Art, Painting, Drawing - Share Yours

[Hashi]

Here is a picture I drew many years ago. The child is my sister. The teddy bear is representative of toys we never had. The cracked egg is that she died too young. She was almost a teenager when she died. The beginning of my ptsd. She was 4 years older than me. The smell and feel of blood is a major trigger for me. The tree represents my family, with all it's branches broken and rotten. The easel represents my way of coping. The hand in color is me, the only thing that's alive.

This is very moving. You're very skilled as an artist, also at representing things symbolically. Thank you for sharing this with us.

 

[CraftyCath]

Light box, glass tile.

Anni, I live all you art, cakes, biscuits etc., but mostlt I LOVE those hummingbirds! :)

 

[anni]

That was very kind, thank you Cath! Hummingbirds are awesome, had to try some- they're the little terrors of the island we go to in Maine. Always reminds of SO many summers up there. They dive-bomb each other at the feeders and buzz us when we let the feeders go dry. Never been bullied by anything so small in my life, geesh! :eek:

 

[anni]

Wanted to ask, why the Knights Templar, Cath? I'm only asking because my grgrandfather belonged to them, I have this stuffed, old scrapbook of memorabilia of his, and his old sword from I guess the turn of the century. Those guys took it extremelyyyy seriously- have photos and items from gatherings in Denver, I think Pueblo- can't remember off-hand. It's a very nice sketch. Also- LOVE your colors in the night drawing, and the implied magic. I have a huge, huge thing about night sky being blue- and THAT blue. Out here in the woods you can see it even on moonless nights, with the trees outlined against the sky like you envision there. That's how bright the stars are. Tough to pull off a 'night' piece without the whole thing becoming too DARK. I really like yours, thank you!

 

[Changing4Best]

My grandmother, Onna T. Orick, painted this one and I inherited it upon her death in 1970. It hangs above my bed now in my bedroom. I thought it would be nice to share, kind of a sentiment for the season and all. This is the thumbnail, click on it to see the full image. Enjoy!

 

[CraftyCath]

That is beautiful Sheila, a very talented lady!

why the Knights Templar

Anni, I did the Knights Templar because my eldest son loves medieval history and has studded the 3 crusades. He knows a great deal about it, especially the swords and armour. He told me the order was disbanded by Pope Clement in 1312 and then morphed into what we now know as The Freemasons.

The picture I used to get the idea from I had to alter a bit. The sword wasn't right so I changed that to a medieval one and my son tells me the helmet isn't quite right. The picture had sandals which of course no knight would wear so I gave him boots. Also, he would have had different grieves and bracers on his arms and shins but I didn't know how to draw them so I did the best I could.

I, too, love a blue night sky. This picture was done in a class with a tutor trying to teach how to use acrylics. Everyone copied what she did (an abstract owl on a branch done in muted browns and yellows). I'm rebellious so I decided to use the only colours I had which were blue and silver. I did the moon and then a tree and then thought 'what could I put on a branch that wasn't an owl?' I decided on the 'Man in the Moon,' and just let my imagination go. There were only 2 of us that did something different and I made mine a fantasy picture which is on my computer desk in my hall and looks very Christmasy with all the glitter and gems I put on it.

I always feel sad when people do a night sky in black, it doesn't have to be.

 

[Changing4Best]

Huge "Christmas trees" my grandmother painted, these were by Otter Lake in the Adirondacks NY where she had her camp. This is the thumbnail....

 

[anni]

Thanks Cath! I know exactly zero on the Knights- a ton on the Crusades ( history geekkkkk ) themselves but am mostly an American Civil War GEEKS Geek so my knowledge of uniforms, etc. tends to be towards something a little later in history. We have a ton of Freemasons in the family tree, fortunately my grgrandfather left his amazing scrapbook. Pics have his plumed hat- sword, parades- those guys didn't fool AROUND. Pics like yours abound, seemed really accurate to me! :) Yes, wish teachers did more of starting with blue and adding black- although have to say my night skies bear zero resemblence to night anyway so no idea why I'm even talking about it. :)

Copying exact pics is a fabulous, fabulous way to teach art- gets the hand-eye thing trained, there's neuro pathways involved, BUT then the idea is 'Go Play', which you did! I'll even have kids get out the tracing paper, trace coloring book pictures, then re-draw on top of THAT, or use carbon paper to re-copy it, THEN make it 'theirs' by adding to it, coloring it, etc. If you do this kind of thing a zillion times, gives the hand an understanding of form, line, coordination, how flow happens- then the kid is far more likely to be pleased with something nice-looking and indeed go play. I have a theory that every, single person who says ' I can't draw', really CAN. In kindergarten, the kid gets an A for the pic of the dog which looks most like a dog, one which looks like an arthritic camel gets a 'C'. So the 'C' kids thinks well, I'm not the artist in the class, I'll be the math-whiz! Never really gives it a shot again. If the creative urge is there, I say the rest is also, bottom line.

Obviously nurtured well and early, thank you Sheila! That's a treasure, and a fabulous one, whoa!! I was lucky lucky lucky also, had early genetic examples. Makes a huge difference, doesn't it? Hee- 'thumbnail' in connection to that seems dismissive huh? :)

 

[Changing4Best]

Obviously nurtured well and early, thank you Sheila! That's a treasure, and a fabulous one, whoa!! I was lucky lucky lucky also, had early genetic examples. Makes a huge difference, doesn't it? Hee- 'thumbnail' in connection to that seems dismissive huh? :)

Yes, as a matter of fact, my grandmother gave me a set of oils when I was 6! I made a perfect mess of an "abstract" painting with them and she wanted to take them back, but I would not let her. She was more the realist, you know, and of course I may well have been shooting for realism too, but well, er, at 6 you are lucky if you can do ANYTHING at all, let alone realism. None the less, I was far past the usual stick figures and such that my peers were up to. So I am most grateful for her tutelage.

She also was the best at baking yummie things like cookies and pies. And she would give us tea with milk in it, being Irish and all, tea was (I guess) acceptable for kids. My daddy made iced tea for us too, he being her son, of course!

Fond memories....

 

[CraftyCath]

one which looks like an arthritic camel gets a 'C'. So the 'C' kids thinks well, I'm not the artist in the class, I'll be the math-whiz! Never really gives it a shot again.

So true Anni and so sad. My art teacher at school and my Dad were very encouraging and my elder brother and sister could both draw so I guess it is in the family. Art teachers need to be more cautious in their criticism, it can put off a lot of people, kids and adults. My nephew was told off for painting the sky purple when he was little. he's colour blind!

A word of encouragement in the right place can make all the difference and the key to it all is to 'enjoy' creating something and not to feel you have to produce perfection as that isn't gonna happen!

It all depends on who is looking at the art. An unmade bed (Tracy Emin - Turner Prize) might be art to some but if they want that kind of art they can come to my house and see my lad's bedrooms!:roflmao:

 

[Britt.f7]

My art teacher's were all fabulous. My grandmother use to take me around to art studios and tell them I would be in there one day. She wanted me to go to art school. I never felt I was good enough.

My greatest critic besides my self, was my father. When I was a little girl I colored in a picture, not very well mind you, and gave it to him as a gift. He sat me down to show me how to color within the lines. I was crushed and never forgot that moment. Later in life when I asked him about it, he said, well wouldn't you want to know how to do it better?

I actually argued with a teacher over an art piece I did. He gave me an A, but I pointed out all my mistakes and didn't he see them? He couldn't believe me. He asked me if I wanted him to lower the grade!

When my kids were little I vowed never to do what my dad did. I caught my sister in law trying to teach my son how to dip eggs more perfectly for Easter. I told her we don't do that in this family. That what he was doing was just fine. He was enough of a perfectionist at a young age without her making it worse. He was just a little boy for heaven's sake!

Funny how you can have many supporters through out your life but it is the one critic who can effect you.

 

[Changing4Best]

Oh yes, I agree about critics being bad for the mental and spiritual wellbeing, as well as to do with latant talant. I did not learn to read until I was in the third grade second time around. Now I read all the time, not owning a TV or anything. We it not for teachers who did everything they cdould to encourage me in my reading, who knows where I'd be today. As it is, I graduated from college and although it was Art College, I did a lot of English and Writing and such too.

Math, however, is the bane of my existance. Thank God my pastor helps me once a week with balancing my checkbook, otherwise I'd be broke/ bankrupt from bank overdraft fees! On the other hand, my mom used math every day extensively in her Computer Programming job. SHe had a Masters Degree in it. Go figure....