Painting what I feel...

Not everything is easily explained in words. Painting has become a new wave of communication for me. I don't believe that all of paintings should be understood, but the important part to me is the fact that I've exercised some form of communication. This, to me, is like "getting it off of my chest", so to speak. For a long time, I've used several means of communication: poetry, singing, and other forms of theatrics. All of these avenues have been effective, but I don't feel as if I've fully expressed myself the way that I could while painting.

Recently I've reached deep into my emotions and painted the way the I was feeling at that same time.
 "Pain".

I smiled, frowned and cried during this painting. Never have I felt so fulfilled after painting this piece. I didn't feel as if I had to write any explanations or disclosures. My feelings were as raw as they come, and I loved every minute of it.

What's your 'focus' as an artist?

      There are times when I tend to question what my 'focus' is when it comes to painting/drawing.  I've learned that many artists' style is focused on one subject matter or technique. For instance, some are portrait artists, landscape artists, abstract artists or collage artists, etc. As for me, I just focus on whatever moves me to be creative.

      Most times, my art subject is provoked by my surroundings. For instance, if I've been shopping all day and picking out clothing, or have been researching fashion (in order to pick out a suitable outfit), I get the urge to begin drawing croquis or female figures.

Or, if I've been spending a lot of time outdoor, I get the urge to draw landscape or flowers.

 And so forth...

I don't know if this does or doesn't classify me as an artist at all!

What do you think?

Got Creative Block???

Ok, so I have the motivation and inspiration to get a project done, but where am I going with this project? This subject may be very similar to the last blog title, but there are still some things that I had not touched on. No matter how much motivation or inspiration an artist/ designer could have, we could still have some creative block (something like writers block). Most times artists/designers are blessed with those clients who know exactly what they want. However, there are those clients who may want you to complete their project based on your own creative ideas. For instance, a client wants a logo for a blog site including some small images.

Yeah, let’s talk about those kinds of projects. I’ve had a project like this one and boy was I confused. See, the client did not know what colors to use, nor did they know what types of images they wanted. This particular project seemed very easy at first, but having an indecisive client can make any project that seems ‘easy’ turn out difficult and frustrating. So here’s the solution: Learn more about the client and their business, audience (age group), demographics, etc. This will help you to gain insight on the direction that the client wants you to go in. The blogs are based on the subject of fashion, with a focus on shoes. The audience was women 18 years old and older, with the demographics of the inner city. After I began to understand who and what the blog was about, I got a better idea of what the colors should be. I gave the client a variety of color schemes to choose from, to make things a little easier.  Also, allowing my client to choose from the several schemes gives her the chance to have more ‘say-so’ in what her logo design would be. After all, I wanted her feel the design was more of her ideas, than mine.  I did research on blog sites and the subject matter of my client’s blog ideas and began the drafts. A confused client can create a confused artist/designer. SN: I don’t recommend that you fully ‘take over’ any project. Client’s, no matter how confused or indecisive they are, still wants to feel as if their ideas count toward their projects.

Maybe that was easy for some of you. Well, I got another one: Let’s say your client wants you to paint an abstract of their face, but don’t know what colors to use. Yep, I had one of these too. This particular client wanted me to work from some pictures that they had taken using a laptop camera. The pictures sent to me were in poor quality and had terrible lighting. Now, how can I paint the perfect picture? This isn’t the same as a graphic design project. I didn’t need all of the same steps that I would take toward creating a graphic. So, here’s the solution: Ask about the sort of paintings that the client had in mind when they envisioned an abstract of their face. Compare their ideas with the pictures that are sent to you and visualize how ‘realistic’ the client’s ideas really are. This may seem difficult at first, because the way a client and artist predict a project are completely different. After the client gave me some samples of paintings that they’d seen, I had a better idea of where to begin with the painting. I began to create drafts of what this particular painting would look like, using the painting features in Adobe Photoshop. I didn’t want to complete a full painting that the client would end up turning away, thus, resulting in a trial and error situation. I’m not sure about you, but I do not have time or paint to waste, lol. I sent the drafts via email to the client, so that he could have a decision in what his painting would look like. This process was pretty quick and helped the client to get a better vision of what they wanted in their painting.

Not every client will know how to write an effective creative brief. In most cases, artists and designers feel as if they must become psychic in order to please their clients. However there is no way that we can read our client’s minds. Using good judgment based on a clear understanding of the purpose and functionality of your projects will help to guide your creative thoughts. I advise artists/designers to research at all time. This does not mean that you should copy anyone else’s style, but do this in order to learn about subject matters and the mind set of that particular audience, demographic, business, etc. I’m not saying that this is the only way to work, but it will help you, I promise!!!

Comment: Let me know your thoughts!  ;-)

What to do when you need motivation or desire inspiration inorder to create.

Lack of inspiration or motivation can become a problem for an artist/designer. Not every project that we take on, be it contractual or personal, will trigger creativity. Most creative people have something that helps them to work beyond this. So, I am going to share some of my own solutions to those delimmas. Motivation can be difficult when a client's project seems asinine.


There are people who want so many things that are outside of the designer's/artist's taste. BUT! If there was an agreement between the artist/designer and the client, it MUST be carried out. Here's my solution. In order for me to get some motivation, I think about the project and how it reflects who I am as an artist/designer. I begin to remember that what ever I do, it must be outstanding, so that other potential clients will recognize my work. (sn:As an artist/designer we must realize that every project won't seem so fun, untill we make it that way.) After research and brief sketches, I begin to take on the project challenge, and plan the desired time I want to put into it before the scheduled day of completion. There are many different ways you can work on getting motivation, and many reasons to need motivation. Do what ever works for you! Then there is the need for inspiration.


Usually I need inspiration when I know that I need to practice a technique or complete a personal project (portfolio, paintings, etc.). Here's my solution. When it comes to beginning my own series of paintings , I begin to think with the mindset of a child. Children tend to create things without over thinking it. They put an image in thier minds then just go for it. I begin with doodles or just some gesture drawings. I include several mediums and colors until I figure out my desired medium or color scheme. As far as practicing a technique, I study other artists, or try out new projects from tutorials. I tend to go back to the books that I learned from or I use some of my spare time to learn from my peers and favorite artists/designers. Going back to the basics has helped me tremendously when creating.


WELP! I hope that what I've said, has helped someone. If you have some of your own solutions to finding inspiration or getting motivation, please comment!!!!!

How it all began... (lol)

Hiya!


Ok... So I'm weird. It all began when I was a little girl. LOL


I'd never known how bad my eye sight really was until I'd began wearing glasses in the 5th grade. When I left the eye doctor, it felt as if I'd been given a new pair of eyes. For a while, I was always told 'what I was looking at" or "what  was supposed to see". Little did I know, when I was not 'seeing' or 'looking at' what people told me, I'd create an image in my mind to fill in what I couldn't really make out. For all of those years my imagination was my key to seeing. LOL


MAYBE that sounds weird to you, but I'd needed glasses since kindergarten. My parents had not gotten them for me because they'd thought that I was faking bad eyesight, and wanted glasses like other kids. Yeah, sure. So, when people told me that I could see (when I really couldn't), I would make up in my mind, what I was supposed to be seeing. I beleive this is where all of my creativity derived.


For a while, after getting glasses, I began to see the world the way that everyone else saw it. All of the trees, streets and automobiles looked exactly how people described them, without my imagination taking over. But I missed my old way of seeing things. So, in order for me to create those images again, I began to draw what I wanted to see. I would close my eyes and recreate images that I once believed exist. Public buses were bigger and longer; trees had less branches; cartoon characters were partly human (etc).


I never really kept all of my drawings because I thought that they'd offend people. So, I decided that my imagination would stay a secret.


I'd met my grandfather, William T, Stephens Jr., at the age of 12. When I walked into his house, I'd realized that there were many landscape paintings hanging on the walls. I thought that he was very fond of buying art. When I asked him why he loved to buy so many paintings, he answered "I don't buy them, I paint them myself." GET OUTTA HERE!!!! My grandfather was an artist for many years and I never knew it. Of course, this made me feel so very close to him.


For a while, I would go to his house to watch him paint, or just to hang out and stare at his paintings and drawings. When highschool came around, my electives where... guess what? Art classes, duh! I would use all of the techniques that the teacher would show us, then quickly advance, because my grandfather would show me more.


After highschool, I would continue doing art. I'd paint pictures of flowers, help with murals, and draw random things for people, just for the pure joy of it. When I began college, my major was Pharmacy; then it changed into General Studies. All of my college classes were either science or history and al of my electives were art classes. This became a bore, until I made the self empowering decision to pursue art. But, what kind of art? I knew a lot about fine arts, but I knew that everything was quickly becoming centered around computers. I determined in my mind that I would try to learn as many fields of art as possible. This is when I decided to begin school for Graphic Design.


There is so much more to say about Graphic Design School, but I will save it for later... I am now a graduate, freelance Graphic Designer, and continuously pursuing more knowledge in this field.