New Website and Blog

I am now over at http://janwiedmayer.wordpress.com/ and I would love if you followed me over there. Also, check out my new website.  I have lots of new art on it. We're enjoying the Florida sunshine.  Don't you wish you were here?

It's Been A Long, Long Time

We're now in Florida for the winter.  I'm quite active with the St. Augustine Art Association.  Every Tuesday afternoon, a group of us artists meet at the art association to paint.  We have a still life setup we can use, or we can do our own thing.  The fact that we get together weekly helps to keep me on track artistically.  I have to plan on what I want to accomplish and what materials I want to use.  We have a critique session afterwards which helps us pull our work together or not.  Some weeks I get a "keeper" and sometimes not.

I highly recommend that if you are an artist reading this blog, get hooked up with an art group.  It works for me. 

Happy summer!

It's been a long time since I've put an entry on my blog. I PROMISE to be more faithful to my friends and myself. I've recently returned from our winter home in Florida. We fortunately spend the winters in Florida. I took art classes from Teri Thompkins. I painted portraits using acrylics. It has been a wonderful challenge. Thanks Teri. I'll put up some of my work next entry.

Talk to you later.


Jan

Jan's Art Journal

The first picture, ANCIENT WOMAN, is a picture within a picture. I used sand from my backyard! I did the background first which turned out to have a timeless feel. I put a statue in the ruins.

The second picture, A DAY AT THE BEACH, was a three step process. The nude drawing was traced on an abstract painting. This seemed like a beach pose, so I put her at the beach and then put in the background.

A lot of thinking/non-thinking goes into this process. I'm not putting what I see with my eyes on the paper. If I want to have a picture of something, I can take a photo. To increase my ability to visualize creatively, I am using Mary Todd Beam's book, CELEBRATE YOUR CREATIVE SELF. It has 25 specific projects to help the artist stretch in new directions.

Jan's Art Journal

Here are 2 of my projects. Donne kept asking me why I had to "see" something and then give the work a title. Answer--Because that's the way I always did it.

Sorry Donne, I've given them titles. The world wants titles. The first one is called Let There Be Peace. To me, it has a spiritual feeling. I'm using fluid acrylics on illustration board. The dripping is caused by spraying alcohol. Let er drip! The window was done first. I squeezed 3 paint colors on the illustration board and then pulled it down with a paint trowel. I added some touches with gold paint.

The second painting is called Heaven Sent, I think. This is fluid paint on watercolor paper. I then squirted some gold paint and then sprayed with my trusty alcohol spray bottle. I didn't know what to do next, so I took it to Donne. Donne said, "Thank heaven you didn't do anything to it." That's why I needed help. I didn't trust my own instincts yet. During this growth period, she also recommended that I don't ask for feedback from others, especially my spouse. That was a wise recommendation. If someone prefers realistic art, they may have no emotional connection to abstract art. How valid would their comments be in this situation?

In the next post, I'll include some work done further along on my growth path.

Jan's Art Journal

I haven't posted any art news for a while because I have been busy "making" art. I wanted to push myself in new artistic directions. My teacher, Donne Bitner, is an accomplished abstract artist. We've been meeting weekly for critiques, learning new techniques and support. For someone who has always had to "see" what I was working on, this is "way out" for me. Some of the first assignments forced me to think about what I wanted to accomplish. I want to find my personal artistic signature. Rather than doing what I think people will want me to do, I want to do what works for me. I'm still "in process" and it feels okay. What colors do I love, what do I love to paint, do I love my work? Tough questions, but necessary if I want to find the artistic me.

The next few posts will include some of the "finished" work. I'll talk about the process. Maybe this will help you along on your artistic adventure.

Jan's Art Journal

Sometimes folks ask me how long I've spent on a painting. One time I said, "7 years" and I got this astonished look. The truth is, sometimes it flows and sometimes it goes and goes and goes. I'm sharing with you today one of those "goes" paintings. I did the original 3 or 4 years ago. I would take it out and look at it and then put it back in the closet. I don't know how many times I took a look and tried to figure out what wasn't working. It was just plain boring to me. Recently I started individual art classes and decided to ask the instructor for some insights. The more we talked about the work, the more it came together for me. The other day I pronounced it finished and hung it up. I like it now. Donna Zagotta says to not stop until you love it. That's why it can take artists years to finish a work! They've got to love it!

I thought you would like to see the before and after. This is the shoreline on Lake Michigan. One of the most beautiful spots on earth. Which one is your favorite? Please leave a comment.