5 Hour Still-Life

I challenged myself last night with one of the most difficult objects I've ever painted. I bought it at Value Village, and I'm not sure what it was used for but it was a great find. I only gave myself 5 hours to paint it so I didn't get to every detail but I'm liking the results. The only thing is the background colour is too dark so I'll have to change it. Here it is so far:

First Foray into Landscape

For those who have been reading my posts, you know I really wanted to try landscapes. Well I'm in the middle of one and...I don't know, maybe it's too soon to say. I'm not sure I love it. I love when other people do it, it's mesmerizing. This painting is photo-based as I don't have a portable easel right now but it's winter so I'm faced with a lot of bare branches and dull colours. I am not big on colour in general but I like there to be enough colour in front of me to manipulate as I please (tone them down if I need to). Also I'm not sure I love the act of painting grass or foliage. I mean art is tedious by nature but this kind of tedium makes me want to stab my canvas. Mind you, it's not necessary to paint every detail for realism, but shortcuts often degrade landscapes.

That all sounds really pessimistic but I still have hope for this genre, the only thing is I think I'd rather make landscapes up--just construct them from imagination because I'd feel less constricted. I'd still do studies from life (in more appealing weather) but I really like the idea of just creating my own world. I know many artists do this and I think it's a great idea and I'd love to be able to do that in a naturalistic way or, in other words, a non-artificial way.

As for my current landscape, I'm not sure I'll finish it. I know I should just to finish, you know? Because it's no good having unfinished work lying around, it's very demoralizing. I also know I'm very hard on myself and even though this is my first real attempt at landscape, I expect only good or great results in my eyes. Others may love it, I don't know but I won't be including it in my portfolio, LOL.

New Projects Started & Other News

I just finished a commission this past weekend which you can view on my website. I've also started a couple of exciting things which I can't wait to show everyone but it's not time yet. One of them is a drawing that is nearly done and the other is a painting that is a new direction for me. When they are at least 80% done, I'll give you a sneak peek.

Me? On Camera?!?

Yup, I finally decided once and for all that if I'm going to have a Youtube channel, I actually would like to be on it. I don't like cameras, they are not my friend but I tried to get passed it to get across some information about my favourite drawing tools. It's really weird seeing yourself on camera as you're speaking and trying to imagine someone behind the lens that you can try to have a conversation with. Meanwhile, you're talking to yourself out-loud, it's freaky! Well hopefully I'll get used to it. I was tired coming home from work, didn't bother too much with appearances because I didn't want to get distracted but I do sound tired. Next time I'll definitely get a tiny bit more makeup on, haha.

What else is going on...Still awaiting the day I get to order that stationery, and there's other things in the works but I won't go there now. Why? Because I'm making a change this year. I think that (for me) telling everyone about my plans inevitably ruins them, and a lot of times they don't even get started. Don't fear though because I'm almost ready to show my new painting, which is a couple of days away from completion. Look out for it in February, that's when it's being delivered. I can't show you now because it's a gift for someone. But anyway here's my new video and if I'm not too traumatized there will be more.

New Website Is Up! www.crystalcbrown.com

I'm so excited my official website is finally up. It took awhile but it was worth it. This year I'm really trying to do everything I can to increase my presence online so as many people as possible know about my work. I also designed some stationery so I'll be ordering that soon. It sounds like it's not such a big deal but it is when you don't have those things. Like business cards for example, not as many people have them today but artists still really need them because of the nature of what we do. We need to do everything we can to make sure people can contact us for work. The stationery thing is a bit of an extra, but not really because it all contributes to your image. For those of you who don't know, stationery can consist of things like letterheads, envelopes, cards, etc. and will have your logo and contact info and it looks really professional. I've always wanted that and now I have a legitimate reason to get it, lol.

All this stuff (the website, business cards, and stationery) isn't cheap at all but it's one of those "spend money to make money" things. If you're going to be in correspondence with potential clients or galleries, some beautiful customized stationery could be that extra thing that gets you in the door. So we'll see what happens...