Every year, I chose one word as a theme for that year. I started doing this in 2007 and chose the word Listen, then picked Artist for 2008. Those words came to me quite fast and I knew right off the bat that those were the right words for me. And at the end of the year, when I looked back, it was amazing how the words shaped those years.

This year was a bit more tough and it took me longer to figure out the word. I finally sat down and just did some stream of consciousness type writing, trying to figure out what I wanted for this year, what I felt drawn to. And finally it came to me:

Be.

I like this word. I have a nasty little habit of trying to look too far into the future, trying to figure out what it is I want, what I hope for my future, but then not believing it will/can happen or that I can do it. That then leads to me losing faith and faltering in the present. This word will help me remember to just be in the present, to concentrate on just being who I am. Learn who I am, continue to follow the path that I'm on, and doing that will get me to where I need to be in the future.

Every year I get a bracelet that has my word on it and the year inside it. Then I wear that bracelet all year long, rarely taking it off and never for longer than 24 hours, if that. It's a good visual reminder for me. I ordered my bracelet earlier this week and I am hoping that it will be waiting for me when I get home next week!

So... it's been a while since I posted. But it's a new year and I'm considering it a new start for my blog. :-) I've been very lazy about posting in it, but then life has also been quite crazy up until a few weeks ago. That's when I finally got to escape from reality and go on a three week vacation to Hawaii. Absolute heaven!

First piece of business is to post the final picture of my "Winds of Change" painting.



I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I've got it hanging up in my office at work and have gotten a number of comments on it, which was very nice. :-)

I'm very much looking forward to this new year. One of my goals is to do something creative every day. Work on a painting, tinker with a recipe, do a quick sketch, anything at all at least once a day. And I just happened along a blog by the artist Leah Piken Kolidas who is doing the Creative Every Day challenge. (See the sidebar to the right.) Serendipity, indeed! So I have signed up for that and am looking forward to participating and being inspired by the others who are involved.

Another thing that will help me is the portrait painting class I have signed up for that starts in two weeks. I'm thrilled! And I'll be returning to oils, which is what I love most. It's being held at the local museum and it's with an artist, Linda Infante Lyons, who's done many other classes there, two of which I've taken.

I'm definitely making my art a priority this year and am trying to find ways and opportunities that will support me and encourage me in this endeavor. So far, I'm off to a good start. Now I'm going to sign off and go sketch something while enjoying the beautiful weather outside!

Winds of Change
Originally uploaded by thatquirkydame

Worked some more on the painting. The skin came out better than I expected, considering this is acrylics and not oils. Still have some minor little bitsy things to tweak on her, but otherwise, i'm quite surprised and happy with how she is turning out! Especially since I just began painting it yesterday!

Winds of Change
Originally uploaded by thatquirkydame

On a whim - and a desperate need to paint - I started working on this acrylic painting today. I did this drawing a while back while I was contemplating some of the changes that were beginning to happen in my life. While many of those changes were positive ones, I was still nervous about them and how my life would be different because of them. When I drew this, I imagined myself daring to sneak a glance at my future and feeling the winds of change urging me towards it, despite my hesitations.

I'm a bit nervous about her face. Acrylics and I don't get along when painting people. But we're trying to come to a truce, so it'll be good. :-) I much prefer oils over acrylics, especially when painting people. But for the things I'm working on right now, oils aren't the best thing. However, once I get back from Hawaii, I will be starting a new oil painting and looking out for classes, too. Man, am I looking forward to it!

Just wanted to post a picture of my new sketchbook. I've decided to collage both covers on it and finished the first one today.



For this sketchbook, I wanted one cover to be full of inspiring words and phrases. The other cover will most likely have a Hawaiian theme, as this is the sketchbook that I will be using for my trip to Hawaii in December. :-)

I had fun with this. And since we get so many magazines from my sister, who works for a magazine and book stocking warehouse, I have a huge stash of magazines to comb for material. I'm going to continue to design my own sketchbook covers. It means a lot to me to be able to personalize my sketchbooks.

I've also been working hard on a new sketch, but since this is for my sis for Christmas, I'm not able to post any pictures. ACK! I especially hate not showing it to her, I'm so used to showing her everything I do. But so far, I'm happy with how it's turning out. And I can hardly wait until we celebrate Christmas in January. We've decided that instead of buying presents this year, we're each going to make each other a piece of art. How awesome is that??? :-) So I'll finally be able to post the picture of the completed mixed media painting here and on flickr after the holidays.

I can hardly wait!

So... It occurs to me that I should probably introduce myself in the first post, just in case someone other than my best friend/sister reads this. :-)

My name is Julie, nickname Jewels. I'm 35 years old and live in Alaska. I work as an Administrative Support Assistant (basically receptionist with lots of extra duties.) Despite the fact I've been working jobs like this since I was 18, it's most definitely NOT what I want to do when I grow up! For me, that will always be art. And finally, I'm admitting it and making it a priority to incorporate art into my life on a regular, constant basis. And I'm contemplating and pondering just how I want to integrate the arts into my future career(s). But while I'm trying to figure all that out, I plan on just experimenting, digging in and going for it, trying all sorts of things and learning what it is I really love and what my style is and growing along the way!

In this blog, I just plan on talking about the projects I'm working on and posting pictures of them, etc. A modpodge of whatever I feel like posting about. I figure it'll make a convenient place to send my friends and family who want to see my artwork and someplace where I can blather on incessantly about one of my favorite subjects.

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Jewels