aceo 3.5 x 2.5 inches watercolour "4 Amigos"

Share my love Aceo 3.5 x 2.5 inches

Inspired?

I've just picked up my painting brushes again after a self imposed abstinence of a month.
Why?
I was locked into a repetitive train of thought regarding my art.
I thought that if I spent a bit more time observing, then i could get some fresh input to my work.
Wrong!
It hasn't worked, and deep down inside I knew that wouldn't be the case.
I'm not sure it ever does.
Not for me anyway.
Sometimes, the only way forward is to keep moving.Keep experimenting.Keep trying, and push through those self imposed barriers, until a breakthrough emerges.
Of course, there is always a time to sit and ponder and reflect, and clear away the mental debris.
But too long a break can lead to lethargy, laziness even, and fear and doubt.
Like the shark, for me I will just continue moving,The fate otherwise is to drown in my own inaction.
Inspiration comes from ceaseless persistence.
Never again will I take such a sabbatical.

aceo 3.5 x 2.5 inches. Dimple Hills

I often paint a lot of landscape scenes that really are flat in terms of perspective.For me it pays respect to the 2D medium that I've chosen to utilize. I'm not interested in forming a 3D representation of what's out there.Only an interest in evoking a response through colour, and perhaps at times tone.

aceo 3.5 x 2.5 inches. The Forest I,

Wow! How I love colour. It shapes my whole view of the world.And when I paint, I still have a tendency to ignore what is actually out there.Instead I like to feel what's out there, and represent it in my own palette. The perks of an artist I suppose.

The Letter C from my Alphabet Hearts series.

The Letter A

This is the start of my Alphabet hearts.

B Is For ........

This is the second letter of hearts I have completed in what will become an Alphabet Series.

The object of this painting, was to see if I could make a coherent letter made up of hearts.

Keep Going

Yesterday, was a difficult day, creatively.I'm sitting staring at a blank piece of paper, and not a drop of inspiration would come my way.Absolutely nothing. I looked over my previous work, and tried to work out a variant on those themes.Nothing!

I couldn't muster anything, and that happens quite alot.Some people will ask,where does your inspiration come from? I used to think it just popped out of nowhere, and all I had to do, was sit and wait like a passive observe,r for the thunderbolt to hit. Yes, that does happen from time to time, but it is not the norm.Trust me.

So, in this case, there is only one thing left to do. Sit down, and start to doodle, and try out ideas, no matter how random, and bizarre.

It is this process, of perseverance, that helps inspiration to strike.To keep on going, when others give up.

Sure enough, slowly out of the gloom, the doodling started to take form, and the idea of a heart made from smaller hearts came.

I wasn't sure about this piece, but I kept on going, and now it's painted, I really like it.

Even, better than that, I have an new wave of  creative ideas that emanate from this piece.

So when a vacuum is stumbled upon, you just gotta keep persevering, until you extingish it.

Never, ever, ever,EVER, give up.

Watercolour on paper 7 x 3 inches.
This painting is only half of a piece..It's about letting your dream go, and watching it fly.The child represents the freshness and innocence of that dream.
I will paint another similar piece, which will show the outcome of this act. It will simply be an adult capturing that balloon
Have a dream.Release it to the world.Believe in it.Watch it become realized.
Dreams do come true.

Latest Piece

This is my latest piece. Two and half days work, but worth every moment spent on it.

It was only when I came to paint the hearts, that I realized how many were actually there. Roughly about 90. That was the most time consuming, especially lifting out the highlights on them.

At 21 x 14 inches, it is a lovely piece to look at, if I do say so myself : )

Is it work?

I, without doubt, consider myself a working artist.I paint on an almost daily basis, and when I'm not painting, I'm either planning a new piece, or spending my time marketing and promoting my work.

I easily clock up in excess of 60 hours a week, all told, on my work.

I absolutely love what I do, and sur,e I would paint even if I wasn't selling my work.

I'm not in that position, as I need the income as much as anyone else does.

I still treat what I do, as a full time job, and I will never retire 'per se' as it is a career and vocation I will follow to the end of my days.

Art for me, is a way of life.A philosophy almost. It is something that inspires me to get up in the mornings for.It has meaning, and helps to define who I am.

I never see it as work though, but I treat it as any person would, a job that they love.

The more hours I am able to spend doing this, well, the happier I am.