Tuesday, October 10, 2006

BABY STEPS





It is on a seemingly constant basis that I must remind myself to take small steps. I tend to want to run, run, runnnnn in an effort to keep pace with my mind and its rapid-fire ideas and thoughts. And when I run that fast, I am bound to stumble and fall...and fail.

In all areas of my life, I throw myself into whatever I am doing. What I do not always take into consideration is that there are times when I am not particularly prepared to tackle the task at hand. Maybe I am setting myself up to fail. Who knows?

I am not an artist. I pretend to be one. I like how I feel while I am painting. I like music playing in the background while I wield my brushes and paints. And I try to run. Fast like the wind. Sometimes I am lucky, and I create a painting that pleases me a great deal. Other times, I shake my head and file the painting inside my giant "WTF is this" folder.

I sprinted into acrylics painting after having taken watercolor classes. Surely I could handle that medium, even though they are two VASTLY different ones. Never mind that I have not attended any classes or workshops to learn how to use acrylics. Eh, I never was all that great paying attention in classes anyway. I blindly ran with the thick paint and canvas~neither of which is used for watercolors.

I realize now I do need to get some sort of acrylics paint instruction. Preferably a one-day workshop. It did not take me too long to determine that while I was working on this swan painting. Surprisingly, the picture is just 4" x 5", but more time-consuming than I have spent on larger paintings...be they pastels, acrylics, or watercolors. Maybe it is because smaller ones are more tedious.

Although I got frustrated painting this, I still got pleasure from it. Odd, isn't it? And I do like it. I just do not love it. I call it Serenity. Mmhmm. Swans bring to mind a beautiful gracefulness, and a secluded pond with lush foliage and sprinklings of blossoms is my idea of pure serenity. A place I would like to be.

Sometimes I take photos of a painting as it progresses. I did that with this one. A record of baby steps to remind me that I must not always run.

"Life is a series of steps. Things are done gradually. Once in a while there is a giant step, but most of the time we are taking small, seemingly insignificant steps on the stairway of life." ~Ralph Ransom

13 comments:

Tammy Brierly said...

You are such an artist it's not even funny! I loved your swan! BTW I forgot your hugs & kisses on my SPC comment. xxxxoooo

I LOVE that ring!

MUCHO Love!!!!!!!!1

Anonymous said...

What a lovely render, Nikki! And ohhh, I second Tammy's comment on the sparkles - sapphires are my favorite.

Anonymous said...

You appear to be a wonderful artist to me!! Your painting is lovely and quite serene!!

Anonymous said...

I really liked your painting. I think you did a wonderful job. Plus isn't art about the love of doing it. It seems if you take joy and pride in what you do, you turn it into an art.

Teena in Toronto said...

Wow! That looks great! I'm jealous :)

Jod{i} said...

You are an Artist.
Do NOT compare yourself to those around you who have a talent as well, for theirs is theirs and your is yours. We all bring something to the table. We all have that inside of us, and you my dear are an artist. No question. I mean what makes one an artist?
Selling them? Displaying them? So what if we hide them in a closet forever? Does it mean we are not?
Nikki your talent is incredible and growing. You nuture it.
I am green with your view, that mind's eye and how you reflect it on canvas!

Art is individual, hmmmm seems someone told me that once.
The painting is beautiful and delicate.
An image I know I could not capture.

Grow with it Nikki!

Peace&Love
Jo

PS Guess what I mailed Today!

carrie said...

very pretty. good idea to take pictures along the way, i liked seeing that.

Tigger said...

I guess your muse is back?!? I like swans too, they remind me of what I want to be. I started a new blog at blog spot: http://dougstigger.blogspot.com. I hope you will visit me there soon!!!
Tawnya

Vedrana M. said...

nice images, keep on creating :)

V said...

Woo Hoo !
I`m so happy to see you!
V

Charles said...

Hey, I like it. To me that painting is great. I could practice my entire lifetime and not even come close to your painting.

Lippy said...

Baby steps are not an awful thing when they produce results such as this. I like it too!

Jimmy

TJ said...

Oh I do love what you painted. Me too, looking for some direction with arcylics.
I have decided i am a damn great backdrop painter. laughing...TJ