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Challenge Time!- Drawtober

October has been a time for many artists to find a way to draw daily. It seems like we have spent so much time doing businessy things over the summer that we need to shake the dust off and get back to creating. Since its beginning  Create Art 4 Good has facilitated workshops and other good things for all those creative, and this year I wanted to inspire a back-to-basics kind of challenge. Just like self-care, sometimes taking a moment to draw seems to happen too rarely. 

That said, I know there are many challenges this month, not the least of which is Inktober. I certainly respect what they are doing, but I don’t always love the topics. The “Drawtober” challenge I created is an effort to explore some of the basics again. Think about textures, shapes, and color. Make the ordinary extraordinary! Make it yours! 

I would love for you to share your drawings! Feel free to use whatever media makes you happy. Work for thirty minutes or less, and then post on social media! I’d love to see! Please use the hashtags #drawtober and #createart4good

Let the creation begin!

 

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Celebrate this life

My other daughter (Patrick’s almost wife)turned thirty over the weekend, Duffy’s Dad has a birthday on Saturday and my granddaughter will turn eleven on Sunday. We are a celebration family. Maybe it is part of my heritage, but the current pandemic seems to have changed life and put it pretty much on its ear. There is no way to celebrate. At least not what we are used to. I found this incredibly frustrating. I am a doer. We make a big deal out of birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions, and really any other reason to celebrate. This was so frustrating to me!

So in typical fashion on one of my 3 am moments, I decided I would take some fabric that I had for another purpose and use it to make a sign. I’d paint it, and we’d sneak to my son and other daughter’s house early on the morning of her birthday (and we did) to put it up. 

Can I just tell you? IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I felt like a birthday fairy or something! She loved it. The neighbors loved it, my son loved it. Before I knew it I had two more signs to paint, and another, and another. I did one for my sister. (graduation), One for my father in law, then people who I didn’t even know, started calling me to make one WOW! 

First, let me say that I am so honored to be a part of your celebrations. This is not only fun, it feels like a renewed purpose to send out some love.  Secondly, I am here. I would love to make a sign for you- We can discuss your needs (I have even mailed them out of town!) 

Keep celebrating. Keep connecting- the pandemic is not allowed to take our spirit! 

sending you love, 

Susan

 

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Mini Paintings, big love

I have always believed that art is vital to the survival of the world. It marks history, it shares beauty, it reflects and inspires ideas, and it is a tool of expression. For me, it is oxygen. Not just the creation of art, but having it in my home, seeing others’ art, learning about art, breathing art. As a professional artist, I am always trying to find a way to share my art that is accessible to all humans that also still honors my work and shares my love. I am well aware, as I am one of them, that art can be sometimes difficult to access. As vital as it is to me, it is not always in my budget to purchase the $5,000 painting I just fell in love with.

So, I do my best to share my art, my gratitude, my love in the most accessible ways. It feels almost like a mission to do so. The world as we currently know it is a stressful place.  (I suppose that is normal, but this is OVER the top Stressful. So, I have set out to create a set of small paintings to share with the world. 

This accomplishes many things, really. I paint. Which is very good for me. Otherwise, I get downright stuck in my head. As the weeks of this pandemic continue, I find myself on a roller coaster of emotions, sometimes all in one day.  Also, I am a doer. In a crisis, I generally need to be doing something. Cooking, organizing, taking care of those who are in difficulty. It is hard to comprehend a way that would effectively make a difference to a global pandemic. While I enjoyed biology in high school, I cannot say that I have the facilities to cure a pandemic. (Though I sorely wish I did)

My mission of painting one little bit of love at a time makes me feel as if I am doing something. The reaction in the last two weeks has been incredible. I feel so honored to participate in this and share my art with you! So it continues. I will paint three or so paintings each day and share them with you. Typically I post them on Facebook, but if you would like to be notified, shoot me an email! (Susan

This time is truly unprecedented. Vital to our survival is how we navigate this time. I am not always good at sitting still. I am  MUCH, MUCH better at it when I have a paintbrush in my hand. I am a hugger, giving love and support is a life source for me, and hopefully helps others. These little paintings are my hugs for now. 

I hope you and yours are doing well. I pray that you have found a way to take one step at a time, live your day, and embrace the opportunities this time has given to each of us. I am here if you need a virtual hug, or you know, a mini painting. 

Sending you so much love, 

Susan

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an inspiring visit to the Memorial Art Gallery

The Alphonse Mucha exhibit at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY had been up for months, and of course, despite my best intentions, I managed to slide in to see this exhibit just as it was closing. I was SO inspired by this work. Here are a few of my thoughts.

Alphonse Mucha was an Art Nouveau Illustrator. He was Czech. He worked in the late 1800s into the early 1900s. His work was very stylized and in my opinion, had hidden treasures inside each illustration. One of the things I loved most was seeing a black line illustration before it was colored in and then seeing the colored version. You could see the details. It was magical. 

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 These are some of my favorite works by him. 

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Sarah Bernhardt was very represented in this exhibit. There were tons of pieces, sketches etc. They were essentially the playbills or advertisements, but that was funny to me, as they were magnificent! Very flamboyant – 
 
This one made me giggle as it is an ad for a bicycle. The bike seems to be the least of it. But I thought it was spectacular! Duffy (my husband) is so obsessed with bikes – I was obviously drawn to it. 
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He did a lot with biblical stuff –  the seasons, the constellations, even the calendar. I loved it. I have been wanting to do more with saints, the sun and the moon.. stuff like that. I was very inspired by what I saw. 
 
These are the images for a calendar. I love creating my calendar each year! These images are magical! They are so fun. and certainly, kick things up a notch. 
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It is hard to see, but this is a piece of jewelry. I actually create original pendants using original tiny watercolor paintings. I was dazzled by this piece. It was so amazing. It made me want to take what I do and kick it up a big honking notch. 

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I loved these for the way the images were displayed, the mats …. oh goodness! I was giddy! The fact that these mats had to be hand cut- the impressive nature of the pieces as well as the attention to detail thrilled me.
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Again, the image, the mat, the way it was all put together. I loved it. 
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This changed the ballgame when I think about what I want to use for my books for dividers and chapter titles and all of that. 
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I love the detail in these. For me, anything can be beautiful. even a fork!
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I LOVE this. You see the same piece in three different ways. This is where you see the details. I sat on a bench and studied it for several minutes. LOVE this so much. 
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As someone who doesn’t do much in the way of pre-sketching my images, I LOVED this. It had his handwriting and ideas – I loved it so much. (I am using “love” a great deal, but truly, this experience was dazzling!)
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I won’t blather on further- but this is one of several like this. You can see that it had to be printed on multiple sheets, because in the day – they didn’t have the ability to do so continuously. I would say this is at least 5′ tall- but so magnificent! I loved them. 
 
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So… there you are. I could go on and on, but I am incredibly inspired and suspect this will inform some of my 2020 work. 
 
My advice to you? GO see art. In galleries, antique shops, your neighbor’s studio. Get out. go see different work. It is good for you! A breath of fresh air!
Thanks for listening, 
Susan