Inky colors

 

Trying out some color with some new pens, this one was a fun piece!

Color is a powerful tool for self-expression. Whether we are creating art, designing a space, or simply selecting our wardrobe, the colors we choose can communicate a wide range of emotions, moods, and ideas.

Color can be used to express a wide range of emotions. Bright and bold colors like red, orange, and yellow are often associated with energy, excitement, and passion. Cool colors like blue, green, and purple can evoke feelings of calm, serenity, and relaxation. Colors can also be used to express more complex emotions like sadness, nostalgia, or even anxiety.

Beyond emotions, color can also be used to express different moods and themes. Warm and earthy colors like browns and greens can create a natural and organic feel, while metallic colors like gold and silver can add a touch of glamour and luxury. Bright and neon colors can create a playful and vibrant vibe, while pastels can add a soft and dreamy quality.

Color can also be used to express our individuality and personal style. The colors we choose to wear, decorate our homes with, and even use in our artwork can communicate our unique tastes, preferences, and personality. Whether we prefer bold and vibrant hues or subtle and muted tones, the colors we choose can communicate who we are and what we value.

Don't be afraid to bring some color to your atmosphere!

Ink drawing fun

Ink on 50# paper

This was just a fun distraction.  I wanted to try out some new patterning and just see what I could come up with, and this is what ensued. 

Do you ever just start with swirls and see where they take you?

Happy Halloween!

Zombie

Nicole Hoehn

The sorrow dies 

And the living cry 

The dead walks beneath our feet 

Under ground 

The non-breathing live upon us 

Their pulses do not beat 

They are the nightmares of our dreams 

They are the ones 

Who make our skin crawl 

But they are only our future 

Disgusting beasts 

Dead may they be 

They are one of a kind 

Because without them 

What story would be left behind

I hope you enjoy this creepy scene that I made for Halloween.  All supplies came from the dollar store, minus the paint that I already had at home.  Total cost, $6 plus tax.  Endless amounts of fun painting creepy baby dolls.  :)

Study in Charcoal

"Loneliness, like any other emotion, is just a chemical reaction in your rain.  As is possible with all emotions, you can control it... Unfortunately, we oftentimes lack the power to do so."

-Aedan Clarke

Charcoal on 50# paper

Study of similar drawings, working on hands

Drawing is a powerful instrument that may help us express ourselves, foster our creativity, and even enhance our mental health. It is not only a talent or a hobby. Regular drawing practice has several advantages, regardless of your level of artistic ability.

Drawing has several benefits, one of which is that it improves our capacity for observation. Drawing requires meticulous attention to the forms and details of the subject, which can aid in our understanding of the outside world. A deeper understanding of the intricacy of the human form and the beauty of nature may result from this improved perception.

We can sharpen our focus and concentration by drawing. We are compelled to quiet our thoughts and concentrate on the subject at hand when we sit down to sketch. Finding a sense of serenity and tranquility via doing this can be a terrific way to get away from the incessant distractions of modern life.

Drawing has the added advantage of being a fantastic stress-reliever. We can direct our feelings and thoughts into something uplifting and useful by engaging in creative activities. This can make us feel like we have more control over our lives and less anxious or depressed.

Finally, drawing often can help us feel better about ourselves and more confident. We can have a sense of pride and success when we develop our abilities and observe our development through time. This carries over to other aspects of our lives and enables us to face difficulties with more bravery and resiliency.

Beauty in Solitude

On a recent road trip, I found this amazing place...  I sat on that bench for a good hour, meditating among the flowers and plants at an incredible botanical garden.

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought.  The mind is everything.  What we think, we become."

Buddha

Meditation is a practice that has been used for thousands of years to promote inner peace, reduce stress, and enhance overall well-being. In recent years, it has become increasingly popular in Western cultures as more people recognize its many benefits.

One of the main benefits of meditation is its ability to reduce stress and promote relaxation. When we meditate, we enter a state of deep relaxation that can help us let go of our worries and concerns. This can be especially helpful for people who struggle with anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions.

Another benefit of meditation is its ability to improve focus and concentration. By training our minds to focus on a specific object or mantra, we can improve our ability to concentrate on other tasks in our daily lives. This can be especially helpful for people who work in high-stress environments or who have busy schedules.

Meditation has also been shown to have physical health benefits. Studies have found that regular meditation can lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation in the body, and even improve immune function. This can help us stay healthy and prevent chronic diseases.

Perhaps one of the most powerful benefits of meditation is its ability to help us cultivate a sense of inner peace and well-being. When we meditate, we connect with a deeper part of ourselves that is calm, peaceful, and centered. This can help us navigate the challenges of life with greater ease and resilience.

In conclusion, meditation is a powerful practice that can help us improve our physical and mental health, reduce stress, and cultivate a sense of inner peace and well-being. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced meditator, incorporating meditation into your daily routine can be a great way to enhance your life and improve your overall sense of well-being.

Without the dark... there is no light

Without black, no color has any depth.

~Amy Grant

Sometimes, in life, just as in drawing, we all need to realize that there is no depth or dimensionality if the darkness didn't exist. It's about finding the balance that will bring forth the beauty and unity between light and dark.

Exuberant heat

Cobalt as the midnight sky

when day has gone without a trace

and we lie in each other’s arms

eyes shut and fingers open

and all the colors of the world

pass through our bodies like strings of fire.

-excerpt from Colors Passing Through Us by Marge Piercy

Photoshop Before Photoshop Existed...

These days, photoshop is almost part of everyday life.  Digitally based editing programs can change everything from pictures to video and can alter almost anything in it in every possible way.  Before photoshop, doing such editing was strenuous mixtures of exposures and lots of trial and error.  Here are some of the most unbelievable images that you won't believe aren't real!

General Ulysses S. Grant:

Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in front of his troops at City Point, Va., during the Civil War. 

Researchers at the Library of Congress say it isn't real, instead it is a composite of three separate prints. The head is a photo of Grant, the horse and body from a photo of Alexander M. McCook and the background is a photo of Confederate prisoners captured at the battle of Fisher’s Hill, Va.

Abraham Lincoln:

This nearly iconic portrait (in the form of a lithograph) of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is a composite of Lincoln’s head and the Southern politician John Calhoun’s body.

Generals:

In this photo by Mathew Brady, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman poses with his generals. Gen. Francis P. Blair, far right, was added later. The image on the left is from the same sitting, which Blair did not attend.

Cottingley Fairies:

Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins, took a photos that appeared to be of fairies. The public, including Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, loved them. It was decades before the two admitted the images were photos of cardboard cutouts of drawings, and they continued to maintain they had actually seen fairies.

Herbert Hoover & Charles Curtis

This famous campaign photograph showing Herbert Hoover with his hand on the shoulder of his running mate, Charles Curtis, was manipulated. One of Hoover's press directors, Edward Anthony, explained in his autobiography, that two separate pictures were used and the hand was painted in by an artist.

Stalin:

Stalin routinely had his enemies air-brushed out of photographs. In this image, a commissar was removed from the original after falling out of favor with Stalin.

Hitler:

The doctored photo is on the left, and the original is on the right. Adolf Hitler had Joseph Goebbels (second from the right) removed from the original image.


Originally spotted at: http://www.fourandsix.com/photo-tampering-history/

Anthill Art

I always knew anthills were large and complex, but I had no idea that they were like this!  Check out this "casting" of an anthill and be amazed at the vast complex these industrial insects inhabit!

Beauty from Garbage- Landfill Harmonic

First World Problems, they always seem so trivial, especially when you encounter something like this.  This community lives near a landfill and they recycle the garbage and sell it for money or make interesting things from it... like this:  



  

Impossible Art

I just discovered this photographer today, and he’s amazing!  If you like optical illusions, fantastical photographs and unique concepts, you need to check out the work of Erik Johansson.  He uses composite imagery to create these unbelievable photographs that will just blow your mind!

Macro Snowflakes

If you’re anything like me, you hate the winter.  When I say hate, I really mean it.  I hate the cold, I hate the snow, I hate winter coats and hats and gloves and boots.  If I could have it be any of the other seasons all the time, I would.  (Which makes me wonder why I live in Iowa and not near a beach somewhere…)  I do, however, love things that are beautiful.  Even though I hate snow, I am forced to admit that these snowflakes are truly beautiful and am just amazed at their unique and striking beauty.  Please enjoy today’s Atmospheric Noise!

Starry, Starry Night

For millennia, humans have been looking to the stars- for life, to travel, to dream.  We have built telescopes, spaceships, and devoted billions of dollars into researching the universe.  I myself have always been interested in the sky, from clouds to stars to moon, though I’ve never been very good at photographing them.  I guess I really should invest in that telephoto lens someday- especially after seeing these images.  These amazing images are done two ways- the first is by doing a single frame long exposure (which is really tricky because you really have to know your camera and plan ahead for the long night of exposing your image) or by doing a multi-image composite.  (I only know this because of my photography background, with my nighttime photographs being a particular influence in this knowledge)  However they’re done, you’re going to be amazed and awed… this I guarantee.

Surreal Landscapes

There are a lot of times that I wish I could do more traveling- there are so many outstanding places in the world that are such a part of nature that you rarely get to experience.  I’ve been compiling a list for a long time of all the fantastic locations that I have found and would love to visit in my lifetime, I hope you enjoy them as I have!

Tufa columns of Mono Lake at sunrise

Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park in Gansu Province, China

Tunnel of Love in Kleven Ukraine

Door to hell Karakum Desert

Beautiful green thermal lake called Devils Bath in Wai-O-Tapu Wonderland, geothermal area at Waiotapu, Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand

Tianzi Mountains in Wulingyuan, China

Spotted Lake near Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada

Lake Hillier, on the Middle Island of the Archipelago of the Recherche in Western Australia

Salar De Uyuni

Christmas Lights to the Extreme

I may hate winter, but I love Christmas lights.  One of my fondest memories has always been going for a drive late at night with my parents just to see the lights.   My favorite part of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation is Clark’s foibles with the lights on his house:

I’m always amazed at the levels of creativity that are utilized in creating some of these fantastic displays, and found some really great ones I would love to share with you!

My Favorite Artists... and why

I have several artists that I admire and have learned quite a bit about, aspired to be like, and stared for hours at their works.  It is strange to think that I have a certain type of art that I like, and seeing where that line intersects the type of art that I create.  Today, I would like to share with you some of my favorite artists and also why they make my favorites list.

If anyone asked me to name my absolute favorite artist, there would be absolutely no hesitation- to me there’s no match for the work of Salvador Dali.  He is an abstract artist with a penchant for the crazy and you won’t find a single melting object better than his.  I think the reason that I like his work so well is that there are so many different interpretations that you can gain from his pieces.   One of my favorite pieces, “Phenomenon of the Face and the Vase with Fruit on the Beach”.  The reason I love this piece so much is because it leaves so many things for interpretation and there are also a million different scenes within the painting.

Phenomenon of the Face and the Vase with fruit on the Beach, Salvador Dali

Next up on my list would be David Hockney.  I find his images intriguing and the way he places them together unique.  It shows a fragmented reality, what things might look like through a splintered viewfinder.  My favorite piece by him is Merced Valley:

And lastly on my list of my top three favorite artists would have to be Mark Rothko.  The reason that I love his art is because he makes color key.  It is the color that tells the story in the image, and not so much the image itself. 

No. 8, Mark Rothko

It's interesting to think about why these artists are some of my favorites- and how they affect the work that I do personally as an artist.  I find myself drawn to abstract images, filled with bright color and contrast and nothing like their original subject.  I can see my work in bits of all of my favorite artists, and see how they resonate within the art that I create.

Facts We Bet you Didn't Know about Art

Students who study art are 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and 3 times more likely to be awarded for school attendance.

New brain research shows that not only does music improve skills in math and reading, but it promotes creativity, social development, personality adjustment, and self-worth.

On 3rd December 1961 Henri Matisse's painting Le Bateau was put the right way up after hanging upside-down for 46 days without anyone noticing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, America.

 In 1658 the first illustrated book for children was published in Germany.

In all of Dali's paintings you can find a self-portrait. That is, if you look hard you will see at-least a silhouette of Dali himself.

Pablo Picasso's full name: Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso. You can memorize that or simply say "did you know that Pablo Picasso had 23 words in his name?"

Salvador Dali arrived to give a lecture at London exhibition wearing a diving suit and diving helmet. Nobody could hear him. Eventually he began to asphyxiate in the suit, which had an airtight seal. The audience, thinking it was just a performance, applauded wildly until somebody finally popped open the helmet.

Leonardo da Vinci spent 12 years painting the Mona Lisa's lips.

When Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1912, 6 replicas were sold as the original, each at a huge price, in the 3 years before the original was recovered.

During his entire life, artist Vincent Van Gogh sold just one painting; Red Vineyard at Arles.  (Support your local, living artists!)

Atmospheric Noise: A Study in Blue

So since this week is devoted to art, for my Atmospheric Noise section this week, I've chosen to showcase my own artwork!  Here is a new series that I recently finished titled "A Study in Blue".  Enjoy!