 "Pay attention to what draws your attention." Like anything in the arts, the only way to find your style is to do a lot of work:
  This has been a great year for painting outdoors, in spite of the cold weather. It's been wonderful to get outside to paint...something I enjoyed immensely while travelling this year. I keep it simple, just like my travels this summer, though I have increased my colour palette locally because I can drive to a location (or walk nearby). Not that I have a large kit, but a medium sized one with 12 colours (the palette measures 2 3/4 x 4 3/4) but it is nice to have a larger variety of brights available. I got a Peg & Awl Sendak mini in order to corral all of my supplies...it's made of waxed canvas so it can handle almost anything. I've also been using a water dish and Princeton travel brush which holds more water. I've also been trying out different types of paper - hot press, mixed media, cold press (bottom, l to r) and have to say that the hot press is quickly becoming a favourite. It's smooth & absorbent. Mixed media is also smooth but a bit thin and cold press has far too much texture for my liking...I remember disliking it in my high school art classes and I don't feel differently about it now. I also really love the hand.book journal from Speedball, which is what I am leaning towards for travel. I love the 5.5x5.5 square (top row) and want to try out the smaller landscape as well. I like the absorbency of the paper and how bright the colours sit on it...which is surprising because initially I didn't care for the cream paper but have become a little obsessed. :)
 "A few words I would use to describe myself are creative - I love to create stuff, my goal is become a graphic designer one day and hopefully run my own business of making handmade calligraphy pieces and cards. I would secondly say I am hardworking, though I may procrastinate at times (who doesn’t) I always finish what I start especially when it comes to school and work. Lastly, I would describe myself as reliable. I will always be there no matter what the circumstance - for my friends, family and my boyfriend - because truly I believe that they are what are what is most important in life.
Building on above, my reliability is probably my favourite trait. I also believe strongly in a positive world, even through all this negative stuff we have going on right now. Though it’s very hard at times, I try and stay as positive as I possibly can. I definitely have experienced many situations throughout my life that have made me a stronger person. When I was younger I was seriously bullied, the suckiest part is it was my best friend at the time. Not only that but girls can be super mean. It’s terrible. We really need to stop teaching girls that other girls are their enemies. This happened in middle school and was mostly because my hair colour (ginger) was different to everyone else’s. When you’re a young girl you just want to fit in and be liked…especially at that age. At the time, I believed everything I heard. I believed that because I was a little different that made me ugly and not liked, and it made me feel unwanted. I stuck with the same group of girls that I thought were my closest friends. But one day, on grade 8 grad photo day to be exact, I was pulled into a bathroom to be told that I was no longer allowed to be their friend. I felt so alone it was awful. As weeks went by and it got worse, my closest friend ended up apologizing - which I knew was sincere. We became closer and closer as years went by, and I learned to forgive. She is now one of my few friends who has stuck by my side through thick and thin. Though we went through that, I learned that second chances can be good sometimes. Though these situations are not fun, they make you who you are today. As time went by and I met more people and experienced different things I grew as a person. I am lucky enough to have grown up in a family full of strong, confident and inspiring women. I can’t pick out one that inspires me as they all do. My aunt who has had a tough past continues to grow stronger everyday. My grandmother was a true role model who put all of her love and care into her family. I would say thank you to all the women in my life for inspiring me and supporting me to do my best and become my best self. All I can really say is I’m SO thankful for everyone in my life, especially my family!" ~ Molly Beveridge  I did a lot of demos last month and it's been kind of nice to re-visit a few of my favourite things...the portraits are still very important to me, it's fun to work on canoes again, and the interiors have been a bit of a challenge as it's been awhile. It's interesting to see these three subjects being requested for demonstration as I would definitely say that these three images have been the crux of my career. No matter which different direction I head, these are the three that really reflect my professional career. It is a bit of a struggle every time I create the interiors and canoes on smaller substrates, but a good challenge, too.
 “What do you do?”
“I’m a retired educator.” “What do you do with your time now?” “Whatever the heck I want.” :-) I may be retired from teaching but I haven’t retired from life. I loved the 32 years I spent in education. I taught children as young as 3 and adults at the university level. Although I taught a variety of subjects, my true passion was helping people discover how to be a life long learner. Presenting content is the easy part. Teaching someone how to think and problem solve is the greatest challenge. Leaving the structure of the school year has afforded me more time to travel although the pandemic slowed that down a bit. I also discovered that I love to create art. I really enjoy learning about how things are made. I’ve taken many classes both online and in-person. I paint, sculpt, collage and go wherever the muse takes me. Following my curiosity is my new passion. ~ Cathy Murrant  Another incredible year for which I am beyond grateful...
 I finished another sketchbook which mostly incorporates paintings from images I took while I was in Nova Scotia in September - I've included my favourites here. I have to say that I LOVE the 5.5x5.5 Handbook Journal from Speedball Co even though it's not a watercolour sketchbook and the pages are cream coloured as I tend to prefer bright white. And the Daniel Smith mini trio (hansa yellow light, quinachridone rose & indanthrone blue) in my Altoids tin has been perfect...I always forget how many colours can be created with such a limited palette. And, the mini Pentel waterbrush and small Faber Castell red pencil crayon (#201) have been fantastic. I'm glad I've spent months trying a variety of travel journal methods & supplies as I've finally found my sweet spot. The next sketchbook will be another smaller horizontal one because it fits into my waist/shoulder pack better but I'm definitely sticking with the Handbook Journal. And I will certainly invest in another 5.5x5.5 in the new year, too.
 After spending time with friends this year, I've been inspired to draw garden blossoms which I was originally going to include in an altered book. Then, as I had been considering my new Word-of-the-Year, I began to connect the images of blooms to the word I seleced...'joy'. So, instead of including these flowers in my book (I painted more), they have been included on the cover of my journal for the new year. I really love it!
**To see my WOTY since 2010 and a bit about the history of this practice, visit here, here and here. |
|
