My Recent Rx for Creative Block

There's a funny thing about my Creative Blocks... No matter how hard I try to push those big old blocks aside, they just won't budge! And that's just what I found this month as I sat down to update my blog... I was completely at a loss about what to write.

Now normally, my tendency would be to press on, hoping that inspiration would magically reappear. But this time was different...

This time I got busy!

I am NOT at all excited about house cleaning (or cooking either, for that matter!). But since I was getting nowhere with my writing efforts, I jumped into cleaning my studio & "This Old House." It felt good to chase some of the dust bunnies away that had multiplied during the winter months.

My wintertime reading had been James Herriot's book, All Creatures Great and Small. I enjoyed traveling around the English countryside "with him" so much as he cared for the animals & the farm people there, that I immersed myself in his second book All Things Bright and Beautiful ... Nothing like a trip to faraway places (even if only in book form!) to bring new inspiration to me.

And since it's been so pretty outside...

...I've spent extra time enjoying the newness of Spring in our neighborhood. I must say, though I'm not a photographer at all, I've had so much fun capturing pics with my new phone camera as I've walked our lab Winnie on the block each day!

Taking pics has really challenged me to see with fresh eyes... There are interesting things, inspiration & beauty around me everyday!

So... Yet another lesson learned for me about being a creative person... Sometimes it's best to put my project aside for a while & let my creative brain gain some fresh perspective.

Thank you so much Lord for "wiring" me to be a creative person. Please help me to honor You while I allow creativity to grow in me.

Hi, My Name Is Patti And I'm A Pur-fek-shun-ist!

I've been working away at my Zazzle shop for a while now... having lots of fun creating cards, prints, & more from my original artwork. Finally, I decided the time had come for me to order some of my designs so I could see the final products...

The day the mailman delivered my Zazzle Mail I was sooooo excited to see what was inside! And there it was!... a glossy postcard of my "Pumpkins For Sale" illustration. The printing was crisp & clear, the paper was top-notch... I was thrilled with my arty mail!

That is, 'til I realized one thing!... The colors were not an exact match to my original art.

Uh-Oh!!... Enter Patti's Perfectionism! 

For the next two days I plunged myself into research & study, trying my best to understand the language of sRGB & CMYK. Now, as a self-taught artist, most of what I've learned art-wise has been through research, plus LOTS of trial & error!... So at first, my quest for new art knowledge felt like another challenging adventure.

However, that feeling of adventure was soon replaced by the cross-eyed, head-throbbing feeling of bumping my head against something I just couldn't figure out or change, no matter how hard I tried!

Well, to make a very loooooong story short... I decided to "back away from the edge" of my "unreconcilable problem" & get a fresh perspective. I placed the postcard on a tiny easel & took this picture in my sunny kitchen... and then I walked away.

The next day, I felt like the Lord had given me a whole new outlook on my problem...

I realized (once again!) that some things are just plain out of my control. The printing process Zazzle uses allows me to offer my artwork on products in a print-on-demand way. Other printing methods might allow more exact color matching... but the process would be much slower & the products would need to be purchased in bulk at a higher cost.

... Basically, that just wouldn't work for me.

And as I looked with fresh eyes at the photo I'd taken the day before... and at the postcard still propped up on its' easel... I realized it was OK. I could like this version of my artwork just the way it was.

Perfectionists really don't like to settle for less than perfect... But today I'm feeling thankful for learning one more lesson on the road toward embracing "good enough."

Illustration Friday - IF: Swim

For years I've played with the idea of submitting some of my silly doodles for Illustration Friday's weekly topics... but yes, I've always been a bit too shy! Today though, when I saw that this week's topic is SWIM, I remembered an ACEO I made a while back that I thought would fit the challenge...

This art card is called "Here Fishy Fishy." It measures the standard 2.5"x3.5" and was created using Copic markers & Prismacolor pencils.

I have a special love for this tiny piece of art since the little boy with his tousled red hair reminds me so much of my youngest son when he was little!   :)

Welcome Spring!!

Photo Courtesy Big Stock Photos

I don't know about you... but SPRING could not come quickly enough for me this year!!

Now, I know as a "North Carolina Gal" I really have no room to complain! While the Northeast was being covered repeatedly by snow this winter, we were mostly just cold & soggy, with day after day of gray skies... Nothing multiple layers of warm clothes & an extra pair of wooly socks couldn't cure! Oh!... and LOTS of hot coffee!!   ;)

Truth be told, Wintertime is always challenging for me. Like so many other artists, I struggle with depression... and there's nothing like soaking up some early spring sunshine to lift my spirits! My studio is on the south side of our home... definitely the best place to be year 'round to catch Mother Nature's warm glow when the sun does peek out!

"Kite Flying Lessons"

Back one gray day this past winter, when I was especially yearning for spring, I asked my arty friends on facebook if they could suggest some SPRING Ideas that I could illustrate. I really needed some help in pulling my imagination out of winter's chill & back to warmer weather. And they gifted me with a loooong list of inspiration!... as well as the encouragement that YES!, there would be spring again!

...And that's how "Kite Flying Lessons" was "born"... An itty-bitty piece of artwork that reminded me again of my need for the encouragement of creative friends and the hope of SPRING! 

Unplugged

Recently, my husband & I took a very rainy trip up to see his mom, where she lives on the family farm. I took this picture of the light in our bedroom window... Somehow, the warm light seemed especially inviting on that cold, rainy evening!

In some ways, life at the farm is still untouched by time. Things are the way they always have been... well, not really! But the pace of life is definitely slower & it's not hard at all to feel closer to Mother Nature with all her moods & beauty.

One thing that is definitely missing there... The internet has not found its' way to the farm (nor do I expect it to get there for a very long time!). Even our cell phones struggle to keep from dropping their calls!  ;)

And so, I've come to find that the farm can be the perfect place to snuggle up with a cup of tea, enjoy the quietness, & doodle in my sketchbook without distraction.

Here are some recent "Farm Doodles"... Just having fun with some autumn themes. The "Peace Dove" sketch will no doubt become a Christmas card design in the months to come...

I'm looking forward to watching as these simple sketches become little pieces of colorful art!... It still feels like a magical process to me!  :)

Farm Doodles © Patti Moore

I {Heart} Handmade

One of the wonderful things about being an artist today is being able to easily access other artists & their inspiring work online! I'm a HUGE introvert... and though I longed for creative community for many years, it wasn't until I started offering my art on Etsy that I began to actually "meet" other artists. I have loved talking design & colors & techniques & arty tips with these generous & inspiring friends! Many have really taken me under their creative wings and helped me learn & grow as an artist!... I will always be grateful!  :)

I thought I'd share some of my current Etsy "favorites" with y'all!... The list just keeps growing as I make wonderful new discoveries on Etsy everyday. I hope you'll click on the thumbnails above & go exploring with me!... It's amazing to see all the beauty & creativity there is to enjoy in this handmade world we live in!

A Little Rainy Day Work-In-Progress

My sweet husband surprised me this past Christmas with an iPhone! (Thank you, hon!)  He knew I had wanted to take pics & share them more easily on the web. I'm still working on getting the focus right, but here goes with a little work-in-progress from my art desk!...

Since last fall, I've gone "back to basics" art-wise... which for me is creating small format original illustrations, especially ACEO's (artist trading cards which measure 2.5"x3.5"). I've learned that I love little projects... I get bored & restless when an art project takes too long. Seems I'm always eager to move on to the next fun idea!  ;)

I'm also back to my "first love" art materials... a mechanical pencil with a kneaded eraser, a fine-tipped Micron pen, my rainbow of Prismacolor pencils, and a wonderful mix of Copic & Prismacolor markers... Just love being surrounded by all those yummy colors!  :)

This ACEO ended up being a bit of a "Stop & Go Project" as I fit my art time in around the rest of life! I finally got it finished & listed in my Etsy shop yesterday...

Say hello to "Rainy Day Friends."

"Rainy Day Friends"

Inspired By Folk Art

"Cozy Winter Home" ACEO

One of the things I've been longing to do art-wise is to return to my folk art-style "roots." I don't have an art background... and much of my inspiration in starting to create came from folk art & outsider art.

I love...

...the colorfulness of folk art!

...the "use what you have" & "improvise as you go" ingenuity of folk art.
 
...the "nothing's perfect" and "somewhat wonky is OK" philosophy of art.

..."one of a kind" and "made entirely by hand" kinda art!

Back when my two sons were little & we spent many fun hours in our local library, I loved to hunt for books for myself filled with pictures of folk art, Amish quilts, cottage-style decorating & tales of flea marketing. As a budget-wise mom, I was drawn to the "design on a dime" philosophy I found within these books... Yes, this way of thinking really fit my lifestyle!

Well, many years later, I still love the same things!... rich colors, nubby & woven textures, repurposed materials, artful creations full of personality & originality, art made by hand that tells a unique story.

I hope that the art I create today reflects my love for the beauty of handmade!  

Celebrating Life's Simple Blessings

"Bedtime Story"

'Twas the first week of a brand New Year... As always a great time to make a fresh start & explore new directions! Or, maybe in my case, a chance to go back to old loves & pick up where I left off...

Long ago on another cold January day, I started my very first blog, Simple*Blessings. It became my place to write little stories about the everyday things of our family's life & to draw colorful pictures that illustrated my stories. A blog just for me! (& anyone else who happened to stop by.) A blog "just because"...  A blog that was fun & creative & made me happy!   :)

Well, somewhere along the way, I put my silly illustrated blog aside & moved on to other artful things. But recently I realized how much I missed it!... just noticing ordinary everyday things, telling silly stories, & doodling some pictures to make them pretty.

So, here I am again... Blogging "just because it's fun." Trying to look for the beauty in the ordinary. Playing with markers & colored pencils like a kid again. Happy to be...

Celebrating Life's Simple Blessings!