Monthly Archives: January 2012
Experimenting and my art journal…..
20 January 2012 | By Diana Jane
Hello….
Well this week started really well, I was full of positive energy and happily painting away , experimenting in my journal and creating some little paintings…… not quite sure what has happened as I now feel quite flat….. think I am expecting too much from myself and getting carried away thinking every day should be a success and have lots of finished work on my desk…. really need to remember to take a break and fill my time with other activities or I just get stuck and start floating…. in space somewhere.. Not every day is going to be the same, some are good, some amazing and some I should just do something else…..like go to the gym… lol!
That is a good idea though, I do actually love being in the gym, just me and my music, it is the only place that I actually turn off the voices in my head ( not mad voices just annoying ones) and just exist in harmony with myself…… I just have a problem with getting myself motivated to go….. Think I may work on that it will really help to energise me and give me fresh eyes on my work…..
So my art journal for this year is coming along well, not to sure it is an actual “Art Journal” as I have not done any journalling in it yet, just experimenting with different techniques and trying out ideas for larger paintings later…… anyway I am enjoying the process and am sure it will help to gather my ideas and thoughts together..
and here are some of the small paintings that I did earlier this week, they are painted on MDF, lovely to paint on, nice smooth surface….
I am loving creating these little girls, I am going to keep at them and hope to improve over time as I am not quite comfortable doing faces and features, feel a bit out of my depth….. but hey its all about learning and developing…. so I hope to be back soon with some more.
Book list 2012…… lots of reading.
15 January 2012 | By Diana Jane
Books, books and more books……
I have been going through my books that I want to read this year. Some I have have had for ages…. years in some cases, one of my obsessions collecting lovely books….. one bad habit, not reading them!!!!
So I have compiled a reading list, some of them are in preparation for my Masters that I start in October, and others just because I know they will help me in my creative life, and others that I have read before but would like to refresh my memory…….
So here we go, in no particular order, I love them all……or I will once I have become aquatinted.
That is going to take a while, massive book, If I manage this one alone I will be amazed…….
Looks like a very interesting book about living intentionally and being mindful….
Lots of inspiration and ideas about being creative from working Artists….. Love this book
4. Woman’s History of the World.
Cant believe I have not read this yet!!!!!
I have some knowledge on this subject but it is so long since I have read anything about philosophy I need a refresh…..
6. A little Knowledge, What archimedes really meant……
An amazing book with so much information on a variety of subjects including contemporary economics, physics and architecture…… help me!!!!
7. Ways of Seeing- John Berger
A brilliant book, quite an old essay but still very relevant to any artist.
8. Camera Lucida- Roland Barthes
Another classic, based around thoughts and relationships with photography.
9. The Philosophy of Andy Warhol- Andy Warhol
Think this will be interesting…….
10. Art and Fear- David Bayles and Ted Orland
Observations on the perils and rewards of making Art.
11. What is Contemporary Art – Terry Smith
Preparation for my Masters, good to get familiar with the subject.
12.The Photograph as Contemporary Art – Charlotte Cotton
Another re-read to refresh my mind……
13. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying – Sogyal Rinpoche
A must read, just for me.
I think that will make for an interesting year if I can actually get through all of them……. to be honest half of them would be good!
I will report back as I read through them and let you know a bit more about each one as I go.
Please let me know of any interesting books that you have read that may enhance my reading list, I love to hear about new books from peoples experiences, recommendations are the best…
Back soon with my art journal fun.
Back to Creating…. Yaaah!
10 January 2012 | By Diana Jane
Its sooo good to have my studio back and it is super tidy as I have finally cleaned everything away and sorted it all out….. totally organised!
Problem is I am so used to working in chaos now it feels wrong to get anything out to start working again…. It wont last long, I feel a creative spell coming on.
Look how Tidy! In comparison to this ( scroll down a bit to see the mess)
I am so excited at the moment about a new on-line course I am doing by Tamara Laporte at Willowing Arts It is called Life Book… One whole year of creating beautiful art journal pages that will then be bound into a book…..
There are two video lessons per month, one from Tam and another from various visiting Artists. All sharing various mixed media techniques and inspiration. In addition to this there are so many more things to participate in each month, ATC swaps, monthly challenges, forums and discussion boards, all for you to do at your own pace and you can contribute as much or little as you want. It is amazing the site Tam has set up, so much more that I had imagined it to be, but exactly what I was looking for. A whole art community at your fingertips so fabulous!….I am so happy to be part of this course and I am itching to get started on some work….
This has made me feel so energised and enthusiastic about the start to this year, an art journal has been something I have wanted to do for ages, see what happens when you throw away all the to-do-lists, you just go with the flow and stop worrying and stressing…. love it.
I will keep you posted on my journey with Life Book and will be back soon with some new work to show xx
Happy New Year….
6 January 2012 | By Diana Jane
Ahhhhhh. I can now breath again……
I do love all the celebrating at the end of the year but it is so good to get back to some sense of normality again. It is always so crazy over Christmas and New Year. I love January for its calmness, I know some people find it a bit depressing but I like to think of the beginning of the year as a time to re-group and de-stress… and appreciate some time out…….. just chill for a while and enjoy being…..
Last year I started to make some changes, not consiously but they just seemed to happen….
Normally I make grand sweeping statements at the beginning of a New Year, lots of New Years Resolutions, I will do this… I will stop that… I must accomplish this etc…. but this year my view is very different. I have been writing list of things to do for years and I had kept them, many many lists, sometimes I would go through them to see what I should have done and all it would do is make me down and depressed about all these things I had not achieved….. many years of torturing myself with my own disappointments…. Then last year I just threw them all away…. Yaaaah! What a release that was…. For some reason I had been scared of letting go in case there was something important that I would forget to do….. Ha! If I had not done it then so be it….. It is so silly the pressure we put on ourselves, and all you end up doing is concentrating on is all the things that you havent occomplished in stead of celebrating the things you do…..
So I have no resolutions for this year…. just to be me and go with the flow.
That is not to say I don’t have a plan, and I do have things I want to achieve this year…. I am just viewing things from a different angle….. and I like it.
I feel much more energised and enthusiastic about my work and life in general than I have for a long time. I feel free to explore and experiment and also know it is ok to not always be so dam perfect…..
So… Heres to 2012…. may it be a fabulous one for all… Happy New Year xxx
Just had to show Fred the tree, he is all packed away now ready for next year…..
