Saturday, March 3, 2018

Excuse me, but I Arted!



I found this T-shirt on Pinterest...I'm addicted (to Pinterest), what can I say?

Last week I shared a few of my watercolors with you (and I will today), but I just wanted to give you a little background on myself. Art, drawing and painting, has always been who I was. I could draw as soon as I could hold a Crayola in my hands, and I drew on everything--including the walls. I must have drove my poor mother nuts!

I was known as "the artist", even though my older sister was also an artist, but I can't recall if she had any influence on me, but I still remember the painting of a deer she'd painted in school. There was argument as to which side of the family I got the gift. Mom's side or my father's. Doesn't matter. Maybe I got a double dose, that's why I dabble in writing, art and everything else. I'm no good at math, and such. I had D's & F's in school for the basics. I couldn't follow the teacher, I learned so much later I'm ADD, and dyslexic. No one understood those things back then. They would have put me into special ed classes.

As I said, I didn't get good grades, unless it was in art. I couldn't wait to go to college, thinking I could learn how to become a better artist. I went to a small, community college, which was fine. However, when I proudly showed my art and what I could do, I was discouraged to draw realistically. I was told by one art teacher "You might as well take a picture of it" - meaning realism was dead. Or so they said. When I went to college, I was using acrylic paints. I was encouraged to use oil paint. Which is more expensive, but it is an easy medium to work with. The teacher I had wasn't really knowledgeable in all areas. I seem to recall I'd wanted to work in watercolors then, but he talked me into oils, because that's what he worked in. 

My favorite medium, actually was pencil or ink. I went into details more than I care to now. My eyes were much better then. I don't have anything to show you from then, but I do have something from a 1992 vacation out west. This is the Grand Tetons. 

colored pencil sketch/Tetons Nat'l Park/June 11, 1992

It's done in colored pencils. I remembered taking my sketch book with me. Had a number of sketches I did from that vacation, but this was more finished, I think.

Well, that's my story. Now you know that my first love was always art. Writing came later, and it was an up-hill battle with learning that, since I had to work on spelling and so forth.

Here are some paintings I did over last weekend. I call it my "Flowers, Frogs & Butterfly" series. As stated above, nearly all of my paintings are done from pictures I find on Pinterest.

Blue Morpho butterfly/watercolor 7x10"

red-eyed rain forest frog
watercolor 7"x10"

purple flower/watercolor 7"x10"

I may have to start selling my paintings. What do you think?

Have a good weekend. I'm going to do another series.



4 comments:

  1. My favourite is your take on the Tetons.

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    Replies
    1. I like it too. I may have to work on a painting on it. See if I can do it.

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  2. I love the purple flower. You are good. You are also correct. My son was dyslexic. The school even tested him to make sure he should be in "regular" classes. Imagine their shock when they were told he had an IQ of 120. I didn't discover what it was until years later.

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  3. I also have an IQ of 120. It's not fare that people think we are stupid (I was under the impression I WAS, up until I took an IQ test). I learned I was dyslexic at age 40 merely by hearing about it from others, and knowing my problem.
    Anyway. Thanks, Mari. I am partial to that purple flower too.

    ReplyDelete

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