It’s the
height of the summer and all across the country, the State Fairs are gearing up
for their special kinds of fun and food. In my neck of the woods, the Ohio
State Fair is one of the biggest in the nation, partly because Ohio is mostly
rural and there are lots of farm families that take part.
There’s
always a big hall for displaying crafts (lots of quilts) and it’s fun to see
what kinds of handmade items take home the blue ribbon. You may not find a lot
of cutting edge crafts at the fairs, and sometimes the quality is iffy, but you
can see the love and pride that has gone into the work, whether it’s a beaded
denim shirt or a 4-H scrapbook.
It seems
country folk like to express what’s important to them and what they value most,
such as family, farm life, love of country, rather than focusing on what will
sell in the marketplace. I find a purity in that that is most appealing.
Hi. Jackie here. Well, it’s mid-July—the heart of vacation time. If you’re a shutterbug like me, you’ll come back from vacation with tons of photos. All those photos can serve as great inspiration for your paintings. The most important thing to remember is reference photos are only inspiration. You can alter them in any way you want. Delete the ugly (like telephone polls or billboards) and enhance the beauty (why not add a dramatic sky?). About.com has a helpful article on how to use reference photos. Read it by clicking here.
Okay, so what if you don’t take a good photo, or you’re not traveling anywhere inspiring. You can still find tons of copyright-free photos to paint from. About.com has some great suggestions here. You also can check out the Artist’s Photo Reference series. Each book is full of hundreds of color reference photos that pertain to a specific subject. Two great titles from that series are:
Whether you’re taking a trip to a far-off land, visiting family or simply having a stay-cation at home, I hope you find time to relax and refresh and enjoy a much-needed break from your normal routine.
Hello. Mary here. I had a great time at the Art! Learning &
Product expo last week. I was a little disappointed when I realized
that “Chicago” actually turned out to be Lisle, IL, which is 30 miles
away from the big city. However, there was so much to see and do at the
expo that I was too worn out to do anything during the little free time
I had.
There were lots of great vendors present, and most were
offering up to a 50-percent discount, so a lot of artists were busily
stocking up. North Light had a nice display of our recent titles, and
we quickly sold out of several titles. Check out the links below if
you’re interested in picking up these popular new books.
I was also able to sit in on two workshops. The first was “Broken Color: Still Lifes in Acrylic” with Margaret Roseman.
I had a great time, and Margaret even let me join in and paint my own
still life! It was my first painting experience, and, I have to say,
I’m pretty proud of my masterpiece.
I also attended a “Mastering Color” watercolor workshop with Karen Vernon.
Karen also asked me to join in on the painting fun, but, unfortunately,
I could stay for only a short time, so I figured I’d better not make a
mess and run. But it looked like so much fun!
Anyone doing some art-related traveling this summer? What inspiring workshops have you attended lately?
Hello,
painting friends. I think I’ve come up with a really good excuse to waste even
more time watching TV!I realized
that some of my favorite cooking shows on the Food Network are great places to
look for current trends in kitchen décor and new color schemes.
If I can
take my eyes off the luscious-looking food for a minute, I check out the colors
they’ve painted the walls, the decorative accessories they’ve placed on the
countertops, the cabinetry, the bowls and plates the cook uses to serve the
food, and anything else that catches my eye.
I realize
that professional set decorators create these kitchens to match the personality
of the cook, but still, they are fun to look at and make me want to bring my
own dinky little kitchen up to snuff. For example, Rachael Ray is young, perky
and energetic, and her new kitchen setting has orange cabinets and lime-green
walls. Her cookware has orange handles and her colanders are blue or green.
Wow! It all looks great on TV, but I’m not sure I could live with those
screamin’ colors very long.
What about
you?Have you ever taken
inspiration from something you’ve seen on TV and made it work for you?What was it?And how did you do it?
Hi, fellow painters. Have you checked out our group gallery lately? The paintings there are beautiful, and we’re starting to build a variety of styles and mediums. Check it out by clicking here. Thanks to everyone who has posted photos!
Do you have some great paintings you’d like to share in the group gallery? It’s easy to upload your images. Log in to mycraftivity, make sure you are a member of the Painting + More group then click on the group’s Photo Gallery tab. If you’re logged in and member of the group, you’ll see a note on the right side of the page telling you that members can upload photos to the gallery. Click the word upload and you’re on your way to sharing your paintings with the rest of us. I can’t wait to see your work.
If you love winning free goodies, here’s some exciting news for you: Mycraftivity is giving away a Year of Crafting set! You’ve probably seen the banners all over the web site. If you haven’t checked it out yet, do it now. Here are the details: We’re giving away 12 great crafting titles (including Acrylic Revolution by Nancy Reyner), plus a Mycraftivity tote to carry your crafts and books. Here’s a list of all 12 titles with links to the Mycraftivity Shop so you see how great these books really are:
