From Here to There

I originally stared this art piece because I do not know much about making 

abstract art yet I know I have what it take to figure it out.  

I, also, know that practice makes better.

Then I realized it was much more.

I wanted it to be a conduit for anyone out there watching 

who may want to paint yet are a little intimated.

Most times what seems like the scariest part is beginning.

Many artists experience hesitation because of the blank white canvas.

Often times they will scribble, splatter paint or do whatever to put something, anything on the canvas.

Painting/creating art has changed my life, for the better.  The way I see things.  My emotional well being.  It's given me an opportunity to grow.  I do not het hung up on petty shit that happens around me.  I could go on and on about all the benefits.

I would not consider myself to be an abstract artist, yet.  I'm OK with that.  I am simply enjoying the process, using a limited color palette, following my instincts, and loving every minute of it.

These are the different phases my art went thru.

1.

2.

3.

4.

FINAL

Memories Triggered

It amazes me how memories are triggered and can flood back into your thoughts.

I am in the process of doing a major organization/clean-up/throw away process of my art studio. I intend to start teaching small groups (I'll tell you more about this later) in my studio so I need to make room.

Thru the clearing process I came across this painting I hadn't looked at in quite awhile. It was my very first painting ever from 3/21/96. My husband at that time, Greg, and I had moved to Flagstaff, AZ. and I didn't know anybody. One day I happened upon a Ben Franklin store. Back then Ben Franklin was equivalent to Michaels and Hobby Lobby but on a smaller scale. There was a notice of a painting class to meet once a week for 4 weeks. I was intrigued so... I signed up. I can recall that I loved going there and learning how to paint. The instructor guided the group step by step and to paint the exact same thing. Or so we thought! :-)

After 4 weeks, the end of the class, I brought my 11x14 painting home. I purchased a frame before I left the store and put my "masterpiece" in the frame. I found a prominent place to hang it. AHHH! My first painting. I was so excited!!!

It was long after this painting had been proudly on display that someone pointed out to me the pathway leading to the house didn't go where it was suppose to go. WHAT?!? OMGoodness!! They were right! And... the path to the double door building was too narrow. And... the apple barrel was in the center of the path leading to the double door building.

I don't recall how I felt yet I will assume that my joy was probably squashed!

Here it is 24 years later, I cross paths with this painting and all those memories return.  I sit with them for awhile and am filled with gratitude for the lessons learned.

Yesterday I put the art in a the pile to discard or paint over it. John sees it, I tell him the story then he asks what I was going to do with it. When I tell him what my intention is he said, "Don't do that. Keep it. It was your first painting. I'll hang it in my TV room if you don't want it."

His statement made me think. I am following his suggestion to keep it. I will find a prominent place to hang it in my studio and feel very proud to know it was my first painting. I will embrace the mistakes and all.

Jessica

I just finished painting a 16x 20 portrait of my friend's (Alix) daughter, Jessica.

Jessie is such a loving and beautiful soul from the inside out.  

When I saw the photo Alix had taken of her I felt it deep within to paint her.

I wanted to capture her beauty and emit emotions as well.

Intimidating - HELL YES!!!

Yet I am learning to trust and follow the inner urgings.

So that is exactly what I did... I began.

Little did I know how cathartic it would actually end up being. 

I am so grateful, everyday, for the gift given to me to create art.

Framing Her Story

"Framing Her Story"

I've sat looking at this finished piece, into her eyes, waiting for her message to unveil itself. It became apparent she's in a contemplative state. Her head gently resting on her folded hand as she attempts to frame her story to fit into whatever she thinks the listener(s) wants/needs to hear. When the truth is... it's not necessary to be concerned about what others think as long as she remains true to herself. After all it's HER story.

Faces of Lola

Here are progression photos of a piece I started yesterday and finished today.

16x20 acrylic and pan pastels on gallery wrapped canvas.

I titled her, "Lola".

She started off as a sketch of a sweet and innocent young lady 

Then she quickly turned into a very scary looking person.

This is a common, known as the scary or ugly stage, to go thru.  It has been known to frighten someone from continuing.

I've been at this long enough to know to keep moving forward.

Added first layers highlights and shadows.

Refining the features.

Continue to refine the features and adding more color.

She went to the hair salon and had hair extensions added.

This is the final piece.

I wanted to knock off some the preciseness about the painting so I sanded the entire piece down.

I really like the affect.

It is gratifying when...

I added this piece as my latest abstract art, "There's More to the Story.

"There's More to the Story"
24" x 30"
acrylic on canvas

As I begin the process of creating abstract art I go with a feeling.  Starting with what colors to choose, how to apply it, do this, then do that.  As I progress, by adding more layers, the meaning of the piece starts to reveal itself to me.  I struggle with the right words to describe what the piece is telling me.  I know in non-words, in my heart.   
Then I remember... that's the beauty of abstract art.  It is subjective.  It can mean something different to each person and I don't have to try and explain it.   
Yet... when someone "gets it" my heart is filled!  
That is what happened when Sarah posted this comment on my FaceBook Page.
_____________________________

If I may say my interpretation, I feel like this is my heart. Lots of things are scattered and misplaced, but there are stable, permanent, fixtures that will always remain (represented by the red squares)

_____________________________
Thank You, Sarah!

Thank You Janet Skates

This past Friday I won 5 on-line art classes by Janet Skates.  Lucky Me!!!

I have spent many hours watching her videos.  Her style and my style are totally different yet her candid and carefree approach to creating art caught my attention and inspired me.

I created this lady - she's on a 12" x 12" canvas, acrylic paint for background, charcoal and white gesso for her.  She is for sale IF you are interested.

Intuitively creating

Previously  I spoke about one way that I practice creating art.  I prep some pages from waste paper that had been on my art table.  (CLICK HERE)

I am in the midst of working on 3 commissioned pieces and I felt like creating art with abandon, without concern of the outcome.  So... I grabbed one of those pages.

I did a raw umber glaze to the entire page.

Enhanced some of the markings.

Then with a  little charcoal, PanPastels, and acrylic paint this is what I intuitively created.

There have been times when I wanted to throw in the towel.

There have been times when I wanted to throw in the towel.  When I've questioned if I was even on the right path.  When I felt like I had nothing to offer creatively.

Deep down I know and I am extremely grateful for this opportunity that I feel God has given to me.   I am a creative Late Bloomer.  I did not know that I could paint or draw until 6 years ago.  It was a cold day in February 2011 that I pondered the thought that there had to be more to life than what I was living.  My life was good, I just felt there had to be more.  I began with  one foot in front of the other.

It is one of the most awesome feelings when I wake up from a night's sleep and intuitively know what I am going to create.  It's the best EVER!  I trust the process and follow.   That's when I'm able to earnestly say, "I have what it takes!"

But...when those negative thoughts creep in, they can/they will/they have thrown me into a tail spin.  It's not fun either to feel so low.  One thing I have learned from experience is it's much easier to "not even go there" with the negative thoughts than it is to try and recover from them.  I have a several plans that seem to work for me.  I acknowledge that negative thoughts are part of the equation and how I handle them is my choice.  They have no power over me, they are just thoughts,  unless I allow them to.  I breathe and let the thought pass me by.

Yet since my fear is about not being creatively worthy I know I have to "get back on the horse" sorta speak.  Here's what I do.

My art table is covered with white craft paper where I scrape the excess paint from my brushes, etc.  This is what it looks like right now.

When I feel the paper is at it's messy capacity and needs to be changed out I roll it up and save it.

Here is one of the many ways I use the rolled up paper.

I take out my art journal. 

I glue sections of the paper onto pages of the journal.

I instantly have the start of an art journal page.  This helps spark creativity.   

A blank page can be daunting at times which can jump start the mind-chatter into motion.

Here are some of my current pages all ready for me.

They almost look like art themselves.  Don't they?

                                

                                

   

Below is a journal page that started out as scrap paper from my art table. All I did was add flowers by making acrylic skins.  I painted stems and leaves.  I added shadows with charcoal.

Rest assured I averted the negative mind chatter on this day.

Thanks for sharing my journey with me.

Sisters

Eleven days ago I watched a video  Why People Commission Portraits by Gwenn Seemel. 

(take a moment  watch her video) 

One of the reasons it struck a cord with me is because I am a portraiture artist.  

In the video she speaks about many different reasons someone may commission a portrait.  

The one main reason someone would commission is portrait is "making special".  

You make something special when you make it into art.

A painted portrait has a hand made quality about it that a photograph lacks.

I looked up from my computer to see a photo of my sisters and I from 2007.

This was a special moment for us so I decided to make it 

even more special by making it a piece of art.

I finished it today!

Here it is!

The actual photo was captured in 2007.

When we were together we would go into laughing fits, sometimes for no reason. 

Just acting silly.  One would laugh then the others would follow suit.

During this time when we were having our photo taken Judy decided to pinch Linda's butt. 

Linda burst out laughing.

That is all it took to create a chain reaction of antics that continued for a while.

When I close my eye and  become still I can recall the laughter from that moment time.

"Making Special"

that is exactly what I did by painting this portrait.

Thank You, Gwenn!

Metamorphosis-the process of transformation

In my stillness,  I was reflecting back on my creative journey. Where I was vs. where I am and where I want to be.  It occurred to me that on this creative journey I am, repeatedly, going thru a metamorphosis (the process of transformation) similar to a butterfly.
Hence... the inspiration for this painting.

Butterfly Abounds

20" x 20" 3/4" deep canvas

charcoal-acrylic paint-PanPastels

Available at:   http://www.teresacashart.com/images/Butterfly-Abounds_9-3-17.jpg

• It was merely 6 years ago that I began this creative journey, not knowing which direction to go yet I was determined to put one foot in front of the other and trust the path would appear.
• After a while I began to shed negative thought patterns of "not being good enough" as I continued making art.  This negative pattern never really disappears, it just fades away.  I am tenacious enough not to let it keep me down.  Thinking of the ebbs and flows in life helps me in those not so bright times when self-doubt has me in it's grip.  You know the saying... "this too shall pass".
• I will often take some time to center myself...I get brave enough to step out of my comfort zone(s) again and put myself and my art out there for possible rejections.  When I step  up/out with faith and belief in myself of why I am on this journey those rejections become stepping stones to help me learn and grow.  And you know what else happens?..... I  END OF GETTING LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK.
• At this stage... I am changing things up a bit.  I am taking more risks.  I am ready to FLY!

If you read this blog post and you like it please share it with your friends.
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https://www.instagram.com/teresacashart

When you follow me I increase my ratings with search engines, etc.  

Thank You for all of your support and encouragement.

I will continue to do this because of YOU!

Speak Your Truth - SOLD

My art, Speak Your Truth,  was being shown, along with other artists from Studios630, 

at The Corner House in Lombard, IL.

I was very pleased to learn that it has been sold.

I am a full-time artist.
Selling my art and leading workshops is the way I earn a living.

  I am completely aware that could not do this without your support. 

There are no words to express how important each and everyone of you are to me!

Your words of encouragement are immeasurable, they lift me up on those days of uncertainty and propel me forward.

When you share my posts or links with your friends and family you help me reach other people.

I feel blessed each time you purchase any of my art, large or small.

Even though the money earned from each sale is a valuable asset what I find more precious are the comments of how my art touches another's heart. 

I exchanged emails from the person who purchased "Speak Your Truth" and this is a portion of what was written...

"when I walked into the Corner House yesterday and saw "Speak Your Truth" it stopped me in my tracks.  It was as if the woman in your painting was speaking to me telling me that I needed to continue with my work, that it is my purpose to help people, that I need to "Speak My Truth" so to speak."

This is why I create "art from my heart".

Bringing my art to life #2

There are absolutely no words to adequately express the joy I am receiving.  

I get giddy, like a little kid, when each piece is almost done.

In January I signed up for  an on-line art class by Jeanne-Marie Webb titled, "Soul Bearers".  She taught us how to make sculptures using air dry clay.  Once I got my hands in that clay and felt it moving beneath my fingertips I knew that I was hooked.  I knew I just had to do it.

I am taking art that I have drawn/painted and giving them another dimension. 

Almost like... "bringing them to life".

You can click HERE to see the first sculpture that I shared last week.

Here is my 2nd sculpture titled, "Hello There".

                                                             

                      

The inspiration for this second sculpture came from

one of my very first pieces of art I made in 2012.

                  

Ice Cream Truck

When I/we remain open, life's lessons can be received in unexpected ways.  The tricky part is, often, remaining open.  It seems as I get older I feel the pull to be in charge of my life.   It's easy to get hung up on what my next action will be that the present moment is often taken for granted.  When, in reality, all we have is the present moment.  Children live in the present moment.  That's all they know. You are able to find multiple articles written about the value of thinking/being like a child.

I watched my very busy, very talkative 2 year old GRANDdaughter, Lila, 2 days last week and all week because daycare was closed.  She is so funny and so dang cute!  I pride myself in knowing that when I am with any of my GRANDchildren I am there 100%.  This week I encountered a fork in the road.  You see the artist side of me is also 100% committed.  I am diligent to be in my studio, every weekday, creating art in one way or another.  

Of course, there was no doubt in my mind I was going to be spend my time with Lila yet, honestly, there was a little pity party starting to rumble inside.  Then... a light bulb went off...  At my kitchen table I sat Lila up with a little easel and I worked on a drawing for the Smile Project.  After about an hour she exclaimed "Ta-Ta!" at what she had accomplished.  I realized I was blessed with the best of both worlds.

    

On our second day together I decided to try it again.  

YES... she wanted to paint.   I could see that she was comfortable with the markers and crayons so I decided to bring out the acrylic paints.  OMGoodness!  She LOVED it!

Here's a very short video where you can watch and listen to her.

Listen near the end and you will hear her title the piece.

After adding several more layers she completed her piece 

and is ready to give it to her Mom and Dad.

So I asked, "Lila, would you like to do some plain air drawing?"

She said, Yes!"

After a short while of her drawing with markers and crayons I reached into the chiminea and grabbed some charcoal.  At first she didn't seem to like that her fingers got dirty yet the art won over and she surrendered.

Did I mention... I love being a GRANDma,