Meow

Here is what I am working on today. Just because it seems like a long time since I have painted a kitten! Meow!

Busy Days

Things are busy here at the studio, as usual! It seems to be sample time, too. I love seeing how my products turn out.

 

 

 

I got two big boxes of sample goodness from my agent the other day, and she says two more are on their way. Lots of puzzles, of course, and flags, and some nice stationery products.

 

 

Here are some pretty new journals from Enchante. They are available at Ross stores.

 

I love this group of four puzzles from Holdson. 

Unfortunately, I think they are only available in New Zealand and parts of Europe.

 

 

Here is a close up.

 

In other news, the Surtex show in New York is fast approaching, and like all my artist chums, I am painting away so I have lots of exciting new art to show. I am just bursting with new ideas and I don't know what to paint first!

 



Happy Easter!

 

Happy Easter, everyone!

 

We are so ready for Spring here at the studio. Our last snowfall is finally starting to melt, so now we are entering the phase of muddy little paws coming in and out of the house all day. Nevertheless, I love the changing seasons. The wet weather means that the grass and flowers will soon be coming back to life. I am wearing bright pink today, no more winter grays for me!

Emerald Green

St Patrick's Day is coming up, and that has me thinking about the color green. Pantone's color of the year for 2013 is Emerald green. I can't say that this is my favorite green, as I generally prefer more natural "woodier" greens, but Emerald can look very modern and classy. (actually neither of those adjectives really describe me, so maybe that is why I don't paint with Emerald much!).



Here is a Pantone suggested color palette using Emerald. I am going to see how I can work this fresh color into my designs this year. To mix Emerald in watercolor, I have used Peacock Blue and Permanent Yellow Light. The watercolors I use are Mijello Mission Gold.

 

I have been experimenting with finding natural subjects where I can incorporate the new color palette. This is lots of fun and has led me to subjects that I might not have thought of painting otherwise! Happy Painting, everyone!

Creativity

Last week, I set the photo collage below as my profile pic on a social networking site. I had no idea I would set off a big debate on the nature of creativity, both on and off the site! The debate centered on whether everyone has innate creativity, or whether it is a special gift that only certain people are born with.

Certainly, some people are highly creative. These are the people who make great strides, both in art and technology. Scientific American Mind magazine featured an article last year, which stated that highly creative people are missing a "filter" in their mind which helps process information. Because that filter is missing, these people group sensory input in different ways from other people, and this leads them to make new connections, both visually and cognitavely.

However, I think that everyone is born with a certain amount of creativity. You only have to look at the way children play to see them use their imaginations. As children grow, though, many of them start to suppress their creative impulses, from fear of not measuring up, of being mocked, or of not fitting in. Our school system also contributes. The fact that teachers now are required to "teach to the tests" mean that there is little room for creative or out of the box thinking in the standard classroom. My compliments go out to all the teachers who manage to overcome the regulations set in place and make the learning process fun and stimulating. That requires some real creativity!

Creativity doesn't just mean that someone is good at an artform or can come up with a new invention. Do you ever deviate from a recipe, adding ingredients that you think will taste better? Do you add your own touches when you sing a song? Do you play with your children and come up with new ways to encourage or inspire them? How about the outfits that you wear each day; I bet you don't wear head to toe monochrome, day in and day out.

Creativity is part of every day, whether we realize it or not. It is up to you to nuture whatever feeds your creative spirit. Dance, sing, hug your children. Draw, paint, cook. If nothing else, put your head back and daydream. How do you express yourself? I would love to know.

I'm on Facebook!

Hey, Gang! I just made a Facebook page for the studio! Stop over and let me know you "like" me (you really like me!). We're going to do fun stuff like have giveaways so make sure you check in every now and then to see what we're up to.

https://www.facebook.com/JaneMadayStudio/photos_stream#!/JaneMadayStudio

Waiting for Spring

Oh, I am so ready for Spring! I want to paint all the bright and pretty colors, but outside my window the snowflakes are falling. Oh well, soon it will be summer and I will be complaining that I am too hot, so I guess I should learn to appreciate the moment.

 

I have been thinking about how technology has changed my life since my college days. When I was in art school, the school only had three computers, and there was only one small class to teach how to use them. Then I graduated and went to work at Hallmark. Computer art was in it's infancy then. I was trained in using them (reluctantly) and we had to save everything on these giant discs called Bernoullis, that were about the size of an ipad today. They could only store one piece of art. (Do I sound like a dinosaur yet? You must think I learned how to draw by chiseling my art on rocks!)

 

Fast forward to today. I still paint the traditional way, but I simply must have my photoshop programs to manipulate the art afterwards. The painting above can now be placed on all sorts of different backgrounds and products with (practically) a touch of a button. And if I accidentally splash some paint, whoosh, I can erase it, just like that. But a worrying trend in the outside world seems to be that the actual skills of drawing and painting are being neglected because it is just so easy to whip something up with the computer. There are some people who create the most amazing art with the computer, and I do admire them so, but there is also a lot of slapped together work.

 

When I go for a few days without actually drawing or painting, I get a bit irritable, do you? I need the tactile feel of the brush or pencil in my hand. I need to escape to the art planet and pour out my heart onto the page. So I would encourage you, for the benefit of your heart, your soul, and your skills, to draw, draw, draw!