Gorgeous Tahitian Drawing

Have you ever had the opportunity to follow an artist from the start of a project through every step until they reveal the finished project? It's an amazing thing, like watching time elapsed video of a miracle unfolding. Then pop, the picture sits there in all it's breathtaking color, and it's all the more amazing because you first saw it as a sketchy drawing with no real form, just the skeleton of a drawing really. You even got to see the "ugly" phases where the drawing looked like it might never fulfill it's promise, but it did. And it's gorgeous.

I have, and you can, too. Check this link out to The Wonderful Obsessions where artist and writer Jonene Ficklin documented the journey of a gorgeous Tahitian drawing from first pencil scratches to fabulous finished project. And you can win a copy of the drawing. Yup, an 8x10 piece of tropical paradise. Jonene is an amazing artist, writer, and friend of mine. She is also my art teacher and a brave, brave woman to take me on. And she's brilliant.

Watching her work doesn't just amaze me, it gives me hope. Not only in my own fledgling art projects but for my books, too. It reminds me that every masterpiece starts as bare bones and evolves through hard work, ever-expanding skill, and persistence into beauty itself. She shows me it takes a lot of pencil (or key strokes) to turn blank paper into art.

Check out Jonene's blog and see the first pencil sketch to the finished project. And for all the steps in between just check out the Art Lessons tab at the top of her blog. Your eyes are in for a treat.

A Visit With Carl Bloch

This week I visited with a master. Well, with his paintings. A group of friends and I went to the Carl Bloch exhibit at Brigham Young University. Amazement courted me as I stood before vivid alter paintings crafted in the 1800s and marveled at the stories told on canvas.



Many of the stories were biblical, reaching out of an even more distant past to whisper messages of faith and love, other were simple yet profound glimpses of life--an old woman feeding birds, a man walking, a wife reading to an invalid husband. All touched me, moved me with wonder and the power of a single moment caught in time. Of emotion.

As I gazed at the works of this long-dead artist, I couldn't help wonder if he ever thought his works would touch me? And in turn, I wonder if my works will live on to touch someone in a distant time.

Carl Bloch said, "God helps me, that is what I think and then I am calm."

Finishing Characters

He's done. Finished. Hunky. Well, at least I think so. Who is he? The love interest in one of my books, and by finished I mean the sketch I've been working on of him. I want to draw all my characters in an effort to see them more clearly. Guess what, it's working.

Check him out.



Now onto the next one. She'll be harder because I've known her longer and the details will have to be just right. It's tough to take a person you've only seen in your head and put them down on paper with a handful of pencils and lots of erasing. But then again, it's the same way with writing them, it takes lots of words and even more deleting to get them right.

What are you working on today?

I've Been Robbed and How The Universe Failed To Keep Me Away From Small Children

I've been robbed. Really. It happened at my house. While I was home. My whole family was there, the kids sleeping in their beds, hubby and I tucked in as well. The thief broke in and pilfered from us--right under our noses. Door locks couldn't keep him out, not even our attack cat could deter this guy. I mean look at our cat, he's a major deterrent.


But even Krinky the Fang didn't stop this thief. And the crook took something precious from me.

An hour of sleep.

I can hear you out there wondering and worrying and rattling your dead bolts just to be safe, but it's too late. He's been to your house, too. He slipped past your attack cats and stole your hour the same night he took mine. Yup. Daylight Savings Time. May he rot in a dank prison for eternity for what he has done. If you catch him, show no mercy.

And to top it all off, the universe doesn't want me to talk to children. It's true. How do I know? Well, it told me so when I went with a writer friend to speak to an elementary class about writing and art. I'm telling you, nothing boosts your confidence like the universe asking you to please be quiet. I mean really, I started my presentation and got about three sentences in when the fire alarm went off. Yup. That's when you know that you should go home and stumble back into bed. But I did get to stand in a muddy soccer field for several minutes, so it wasn't a complete bust.

AND I got back at the universe. I'm like a ninja that way because we spoke to the kids anyway. And they liked it. Really. I know this because they opted to give up some of their recess to hear more about art. Okay, that may have had more to do with my friend giving them an awesome art lesson than with me showing them a few pictures and telling them they could work magic with only a pencil and an eraser. But still, I got me some ninja skills.

So take that, Universe. And Daylight Savings Time, be warned, I'm looking for you.

Surpise! An unexpected extra post: Learning to Draw

I've spent my entire life in awe of artists. There is something magical about taking a blank page, a lump of clay, slab of granite... you get the idea, and turning it into a thing of beauty. I've always wanted to be magical, and in this world, art is about as close as you get. The only problem was, I couldn't draw. Period.

Not only that, I couldn't sculpt, paint, or anything else in the visual art spectrum. Nothing. Oh, I'd try from time to time when one of my kids would say, "Mom, draw me a cat." I'd work really hard and hand them my masterpiece. They'd frown, scrunch their noses up, level me with a critic's eye, and say, "That isn't a cat."

Yes, it was that bad.

I met a wonderful artist who told me anyone could learn to draw. I flat out called her a liar. On more than one occasion. Yes, I'm that nice.

Lucky for me, she's kind, patient, and just a little stubborn. She honestly believed I could learn this magical ability to make images appear on paper with a pencil.(See it is magic. Just think of the pencil as a wand.) Back in September, she ordered me to show up for an art lesson. I came to her front door clutching a number two pencil and a few loose sheets of computer paper. By the end of the lesson I had this.



Magic.

By February, this.



Now I'm working on this. Keep in mind it's a work in progress and not even close to being finished.



Isn't my friend and art teacher amazing? I know I have a ton to learn, and a lifetime to practice, before I can call myself an artist, but I'm giddy with excitement. It's almost like I've found a secret power that I never knew I had. Discovery. Creating. Learning. Three awesome things that make living incredible.

What new things have you tried lately?