Another semester has come and gone. I can't believe I am beginning my eighth semester. And a new year has begun! The coming of the new year has a way of inspiring one to make goals and recommit themselves to pursuing their dreams. This year I have felt especially excited and ambitious. The last two semesters have been such enlightening experiences as I finally discovered what I am so passionate about. I have never felt so drawn to painting landscapes than I have before. I have dozens of different scenes I want to experiment painting and I'm just itching to see how they turn out. The past couple of months I've been avidly searching for what I could be doing with my art. Through my journey of searches I knew that ultimately I wanted to one day be a stay at home mommy, but that didn't mean I wouldn't be able to use my degree or stop what I loved doing. At BYU-Idaho, art students have two different degree options. They are either a BFA which is a Bachelors of Fine Arts or a BA which is a Bachelors in Art with your choice of emphasis. A BFA requires you to apply for the program at the end of your sophomore year and then when you graduate, you have a show of your work. When I began taking art classes a BFA always seemed so unattainable to me. To be honest I never felt I'd ever be good enough. It wasn't until recently that I was encouraged by fellow classmates and teachers that I began thinking about a BFA. I am now a senior and the application states that you must have a total of 55 credits minimum. That posed a great problem for me... by about 50 credits :/ So my dream of having a BFA was short lived. I won't pretend I'm not discouraged by this, but I'm going to press on and focus on getting my BA with an emphasis in 2D art, and do the best job I've ever done.
This semester I'm only taking 6 credits so I can really focus and go above and beyond. One of them is an independent study with my favorite teacher Brother Griffin. In this course I set my goals and choose my projects. I'm continuing to study and develop my landscape paintings and who better to do it with Brother Griffin as my mentor who has spent 20 plus years painting landscapes! I can't wait to get started. I have so many dreams and goals and I feel 2014 is the year to accomplish them. I was recently inspired by an artist on facebook that I saw one of my friends post about. She too is a fine artist and does beautiful oil paintings. I visited her blog and website and found out that she has an Etsy shop where she sells originals and prints of her work. That got me thinking that maybe I could do something similar. I know I'm not at a professional level yet but I feel I'm improving with each painting and I'm so excited to see my work in a few years from now. In this day and age (wow that makes me sound old) it is social media that helps get your name out to the public. So some of my goals consist of using these resources to do just that. So without further a due here are my art aspirations for 2014.
* Start a separate blog for my artwork
* Along with a blog I would like to start a facebook page, website, and instagram account(that is when my hubby lets me have an iphone :) to further publicize my artwork.
* Every artist eventually has to create their own studio. Currently we live in a one bedroom apartment, but I'm hoping that if finances allow it, we can move to a two bedroom apartment where I can start a studio to work more consistently from.
* By the end of this year, I plan to have really built up my portfolio and be able to begin an Etsy shop!
* Ultimately I never want to stop painting, and one day dream of being in a gallery. It might take me 20 years but I'm up for the fight!
So there you have it! Hopefully I haven't written your ear off. I think writing it down and in a way saying it out loud, really cements these goals and dreams. Writing it down for my friends and family to see commits me to these goals whether I like it or not and motivates me all the more :)
Take a look at some of the best work I did this semester along with my amazing artist of a husband! :D
OH and one more thing... I sold my first painting!! Jordan and I have been blessed time after time the last few months. One of those included when Jordan's designs won for the School's annual Outlet magazine. In that same magazine I submitted a painting of mine and was voted 1st place in the painting category. Then to my amazement and surprise a sweet girl named Mackenzie Branson came up to me and said she loved my painting. I doubted her for a moment hoping she was referencing my painting. She flipped to it in the magazine and sure enough it was! I was speechless. Then the unthinkable happened and Mackenzie asked if she could buy it from me! I couldn't believe someone liked my painting enough to buy it that wasn't related to me! I immediately agreed and this last Monday she came by to pick it up. It was such a great feeling. I'm so honored and so blessed to have been in the right place at the right time.
Well, I'm off to paint! Until next time :)
First head painting... Man it was hard. Totally different approach then landscapes, but still a good experience.
Charcoal
White charcoal
Oil study of a seascape. This was inspired by my trip to San Francisco.
Oil study of Clouds. I'm absolutely fascinated by clouds and the unending varieties of shapes they come in.
Another oil study I was experimenting with. It turns out it is really difficult to paint snow. I plan on practicing more snow scenes this semester.
One of my finals. I got done early so I did another one.
I really like this painting. I call it my breakthrough painting. I feel I've finally begun identifying my style and I love the pure colors I used in it along with the different shapes of the trees and clouds.
This is the painting I sold!
And if you already haven't taken a look at the Outlet magazine here is a link!
Mackenzie Branson holding my painting :)
I sold my painting for 230 dollars which I think is great for my first one. I know this looks silly, but I had to take a picture of it because I couldn't believe it was real! You're looking at my first deposit towards my future studio :D
The night I sold my painting my sweet hubby surprised me with a beautiful rose and a treat for selling my first painting :D He ended the day perfectly.
For Christmas Jordan and I decided to use our design skills to make personalized monograms for each of my siblings. Jordan of course did the designing I just helped pick the words and color schemes. I think they turned out really cute and my sibling loved them! If you're interested in getting one for yourself or someone you know for a great price, just send me a facebook message. They're great gifts!
