sketchbook project + AEDM - day 24

Not much to say today except that i want to wish all my fellow American artists a Happy Thanksgiving, filled with food, family & friends.

Oh, and hopefully not too many dirty dishes. :-)

xoxo

mr & mrs frog (yes, mr. frog has braces...)

i confess. This wasn't painted today, but it was at least finished today.

I started this painting last year and it's been sitting (unfinished) on my bookshelf since then.

It took AEDM to get me to finish it - although it may just go right back on the bookshelf. :-)

Funny how different our interests can become in the course of a year. These little critters were created a few years ago, with the intention of eventually making them greeting cards. They did become cards, and were sold locally, along with paintings. Very exciting for me at the time. But then, too much of a good thing is never good. I got tired of them. Quickly. The time i spent painting them was becoming less and less enjoyable for me.

So i stopped.

I think it's important to recognize that most everything has an expiration date. Including little green frogs. When we (as artists) get to the point where we no longer enjoy painting one thing or another, we owe it to ourselves (and the world!) to paint something else. To find whatever else makes our soul sing.

Getting to a point where we need a change doesn't mean that everything prior is worthless. I believe that everything prior is necessary - to become who we are today. It's important to know how to let go when certain things no longer inspire us. So we can be open to new inspiration & feel passionate again! :-)

xoxo

sketchbook project + AEDM - day 22

another sneak peek at my sketchbook (for the 2012 Sketchbook challenge). 

The pink part is a skirt.

Honest, it is. :-)

a few little blobs of paint...

a few added words...(and the pink skirt) :-)

...and there you have it. Art.

I thought this challenge would be so intimidating - just knowing the sketchbook was gonna end up in an art library in New York (i thought) would be enough to paralyze me. But instead, i'm having so much fun with it. It's not about perfection, or competition with the other sketchbooks out there. If it was, it would no longer be art for me, nor would it be fun. i really believe that art needs to come from the heart. Otherwise, it's done for the wrong reasons.

This project (for me) is more about putting my own fingerprint - giving others a little glimpse of how i see the world. It's about trying to be original without putting the pressure on myself to create a masterpiece. Pressure and art don't mix in my world. It needs to be fun for me, and free, and safe and brave and expressive and creative and fearless.

...and it can't be fake. 

xoxo