The Art of Connections

I used to abhor science--even more than nature abhors a vacuum!  I defined myself as an artist, and at least during my high school years that definition did not include science.

"Creativity" by Nina Boyd

Looking back on that time now, I'm almost sure I hated science so much because it didn't come as naturally to me as the worlds of drawing and writing did.  I probably could have cleaned up if I had been the type to charge classmates for essay-writing services, but balancing equations or memorizing the parts of a cell?  No one could have paid me to do that!

Nowadays, I'm buying the National Geographic magazine, browsing the Hubble Telescope site for fun, and checking out library books by Michio Kaku--and reading them!  I suppose just like my high school interests, my long-dormant appetite for science is still very one-sided...



Well, at least it's there.

Photo: Joe McNally

The photo to the left is a stunning shot of the monitors at NASA's Advanced Supercomputing facility in California--but it's also so much more than that.  The silhouette of an anonymous scientist points at images of the heavens, which are so far away and yet so close.  They literally glow with possibility.  The photograph is truly awe-inspiring, and in National Geographic is aptly captioned "Window on the Universe."  The seemingly endless nebulae that were once unreachable now virtually reside in our backyard.


Space has a way of simultaneously commanding respect and inviting exploration.  Looking at this photograph, how can we not stand in awe of humankind's never-ending quest for knowledge?  How far we came, once we found our way.

The image makes me think of cavemen, and which of them might have been the first to try to illustrate nature.  Which one of them stood in front of a cold, stone wall and reached up to make that first mark, enriching humanity's purpose forever?  Doesn't art, in its ever-expanding nature, provide a platform for exploring new worlds?  A single mark can take us so far, whether in the name of art or in the name of science.  It's all connected.  If you want to draw inspiration, all you need to do is look up.

News from the Writing Front!

I have finally, finally found a website to use for my writing.  This site is great: easy to use, accessible everywhere, and has a very organized look to it.  The best part is the virtual lack of formatting involved in posting stories.  Other sites I've used are intended as print on demand services, and the writer/poster has to do quite a bit to conform documents to various printing requirements. While the end result can turn out shiny and impressive, I haven't found lots of readers willing to buy an expensive product from an unknown writer.  This leaves the writer with a great looking book that may never be opened.

Wattpad.com is really targeted more at online readers.  An uploaded story can be shared as a complete work or posted in serialized form, and can gain readership instantly.  Thank you, SCBWI newsletter!

I'm proud to share a novel on my page that many of my friends are familiar with.  Please visit my wattpad page to read The Lady and the Minstrel, or check out my short stories.

What's next?  Immersing myself in new book cover designs....oh, Christmas, when you're over I won't be leaving my art table for weeks!

Another Thank You...

Another big "Thank You" to the second person to purchase Train.  What a lovely early Christmas present!  There is nothing more encouraging than affirmation that your work is appreciated. 

I, for one, would miss the Post Office...

"The Post Office is really good at what it does, we just don’t need it.  No more than we need a good horse shoe, or small offset printing press (or newspaper, magazine or CRT monitor.)

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"The boomer generation will wax nostalgic about the post office.  We’ll weave in “mail” stories with others about days before ubiquitous air conditioning, when all we had was AM radio in the car and 3 stations of black & white television at home.  It will be fun to reminisce.
But our children, and certainly grandchildren, simply won’t care.  Not at all.  And we better remember to keep the stories short, so they can be related in 140 characters or less if we want them saved for posterity!"
~Forbes Magazine, "Why the Postal Service is Going Out of Business"

There's something to be said for receiving Christmas cards in the mail.  During most of the year, my mail box is filled with unwanted ads, even more unwanted bills, and the occasional notice from a vet or dentist office that's designed to look like a personal letter.  While I communicate constantly with friends and family through texting, email, and phone calls, none of this compares to the magic of holiday cards in the mail box once December hits.

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I love getting Christmas mail, and I love sending it.  Aside from the fun of actually designing and drawing my Christmas cards, I also look forward to dressing them in envelopes, sealing the flap with a Victorian Santa sticker, and completing the package with a Christmas stamp before I leave it in the care of one of those vanishing blue mail drop boxes--all very old-fashioned, I'm sure, but as much a part of the season to me as hot chocolate and wrapping presents.

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So say what you will about the irrelevancy of the post office, Forbes Magazine--I'll continue mailing Christmas greetings out of Sacramento to family and friends, whether they live in Lodi or Los Angeles--and unlike a fast easy text, although instantaneous, a personalized, individually created message that takes two days or more to reach its recipient is a true cup of cheer.

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 View all my winter greeting cards

Our Fellow Artists: R. Christopher Vest

"Sunrise on the Marsh 2: Sandhill Cranes" by R. Christopher Vest

Artist R. Christopher Vest creates painted photo montages of all things nature: whether his subject is landscapes, wildlife, or domestic animals, his camera and tablet bring that subject to life and celebrate its natural beauty.


Something that makes Vest's work so eye-catching is the nuanced degrees of realism.  As the viewer looks at a piece, he or she might reflect on how beautiful the lighting is, how perfectly an animal is posed, how delicately a leaf is turned in the wind--and as the viewer continues to look, more and more of the piece's painted aspects emerge, showing just how fine the line can be between a photograph and a painting.

Vest lives on a farm in Colorado, and is working with his partner Cathy to restore the land while also operating a small animal shelter.  Like so many artists, his life outside of his art still seems to inspire his pieces.

"African Starlings" by R Christopher Vest

I asked Vest about his creative process and life as an artist:

Describe your technique of painted photo montage.
 
I coined the phrase 'painted photo montage' to describe my process of building images with both digital painting and photography. It seems there is a bit of bias against this evolving medium from pure photographers and painters. While photo-manipulation is accepted in computer gaming and in the movies, in the fine arts realm we still have some respect to be earned to get beyond the notion of trickery accomplished by the pushing of a button in Photoshop. I like to remind folks that many of these techniques were pioneered around the turn of the century (that would be 1900, not 2000) by a group of photographers called the "photo secessionists" organized by Alfred Stieglitz. The movement strove to bridge the perceived chasm between photography-- which was thought of as merely a documentary medium-- and fine art.

'Ein Sommertag' by Kuehn

Our Fellow Artists: Erin Ashley

"DAY DREAMS" by Erin Ashley

"I begin my work without any preconceived ideas at all what the finished work is going to look like.  I like the idea of each painting being a journey, ending at a beautiful destination.  My paintings are made with lots of color and textures, bringing out the old with the new."
~ erinashleyart.com


Artist Erin Ashley has a hand (or brush) in everything, it seems, with a resume that includes designing a logo for Cartoon Network, selling work to Dream Works Studios, displaying art at a castle in Italy, and having art shown behind the scenes on the Rosie O'Donnell show--to highlight a few items!  Her work is full of texture, boldly proclaiming itself to the viewer with thick lines surrounding layers of mixed media.  Once Ashley's portraits have the viewer's attention, they invite further exploration of all the unseen layers: both on canvas and in meaning.

"Lost Love" by Erin Ashley

Ashley's art is at once contemplative and joyful, celebrating the composition of line and color, form and shadow.  Each stroke appears to have fallen on the canvas exactly where it was meant to fall, but is actually the result of several strokes covered by several more, building towards a final painting that would have as deep a history as the earth's layers, were we able to peer down to the core.





I asked Ashley about her process, both in the studio and in self-promotion:





Where do you draw inspiration? 

I see abstracts in so many things, it could be anything from an old dumpster to the way a shadow forms on an object. I don't really search for inspiration, it just comes to me in a natural kinda raw way; I don't think you can force inspiration, you have to feel it first and believe in what you see and create like you want, never questioning yourself or your talent.
 

"ENVY" by Erin Ashley

How do you promote your work?
I promote my work on a few art sites but mainly my art publishers do a lot of my promoting through selling my art prints in major stores, catalogs, magazines etc..

Describe your workspace.

My workspace is in a 3 car garage.  It's clean at this moment but that's because I worked on it yesterday. Normally it is a disaster! I am a very messy painter, when I get into a piece there is no stopping me and paint goes everywhere, I use the floor sometimes as my palette tray.. you get the idea.

How do you decide when a painting is "finished?"
A painting is finished when I stand back stare at it, leave and then look at it 15 minutes later. If something is bugging me and just doesn't feel right, it's not done.

Our Fellow Artists: Michael Creese

"Paint" by Michael Creese

Artist Michael Creese has created a body of work that is simultaneously striking and meditative, inviting the viewer to imagine the world slightly differently.  Whether in compositions showing the creative process, or exploring the human psyche through intensely dramatic portraits, his paintings are at times almost three-dimensional, even in print form, because of the thick strokes he employs to create these colorful canvas worlds.

"Pandora" by Michael Creese

"Color and composition are two key elements to my creative process, but the application of paint is perhaps the single most important factor in defining my style, from loose brush strokes and rich texture to an almost frenzied use of palette knife marks. The colors that I use are frequently blended directly on the painting, adding liveliness through visibly distinct transitions in color and shade." 
~michaelcreese.com

Creese's paintings as part of a designer collection

Creese has quite a prolific career as an artist, having developed that much-sought-after balance of unique compositions and marketable paintings.  He has a long list of gallery exhibitions to his credit, including showings in places like New York and Pennsylvania.  His work has been reproduced and sold as ceramic and marble tile murals.  He has even had art used in a set design for an SNL comedy skit.  But what's more impressive is his ability to consistently create interesting paintings with an instantly recognizable style.  A visit to Creese's print gallery is almost a walk through the subconscious, full of impressionistic portraits and landscapes that seem to be hovering between two worlds, always characterized by cloudy, dreamlike whites and deep, thoughtful accents of color.

"Origami Rose" by Michael Creese

I asked Creese about his life as an artist, wondering how he reconciles his surreal style with practical process:

Do you draw any inspiration from your surroundings?
Pretty much everything. TV, print, internet, and everyday life. It's all around.

How do you promote your work?
I sell originals on eBay and at Starbucks, and I also sell prints through various print-on-demand sites such as Imagekind.com I have also had my prints sold in major retail stores. Imagekind is a great place to display your work and get it noticed by gallery owners and print publishers at the same time.

What's the best and worst thing about being an artist?
The best thing is that it gives you a real purpose in life. It's great meditative and reflective time. The worst would be that you can't put down the brush and your social life therefore suffers due to this. You sometimes lose track of normal existence.

The Grimm Revival...

Philip Pullman's latest novel

As I sit here with a Macintosh Apple candle burning, listening to the wind chimes outside, and getting ready to edit my own fairy tale, I am distracted by the most delicious of distractions: someone is re-writing the tales of the Brothers Grimm?


None other than Philip Pullman, author of The Northern Lights (better known in the states as The Golden Compass), of the series "His Dark Materials."  Although I heard bits of that story secondhand while passing down the hall as my mother (who also sent me the link to this news) read it aloud to my little sister years ago, the parts I did absorb were so imaginative and wonderfully dark that I began reading the story myself.  I especially liked Pullman's style because he did not water down or flatten his evil characters in consideration of a younger audience.  Fantasy stories, like life itself, are full of complex motives and people, and should not pretend otherwise.

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I have always loved fairy tales, particularly their ability to take simple morals and weave them into entertaining, magical stories that have lasted long enough to be published, and published again, over many years.  Therefore, I can't wait to read this newest collection, especially as its author seems to have a keen understanding of why those fairy tales work so well:

(from NPR interview with Rachel Martin)
"[The Grimm fairy tales] move very quickly. There's not an ounce of narrative fat in them. They go very, very swiftly from event to event. And another thing is you see very few adverbs in them, so I'm trying to cut down on my adverbs. You choose the right verb, and you don't need an adverb to qualify it."

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Pullman's book re-tells fifty of the fairy tales, which include some of the lesser-known stories.  I personally am looking forward to his take on "Hansel and Gretel" and "Cinderella," since those two tales, which have been changed again and again to be "more fitting" for today's children, are particularly violent with dark imagery.  I always picture Pullman's worlds filled with windy mountaintops, veiled characters, and danger seeping through every wall.  Much more akin to fairy tales than brightly colored forests with singing birds and dimpled children skipping about!

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This will definitely be a book I have to own--my apologies to the library, but I'm sure I'll be wanting to pull this off my own shelf many times for one reason or another!


Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll get back to editing my own humble story, and possibly cut out a lot of the adverbs.

Our Fellow Artists: Blenda Tyvoll

"Sunrise Sunset" by Blenda Tyvoll

What better way to celebrate our fall weather than with the paintings of Blenda Tyvoll?  Her treescapes are particularly striking, with stark, delicate frames offset by vibrant, dynamic backgrounds.  Each painting is a joy to explore, containing that painterly quality of thick, rich strokes while simultaneously embodying a graphic style as well.

Tyvoll's paintings are a journey of color and symbols, and a careful eye will see layers upon layers of work creating the space within them.  Her compositions are so simple and yet intricately woven together by vivid, seamless textures.  The heart of Tyvoll's paintings are their backgrounds, and the viewer should take time to drink them in.

A Thank You

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Thank you to whoever purchased my "Train" print from my prints site.  It's always encouraging to know that people enjoy more than just my holiday cards!  I had a lot of fun creating these simple scenes for children.  It's nice to see they're appreciated.

In Celebration of the Cold!

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Here in northern California, we are finally experiencing colder weather for longer than two days at a time, and it's made me want to decorate the living room with candles, put pumpkins on every possible surface, and start making new Christmas cards.

Actually, I'd already done most of those things before the weather turned, but now I feel justified.

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Now that Halloween is over and the wait for Christmas has begun, it is also perfect story writing weather (see my October 21st entry) and when I'm not doing that, I'm thinking about taking down the pumpkins, wondering why it's so hard to come up with Thanksgiving card designs...and then eventually giving in and making Christmas cards!.

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National Novel Writing Month

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I've been researching a lot of writing websites lately and have discovered that November is National Novel Writing Month.  November has become quite a busy month, what with Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Movember, and Vegan month!  I feel like I should've known about National Novel Writing Month over those last two, but what can you do?

Our Fellow Artists: Svetlana Novikova

"Young Woman" by Svetlana Novikova

In a previous entry, I mentioned my bias toward realistic pieces that had fantastical undertones.  Artist Svetlana Novikova embodies that style in her work, although the elements of fantasy are a little more subtle.



Color either explodes from or hovers dreamily around her work, almost becoming the painting's subject itself.  It characterizes her style and demands attention, whether in effervescent cityscapes or surreal glowing portraits.  The color never overwhelms, but enhances each piece.

Can We Skip Thanksgiving?

I just have to say I'm looking forward to Christmas so much more.  Even though the thermostat is still reading between 70 and 75 degrees, I'm having that after-Halloween wishful thinking of snow, desire to bake hundreds of cookies, and urge to wrap everything in sight!

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Luckily, our Christmas culture lends itself naturally to artists, and I have been busier than Santa's elves making cards and prints of all things Christmas.

Okay, okay, I'll back off a bit on the joy.

Going around town during the holidays is another one of my favorite ways to enjoy the season, and I thought I'd share my new Christmas cards as well as some places where I enjoy Christmas.

Old Sacramento has long been a favorite, with stops at:
Artists' Collaborative Gallery
Evangeline's
Taylor's Art and Soul

Resources for Writing

See more of my photography here

I keep a pretty insanely full writing binder of resources, inspirational items, and advice from different sources, in the hope that they will all lead me down a path to somewhere!

A few days ago I decided that this binder wasn't quite bursting at the seams enough, so I researched some writing prompt ideas.  I came across a pretty helpful site that I'd like to pass along to any other aspiring writers out there: www.pw.org, the Poets and Writers Magazine--incidentally, as I look back at the site now to include their links here, I see that their New York office is closed due to Hurricane Sandy.  How crazy that something so huge can be happening just across the country and our California weather is still so mild.

The Poets and Writers Magazine has several resources other than the writing prompts I came across the other day.  There is a blog about upcoming writing contests, a classified section with calls for manuscripts, an E-newsletter, and a whole host of other things to explore.  I'm having trouble pulling away from it to continue writing here!

I thought I'd share my favorite writing prompts, plus my response to one of them:

Erasure poem: find a text that branches out from your regular reading material, underline words or phrases you like, and then white or cross out the rest.  Use the remains for inspiration.

You and Me: write a poem to your past or future self to warn or reassure, and ask questions without answers.

A Universal Message: everything you encounter today could be a sign from a greater power.  Write a poem connecting these seemingly incidental occurences.

Start a Collection: take a week to collect photos, small objects, favorite passages, and overheard conversations.  Keep your collection in a shoebox.  At the end of the week, take everything out and use the ingredients to write a story.

Art of Arbitrary: open any books from your shelves and choose words at random.  Write down 10.  Use this list to write a poem of 5 couplets without using the first person.

My choice was pretty clear.  Since I tend to be rather painfully organized and a creature of habit more often than not, I was attracted to forcing a little randomness (plus I have a lot of books to choose from!).

See more of my photography here

"Distance"
Nina Boyd

Upon a gath'ring ceremonial
they formed 'round a god made corporeal
But now rejecting the light,
lonesome orbs spin from sight.
The vast skies unwind
Free from temporal bind.
Planets tumbling into blackness
Dodge chaotic, cosmic madness
An ordered universe is gone
We look up and see only space.

"What Do You Do?"

Alice in Wonderland Art Jam

I've been thinking a lot about how I answer the question, "What do you do?"  Even though overall I like my "nine to five," as they say, I don't consider it self-defining by any means.  What, then, compels me to answer that question by filling in the blank with this job?  What keeps me from proclaiming myself a writer or an artist, and instead makes me define myself by what I do to pay the bills?

Alice in Wonderland Art Jam

I've come to the conclusion that I can't fairly call myself a writer or an artist until I start becoming those things more--that is, until I actively spend more time producing art than I spend at my nine to five.

Our Fellow Artists: Matt Beard

"Bird's Eye View" by Matt Beard

I have always loved color, and Matt Beard does it well.  An artist living in Humboldt County, he seems very influenced by nature, especially the ocean--and what better inspiration for color than those California waves?  I thoroughly enjoyed browsing all of his galleries, noticing in each one that his landscapes all seemed to reflect the rhythm and texture of waves--even landscapes that had minimal water in them. 

"Redwood Roots" by Matt Beard

"Shoebox Series #4" by Matt Beard

Ironically, in my search for pieces that demonstrated remarkable use of color, it was Beard's ink work that caught my eye.  Once I saw his line work and excellent balance of black and white, I had to see if he also worked in color.  I'm glad I kept browsing his site, because I found some truly breathtaking compositions, handled with bold, graphic simplicity.  

"Afternoon Mourning" by Matt Beard

Each piece is unique, but has that unmistakable signature style we as artists try so hard to develop.  Plus, not only are the pieces rendered well, they also invite the viewer to explore the world.  They are a great tribute to places, and the feeling that permeates those places.  Matt Beard really captures the essence of each landscape, whether it's redwood forests or rolling waves.

Cooler Weather + Cozy Blankets = Disaster!

There is nothing cozier than climbing into bed with some paper and a pen.  Add the long-awaited dip from 100° to the mid 60s we've had here and you've got yourself a recipe for a novel.

"Storytime" by Nina Boyd

Speaking of novels, it's almost embarrassing to admit how many I'm currently in the middle of writing.  See, the problem with that cozy bed I mentioned earlier is it lends itself to writing, writing, and more writing--and not necessarily finishing long-term projects, or hammering out details of near-completed ones.

Maybe the 100° weather should come back.

Art's Still Got It

I subscribe to illustrationsource.com so I can receive an "image of the day" from their collection of illustrations.  There is no newsletter or any written communication accompanying these images--the picture, alone, speaks for itself.

On the 18th of October, the image was from Alice Brickner, entitled "How Much is Enough?" and was quite a blunt depiction of how we can get caught up in the pursuit of more: in this case, more money.

Her illustration almost makes money look like it can be mined from underground, like mineral deposits in layers of rock.  The painting shows a seemingly happy family walking along a path down a hill, and in front of them, nestled under the hill, is a bar graph, showing stacks of money increasing in size.  The graph is blocking their path.

I recently read a book, Comfort, by Brett C. Hoover, that examined different people's ideas of what it means to be comfortable.  Many of those interviewed mentioned financial security, and most measured that differently. 

As an artist and writer who keeps her current job more for the free time it allows than for the stellar wages, I have really started to examine the role money plays in my life.  (Incidentally, reproducing Brickner's illustration in this blog even as a thumbnail would've cost at least $99, so my apologies for the mere link!)  Does it block my path to happiness, as in Brickner's illustration?  Does it dictate my level of comfort, as with the interviewees in Hoover's book?  Should it be as important as I've made it?
 

A Salute to the Greats

"The Snowman" 
by Peter Szumowski

Where would we be without those greater artists to inspire us?  I spent some time browsing yesterday and found some new favorites to add to my long list.

Both my greeting cards site and my prints site offer sort of "master galleries" that sell prints of famous artists' work.  

Now, even after being obsessed with art since the age of seven, I definitely don't know about every master, so I'm trying to browse these galleries more frequently.  

Here are some pieces I've just discovered.

"Winter Breakfast"
Unknown

I tend to lean toward scenes that are realistic but hint at the magical--I suppose because, to me, that's the most hopeful depiction of life.  

In my own art and writing, I'm always trying to create that semi-hidden layer of mystery, and when I go out in the world I'm always looking for it.  

After all, how is the day meaningful without a little enchantment?

Step by Step, Line by Line

A couple nights ago I began two more Halloween cards, with the vague idea that I should do a harvest scene to take advantage of the bright fall fruit colors. I've been having a lot of fun lately working in ink, which is the perfect medium for bold hues. It sounds very professional when I say "working in ink," but if I was more specific, all pretense goes out the window when I call it what it is: working in Sharpie! You'd be surprised how well these pens meant for labeling boxes stand up to their more expensive competition.  I thought it would be interesting for any beginning artists out there to see the stages even a simple 5 x 6" illustration goes through to reach completion, so this entry is lined with shots of just that.

One Artist in Support of Pinterest

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I've heard lots of things about Pinterest, most of them accusatory.  I wasn't sure what to think of the site.  Yesterday I found myself signing up for Pinterest so I could follow my sister's Pinterest board.  I also found that I wanted to make my own board, too.  And it's great!  I've always been a saver of ideas and snippets for later: a scrap of wrapping paper will inspire my next drawing, some sheets of scribbled Sharpie colors will narrow down my palette decisions for a painting, lists of words I like will help me edit vocabulary in my stories.  All of these things take up space, however.

...And now I'm a blogger.

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For a long time, I debated whether or not to begin an art or writing blog.  There were lots of reasons to consider it: I've always been the type of person to keep journals, I find quite a nerdy delight in note-taking, and I generally just love language.  

In fact, if I had to pick the way I communicated with people from day to day, I'd definitely choose to write to them.  There is something about writing that erases uncertainty, prevents miscommunication--at least for me.

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But to blog about my art?  I thought, why did I need to keep a weekly journal about that, and why online?  I already had several art websites, complete with artist bios I'd written and colorful descriptions of my pieces. 
Did I really need anything more?

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Then I realized how much a blog would keep me on track.  People who know me well also know that I'm notorious for abandoning one near-complete project to start another.  I can't count how many times I've done this.

 Once I finished art school, the best technique I found for completing pieces was to have the goal of "publishing" them on my website.  What better way to support this than with a blog that displays my in-progress projects, shows updates along the road to their  completion, and ultimately pushes me to finish them?

Is Young Adult Reading Off-Limits?

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I've been debating what age group my writing should target.  On the one hand, I want to explore themes that may be beyond young adult interests, but on the other hand, I'm not sure my writing style is sophisticated enough for "adults."

I have to add those quotations, and even as I write this I'm laughing inwardly at myself and the stigma I attach to that word.

When I think of "adult" writing, for some reason I always picture the Tom Clancy section at the bookstore or the Nora Roberts selections at airports.  I think to myself, I could never write like that!  The really funny thing is I've never read either of those authors, but somehow I'm certain they define the "adult" writing I'm thinking of.

I'm being silly, of course.

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At age 28, I still enjoy Harry Potter and want to investigate series like The Mysterious Benedict Society at my library.  This kind of writing is fun to read and wonderful to create.  Who wouldn't want to escape the world of politics and grocery shopping for a magical realm that measures characters' worth not by their paycheck or looks, but by their courage?  This world shouldn't be closed to us when we leave adolescence!

Maybe I've answered my own question about my writing, or maybe I've created many more questions instead.  Am I the only one who thinks this way?  Does anyone else enjoy Madeleine L'Engle's Time quartet more with each passing year?  Who else besides me keeps books beloved at age eleven and explores them almost twenty years later, relishing their simple themes and subtle depth?

Maybe there should be a new genre--Young Adult Meant for Adults! 

We'll work on the name.  In the meantime, I guess there's no reason my writing can't be a little of both.



If you're an avid reader visiting this blog, post your favorite Young Adult books below!