.. but then the inspirational buzz wears off.. and it starts to get harder and harder to make each mark. At least this is what has happened to me this past week. So today I am coming back to my computer, outside the studio, and searching for empowering sources of inspiration to get me back into the studio and pick up my brush with fresh energy. 

A common first stop for me on this personal journey is an artist whose work and practice I greatly admire, Flora Bowley of Brave Intuitive Painting. Her video is beautiful and immensely inspiring (it makes me want to throw out my oils and convert back to acrylics), PLUS she's a fellow Oregonian!

I have been busily working away on a number of art shows and events. It feels so good to be so incredibly busy and involved in my community both on and off of the web. As my website snd business approach the third year I am excited to see what this next year shall bring.  I believe that 2015 will be filled with exciting new directions for many aspects of my life, and I may start to catch sight of where I am heading.
It's important to set goals and deadlines for yourself as a person and most especially as an artist or creator. Keeping track of, adjusting, and holding to them is important and sometimes difficult. I am still learning my best ways to do so. For me it probably lies in the source and motivation behind my creating. When I am freely exploring and creating, I find myself filled with more motivation and creativity, than when I am working on a requested or ordered job. This has been difficult for me to come to terms with, but I finally am coming around to it.
I love making one of a kind creations and helping my customers get exactly what they want. But this is a very time consuming endeavor, and often times does not end up as an order when everything is said and done. This is just not something I can realistically and financially do anymore. And so, with a bit of a sigh, I must announce that I will not be doing any custom dread orders or art commissions until further notice. I will however begin regularly putting out accent kits, half kits, and occasionally full kits as well. This change will also allow for me to keep my prices as they are rather than raise them higher.
I appreciate all of your understanding and continued support through the changes that will be happening here. You will be seeing my art taking a more equal place alongside my dread work here on the website as well as other social media outlets. I look forward to the amazing and exciting changes in the coming year, and I definitely want your input! I will be creating special places for people to share and post all sorts of things to inspire me along my creative artist journey.
And most importantly, thank YOU for supporting this over-achieving artist and making her dream life come true <3

Here.. have a shot of my newest artwork, I am now working with watercolor painting and ink drawings.

To keep up on all my Sunday studio work, follow #ArtChurchSunday on Instagram, Tumblr, and Facebook. Join in on the fun and post using the hashtag, or just post right to the Art Church Sunday page on Facebook.