Anna Sellers Art and Thoughts

Angel Eyes and Some Studio Notes

2011-04-28T09:21:00.000-04:00

Angel Eyes - Graphite on 11x17 Bristol This is a drawing from a photo. The baby I have drawn has all of the classic cherub qualities. She is beautiful. She has the most amazing little lips. She has the perfect baby nose. The most important thing that makes me want to draw her is that her little eyes look as though she knows something the rest of the world does not. I am pretty close to

More Work Less Complaining

2011-04-25T11:40:00.000-04:00

I went to portrait class last night to get a better finish on my drawing. James did a painting demo using a black canvas and limited palette of Yellow Ocher, Vermillion, Ivory Black and Titanium white. I wish I had pictures to show of this palette and the arrangement of colors he had there. It was a nice fleshy palette and I learned a lot just watching him scumble it onto the black canvas.

Back to school - Do the work!

2011-04-21T11:30:00.000-04:00

Toni Starting April 16, I am officially going back to Lafayette Atelier to finish up my art education. I am so happy I could just wiggle. Ok, I am wiggling! This is my first charcoal drawing for portrait class. We have another 3 hour session on Sunday where I will do some cleaning up and adding white to make this thing pop. Starting next week I will begin a cast drawing. I will

Another Whim

2010-09-23T11:02:00.000-04:00

I have not posted on this blog for quite some time. I often look at my bookmark for a new post at the top of my browser and feel incredibly guilty because not only does it seem like I have abandoned my blog, I have not done any art to blog about. I am far from being done improving my art, but I have decided that there are many sides to this being inside this body and I have a lot of creative

The Real Problem with Creativity

2010-05-21T11:19:00.000-04:00

Seth Godin: Quieting the Lizard Brain from 99% on Vimeo. I found this video on 43 folders. There is also an interview on 43 folders that is very good. My lizard brain is on overdrive. I have not used my creativity for anything good lately. Instead I have come up with very creative excuses for not doing anything productive at all.

Neurology & Art

2010-05-16T13:03:00.000-04:00

I recently found this lecture given by Ramachandran. He explains what it is about art that captures our attention. This lecture brings up a lot of great insight for artists and art appreciators. I find it extremely fascinating when art meets science. I am fascinated by neurology in particular. There is an amazing thing inside our skulls that does so much more than operate our bodies.

Art and architecture

2010-05-15T12:39:00.000-04:00

Art and architecture

Myltia Series - Always

2010-02-02T08:42:00.000-05:00

As a mother, I remember holding my babies like this. I would listen to their breathing, feel their chest expanding and contracting and just smell the wonderful aroma of baby. Moments like this are pure life. I think every mother I ever talked to remembers moments like these and smiles. Motherhood is Always. I got a new webcam for Christmas. This is the first time I have recorded myself

Life Drawing - Renewing The Energy!

2010-01-19T13:12:00.000-05:00

In the order they were done: I decided to play around with just the graphic quality of this image. There is something I am trying to capture here that I am just not quite getting. Using just any old ink pen that supplied black ink, I played around with lines and hatching and flow. I just wanted to see what it would look like in high contrast and low contrast. I think what I am ultimately

Myltia

2010-01-11T15:45:00.000-05:00

Years ago, I knew her as Myltia when we played online roleplaying games. After the baby was born, she died of cancer. We are still friends with the family and though we drift here and there, we still manage to keep in touch. It is a nice addition to my sketchbook. A sketch and a memory tied together. This is a sketch from a photo for a larger drawing. I am working out ideas and getting my

Cyclopedia Anatomicae

2010-01-10T14:38:00.000-05:00

The girls and I took a trip to Barnes and Noble. We shopped for books, bought some coffee and sat at a table in silence. Toni had to observe a stranger and write a fictional background story based on what she observed for a writing assignment. Tori purchased a new sketchbook and a set of colored pencils, so she started drawing. I sketched in public for the first time. We really enjoyed our

Self Portrait #4 and #5

2010-01-08T17:40:00.001-05:00

I tried a double mirror pose so that I would be facing the right direction in my self portrait. The disadvantage to that is that it is very hard to measure. I tried first with the conte crayon, but between fighting the crayon and getting disoriented in the double mirrors, it was just too frustrating. I pulled the page out of my book and then picked up my handy dandy mechanical and went to

The First Sketches from 2010

2010-01-07T17:06:00.000-05:00

These are sketches from my sketchbook in the order they were done. The last three are self portraits. I used conte crayon for the first few and a plain old mechanical pencil for the last. I probably don't have to say that I was frustrated with the crayon. I think that shows. As I progressed, it seemed less bulky and more controllable. I won't give up. I will get this media

Happy New Year - Some links to get going!

2010-01-07T10:48:00.011-05:00

To be honest, I have produced less finished art this year than any year in the past and I am quite disappointed with 2009. With that said..Like most people, I have some goals for the upcoming year that I hope to achieve. I made a short and sweet list on 43 things. I like 43 things for a lot of reasons. You can set up reminders for yourself to stay motivated. I like that you can share your

Holiday Charity

2009-12-13T19:26:00.003-05:00

I want to share a story with you.Many years ago, we were a large family on a small income. We had about $150 to buy presents and feed 6 children and two adults for Christmas. My husband and I told each other little lies to help each other get over the fact that if Santa was going to come, there would be no presents from Mom and Dad that year. Trying to plan a Christmas dinner with what money

The Girls

2009-12-07T10:51:00.004-05:00

A friend of my husbands uploaded some pictures from Afghanistan. This one in particular captured my heart. It didn't really occur to me why until I started sketching.These two could easily be my girls. I have one that is always smiling and being friendly while the other is much more quiet and serious. It is funny how we attach our experiences to the images we see. Sometimes we don't

Is Being a Painter Irrelevant? - My answer.

2009-11-30T08:32:00.004-05:00

I recently discovered a new blog to follow called Sheree Rensel - ART AND LIFE. She posted an entry that has been eating on the backside of my brain since I read it. Is Being a Painter Irrelevant? As the world is changing around us, has the craft become obsolete?Her post comes at a very interesting time for me. I read it just before I went into the kitchen for a two day cook fest for

Discovering How My Imagination Works

2009-11-19T08:26:00.004-05:00

This is a sketch for C.H.O.W. 180. My body reference is here. I also have a couple paintings bookmarked HERE and HERE that I want to use as color inspiration.I hope to get this sketch to the point that I can put it on a panel I have lying around collecting dust and paint it before the week is done. I can't seem to decide what to do with the feet. I only have a few days, so I am going to have

Painting from the palette.

2009-10-30T10:59:00.003-04:00

I am very happy with the hurdles I overcame to produce this one.

Her Shoes

2009-10-28T21:20:00.004-04:00

Something kinda quick to get my quota in for the day. Still working on my sense of perspective. Foreshortening is still weak, but coming a little better than before. I did some very boring sketches this morning that I won't bother to scan. A little at a time, my sense of angles and distances are improving. It is completely frustrating to me that I have not mastered this yet. That is a good

Knitting

2009-10-27T21:23:00.003-04:00

Playing with a few more colors than usual. It was really hard not to work this one to death. I am not sure I stopped soon enough. This subject may be worth painting again. I didn't settle into this as well as I did yesterday.

Morning Friends

2009-10-26T22:21:00.006-04:00

Getting back in the daily painting routine. Some days it flows and some days I have to really work hard for every correct brush stroke. Today was one of those easier days even though I was pressed for time.All of these are 6x6 oil on gallery wrap canvas. My set up in the corner is working out pretty good. Because it is the northeast corner of our house, the lighting is pretty controlled. I

Still Life with Onions

2009-10-19T16:58:00.003-04:00

Still Life with OnionsOil on 6x6 Gallery Wrap CanvasLimited Palette painting:Burnt UmberChrome YellowUltramarine BlueTitanium WhiteIt has been a while since I set something up and painted. I am never sure what to do with the background.

Laundry Warrior

2009-08-14T13:01:00.002-04:00

Photo ReferenceMy silly side is coming out in me today. I started doing a study of SenshiStock's photo and listening for the dryer as I sketched. When I put the two thoughts together I came up with a Domestic Warrior idea. Today was laundry. Nothing could be more boring than laundry. Once I get started on a silly idea, it seems like it spreads in my mind and I can't help but expand on it.

Day two of daily sketches

2009-08-13T12:28:00.003-04:00

Photo ReferenceToday was the second day of school. I made a new Pandora list today that I named 80's Girls. If you are not into cheesy 80's female pop artists, don't click that link. Again, I grabbed the first image of a person that came up on the stock images list at DeviantArt. It is a bit of a nostalgic day. The music is up loud and blasting as I go about my chores. A family of seven