Some Photos of my Life

Okay, I'm definately not going to be able to stick to weekly photos. So here are some photos from my life in the last unspecified period of time:

A lot has happened in the past few weeks. I performed in an a cappella concert, did tons of art and became an official Studio Arts major, and Shea and I are going through a lot of growth right now.

Self Portrait Project pt. 3

It's done and not done at the same time.

So after the last post, I went in and finished the right side. Then I spent days trying to figure out the left side.

During this process I also finished the hair. Here is my *first* finished version of the piece:

After my critique, I realized the shadows sucked, the left eye lid was too big, there were too many left eye lashes, and the background did nothing to enhance the image. So I fixed it:

I like it, but there are still a lot of thinks I want to change, but I doubt I'll have time to do. I'd like to use a bit more variety in my skin. It's very plastic looking. Part of that is due to the fact that I have a very difficult time blending with acrylic. I'd like to boost the contrast a little and add more detail. But for my first portrait, I'm pleased.

An Etsy Shop to Check Out and... I WON SOMETHING

I've been looking for a sleeve for my new Macbook for a while, and couldn't find quite what I was looking for anywhere. I was lucky enough to stumble upon an Etsy shop, btaylorquilts, that had a kindle case that I really liked. I contacted her and asked if she could use the same design for a Macbook sleeve, and look what she came up with!

This are the photos she sent me this morning before she lists it on Etsy!

When I first found her shop, I also found a link to her Facebook Page and Blog, where she announced there was a give-away contest from her shop hosted at Lillyella. I entered just for the heck of it and I found out today that I won! I got to pick from coasters, potholders, and eyeglass cases in her shop, and picked out these fallen leaves coasters.

I never win anything! 

My Week in Photos

I'm going to try something inspired by the blog of Kate Miss 

I take a lot of crappy iPhone photos each week just for mementos of moments that strike me. I'm going to post those photos every week or so. I may even post photos of Shea's haircut! Hopefully I'll start using my real camera too.

Here's this week in photos:

Lots of art this week. Sage really likes to help me when I draw with charcoal. Also got some cozy new shoes, cut Shea's hair, got flannel sheets with snowflakes in preparation for winter, and at Target I got the softest blanket I have ever touched. Softer than kittens. Even Sage thinks so. You can see it in the last two photos above. I slept very well last night. 

Yesterday I got to see the student version of Les Mis, which Shea and my sister Cassie both performed it. It was AMAZING. And Shea, who can barely hit middle C when he sings in front of me, sang the hell out of his solo. He hit his high note like it was nothing. And although he wasn't mic'd, he was louder than some who were! Gave me chills. 

I spent this morning buying music and will likely spend the afternoon working to it. It's great art doing music, especially the three albums I bought by Fink. 

And now I'm off to read about some art!

Self Portrait Project Pt.2

I've made quite a bit of progress since my last post. I had no idea where to start with the skin tone, so I spent quite a while just mixing paint and painting over it. I started by filling in the neck and face with a base coat that was my estimation of skin tone.

Creepy looking, I know. And WAY to pale. I tried to go in and add some shadows and hightlights but really couldn't visualize the colors right. Here was my first attempt:

Yuck. I was getting very discouraged, so my professor suggested I go in and fill in the hair with only a base coat of the darkest shade. I also added a wash of blue-gray for the background.

I decided that I'd tackle an eye next, because I wasn't ready to try the skin again. I spent about 2 hours on this eye:

The shadow of the lid was too black, so after a million different mixes, I settled on a redder color. I used this as the base of my new skin tone shade, adding a little burnt sienna and titanium white to lighten, and some cadmium red to darken. I finally figured out how to give the skin the color and texture I want. I am using the smallest brush I have to add the paint so it blends smoothly. In this last shot, you'll see all the progress I've made so far. The eye and cheek are coming together nicely, and I'm hoping the rest will go as smoothly. I do think that I may need to take out some red later, but this is a nice start.

Self Portrait Project

I've just started my second project in Intro Painting, which I'm both thrilled and terrified for. I have to paint a self-portrait. I found out through the last project that I am horrible at painting skin. Not sure how to get the right color, and how to apply the paint to get a smoother look than I've gotten in the past. I'm thinking I'm going to post progress shots here, because it's fun for me to see and share my approach to art. Today I finished the fabric of my shirt. I LOVE drawing and painting fabric. Here is its, after the first painting session:

Reconsideration, Part 2

So, I changed my major.

Two days ago I was halfway through getting a B.S. in Neuroscience. Today, I'm on my way to getting a Studio Arts B.A.

Why did I switch? The bigger question in my mind is why I even had to. Why wasn't I a studio arts major from the start?

I love art. My favorite part of summer camp: arts and crafts. My favorite part of school: Art class. Family members often received hand made gifts. I painted guitars on a pair of converse for my sister's birthday. I started a henna body art business when I was 14 and have made thousands of dollars since then. I took a pottery class this summer and loved every second. I won best in show in an art competition in high school, and second place for a self portrait. I've made candles, jewelry, painted with water colors and oil, welded, sculpted, sewn, done ceramics in high school, and tried almost every art form I could get my hands on.

So why was I a neuroscience major? Was it because I felt art was more of a hobby? Like, no college I've heard of offers a major in having fun. Maybe I didn't see career possibilities in in? Maybe I didn't feel I'd fit the traditional "artist" label, that I wasn't creative enough?
I'm honestly not sure. I just don't know how I got
through two years of something I didn't care as much about as I told myself I did. And I'm stil having doubts in my ability to major in this. So I look at these photos:

There are tons more examples of things I've done since college started, and even more from high school, before I'd put my passion on the back burner. 

When I think that now my homework will be drawing and painting and taking photos and reading and writing about art, I feel.... free. And excited! I'm not dreading homework. I'm not dreading being busy. I'm looking forward to the things I will create, and the hours I will spend in the studio, enjoying every second. I've let go of the idea that somehow giving up on neuroscience is a failure. It would be more of a failure if I'd given up on art. Classes felt like punishment before. 

I don't know what I'll end up doing with this degree, but I'm feeling like there are a lot of options. I don't have to try to support myself by selling art alone. I can get involved in tons of fields where artistic creativity will be needed. I feel like a million doors have opened to me! I'll have to dip into my savings a bit to cover all my supplies, but as my dad pointed out- I can give my homework as gifts!

My schedule at the start of this year:

Molecular Cell Biology

Physics

Statistics and Experimental Design

Intro to Painting

My schedule now:

Intro to Painting 

Intro to Drawing

Intro to Photography

Art in Europe in the 18th Century

AWESOME!

Things I'm stressed about:

Catching up in photo and drawing

Potential work load of three studio classes

Things I'm NOT stressed about:

Not being able to do my homework

Not enjoying my homework

HATING my homework

Being bored in class

HATING class

Doing poorly on exams

Not being able to concentrate on studying

Not liking actual neuroscience

A million mandatory workshops and labs

Turning in problems sets on time

Forgetting things I've already learned

Feeling like I'm never done with work

Feeling like I can't do things I enjoy

And yet it took me two years to figure out that I should be an art major.