Art Inspiration Through My Art Collection

Hello. Happy New Year to all of you and also Happy Luna New Year. I want to start this year with something a bit more personal and continue throughout the year with sharing more of my perspective about art and art creation through my art journey.

Patreon Article and Video about my Art Collection

Photos and videos in this article are taken of artwork I own, or had permission to take photos. Please do not share individual images and videos outside of this article. 

Here are Instagram handles to the artists I mentioned or shown images of in the video that I’m able to find. From their Instagram profiles, you can link to their websites or other social media and shops.

I unfortunately do not have info for the artist I met in Amsterdam.

Sean A, Murray IG: @seanandrewmurray

Stephanie Law IG: @spmlaw

Allen Williams IG: @i_justdraw

Ania Mohrbacher IG: @aniamohrbacher

Nigel Cox IG: @nigelcox1

Dan May IG: @danmayart

Elisa Urbinati IG: @elisa_urbinati_illu

Nen Chang IG: @retromortis

Stella Im Hultberg IG: @stellaimhultberg

Iotu Ciprian IG:  @iotuciprian

My Art Inspiration in Nature - Part 3: Birds

Part 3 of my continuing  musings about things in nature that inspire my artwork. You can re-visit Parts 1 and 2 

Birds, large and small, are fascinating to me. Their abilities to soar overhead never ceased to mesmerized me. I love watching flocks of birds fly, whether they are migrating geese or sparrows flitting from tree to tree.

It is amazing the different color exotic birds have, especially parrots. Is nature that in tune to color, or are the colors of nature what drives our senses and therefore our art?

I love great large birds like cranes, with their long undulating neck that is always curvy and fun to draw.

Flamingos are even better with their soft pink or neon like orange colors. I’ve drawn a few flamingos from pictures I’ve taken and they all found new homes pretty quickly. I’m glad to reach those who share the same interest.

Owls are especially interesting and is often the center of most artwork. There is just something so magical and mysterious about them. Those barn owls are so darn cute. These owl pictures were taken at the Elfia event at Castle Arcen, Netherlands.

Me trying to handle a camera shy barn owl, back when my hair was still mostly black!

New Art Release - “Let It Flow: Breathe In, Breathe Out, Just Breathe”

I finally finished this triptych that I started in 2020. It took a long time but all three pieces came out the way I wanted. 

The videos of their creation is on my Patreon page, Chaotic Abstraction. If you like to support my art creation, you can become a patron at any level.

https://www.patreon.com/chaotic_abstraction

My Art Inspiration in Nature - Part 2: Butterflies and Bees

This is a continuation of my musings about things in nature that inspire my artwork and will be a part of a series. If you haven’t read Part 1 of this series, you can read it here.

For Part 2, I’m looking at various butterflies and bees seen around my garden. On bright sunny days, I often walk outside to my backyard to take a breather, mostly from the administrative side of my art business, and view various creatures visiting my yard. I often come out with my camera in hand, ready to snap pictures. Often, various butterflies of a variety of colors, visit the many Hibiscus trees in my yard. I also have day lilies, tiger lilies, irises, daffodils, snap dragons and daisies.

My favorites are the bumble bees. I mean the big fat black and yellow ones that buzz slowly around the flowers with their legs full of pollens. 

The Red-Spotted Purple butterfly is one of the common butterflies visiting my garden, with its velvety black and blue color, and a touch of red on the tip.

Another common butterfly around here is the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, with its bright yellow wings with touches of light blue and orange. On a bright sunny day it really shines.

The common swallowtail is just neat looking.

I love the bold blacks of the Black Swallowtail butterfly. 

The big fat black and yellow bumble bee is always fun to watch

This one, fluttering near some snap dragons, has definitely made it into one of my artworks. 

I almost want to reach out and pet the little furry creatures!

Together, butterflies and bees definitely do make a buzz!

Stay tuned for more articles in the series.

News for October 2022

October will be very busy for me. Already the first event, the Old Bowie Festival, was canceled due to severe weather conditions from tropical storm Ian. Hopefully the rest of October will be fruitful for me. 

From 7-9 October, I will be at Oglebay Fest in Wheeling, WV. I will be at Booth M19.There are a lot of interesting things going on there, to include music, lots of good food, a county fair, an Octoberfest style celebration, and even fireworks on 8 October at 8:30 pm. Sounds like a lot of fun.

I just recently finished a triptych and the artwork will be in an exhibit at the District Arts contemporary art gallery in Frederick, MD. The exhibit is called “Food for Thought” and you can read more about it here. I finally finished this triptych that I started in 2020. It took a long time but all three pieces came out the way I wanted. The triptych represent that moment when you just need to stop and take a breath, slowly, deeply, Breathe In, Breathe Out, take a moment to Just Breathe and Just Let It Flow. The exhibit will be open from 5 - 30 October. The artist reception for this event is on 8 October, 5-7pm. I will not be there since I will be in Wheeling, WV. 

This first one is “Let It Flow: Breathe In”

The second one is “Let It Flow: Breathe Out”

The last in the series is “Let It Flow: Just Breathe”

At the end of the month, 28 - 30 October, I will be at Baltimore Comic-Con. I will be in the Artist Alley at Table F41. 

If you’re going to attend any of events, stop by and say Hi. 

Animation Training with After Effects, part 2

I mentioned in a previous article that I took a Visual Arts Passage course to learn how to animate using Adobe After Effects. See my first animation here. In another assignment, we use one of our own previous illustration to animate. I choose “Amidst the Tiger Lilies”, imagining the fairy standing very still mesmerizing the viewer while everything around her moves. 

This has been so much fun and I learned so much in the class. I’m excited to select more of my artwork to animate until I’m familiar with After Effects, and sharing them with all of you.

Future original animations will be for Patrons only on my Patreon so sign up to be a patron at any level of contribution.

Animation Video 2

A Festival and an Online Exhibition

The remainder of this month will be the start of a busy time for me. However, I’m very excited about each event coming up very soon. 

First up is an online exhibit on the Cultural Center of Cape Cod website. The Center has in-person exhibits in South Yarmouth, MA, and also sponsored online exhibits as well. I entered the photography exhibit “You and Your Camera” which focus on the photography that “explore the fact that most of us are in possession of a high-quality camera, that we carry with us every day.” I’m so excited about this exhibit. I love taking pictures just as much as I love creating art and making marks on paper.

The photograph I entered was taken on a ferry from mainland Thailand to the Phi Phi Island. On the way there, I was fascinated with how the waves hit against the ferry and crash into the air in bursts of creamy white foam against the deep blue of the ocean. While everyone else looked up and around them, my camera was aiming downward, taking lots of shots of the waves crashing against the ferry. The image was invited to exhibit and I’m thrilled. I’m not a professional photographer but, for me, framing an image to photograph works the same way as coming up with pictures to draw. Most of the time my photographs ended up in my art one way or another. I’m starting a series about my art inspirations. The first of the articles is here.

Currently the online link to the exhibit is not available. I will update this as soon as it is available.

** Update: The You and Your Camera online exhibit is now available at https://www.cultural-center.org/you-and-your-camera-intro

The very first Saturday in October will be the Old Bowie Celebrates Festival in Bowie, Maryland. This is my second year in attendance. This festival is very family friendly with lots of activities for the children, along with music and food, arts and crafts, and of course, my art gallery for all to enjoy. There is also a juried art show. *** Update *** Unfortunately, due to severe weather conditions, this even has been cancelled. Hopefully next year the weather will cooperate.