Artist's Corner, where are you at with your artwork?

Was there a mention of colored pencils????

Angel, there are lots of really good colored pencil books out there to help you with shading techniques.

I've never tried pastels. Seems too messy to me and I am a neat freak when it comes to my artwork, plus I am too tight of a painter to loosen up like I would like to to use a medium such as pastels. I even have a hard time with being loose with oils!

I do most of my "artwork" with yarns and cloth. Knit, crochet, quilting, and clothing.
I like large projects like afghans the best cause I can actually make pictures.
I own a small loom, but have yet to take the time to teach myself to use it. Also have ideas for some clay work, but that's another thing I haven't made time for yet.

Quilting is definately an art form, as are other styles like embroidery and needlepoint. For many years I loved to do crewel embroidery and cross-stitch but once I got married and our family started growing I had to decide whether I was going to spend my bit of free time in the studio or stitching... the studio won out.

You know, actually right now I am having a problem managing my time. I crave studio time, but then when the time comes to go in there it seems like a dozen chores all clamor for my attention & before I know it the day is gone.

I can totally relate Siobhan! I did some studio time this morning, after I did some housework, but I spend way too much time on here too to really get some serious artwork done.

Isn't it hard to resist coming here all the time, though! Everyone is so much fun to talk to...

It is for me very fun! However, I also tend to get really tense if my email box gets too loaded up.

I am so glad to see so much activity going on in here and in celtic hearts. Please keep on posting and lets get more Pictures in the ART WORK Thread.

Well do you artists flop on a painting? I was working on a colored pencil portrait that turned out to be a real dud! boo hoo hoo hoo hoo! so I am restarting the portrait, but this time in oils! Hopefully, I can solve this problem and come out with a good painting as it is for my best friend.............me wishes, hopes, prays and pleads!

Oh yeah, lots of flops - last summer I hiked in about 1.5 mi. with oil painting equipment on my back to do a plein aire of an endangered lily species... total blech. Just put that one into the trash... But usually, if the first is a dud, the next one rocks, so hang in there!

Thanks Silverdragon! Wow! After all that work for you and it didn't turn out like you would have liked... I know that feeling all too well. It seems like I have been on a run lately and doing a series of flops!

Listen, even 'flops' can be useful - if you learn something from your mistakes. Actually no painting is a total failure if you look at it that way... its all a learning process.

But then again, I know what it feels like to have a series of works that aren't what I hoped to do; I went through several drawings that were all overworked and ended up tearing up most of them. Its very discouraging, very VERY frustrating too.

CelticR, don't get too discouraged. Keep trying, oils or pencils, because I am sure that your friend is going to be delighted with whatever you do!!

That's the nice thing about working words, I guess. Even if a piece flops completely, the idea is still there and maybe sometime later you can browse over the failutre and pull something meaningful from it. Never throw away anything! Even a flop has a purpose and can prove useful later on.

Isn't it wierd sometimes, how you'll write something and its going well until you hit a snag and the words seems to just not fit... but if you put it aside, a day or a week later you can go back and read it, see exactly where it went sour, and then know what to say that sounds right!

Thank you friend! I hope it will turn out for my dear friend too. I have been working on it a little each day as the oils will allow for me to.

Exactly! I put "Last of the Forest Fae" Aside for a month trying to figure out how to get it to work right before it finally worked. I've got an image in my head I'm milling over atm. It's just not working. All I had for the last wek has been a concept, no proper words to go along with it. I finally got some words for it yesterday, but they seem to be all wrong. She's kneeling, head in hands, crying..... She has seen a thousand tomorrows, lived a thousand yesterdays. All... gone wrong. Now she mourns. Mourns the loss of ages. Her tears tell her story. A story of joy told in pain. The tree.... burns, as she, the mother goddess perhaps, watches hopelessly, weaping. Screaming in agony. Her wail heard by all.