Woman in Charge

“The Woman in Charge”

“The Woman in Charge”

A creative task I really enjoy doing is what I call “text page art”. Starting with a page from a paperback, read through it, find a few words that catch your eye. Use that as the title for an image that you can either sketch directly on the page or look through magazines for something.

The image above: I used a text page from “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown. The image on top of the text was borrowed from art director Andrew P. Kner, Print Magazine cover 1979. I had a postcard with that image and I believe subconsciously the title and image came together well before I decided they would.

2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women's constitutional right to vote. I did not realize that when I created this in my notebook.

I love how the magic of creativity works. But is it really magic or is it that when we are prepared, creativity is more readily available? I’d like to think that it’s a combination of both.

~Maria

Daily Notebook Sketches

Daily Sketch: Just one thing out of my day.

Daily Sketch: Just one thing out of my day.

Last week I gave myself the challenge of documenting just one thing out of my day with a sketch. My rule is that it doesn’t have to be perfect, just quick. But once I begin, I find myself immersed in the moment enjoying the process. Like anything you do over and over, you become better at it. I am wanting to think more and more in layers and apply what I learn to the next and the next and the next. Check out my post on 10 sketching tips if you are also practicing sketching more.

Happy Sketching! ~Maria

Do them anyway — you can never spend enough time on the basics.
— Twyla Tharp

10 Sketching Tips

“To silence your mind and say something at the same time, try sketching.” Maria

This is a collection of tips I have gathered from many sources. Although not all of these tips will always apply, it’s my go-to when I’m sketching in my notebook. Eventually, it becomes a habit like anything you do over and over. I’m hoping some of these tips will help you.

  1. Choose your subject.

  2. Decide what to keep in your drawing and what not to keep.

  3. Keep it simple. (Speed forces you to simplify)

  4. Break it up into shapes such as cubes, spheres, etc.

  5. Look for the contours of your scene.

  6. Practice single line sketching. Draw your horizon line using one single line.

  7. Loosen up. Capture the essence and not all the details.

  8. Contrast gives you depth.

  9. Add variations of thick and thin lines and don’t connect all your lines.

  10. Think in layers.

To Be...

Looking back at this photo from my files (2012) inspires me to get back in the game. Putting the finishing touches on my painting that was selected for IMAGINE 2012 featured piece. Grateful memories!

Looking back at this photo from my files (2012) inspires me to get back in the game. Putting the finishing touches on my painting that was selected for IMAGINE 2012 featured piece. Grateful memories!

I’ve been thinking about my artistic abilities as I am getting my paints out and ready to engage with three canvases at one time. I don’t think of myself as being creative enough at times, especially when it comes to painting— I want to get better at it. But it’s not about my technique, or my ability to mix colors that I’m talking about...it’s about putting down on canvas what I find interesting, creative and exciting. I love the feeling of waking up and looking forward to getting back to the canvas to try something, a new idea etc.

Painting is this: You begin with an idea, you put paint on the canvas, and then you have this weird relationship with the piece of work you call your art until you both come to an agreement that it is finished. The creative process is rather mysterious and I love it.

To be more creative, to be excited, to be surprised. ~Maria

Tell Me...

One of my favorite groups on FaceBook is Cynthia Berg’s page, “Of Ink + Insight”. Tell Me Tuesday is a weekly writing prompt she shares from the deck of cards she created, Tell Me Insight Cards. I always look forward to reading and participating with the group…Cynthia has a special, magical way about her and how she leads this group.

This one really spoke to me as I’ve been thinking that I do need a better plan, and maybe a little bit of a change in what I’m doing with my art, workshops, books, etc. It’s time to write out some specifics in my notebook and take some daily actions. Thank you Cynthia Berg! ~Maria

Photo by Cynthia Berg, Of Ink + Insight

Photo by Cynthia Berg, Of Ink + Insight

Travel Inspiration

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I recently visited San Francisco for just a couple of days. My favorite way to explore a new area is to walk it and along the way, photograph things that inspire me as art. I may want to paint these street scenes or simply sketch them in my notebook. I am amazed at how much we can do with our phones and an editing app in just a few minutes. ~Maria

Time

Hello Creatives, (Yes, you are a creative too) I have been thinking about how I spend my time, where I take it and where it goes, sometimes without my permission—a lack of schedule and the disruption of a schedule. Some days I feel like I misplaced that lifeboat long ago and need to find it because I’m still living. I am adopting a new meaning for the word schedule—a mock-up of reason and order… thanks to this quote.

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order—willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living.
— Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

Be Prepared to Be Creative

clear expandable file

clear expandable file

Hello Creatives,

One of my favorite things to do is gather a mix of images, paper, and words from old magazines and recreate something new with them. Make a card, alter an existing one, collage some art. Me and my creative circle peeps sit around my table tearing and cutting out stuff. I just recently put my different categories into an expandable file. From time to time I’ll show you a few examples where these came in handy. Until then, Cut, Tear, Glue, Repeat.

~Maria

Nothing is Original

“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to."
― Jim Jarmusch