How to Make Art

Monthly Goals: February Edition

2012-02-01T11:30:00.000-05:00

Before I get started on my February goals, I want to take a look back on how I did with my January goals…

*Finish and ship off my book for the Sketchbook Project 2012. Done and done! See the video here.

*Come up with my next 30 Days project. Done! But I can’t tell you about it yet…sorry! I want it to be a surprise. Less than 10 days of Goslings left to draw… I’m going to give myself a little break before I start another 30 day project, so I won’t be launching into it right away.

*Make some serious progress on updating my porfolio website. Hmm… I did a little bit on this one, but not as much as I meant to. I’ll work harder on this goal this month…

Okay, so my February goals are as follows:

*Make and post more videos for YouTube. I have been neglecting my YouTube Channel for a while, mostly because I didn’t have a working camera, but now that I have my new little digital camera with HD video capabilities, there are no more excuses! I plan to do more tutorials, more journal flip-throughs, and maybe even some funny videos (there’s one I’m editing now but might be too shy to share…).

*Submit my work to places! I haven’t done this in ages, but I’d like to try to submit my work to some magazines and blogs that I love. I had even thought about submitting my work to some magazines that I don’t love, but I decided against it. I’m submitting work to magazines that feel most like me, and that just feels right.

*Work on a secret project. Ooh, that’s all I can tell you now! It’s gonna be a good one, though…

What are some of your goals for the month of February?

How will you reward yourself when you accomplish them?

On a Typical Day...

2012-01-31T11:30:00.000-05:00

One of my friends asked me what my days were like now that I am self-employed, so I thought I’d share my answer here with you, in case anyone else was curious.

*I never set an alarm. I have had issues with sleep in the past, and I realize how important sleep is in general, so I love the fact that I am able to sleep as long as I want to and wake up naturally. This is certainly one of my favorite things about working for myself! That said, I usually wake up around 9 or 9:30.

*I take the dog outside, make coffee, and sit under a blanket reading blogs and business articles/books for about an hour. Usually Rachael Ray is on in the background. My “office” (laptop, iPhone, to do list journal, sketchbook, planning book, etc.) is on the couch with two TV tray tables set up.

*After I drink my two cups of coffee, the office moves to the dining room table. I start listing things on Etsy, editing photos, working on the website, writing future blog posts, painting, drawing Goslings, and basically attacking my daily to do list.

*Lunch is usually something healthy like a hummus wrap that I make at home and eat in front of the computer while reading blogs, watching TED talks, or watching Hulu. Sometimes I meet my mom or one of my girlfriends out for lunch, then I run errands like the post office or bank while I’m out.

*After lunch, I get back to it. This is where I get the bulk of my work done. More listings, website stuff, blogging, drawing, etc. Sometimes I will devote some of this afternoon time to taking photos outside in the daylight, screenprinting, painting, creating tutorials or videos, etc.

*Dinnertime! Sometimes I have friends over and we cook stuff, or I go to my parents, or I meet a friend out for dinner. It takes me away from the computer and is a fun, social time. Then it’s right back to work.

*The office moves back to the couch after dinner, usually, and I will work until I get sleepy, usually around midnight, and I’ll watch Project Runway All Stars or some other shows that I like while I work.

All in all, I am usually working…like, all the time. And you know what? I’ve never been happier! I am never bored, I am always coming up with new ideas, and I take time to draw/craft/paint/screenprint at least once a day. I can’t believe how happy I am with my new career!

Thank you so much for reading about my day!

What is your favorite part of your typical day?

P.S. I am sad that my big giveaway only has one comment so far! There are three winners, so if you leave a comment, you are almost definitely gonna win something!! Go for it. :)

Baby Tattooville Art Jam Video!

2012-01-30T11:30:00.000-05:00

I just realized I hadn't posted this here yet!

This is the Baby Tattooville 2011 Art Jam at the Mission Inn at Riverside, California. Please excuse my bad filming/editing skills... I hope the art speaks for itself!

Sunday Photo Dump

2012-01-29T11:30:00.000-05:00

1. Ruby Roo

2. Sketchbook

3. New painting

4. Ruby Roo, of course...

Saturday Quotable

2012-01-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

Mari, a screenprint on vintage book pages

"Whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth. And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

- Paul Cohelo

(I found this quote over on Kelly Rae Roberts' blog, and it really resonated with me. I hope it speaks to you too.)

The "How to Draw" Series, Part Three: The Inner Critic and Blind Contour Drawings

2012-01-27T11:30:00.000-05:00

(The images above are from my book, How to Make Art.)

The Inner Critic

I want to start this post off by sharing a passage I wrote in my journal a few weeks ago with you:

"I am waiting for the day when one bad drawing won't discourage me for the rest of the day. I am waiting for the day when all my hard work begins to pay off and I become financially secure due to people loving and buying the things I make. I am waiting for the day when I see my art inside one of my favorite magazines. I am waiting to grow into my new job of self-employment and to feel fully comfortable with my choice to make a living on my own.

I wish I could embrace all of my drawings and my writings as beautiful, as is. Because I tried. Because they are mine. Because no one else could make marks or string words together exactly the way I do.

But still, the inner critic rears its ugly head... I make myself stop after just one failed attempt. I don't even begin to write anything because I am too busy thinking I shouldn't because I went to school for art not writing. I am so critical of myself and too much in my head sometimes.

I want to let loose and let the pencils dance and the paintbrushes fly."

You have to acknowledge your fear of your inner critic, or, that little voice that tells you that you can't/shouldn't make art or do anything creative. That’s the first step.

Yes, the artwork could turn out badly. Yes, it could disappoint you. Yes, other people might not like what you make. Yes, it could discourage you from making more.

Yes, yes, yes, yes. I know, I know, I know, I know…

Then, you go and you begin making something despite those fears: you pick up the pencil, the paintbrush, the guitar, or the camera, and you just do your best.

You just get it done.

Because you want to, because you need to, because something inside of you is telling you you have to…

So you let go, let loose, let yourself dive into your creativity fully…

And you realize this: no one can create something quite like you can.

It’s really true. Your voice is unique and beautiful and fully your own, and there are so many ways to express yourself.

It’s time.

Experiment: Blind Contour Drawings

Remember those continuous line contour drawings from last week? We are doing them again, but this time we aren't allowed to look at our paper while we draw! Wait, what? That's right, no peeking! Do the same continuous line contour drawings without looking at your paper to see how it's going. If you're having trouble not looking, tape a big piece of paper over your hands so there's no chance of peeking. This is a common exercise in art school that teaches your eyes and your hands to work together. You'll be surprised: a lot of these drawings turn out really cool, and you learn a lot by doing them. Below, you'll find an example of one I did a little while back in my sketchbook. I did the portrait blind then added the gold leaf and black paint later. Portraits are so fun to do as blind contours!

These drawings are great, because your "inner critic" won't judge you so harshly - I mean, you weren't even looking while you were drawing! I hope you enjoyed this mini lesson. Again, these are just experiments, drawing exercises, and they shouldn't look like perfect finished drawings - it's just practice. I hope it will be fun for you!

Finally...

Keep following the blog - next Friday, there will be another drawing lesson. The lessons will become a bit more in depth each time. These lessons are totally free, but if you enjoy the lessons and plan to follow them, I would really LOVE it if you would follow the blog and/or add a comment below to say hello... I love reading and responding to comments, and they totally motivate me to keep posting!

Thanks so much for joining me!

Big Giveaway in Honor of my 200+ Followers!

2012-01-26T11:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday!

Welcome to my big Giveaway in honor of my 200+ Followers! I am so glad you are here visiting my blog. :)

Now let's cut straight to the chase - here are the goodies!

One lucky winner gets The Sketching Package:

Two items from my HowToUseArt Etsy shop, which features functional fine art, including screenprinted t-shirts, tote bags, and more! The first item is a hand screenprinted book that can be used as a sketchbook, journal, or scrapbook. You can find it here in my shop ($15 value). The second item is a one of a kind handmade pencil pouch made by me on my sewing machine and hand screenprinted ($12 value). You can hold all of your sketching needs in it! I featured a similar one on my post here, and you can find that one in my Etsy shop here.

One lucky winner gets The Learning Package:

You will receive my PDF class, The Tiny Book of Memories, for free ($12 value)! This will come to your inbox right away so that you can get started immediately making some art, then the second part of The Learning Package is free admission into my two upcoming E-Courses, Journaling from the Inside Out and Screenprinting at Home (coming soon, valued at around $60 per class). I am so excited about these classes, and I can't wait to share them here when the time comes!

And a third lucky winner gets The Advertising Package:

Two months of free advertising on my blog! This package is for people with blogs and Etsy shops and other things that need promoting... You will get the large ad package ($200 x 200 pixels, $30 total value for the two months), and I will do a special solo post with an interview/feature introducing the sponsor for the first month, as well as a post about specific products or a giveaway for the second month.

I'm so excited to give away some art tools, some inspiration, and some promotion all in the same giveaway!!

Now, here's how to enter.

1. Choose one giveaway package that is your favorite and would mean the most to you if you won. Write the name of that package at the start of each comment you leave.

2. Each of the following things earns you one entry - you can enter up to 5 times! (Please only choose one package to apply for, though. Thanks!)

*Leave a comment telling me what you love about the giveaway package you chose.

*Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect (over on the right side column) or Bloglovin'. (If you already follow me, just say so in the comment.)

*Sign up for my monthly Mailing List (over on the right side column).

*Tweet about this giveaway and follow me on Twitter. You can cut and paste this "Big Giveaway on HowToMakeArt.com w/THREE winners! Comment + enter! http://www.howtomakeart.com/2012/01/big-giveaway-in-honor-of-my-200.html" and post it as your status.

*Mention my giveaway on your blog and link to this post or any other post on HowToMakeArt.com.

3. Come back to my blog and leave a comment reporting about your follow/tweet/sign-up/mention. Don't forget to include your email address!

Comments should look something like this:

Advertising Package
I just followed you on Bloglovin!
Ruby Roo, rubyroo@cutedoggy.com

Giveaway ends ~~Jan. 31~~ Feb. 4; winners will be announced on ~~Feb. 2~~ Feb. 5. Good Luck!

Thanks so much for entering! Have a fun and creative day.

A New Creative Space in Town, Photobooth Pictures, and Some Mid-Week Link Love...

2012-01-25T11:30:00.000-05:00

I tried to take a picture of my fancy shoes, and all I got was this adorable puppy photo...

First off, I want to tell you about my weekend. I have been a workaholic lately working on my website, blog, Etsy, eBay, drawing, painting, as well as a few top secret projects and things that I can't talk about yet... Needless to say, I don't get out much these days, ha ha. BUT this past weekend, I did take some time off and went out to my friend Kim's opening party for her new sewing and craft studio space, Sew Make Do. Here is a quick photo I snapped at the opening, right before enjoying a delicious mini red velvet cupcake, yum...

I am so excited for Kim and her awesome new space!! I was flattered that she even had a piece of my artwork up - so cool to have a piece of my work in such a great, inspiring place.

Here's a quick snap of what I wore:

Dress: Francesca's; Necklace: I made it!, Shrug: Thrifted

After the opening, my friend Amber and I decided go to The Top, one of my favorite bars/restaurants in town. We were about to leave, but on the way out, we passed the photo booth, and neither of us could pass up the opportunity to sit in the little booth with the red or blue backgrounds and have some vintage looking photos to take home with us... I think planning the four poses ahead of time was a winning move. (We did "shocked," "scared of each other," "super happy," and "plain.")

I also wanted to share some fun links today that I have been looking at lately. I have been finding so much inspiration online lately; it's wonderful!

Jenny Owen Youngs has a new video out, and it's amazing - both the visuals and the music. I can't wait for her new album!!

I stumbled upon the show Cash & Cari for the first time last week. It's all about estate sales. I'm hooked.

Did you know that Martha Stewart has some new office products coming out? They look great!

This post by Abby Kerr is from last summer, but I just discovered it, and it really resonated with me and makes me want to read the book this post is based on.

Another great discovery this week for me was Creative Living with Jamie, a great series of talks with talented and creative people that I have been listening to constantly.

The Alt Summit just wrapped up, and I would love to go one year! In the meantime, I am drooling over the speakers list and am clicking on all the links in their bios to find out more about them - what a group of inspiring people!

I have loved The Jealous Curator (one of the speakers at Alt Summit - so cool!) blog for quite some time, and I am so excited about the new Girl Crush project - where you can meet some awesome artists! I wish I could go to one; the lineup is fantastic!! It was all based on this post and the comment reactions to the post, a must read.

Want some video inspiration? Check out The Future Belongs to the Curious...

And finally, check out this post on Art House Coop's Tumblr! See my sketchbook in the group? So exciting! Lots of love to Art House for posting my sketchbook video's Vimeo link on their Facebook page the other day - I was so flattered and excited!

(Don't forget to come back tomorrow - I am announcing a big giveaway!)

People You Should Know... MacKensie

2012-01-24T11:30:00.000-05:00

I met MacKensie while we both worked for a t-shirt company here in Gainesville, FL. MacKensie had just finished college and was working on social media for the company. I was doing creative projects around the company's new office, like reupholstering chairs and sewing curtains and making beanbags out of t-shirts, and MacKensie was always there to lend a helping hand. We had a lot of fun working together and bonded over our love for crafts and creativity. Since neither of us work for that company anymore, we keep in touch via our blogs and Facebook. I think you will love getting to know MacKensie and reading her awesome and inspiring blog that is full of great photos, recipes, outfits, crafts, and tons more! You can visit her blog here, and be sure to follow her blog so you don't miss a thing. :)

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I'm a 22-year-old art lover from Florida. I graduated with my journalism degree in May and now I'm back in school to become a physical therapist. I love running, singing, writing, reading, dancing, crafting and blogging.

What is your favorite way to express yourself creatively?

I have recently started making jewelry, which is something that used to really intimidate me. It started when I needed Christmas gifts for my friends and family, but considering my unemployed status, was on a serious budget. It's really fun and interesting how many unique pieces of art I came up with just using things lying around the house. I also really love painting, drawing and crafting in general.

Where do you find inspiration online? In real life?

Just like everyone else, I love Pinterest (mackensieg on Pinterest). It's overwhelming sometimes how many fabulous and creative ideas are out there, all on one site. As a blogger, though, I have drawn so much inspiration just from discovering other blogs. I love watching people transform something old and ugly into something new and beautiful. As far as inspiration in the world goes, I think it comes from all over the place. I have been reading a lot more lately, and suspiciously enough, I started incorporating book pages into my jewelry designs. I am also a HUGE music lover and I definitely find inspiration through music.

What are some of your creative goals and aspirations for the future?

One of my new year's goals was to start an Etsy shop where I could sell my jewelry and art, but I need to work up the courage. Hopefully I'll get that going in the near future, and way down the road I just hope to continue to express my creativity through my blog, which is a huge outlet for me.

What completed creative project are you most proud of in your life so far?

For Christmas I made an advent calendar (totally winged it) for a friend in the Marines and even though it's silly and has tons of inside jokes painted into it, I think it meant a lot to him and it certainly turned out better than I expected it to. (See the full post here.)

Name a few creative individuals you admire and explain why.

Tessa McSorley!! I admire her because she is always creating new and wonderfully unique pieces that are very representative of her style and she has the courage to show off her creations and take chances on edgier stuff as well as simply beautiful things.

I also really admire Tim Burton because of his ridiculously creative and innovative visions. He also has a very signature style, so it's easy to recognize his work and I just love all the movies he's produced.

What are some of your current obsessions? (Art, craft, musical, or completely random.)

I am obsessed with books lately, as I mentioned earlier. I love book pages and newspaper for decorating with (and even doing my nails with ).

One of my favorite bands right now is GroupLove. I am definitely obsessed with them.

Do you collect anything?

I used to collect keys as a kid. I love the way keys look, especially old-fashioned ones. There's just some sort of wonderful mystery about a key and not knowing what it unlocks.

Recommend some inspiring books/websites/music/movies to us...

If we're going with the art theme, I would DEFINITELY recommend the book "Faking It" by Jennifer Crusie. It is sexy, mysterious, very well written and so fun to read. As far a music goes, I have so many recommendations. I often do a "Song of the Day" on my blog to show readers what new/old/favorite songs are on my mind on a daily basis. I somewhat recently discovered the band Rilo Kiley(even though they just broke up..) and I love, love, love them.

Do you have any advice you could offer to someone who wants to start expressing themselves creatively but doesn't know where to begin?

I would say start a blog. It has helped me to be more creative every single day. It makes me want to try new things and share them with the world. At first I had no clue what I would be blogging about or how often or anything, but eventually it comes together and the next thing you know, you have a major creative outlet just waiting for you on your computer. Not to mention a plethora of other creative individuals just waiting to cheer you on and inspire you in ways you didn't even realize they could.

A huge thanks to MacKensie for being so wonderful and for doing this interview! I hope you enjoyed reading about this awesome girl. :)

(PS... I have reached over 200 followers on my blog - hooray! So in honor of my 200+ followers, I am doing a big giveaway, which I will announce on Thursday, so please check back! Thanks so much to YOU for reading my blog, for motivating me, and for your kind comments. I am so glad you visit HowToMakeArt.com.)

VIDEO: My Submission for The Sketchbook Project 2012

2012-01-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

To start the week off right, I wanted to share a short video of my submission for The Sketchbook Project 2012. If you haven't heard of this project, please visit Art House Coop's page explaining the project here. You can join in the fun with their new Sketchbook Project: Limited Edition.

Here is what I did to my blank sketchbook:

1. I added masking tape to the pages randomly to work as a design element and to strengthen the thin paper of the sketchbook. This paper is fine for drawing, but I knew I wanted to paint with acrylic + water, so I needed my pages to be thick and sturdy, especially at the gutters of each page.

2. I chose a three color palette and just played with color and acrylic paint and water, not thinking about the end result. This created the backgrounds for each of the pages. Super fun!

3. Next, I drew the rope that continues throughout the entire book with a thick sharpie and a thin sharpie.

4. I wanted to draw on something that had some tone and was a bit translucent, so the backgrounds could be seen through the drawings. I chose my cream colored tracing paper. The theme I picked from Art House Coop's options was "Time Traveler," so I picked out some photos from my massive collection of found photographs and family photographs, and I sketched them in pencil onto the translucent paper. Then I inked them up with my sharpies and erased the pencil lines.

5. I cut out my drawings, pasted them in, and called it a day. I am so happy with the finished piece, and I hope you enjoyed watching the video!

What will you draw in your sketchbook this week?

Leave a comment below and tell me! I'd love to hear...

(PS... I have reached over 200 followers on my blog - hooray! So in honor of my 200+ followers, I am doing a big giveaway, which I will announce on Thursday, so please check back! Thank you so much to YOU for reading, for motivating me, and for your kind comments. I am so glad you visit my blog.)

Sunday Photo Dump

2012-01-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

1.Ruby Roo got a haircut.

2. The lights at Chopstix Cafe.

3. The view thru the window at Chopstix, with reflections from the lights...

4. Maribel.

5. Ruby Roo hates going outside on a rainy day...

Saturday Quotable

2012-01-21T11:00:00.000-05:00

“Another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.”

-Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eye

The "How to Draw" Series, Part Two: Motivation and Continuous Line Contour Drawings

2012-01-20T11:30:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much for joining me for part two of my FREE E-Course, How to Draw. Today we will be talking about motivation to get you going, then we will do an exercise called the "Continuous Line Contour Drawing." Grab you sketchbook, your pencil, and let's get started!

Motivation

I think that, for me, getting motivated to make art is pretty easy, but STAYING motivated...well, that is the hard part. I get motivated the most by seeing other people's creative work of any kind, usually through seeing art online, since my town doesn't have a huge representation of the types of art that interests me. You can read more about getting inspired by looking at art online in How to Draw, Part One.

So I'll be online looking at all sorts of great stuff, then, all of a sudden, I will slam the laptop closed, run into the studio, and... And then sometimes that motivation will die there. I'll stupidly talk myself out of artmaking, using really lame excuses like: "Oh, I don't want to have to get all the paint out." or "I can't find my favorite brush/pencil/palette." I'll let things like laziness and self doubt get in the way.

If I start thinking like that, I have to basically decide to stay in the studio and not leave until I at least take out the supplies. That pretty much does the trick for me: once the supplies are out and I see them all laid in front of me, I usually get so excited that I will start drawing or painting or doing whatever project it is I was thinking of doing in the first place. Take out your sketchbook, run your hands over the paper, sharpen your pencil... Motivate yourself anyway you can and figure out what works for you through trial and error.

Right now, I have a daily log that I made for myself where I can check off if I did any of the following things: "draw in sketchbook, write in journal, clean the house, exercise, tweet, blog, post on Instagram, etc..." I don't have to do these things every day, but it helps me keep track of my progress and see what I am neglecting. Maybe making a little chart of some kind will help you out too if you want to make drawing part of your daily routine.

Rewarding yourself is a great motivator too. For example, let's say if you draw in your sketchbook every day for a month, you get to go and pick out some great new art supplies to play with at the art store! Pencils and pens and paper...yum.

Experiment: Continuous Line Contour Drawings

A continuous line drawing is a drawing that is made up of one long line that never stops. Basically, your pencil will start touching the paper, then it won't leave the paper until you are done.

A contour drawing is a drawing that has no shading and is basically an outline of the object you are drawing.

A continuous line drawing + a contour drawing = a continuous line contour drawing! This means that you are going to pick an object, set it on the table in front of you, put your pencil to the paper, and never stop until you get all of the outlines of the object drawn. When you are finished, it will look something like this:

Try a few of these until you get the hang of it! They are fast and fun and sort of weird looking sometimes, but they really teach you to observe the edges of things, and that is a good thing to pay attention to! Remember, these are just experiments, drawing exercises, and they shouldn't look like perfect finished drawings - it's just practice. Also, don't forget to think about proportion while you are drawing...

Finally...

Thanks so much for joining me!

E-Course Envy

2012-01-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

If there is one thing I am sure about, it's that you should never, ever stop learning. I've taken several e-courses and several in person classes since I have graduated from college, and they have been some of the most valuable ways I could have spent my time and money.

This post is about how much I would love, love, love to take the following e-courses, but I most likely will not be able to since money is so tight right now... Oh, and there is one amazing in person class I'd love to take on the list too.

*Mindy Lacefield's "Paint Your Story" Class: I've been a huge fan of Mindy's artwork ever since I first stumbled upon her shop a few years ago while trolling around on Etsy. Her paintings are so honest and raw, and the way she uses color is so sophisticated and simply breathtaking. I don't think I've ever seen a painting or a print of Mindy's that I didn't want to own and proudly display on my walls. I've purchased a few little things from her over the years, and I cherish each work so much! You can check out her Etsy shop by going here. I am so thrilled that she is offering a class to show you how she goes about telling stories with her paintings and how she is able to make marks so fearlessly. If I could choose just one e-course to take this year, it would surely be this one... Even just the promo video alone gives me goosebumps and makes me want to start making things immediately!

*Art Journal All Year with Elsie and Rachel of Red Velvet. I recently found Elsie's blog, A Beautiful Mess, while looking through the photos of my Flickr contacts. Elsie has been a contact of mine for a long time, and I always admired her lovely photos, but I didn't realize she had a blog until a few months ago. I'm probably the last one on the planet to discover her blog, ha ha! Anyway, this e-course looks wonderful, and it will keep you occupied and full of new writing and art ideas for your journal for the whole year! I'd love to take this class.

*Mondo Beyondo. I took this last year, and it was amazing! I'd love to take it again this year, especially now that I am self employed and could spend more time truly absorbing each lesson! So great. I have already crossed two things off my Mondo Beyondo list that I made last year... I quit my day job and met my favorite artist, Sabrina Ward Harrison.

*Kelly Rae Roberts' Class, Hello Soul, Hello Business. I took Kelly Rae's Flying Lessons course the first time it was offered, and I loved it. It was so inspirational, motivating, and informative, and I can only imagine how great this new class will be! The roster of people contributing to the class is amazing in and of itself! You can check out the list and see for yourself by going here.

*Six Weeks to a Creative Business by Apri Bowles-Olin of The Blacksburg Belle. I first found out about April's site from the Etsy Success Symposium, and I couldn't believe all of the great information April offers on her site to help artists succeed in their businesses. She is a gifted and knowledgeable speaker, as you can clearly see in the videos she puts up on her site. I can only imagine how wonderful and inspiring this class would be! She also has another great class available online, ARTrepreneur, and you can check it out here.

*Angela Ritchie's Ace Camps with Camilla Engman in Sweden! This is the one in-person class I'd love to take this year, especially because I'd love to go to Sweden! Oh, how I wish I could afford to travel more this year in general... Whining aside, Camilla Engman makes beautiful things, and I am sure she would be an amazing and inspiring teacher. Have you seen her Suitcase Series book put out by Uppercase? It's SO fantastic - one of my very favorite books in the whole world. And I cannot say enough wonderful things about Angela Ritchie's Ace Camps. I had the privilege of attending Sabrina Ward Harrison's Ace Camp last year, and it was truly the trip of a lifetime. The instruction, the accommodations, the connections I made there, the food....well, everything was pitch perfect, and I couldn't have imagined a better trip. It is seriously one of the best things I have ever done for myself - right up there with getting a dog (and if you know how much I love my dog, that's saying a lot!). I long to go on another one, and I hope that I will be able to again at some point in my life.

If I could take ALL of the above classes, it would be a dream come true! Hopefully I will be able to take some of them in the near future. I'll keep you posted.

And in case you are curious, the photo at the top of the post is a picture of the book you will make in my PDF Tutorial Class, The Tiny Book of Memories. It's a work-at-your-own-pace class full of art and writing prompts that will inspire you and get you creating! You can learn more about the class by going here.

If you are like me and can't afford to take a paid class but still want to learn some creative stuff, check out my free tutorial videos here or pop in every Friday for a free drawing lesson.

Oh! One more thing: I am going to do a GIVEAWAY when I reach 200 followers on Google Friend Connect, so follow me over there on the column to the right, and we will get closer and closer to the giveaway!

What classes are you taking online right now? What classes do you wish you could take? Leave a comment below and tell me what your dream class list would be...

Tutorial: How to Antique Paper, Fast and Easy!

2012-01-18T11:30:00.000-05:00

Making things look aged in my art journal or sketchbook used to be one of my very favorite things to do! I don't use this technique too much any more, but every once in a while, I decide to bust out this old trick, and it is still a lot of fun.

Here's what you'll need:

*Paper or a xeroxed photo (or whatever you want to "age")
*Gel wood stains
*A paintbrush
*An old t-shirt or paper towel (for wiping away the excess)

Thanks for watching, and if you enjoyed the video or have any questions, be sure to leave a comment below! :)

Vintage Dreams

2012-01-17T11:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, my friend Amber and I got up super early and went to the flea market! We had a great time and found some goodies. Here are some photos of what I found:

Vintage frame and pendant:

Antique album from the Victorian Era:

Inside the album:

A modern album with some great photos, like a pumpkin carriage for the prom!

A child's set of dishes:

I've been going to flea markets since I was a tiny thing. My parents have always loved antiques and used to drag me to early morning markets and antique auctions for as long as I can remember. I used to really hate the auctions, and so my parents would bribe me with candy and quarters so that I'd go and sit quietly and draw, ha ha. But I guess all of that exposure to old stuff started to wear me down, and pretty soon, I had caught the collecting bug!

It all started with Snoopy. My mom had collected Snoopy and Peanuts stuff before I was born, and once she showed me her little collection one day, I was hooked. So I finally had something to look for when my parents took me to the flea market... And I found tons and tons of Snoopy goodies. I still have a few things today, packed away in the garage somewhere.

It's interesting: all that "early training" really paid off, and I now know a lot about antiques. I also have an appreciation for older things much more than most people my age do... My house is an eclectic mix of old and new, antique and modern, vintage/repurposed and new/shiny. I'm going to post some fun photos of where I live soon, but for now, here is a little shot of my favorite room (decor-wise), the dining room:

The first photo is old and dark, the painting in the middle is unfinished and from a garage sale, and the final little piece is a Camilla Engman postcard I framed.

Since I have so many vintage goodies, sometimes there is an overflow, and those things go in my Etsy vintage shop, Nostalgia Factory. I am planning to add a few new items to the shop this week!

What I'm Working On This Week

2012-01-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

Making a mess on the floor...

*I'm wrapping up my contribution to The Sketchbook Project 2012 today and hope to be taking some photos of the finished piece either today or tomorrow!

*I'm taking photos of my flea market finds to show you soon!

*I'm working on my Gosling Project every day....and finalizing the ideas for my next 30 day long project.

*I'm updating my website and adding new photos of current work. This is a tough one, since I don't enjoy building websites so much, but it's essential.

*I'm thinking of offering some custom item listings on Etsy...custom portraits, custom tote bags, etc.

How about you? How is your week shaping up? What projects do you have in the works?

Leave a comment below; I'd love to hear what you're up to.

Sunday Photo Dump

2012-01-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

1. The sky outside of Boca Fiesta.

2. Little Roo got a haircut.

3. Ring from eBay.

4. A few new mini drawings in the fine art shop + my Missoni for Target mug.

Saturday Quotable

2012-01-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

"Doing what you love is the cornerstone to having abundance in your life."

-Wayne Dyer

The "How to Draw" Series, Part One: Inspiration, Materials, and Gradients

2012-01-13T11:30:00.000-05:00

Hello, and welcome to my new "How to Draw" series! I'll be posting a new, totally free, drawing lesson every Friday, and I'm so glad you are here! I used to teach drawing for several years right after graduating from art school, so it's nice to be back in a comfortable place: getting people motivated and ready to start drawing!

Before we get into anything too technical, I wanted this post to be talk about inspiration in order to get your creative juices flowing. I want you to be excited and ready to start putting pencil to paper!

Inspiration

There are many ways to get inspired to make artwork, but for me, going online and bookmarking my favorite art pieces done by other artists is a fun way to get inspired. Even if you don't use their works as references in any way (Please be sure not to copy the work of another artist!), just seeing all that talent online is a great way to get your creative juices flowing, and it will definitely get you to motivated to start making things. Sometimes the inspiration isn't very direct, for example, sometimes I will see a painted landscape in a beautiful color scheme, then I will become inspired by the colors and use a similar palette in a portrait I am drawing. Try using Flickr, Pinterest, or Instagram and start "favoriting" away. If you want to see some of my favorites, my Flickr favorites are here and my Pinterest "Art Obsessions" board is here.

Another great way to get inspired is to go out and see art in your community. If you don't have a good art gallery in your town, maybe you can meet up with a friend who is creative and inspire each other with good conversation about arts and crafts. Or, you could go online and look up some galleries and artists whose work speaks to you.

Something else you can do would be to go for a walk with your camera and take pictures of anything that catches your eye. When you get home, you can print out those photos and draw what you saw using the photos as reference. It's also interesting to see what the photos have in common to find out what your eye is naturally drawn to...

Materials

I love bookbinding, and I also love to buy pretty leather covered sketchbooks I find at the bookstore... The only problem with this is that the books I have made myself and those pricey leather sketchbooks become too precious at times. Since they are such special books, I want the drawings in them to be SO GOOD. I notice that if I haven't drawn in a while, I get super intimidated by these "precious" books, and instead, I grab a cheap sketchbook instead. The cheap books are full of cheap paper, and that is way less intimidating than the imported Italian papers in the leather sketchbooks... So I'm able to let loose and let go in my cheap books and work my way up to using a book that is more special. So, if you haven't drawn in a while and are feeling a bit intimidated, grab the cheapest sketchbook money can buy, and let's get started!

First things first, let's make a sketching kit...

Here is mine:

It contains:

*mechanical pencils

*ballpoint pens (not your typical sketching tool, but I love drawing + shading with these!)

*Sharpies (both fine and bold)

*good erasers, big and small (the small one is the click eraser)

*a set of black ink pens in different size (I have Microns here.)
*white-out pens (in case I make a mistake with ink or if I want to draw with white...)
*a glue stick (you never know when you will find some inspiration you'd like to paste right into your book)
*scissors (maybe you'll want to cut a window in one of your pages or use them to cut something out that you'd like to paste in)

I keep everything together in my little pink squirrel zippered pencil case that I made for myself by hand. I have another one just like it in the shop right now here! :)

Experiment: Gradients

Grab a pencil, and draw a long rectangle, and split up into eight different boxes, like this:

Leave the first box blank, then make the last box as dark as you possibly can by pushing really hard with your pencil and coloring over and over your marks.

Now go to the second box and make marks with your pencil as light as you can.

Now fill in all the middle boxes as best as you can to create a gradient:

You've now learned that your pencil can create at least eight different values!

Next time you draw, think about all of those values you made with your pencil, and try to work them all into your drawing. You could try this little exercise out with some other drawing materials too, like charcoal or your ballpoint pen...

Finally...

Thanks so much for joining me!

Thank Goodness For...

2012-01-12T11:30:00.000-05:00

*Knowing just a little bit of HTML, enough to get me by.

*Remembering to take a "Good morning!" photo of Roo every day since I got my iPhone.

*Great parents who can always get me out of a funk.

*Planning and scribbling away in my little sketchbooks and notebooks.

*Cinnabon flavored creamer.

*Glittery, sparkly princess shoes.

*Flea market finds.

*Plans to cook another healthy meal with the girls sometime soon.

*Hot pink spray paint.

...just some little things I am happy about today.

Don't forget to be grateful for the BIG things life gives us, as this truly beautiful video from TEDxSF reminds us below:

Monthly Goals: January Edition

2012-01-11T11:30:00.000-05:00

So it's been a while since I have talked about the whole I-Quit-My-Day-Job-And-Am-Now-Working-For-Myself Thing... I thought I'd give you a little update: it's going well.

On the happiness front, I am a million and ten times happier than I was when I was working my previous job. You know that little saying about absence making the heart grow fonder? It was just the opposite when it came to that job. Leaving it made me realize all the things I disliked about it, and the job's absence made me more and more confidant that I made the right decision to leave when I did. In fact, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. Take that, old job.

As far as motivation goes, I am not seeing any lack of it anywhere in sight! I am hopping out of bed earlier than ever, thrilled to be my own boss and excited to see what the day will bring. And I'm working late. Like really late. I love what I am doing so much that I don't want to stop to sleep. And that, my friends, is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Moneywise, though, things are still a bit rough. eBay is going swimmingly, but I know I will run out of weirdly valuable collectible doll eventually (or will I?), and all that leaves me with is my art. And hopefully I will be able to sell my art more and more as time goes on and traffic to my Etsy shops increases. And I know I need to start thinking outside the Etsy box and begin brainstorming about all the other things I can do with my artistic skills...more in person craft fairs, illustration, custom work, etc. All of this financial uncertainty scares me, but I am confident that if I work hard and keep up my momentum, I can conquer this self-employment thing and truly rely only on my artwork for income.

I think.

I hope.

Of course I have my moments, like the time when I felt SO FREAKING GUILTY after hanging out with friends all day and eating two meals out and thinking of all the time I could have spent working and all the money I could have saved instead of going out for food. But that's when I have to pull back and realize that I'm being crazy and that I had an AWESOME time with my friends and that getting out of the house and stepping away from the art studio and the computer is a good thing that was more than totally worth it. Self-employed people are allowed to have fun too.

And in case you were wondering, the photo at the top of the post is the result of me being a little factory one day and making about a million of these handpainted dinner plates. For a better look, go here. These plates are even foodsafe!

Ok, now it's goal time! Here are three of mine for the month:

*Finish and ship off my book for the Sketchbook Project 2012. Right now, all I've got are several layers of backgrounds done on every page. I need to gain some momentum on this project and start drawing and screen printing! Wish me luck.

*Come up with my next 30 Days project. Yup, I plan to force myself into another 30 days of something after my 30 days of Gosling are over.

*Make some serious progress on updating my porfolio website. I have already updated the Artist's Books section to include a preview of the book I self-published in 2010, but there are still many, many more updates that need to happen!

Oh, and I never should have told you any of my monthly goals. Here's a video to explain why...

Oops! Too late.

Break the rules and tell me some of your monthly goals in the comments below. :)

41 Minutes of Pure Inspiration

2012-01-09T21:00:00.000-05:00

Through some of that beautiful internet happenstance that occurred a couple of days ago, I came across two super inspiring videos. The first one is a Portland/Creative Mornings Talk with Kate Bingaman Burt which I saw someone tweeting about. Inspired to make stuff (but not yet sure where to begin), I decided I needed even more inspiration and went to Ted.com where the first talk I clicked on was by Matt Cutts, entitled, "Try Something New for 30 Days."

Then I had an inspiration overdose and came up with my little Gosling challenge from the previous post....

Watch them both, then tell me what creative projects you come up with!

Introducing The 30 Goslings in 30 Days Challenge!

2012-01-09T13:45:00.001-05:00

I plan to draw 30 portraits of Ryan Gosling in 30 Days in an effort to become better at portrait drawing, better at drawing men (I always draw women.), and better at capturing the soul of Ryan Gosling.

Visit the dedicated project blog here: http://30goslingsin30days.tumblr.com/

Here are the first two days of Goslings and what I learned while drawing each one:

Gosling No. 1:

What I Learned About Ryan:
*Man, he has some friendly eyes.
*He can really rock a collar.
*It’s like his smile is encouraging me to draw him, saying, “You can do it! I know you can.”
*I do love his chin dimple thing.

What I Learned About Drawing:
*It’s hard to draw facial hair without making a dude look homeless and dirty.
*I hate drawing his chin dimple thing.

This drawing looks 6% like Ryan Gosling. I still have a long way to go….

---

Gosling No. 2:

What I Learned About Ryan:

*Ryan is more fun to draw than his jacket.
*His lips always look chapped.
*His perfection is really hard to capture in a drawing.

What I Learned About Drawing:

*Again, facial hair is super hard to draw. Need to find a clean shaven Gosling to draw next time (even though I like him better with facial hair).
*I’m too scared to add ink to the portrait part of the drawing… Maybe next time?

This drawing looks 10% like Ryan Gosling. Better than the first attempt, I think

The "How to Draw" Series: An Introduction

2012-01-07T20:20:00.001-05:00

A friend of mine visited a few days ago for New Year's Eve/Day, and we had lots of fun doing artsy crafty things and going to the flea market... For Christmas, she gave me One Sketch a Day: A Visual Journal, and I have been using it ever since the new year began. It's so much fun to draw something random every day. I try not to think about it too much and just draw whatever comes to mind as soon as the pen or pencil touches the paper. I think this journal will really help me loosen up when it comes to drawing, and hopefully I will get more experimental because of it too. It will be nice to see how my drawings progress day to day... Here are the first four days of drawings:

I have been thinking a lot about drawing lately and how my attitudes towards drawing have changed over the years. Just having the confidence to pick up a drawing tool and have it meet the paper can be so challenging sometimes. I know a lot of people who say that they can't draw, but I really feel that if they really wanted to learn and made a daily effort to try, they could improve on their skills, even if they don't think they have any to begin with.

I want to share a little story with you about something that happened in my college days that really affected my attitude towards drawing for several years...

When I was nineteen, I had an art professor who was a talented woman, and I looked up to her. One day during class, she said she needed to talk to me in private, so we went into her office, and she closed the door behind us. She asked me to sit down, and she said that what she had to say would be important. I was kind of nervous at this point, wondering why she had pulled me out of class and sat me down... She sat down too, looked me directly in the eye, and she said, "You are really, really terrible at drawing. You keep trying, but it doesn't get any better. I'm going to be honest with you: if you want to continue down a fine arts path and get your degree, you are going to have to stop drawing completely. You need to do only photo based artwork. Only photos, no more drawings and no more paintings, understood?"

Dumbfounded and discouraged, I nodded my head, and she said I was free to go.

I didn't draw for years.

It took a really great drawing professor a few years later to get me back into drawing again. This new professor gave me the confidence and courage to put pencil to paper once again and allow myself to make mistakes, to practice, to learn... She did all the things a teacher was supposed to do. She was wonderful.

I stopped again when I graduated because I wasn't able to take the drawing professor's classes anymore, and I really needed her words of encouragement to keep at it. I should have had the confidence to keep drawing on my own, but my "drawing self esteem" was already so low from the bad professor's words, that her negativity still haunted me when I thought about trying to draw. It was easier to not try at all. I still made art, but I used photo processes (silkscreened photographs, collage, etc. - anything that I could do that didn't involve drawing or painting). They became my crutch.

It wasn't until a few years later that I decided to start trying to draw again. I had become active on Flickr.com and had started to mark a lot of favorite photos on the website. I noticed that I was mostly favoriting photos that other uses had taken of their drawn and painted pieces, and I had barely any favorites that were actual photos themselves. The art I admired most was all drawn and painted. Specifically, they were all drawings and paintings done of people.

I used to draw constantly as a kid. I was basically obsessed with drawing all the way up until that professor had her little chat with me... I knew it was something I enjoyed, something I admired in others, and something I wanted to be able to do again one day.

One day, I suddenly decided that it was time to try drawing again. And I wanted to draw people.

I was out of college at this point, so I decided to make my own art assignment. I took three photos of people I admired, and I drew them every day. I used photos of Charles Bukowski, Jewel, and Jack Kerouac. It was so painful at first, the drawings were so bad, and I didn't want to do it - I didn't want to see myself fail at something I loved so much. But I did it, and to my surprise there was a huge improvement just after one day! Imagine the amount of improvement that came after one month of drawing the same three people from the same three photos...

I stopped drawing from those three photos after about a month of daily drawing because I was too excited to start drawing all sorts of other things and see what else I could do! Of course now, I go through periods where I draw less or maybe I don't draw for a few days, but no matter what, drawing is still a huge part of my life and my attitude towards the art form is very positive. I have finally banished the voice of my former professor telling me I can't, and I have replaced it by constantly telling myself that I can and that I should at least attempt to draw something every day. My new little Sketch a Day book will help with that also!

I am telling you the story about the bad art professor because I want you to see how you can overcome your "artistic doubts" and fears toward doing something creative. I am by no means an authority on drawing - I could use a lot of improvement myself, but I can say that I do draw almost every day and love the feeling of the act of drawing - the quiet focus, the deep study, the truly "being in the moment" feeling I get when I draw... So if you have had doubts about drawing in the past, I want to offer you a few tips to motivate you and get you drawing again... After all, we all used to draw without abandon when we were kids, right?

This Friday, I am starting a new series: "How to Draw" featuring a new FREE lesson every Friday! Get your sketchbooks ready, and be sure to follow my site so that you don't miss a lesson...