Turning 29 / Goals for 2018

I tend to get very self-reflective on my birthday, thinking back on the previous year and making goals for what I want to accomplish in the following year. I suspect I would do this regardless of when my birthday fell (that's just the kind of person I am), but it's perhaps especially heightened by having a birthday that falls in December, amidst all the "End of Year" news articles, blog posts, and TV specials that reflect on 2017, and the advertisements that encourage new resolutions to be made for 2018.

One of the most memorable parts of the year were the vacations my husband I took - visiting Harry Potter world in Orlando in February, and seeing old friends in Boston in June for a friend's wedding. For next year, we don't have any concrete plans yet, but we do have some ideas we've been tossing around - including going to New York City for a few days. I've never been, and it's always been on my bucket list. I love seeing live theater, I love visiting art museums, and I like doing stereotypical touristy stuff, too. I've been to some of Western Europe's biggest cities (Paris twice, Rome twice, Venice twice, Florence twice, Naples once, Barcelona once), but I've never made it (yet) to NYC! I think it's high time that's remedied. ;)

This past year I've tried to make strides towards self-care. That includes watching my diet and keeping track of my glucose as per my treatment plan for my diabetes (Type LADA - read more here), but also working on myself emotionally/mentally - learning how to recognize negative thought spirals/self abuse, and figuring out how to appreciate myself instead. These are things I want to continue prioritizing when I'm 29, and I've made some concrete step-by-step plans for how to carry out these goals - techniques I can try, things to be aware of, and lists of important reminders I need to make it a habit to refer back to.

In the last year, I've also focused a lot on my art - especially colored pencil drawings, which I was completing in time to exhibit at the "GRRRLS Like Us" show at the Village Theater in Canton, MI. My artistic goals for 2018 are not as singular in focus, because I don't (yet) have a specific exhibition I'm preparing for. Instead, my goals are to do a little of everything - some acrylic paintings, some watercolors, and some colored pencil drawings - focusing perhaps more on acrylic and watercolor, just to balance out all the colored pencil I did this year. I never got back to all those ideas I had for square 12"x12" acrylic paintings, and I want to revisit those in the coming year.

One thing that definitely fell by the wayside in 2017 was my writing. I've been working on writing a series of novels on and off for a few years now, and with all the art I was doing in 2017, my writing took the back-burner. I haven't even touched any of it in months. Part of that is also because I've been writing other things - lots of personal journal entries and things for myself, as part of my self-care techniques mentioned above - and there's only so much time/energy I have to devote to writing. But I do want to get back into my fiction writing as well.

As usual, I have plenty of ideas of things I'd like to do - and not enough time in the day to do them all. I've never had a problem coming up with ideas. What I really need is a way to come up with more time to see all my ideas through.

I'm pretty happy with how my life is going right now, and I remain optimistic about the future. I'm looking forward to being 29 years old and making the most of the last year of my 20s. I'm also looking forward to 2018 - the year I turn 30. There are two sealed envelopes in my desk drawer that I am excited to open on my 30th birthday - a letter I wrote to my 30-year-old self when I was 23, and another letter I wrote to my 30-year-old self when I was about to turn 26. Now I'm only one year away from that 30 milestone. It's both hard to believe (time really does fly by!) and pretty exciting. :)

Art Materials

I use a lot of different materials for my artwork, but I do have favorite brands that I just keep coming back to. In case you're curious, I'm listing a few of my favorites below:

FOR COLORED PENCIL DRAWINGS

• Prismacolor pencils - I use Prismacolor brand almost exclusively. You just can't be their creaminess and blend-ability.
• Koh-i-noor Magic FX pencils - These colored pencils have multiple pigments in the same pencil, which produces some cool effects. They're best used on white paper, and give an artsy/abstract feel to any sketch.
• Strathmore paper - I like the Strathmore pads for good quality paper in classic shades like toned tan, toned gray, and (my favorite) black. This is what I typically use for basic drawings that are 9"x12" or smaller.
• Canson Mi-Teintes paper - Canson has some great options for colored paper, like canary yellow, raspberry, and royal blue. The other upside? You can get any color (including staples like black) in large format sizes. This is what I used for my 19"x25" "Stronger Together" colored pencil series.
• Cardstock - For a sketch on white paper, especially if I'm looking for a really smooth texture to work with (which is often best for the Koh-i-noor Magic FX pencils), believe it or not, I just use basic printer paper or cardstock. Something heavier like 110# makes it nice for a finished piece.

FOR WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS

• Daniel Smith watercolors - They have a wide variety of colors and lots of great quality pigments (they even make iridescent/metallic colors!) and are definitely my preferred brand.
• Winsor & Newton watercolors - When Daniel Smith watercolors start to get expensive, or if I plan to use my watercolor pigments for smaller works or just having fun experimenting, I might use my cheaper but still beautiful Winsor & Newton watercolors.
• Arches and Fabriano papers - These two brands have great quality papers and are relatively easy to find. If I'm making something the size of a full sheet (22"x30"), I'll definitely use one of those two brands. For smaller works (including my popular 8"x10" custom bouquet paintings on Etsy), I'll still use Arches or Fabriano if I have them (they're infinitely easier to use and maintain control), but they can get expensive, so I also sometimes supplement with 8x10 or 9x12 watercolor paper pads by Winsor & Newton, Strathmore, and others.

FOR ACRYLIC PAINTINGS

• Liquitex Professional Heavy Body acrylics - Easy to find, easy to use, and they come in a variety of colors. "Heavy body" means that the paint is really thick and will stand up on its own if you want to give your painting a bit of a 3D effect. I typically keep my acrylic paintings pretty flat and don't add in extra textures, so these tubes can last me a long time.
• Daniel Smith acrylics - Really, I only purchase Daniel Smith brand acrylics when I need something like their iridescent/metallic watercolors, but in acrylic form. They're more expensive than other brands, and are usually only available online. That said, the iridescent/metallic acrylics are gorgeous.
• Golden and Winsor & Newton mediums - Another option for getting shiny acrylic paints (rather than investing in expensive iridescent acrylics) is to use an iridescent medium to blend in to any color. They also have gel mediums to give acrylic more transparency, and mediums to add coarse textures, or gloss, semi-gloss, or matte finishes. I don't use these often (so far), but they're definitely fun to experiment with. I've used Golden and Winsor & Newton brands.

I wasn't paid by any of the above companies; these are all my honest opinions based on my experiences. That said, if any of the above companies want to send me some complementary samples... I definitely wouldn't turn them down! ;)

Paul's Custom Watercolor Bouquet Painting

This 8"x10" watercolor was commissioned by Paul in October as a gift for his wife. He sent me a photograph of their wedding bouquet on a white chair, which I referred to while I completed this painting. He requested that the chair also be included in the final artwork.

(You can order your own custom bouquet painting in my Etsy shop!)

First, I traced the bouquet onto watercolor paper lightly with graphite pencil, then used masking tape to tape it to my art table, to help keep the paper flat while I painted.

I started with light watercolor layers, especially on the white chair, which basically only had this light first layer (and a bit of white acrylic added later).

Then I started adding darker, deeper colors to fill out the bouquet.

I went through with white acrylic and lightened up a few places in the bouquet that needed it, adding in a few white flowers back in that I had accidentally painted too green/too dark. I also used the white acrylic paint to clean up some of the edge of the white chair, or to lighten parts of the chair that looked too dark.

Once the white acrylic was dry, I added some more watercolor details on top, for the light green/white flowers.

Here is the finished painting. The original photograph is on the left and my painting on the right.

Most of my bouquet watercolors are actually done on 9"x12" watercolor paper, even though the Etsy listing calls it 8"x10" - because the actually art on the paper is no more than 8"x10", so that it can be matted/framed at 8"x10" size.

If you would like to purchase your own custom watercolor bouquet, check out this listing in my Etsy shop!

Blake's Custom Watercolor Bouquet Painting

I had another custom watercolor commission in September, through this listing in my Etsy shop. Blake purchased this 8x10" painting and sent me a photo of his wife's wedding bouquet (and her grandmother's gold bracelets, which were tied into the bouquet's ribbon).

Here are the initial soft layers, building up color:

Once the general colors and shapes were down, I started adding more details.

The plant sprigs poking out of the bouquet were not quite green - in the photo they were more white-ish, with sort of a frosted green look. First I painted the feathery leaves with green and blue watercolor, and then I went over them with dots of white acrylic paint.

I also used gold metallic watercolor paint for the bracelets, to give them just a bit of sparkle.

The final touch was adding purplish-red stripes to some of the far back white petals.

Here is the completed painting (source photograph on the left, painting on the right):

If you would like to purchase your own custom watercolor bouquet, check out this listing in my Etsy shop!

Mark's Custom Watercolor Bouquet Painting

I was so busy finishing up colored pencil drawings over the summer and fall that I never had the time to post on this blog about another custom watercolor painting that I finished in July. It was purchased through this listing in my Etsy shop - easily my most popular listing. This year alone I've done six of these custom paintings.

This 8"x10" watercolor was commissioned by Mark as a gift for his wife. He sent me a photograph of their wedding bouquet (and then a follow-up photo once he found the wedding CD with better quality pics on it), which I referred to while I completed this painting.

I traced the bouquet onto watercolor paper lightly with graphite pencil, then used masking tape to tape it to my art table, to help keep the paper flat while I painted.

Then I started adding light layers of color to the painting, using wet on wet (which blends the colors) to get a soft first layer and get the general colors/shapes in place.

After each layer dried, I added another layer on top, starting to add more details.

It was at this point in the painting process that Mark sent me a higher quality image to work with. The colors were also slightly different - the original (blurry) photo I'd been working from had also been darker and more bluish in color. In the second picture below you can see the two source photos side by side - the new photo on the left and the original darker photo on the right (with my painting on the bottom, obviously).

Once the watercolor was finished, I added a bit of white acrylic to the painting as well, to lighten up a few areas that needed it.

Here is the final painting, below:

If you would like to purchase your own custom watercolor bouquet, check out this listing in my Etsy shop!

GRRRLS Like Us at the Canton Village Theater - One More Week!

There is still time to see my joint art exhibition with Mariel Collins at the Cherry Hill Village Theater in Canton, Michigan!

Boxing up my artwork to take to the Village Theater

My "Stronger Together" colored pencil series, on the wall

My "Stronger Together" colored pencil series, different angle

One of the far walls, which featured many of my 5x7 and 8x10 size colored pencils

Several of my 5x7 and 8x10 colored pencil drawings

More small 5x7 and 8x10 drawings

The third wall, which also featured many of my smaller 5x7 and 8x10 works

The entire main wall, with my "Stronger Together" series in the center

My two drawings "30 Days" (left) and "28 Years" (right), with one of Mariel's drawings in the middle

Posing with two of my colored pencil drawings: "Sexuality Bouquet (Stronger Together)" & "Religion Bouquet (Stronger Together)"

Our colored pencil artwork is on display in the lobby/atrium area until December 3rd. The theater is open to the public Monday-Friday from 10 am - 2 pm, as well as one hour prior to a show.

To see their show schedule, you can check out their website here: http://www.cantonvillagetheater.org/439/Performances-by-Month

Refreshments at the opening reception on November 7th included Filipino snacks from Mariel's family, and chocolate chip and spice cookies, provided by me.

The opening reception also had wine and water available

My and Mariel's artist bios and statements on display at the opening reception

You can read more about our exhibit here: http://www.cantonvillagetheater.org/481/Current-Gallery-Exhibit