What I've learned in School

I was able to learn a lot my first day being a self-taught artist. I had the feeling that I would connect the dots so to speak and all of this stuff would just click like it had to. One of the things I learned was this http://www.art-is-fun.com/grid-method.html.

My First Day of School in 15 years!

So I did it, I started my first art painting class today at The Palos Verdes Art Center in Rolling Hills Estates. I have to say I learned quite a bit in just one day. The great news is the fact that I actually did it without being stubborn for my own bad. This is good!!!! I will be keeping you posted about future class sessions in detail. I am very sick at this moment.

Reflection.

Let me reflect back on my life 15 years back. I’m 33 so that would put me just getting out of high school which i never finished. I lied on my resume though and was able to land some decent jobs like in-house accountant, account coordinator and collections specialist. At the age of 23 I was done with that kind of work because it made me feel like i was a robot and driving in traffic was so repetitive and lame. I would look around me at everyone else doing the same thing I was doing everyday and felt like screaming and almost in a panic in what i envisioned my life to be like 10 years from that point. Which would probably be the same thing, same traffic, same lunch, same co-workers, same work on my desk, probably a different boss but you get my point. It made me quit that job in 2003 and I never went back to that kind of office work. It made me feel crazy. I needed something more meaningful to take its place because at that age I felt like I had a calling, like there was something I was supposed to do in this life  but forgot what it was. When I had all of that time off after not getting another job ever even up until now so I had time to think about this thing I was supposed to do. I lived like I was on vacation and thought about all of these new things i had read about on the internet pertaining to one’s spiritual growth. It struck a nerve. I wanted to seriously to into the field of Theology and Metaphysical healing and practices. It seemed like that field was what I was meant to do. Now I’m 25 and my dad lost hope that I would ever amount to anything at this juncture and so presenting the idea of going to a theologian’s school was kind of out of the question. I began to doodle being completely bored at home. My doodles started to develop its own style and a couple people told me I might have something there along the lines of being an artist. I didn’t mind the sound of being an artist, it sort of clicked with me and my personality real well. I continued to practice drawing and eventually got my hands on some watercolors which i would experiment with. Eventually I obtained a canvas and the rest is history right? Well not exactly. I spent the next few years exploring the realm of dj mixing, music being my second love to art. That turned out to be alright, not spectacular just alright. I didn’t make it in that field. Very competitive and my skill level just didn’t live up to par to what a real dj sounds like. So I got back into painting and drawing and I’ve always done work on photoshop as a graphic designer so this is what I focused on. I’m at the age of 30 now and I decide to enter my work into an art show. I do that. It’s great and I want to do more work and enter into more shows now. I do that. Now it’s today and I’m 33 and i’ve been to like a dozen art shows and have created more work for the world to enjoy. I just enrolled in an art class the other day and will start tuesday which im excited about because at the moment my artwork is really at a stand still and I don’t see myself selling any of my paintings because besides the couple i sold to my dad and the one to my brothers friend, i haven’t sold any and this makes me wonder if im really that good of an artist. I know I am and I do believe in myself but Im not connecting with an audience. Also I feel like I need to have my own style which I do believe I've obtained in sort of a way but I don't have that signature style yet. I don't have a brand of style yet. These things I need to produce in a consistent way so that I can become established and eventually start selling my paintings. Any advice?

The 8 foot by 3 foot canvas.

It seems I always go back to work on this canvas when I've run out of canvas' to work on. This is a special canvas I've been working on little by little for the past year it seems. It's special because it's so big of course and it's been with me throughout these last two years. I want to finish it soon. I worked on it a bit last night then sat back and started writing down all of the words and phrases that I thought of when I looked at it. Here are those words and phrases: FACE, FACES, WOMAN, WOMEN, BUDDHA, HEADS, THREE FACES, MOTHER, FATHER, DAUGHTER, CHILD, GOD, LOTUS FLOWER, HEALER, HEALING, OCEAN, HEART, PROTECT MY HEART, BIG HAIR, TRAPPED, CHOKED, CHAINED, TORNADO, LETTER, TORN, EYE, EYE WATCHING OVER, BUDDHA INSIDE THE BOX, GIRL OUTSIDE THE BOX, GIRLS OUTSIDE THE BOX, LITTLE GIRL, NO BODY FOR THE WOMAN, BODY LESS, JUST VAST OCEAN, EMOTIONAL, DEEP, WAVY, WAVY HAIR, HOPES, DREAMS, MAGIC, STEPPING STONES, BLUE FACE, BLUE IN THE FACE, VIBRANT, LOTUS, SPIRIT, WATER, EARTH, FIRE, HILL, EMPTY SPACE.

Meaningful pieces of artwork.

Lately I've been doing pieces of artwork that mean a lot to me. I did a piece for my brother, my sister, I gave one to my dad and his wife, I even did one in memory of my cat R.I.P. Beena 2008, that's what I feel like doing lately. I brings me joy and happiness to do a meaningful painting rather than do one that I know will sell. Don't get me wrong, I am running a business but I've been in a sentimental mood for a minute now. I just have to get that out my system I guess.

Digital Art

The original drawings I've done, some have become new digital art pieces thanks to photoshop.

The concept of having skill remains the same though. Having a skill in drawing is one thing, and having one in photoshop is quite vastly another. I have been brushing up on photoshop and this is what I came up with.