Blue Feathered Alien Woman

Working on more portraits.

Noticing that I haven't done any male portraits yet.

And thinking I'd like to do some portraits of other cultures,

other ethnicities.

Maybe I'm on my way, because

I almost feel like this woman is an alien.

Was it Farscape that my daughter watched? This could be one of the 'blue' creatures. Maybe.

My Panther and a Logo

In a dream, it seems panthers can mean a multitude of things: danger lurking, enemies, even darkness, death and what follows, rebirth. Life is like that, danger, death, rebirth. Seasons of life, the life cycle itself. Wondrous, really. Sometimes a hope must die before a new light can take its place. More interesting, panthers can mean power, beauty and grace. To think that I awoke from my Panther Dream realizing the panther could possibly be my friend may mean that I this creative journey is a means to my own creative rebirth? I am realizing my power, my beauty, my grace and expressing it in my artistic journey!

Here's my panther. Actually, I didn't get to see his face in my dream. I was aware of his presence, but he stayed in the dip in the meadow. I realize now he wasn't readying to pounce, he was resting, maybe even sleeping. I drew his face; I am awakening.

Next on the agenda is to draw up my business cards and create a postcard for advertisement. I have decided that BlueFeather will actually be a pen, I remembered that I LOVE calligraphy! Calligraphy could be part of my business!

Early Morning

I woke up having escaped a panther. Was it seeing Hunger Games two nights ago? Was it seeing a Florida panther at Tallahassee Museum Saturday morning? I was trying to figure out whether or not I could kung fu kick the panther and have at least an advantage to somehow skitter away. Suddenly a cell phone appeared in my hand. Like really, how would that help?! I must've called my consciousness because then I woke up.

After waking, I thought, what if that panther and I could have been friends? What if? Maybe I should draw a panther today?!

The next thing on my list is to develop a logo for BlueFeather Art.When my daughter and I were discussing what to 'name my art business,' she threw out some titles, and one was BlueFeather Road. I was captivated! I am on a road to my art, I have always loved bluebirds, my eyes are blue...

I can calligraphy, and I want to demonstrate that with my logo, too. BlueFeather answers that call, too. So today I'll be working on a logo...

and a panther...

Here a Portrait, There a Portrait

Here's a portrait or two...

Banner Day!

Exuberant Hope

Thanks to Misty Mawn and her "Open Studio"
online art program, I have been painting up
a storm today. [Here's a link to her website:
http://mistymawn.typepad.com/ ]
Misty Mawn Open Studio on-line Tutorials

The assignment is to paint portraits.
So I did five total today.

Today I've worked on a few projects.
I repainted a canvas.
It WAS pretty dreadful. Now it's a lot better.
At least it seems to be. :)

Before it was "Awaiting Transformation."
Now she is Exuberant Hope.

Joanna Loving Well

Before that, I painted
a collage of mixed media.
I've done several in the
past six weeks. This one
is probably my sixth.

It's not finished,
but it's pretty close.
It's modeled after my sister,
she wore this fantastic
gunmetal evening dress,
and she loves the song,
"Glasgow Love Theme."







In betwixt and in between the above endeavors, I was drawing self-portraits.
I didn't really want to draw myself at age 50+, so instead
I found photos from
when I was nine,
seventeen,
and twenty-six.
Here's how that's looking...

Self-Portrait Practice

Blue Feather Girl

It looks like I haven't posted (or drawn) for nearly two weeks. That's not quite true!
My daughter sent me a link to a site called "Scribbler Too" and I drew this little
Blue Feather Girl. I like her! I think she could be the motif for my ART!

I painted, I painted!

I've been avoiding painting. Didn't think I could do it. But sometimes, you've got to just PUT paint on the canvas and see what happens. Know that you can paint over it. Or get a new canvas, or more watercolor paper and start over...

I've been working on the "Golden Runway Model" for over two weeks now. I think I've almost got her, finally! I will have to post all the versions of how I worked on two pieces tomorrow. Here's how she looks before I gave her more brunette streaks:

Inspired by (and commissioned by)
Joanna Francis Living Well
Runway Model Darcy
14 February 2012

A sketch for an eventual birthday painting

All in all, a day of sucessful painting!
O Happy Day!!

Speaking a Truth, "I am an artist."

I am an artist. It's something I've realized for a long long time. It's only been in the last four years I have allowed myself to BE an artist. This becoming is hard work!

I know I am many other things. I am a wife, a mother, a sister, a niece, a daughter. I am a teacher, a retired AF officer. I am a thinker, a learner. I am an ARTIST!! I need to put art first, as it truly captures all of the essence of who I am and how I express myself. If I allow my art to surface, the rest of me flows more peacefully.

I am journaling in the early stages of this blog, recording how I am learning to market my art. I have applied for a Tallahassee City License and a Florida Sales Tax ID. I have applied for a booth at Downtown MarketPlace. I hope to begin by April. That'll be a year since my mother passed away. I wish I'd been able to do this before she danced the staircase into Heaven. I wouldn't wish for her to have lived long enough to see me do this. Dementia had riddled her brain and she was missing her parents and was desperately trying to reach them. I wish I had acted earlier to achieve living as an artist. She could have sat in the booth with me, no matter how forgetful she was!

Art Booth Items

In order to have a booth, I realized I needed to find out how others have displayed their art. I visited the booths last Saturday. I googled art displays and art booths. I'll need to order some standing grid panels or art panels. One of my favorite artists, Kelly Rae Roberts, had some art displays (although most of her work has been online). I modeled some of my sketches on her type of vintage look.

While I've been at it, I have been looking through art books to see what other artists' work appeals to me. Then I've looked at their sites to see more ideas. It's so inspiring to read of and hear their stories!

Here is a "sort of" sketch of how I expect my booth to appear....

Early Morning

Early Morning 3.7.12

I've been up for hours. Right now birds are singing outside. I've completed my city business application, my Florida Revenue Sales License Application, and the Downtown MarketPlace booth application. It''s only 6:33 am and I've done a lot!

Yesterday I painted background canvases. Put them outside to dry. Then I 'found' a painting. I went outside to get my canvas and behold, shadows had painted an image upon the canvas:

Shadow Art

RAIN wind and scoping out DownTown Tallahassee

Today started with a bit of junking, looking for furniture or tables or OLD suitcases to use in the art booth I hope to establish by the end of this month. Not much success in the table or suitcases department.

Tried to go to my nephew's baseball game, but it was tornadoed. A tornado watch cancelled it. Next step was to check out DownTown Tallahassee. Every Saturday morning, from March through November, Tallahassee hosts artist booths. Iwanted to get a feel for what it might entail to set up a booth.

I had so much fun there! I talked with several other artists and gleaned information on where others get prints of their work made, what kind of panels they use in setting up their booths.

Then my daughter and I dropped by GoodWill and found wonderful old books, and sheet music I can use in my collages.

All in all a good day. But it has rained so much, water has risen nearly up to my door twice today!

My New World

My paintings have been dormant inside me for years. Fifteen years ago, I realized I had to wait for my art to be expressed. Ten years ago, I began developing some parable type stories. I wrote of story line and outlined a few others. And I waited. I started back drawing. I drew a few pages. Again I waited.

My mother began showing signs of progressive dementia. I was teaching full time. Taking graduate courses for full certification to teach high school English. So I waited. Then my husband and I realized he was struggling with quelling memories of Vietnam. We began going to the Veterans Administration for help.

Three years ago, I took art courses at the local art museum. I started out full throttle. I signed up for Drawing, Watercolor and Jewelry Making. I discovered I could draw pretty well after all these years. Somehow the drawings had been mixing up inside me. The watercolor paints flowed out of me and I created as I hadn't dreamed possible. I was on my way.

My life begins anew. I am an artist. I have an art blog and this is IT. BlueFeatherArt. This is my new world, and it is a wondrous place to be-come.

And this is Beryl. The Burdened Burro.