Charcoal Elegance

This art piece is technically NOT a doodle... this is a miniature study of a 7ft colored pencil drawing I was working on my senior year in college. That's right, I said a 7 FOOT TALL COLORED PENCIL DRAWING.

When I was getting ready to graduate, I was taking an Advanced Drawing class and my professor wanted me to take my work to a different... height? haha I had FINALLY fallen into a subject matter I could focus on without getting bored. Before that, I went through an abstracted object phase, an african phase, an animal phase, an oriental phase, a flower phase, and a "I don't want to do this anymore" phase. All of which lasted a semester. Picking a subject matter and sticking to it was difficult. I mean, you're trying to build a body of work around something you're interested in long enough to spend months working on. It's quite difficult. Then, one day over Summer break, it hit me: CLOTHING. I've been obsessed with clothes since... forever? So naturally I started doodling outfits, and for once I managed to use an ENTIRE SKETCHBOOK. That is something I've always felt extremely guilty about not doing. Pfft... and I called myself an "artist". I've never been able to sketch on the daily. If I sit down to work on something, I want it to be on a more permanent platform, i.e. canvas, wood, really expensive paper and I wanted it ready to showcase. You know, SELL-ABLE. I'm just not a big doodler. With THIS idea? I literally couldn't stop the ideas from flowing, and the only place to get them out quick enough was my sketchbook. Huzzah! I pulled inspiration from magazines, runway fashion shows, movies and peeps on da streets. GENIUS.

So after all of the aforementioned happened, I started drawing things on a larger scale as encouraged by my professor, and I absolutely loved it. It's fun to work big. I managed to do three 7ft drawings that combined charcoal and colored pencil. I was only able to finish 2 of them, the last one (the one the sketch below goes to) is still in progress. It has the most detail/color on it and is about 3/4 of the way finished. I just don't have a surface big enough to work on it anymore... plus it wasn't top a priority. I'll get back to it in due time. Hopefully. I mean, who has wall space large enough to display a 7ft drawing? Pfft.

Either way, I had come across these BEAUTIFUL dresses somewhere several years ago. Loved them the minute I saw them. My colored drawing is done in these soft pinks, bright magentas, and some deep eggplant purples. Very pretty. One of these days I'll photograph it and post it up... hopefully sooner rather than... never? Yeep.

So here it is. One of my favorite sketches. EVER. It's a tad dirty, as most charcoal drawings are... doy.

Enjoi.

Cheerio!

My Doodle Days: Fare Thee Well Summer

Nothing says Summer quite like red and white stripes, at least in my mind. For those of you who know me personally, you know I'm a big BIG fan of dresses and skirts. Not just in the summer, but year round. I have no qualms about wearing a short skirt in winter time. Obviously I wear them with tall boots, I retire my sandals in the winter... for the most part. I'm one of those people that as long as my hands and feet are toasty warm, the rest of me stays.... well, fairly warm. The sacrifices women make for fashion... aye yai yai.

Anywho! This little doodle reminds me of a hot July day by the lake with family, soaking up the sun, drinking a nice cold glass of iced tea, eating some watermelon and savoring every ounce of those small breezes. I don't think I've ever hung out by a lake doing all of the above in my short 26 years... but there's still time to do it AND make a dress like this.

This is my adieu to Summer (albeit a tad late) and my open arm welcome to Fall. I'm ready for sweater weather people! Not to mention piles of blankets, hot cocoa, pine cones dipped in cinnamon scent, and snuggling on the couch. Mmm.

Enjoi!

Cheerio!

I'm A Big Fat Baby... Feed Me Candy.

FACT: When Kailee gets frustrated, I talk with my hands, I cry, I pace, I fixate on the dumbest... shit. Shit. It's what it is. Plain and simple. Painting projects can cause me to have mini meltdowns, especially when I'm up against a deadline. Case and point... I wrote this post about 3 years ago. I remember the situation, I remember the art show I was working on, and I remember my breaking point. Sometimes, when talking isn't enough - I write. Clearly venting in this manner helped appease my disgruntled little mind, because I never posted it. The beauty of THAT is, I didn't need to. Writing it out was enough. So, why am I posting it now? Because. Whether you're a painter, a sewer, a model car enthusiast, an avid musician, an OCD coffee cup collector, or paper clip organizer - we ALL get frustrated. We ALL percolate with emotions, and at some point or another - we ALL boil over. I just found this vent of mine to be particularly amusing, because - I got over it. It seems so silly 3 years down the road. Now, it's just a distant memory in a not so far off point in my life that I overcame. With grace? Not likely. Diginity? Sure, a teeny bit. With awesomeness? Youuuuuu bet!

P.S. That art show KICKED SERIOUS DONKEY. I was so proud of myself for accomplishing such a monumental feat, and my entire family was there to support me to boot. You rock family. 

In the end, the tears, the stress, and the sleepless nights all paid off. Go ahead, read it. I dare ya. I double dog dare ya!

Sometimes, I go through what I like to call a "mid-art crisis." It's not pretty, especially if your my mama and its a midnight venting sesh over a cup of her famous stovetop coffee. Someway, somehow - mama talks and some excellent Joe just melt your troubles away...

Take for instance, this moment, right here - I have three paintings in my living room that I'm working on simultaneously and they are frustrating me to no end. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING is working out the way it should. Its causing me great distress.  So much so that I'm to the point where I'm literally afraid to start another painting. I'm trying to whip out some fabulous new paintings for this oh so stellar show next month and I am fa-reaking out. I've had months to get ready but I feel strapped for time, energy, and my patience is zero. Not to mention the fact that I work at the pace of a teeny tiny creepy slime slugging gastropod (snail) is very impeding.

Which leads to that next awful thought... maybe they just aren't that good. Self-doubt is the worst kind of mental attack. Every artist doubts themselves and the technical skill of their work. We truly are our own worst critic. We concern ourselves way too much with what we think of our work rather than if others like it. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but even in a market where we are suppose to create something that appeals to a broad audience, we honestly think our opinion has the most validity. If we think it sucks, then you think it sucks and you telling us otherwise is just a covert way of dancing around the universal truth that is staring us both in the eye: "canvas suckery and a total waste of paint."

In cases like this, I find the most appropriate remedy is to simply step off. Put down the paint filled paint brush, loosen my grip and step away from the canvas before frustration gets the best of me and I lash out at the last 20 hours worth of work. Sometimes ignoring something really does make the problem go away, at least in an artist's world. I need to leave things be and let them breathe. However, knowing this and doing this are not always easy... I find skipping town for no good reason to be beneficial... so, spontaneous Holiday anyone?

Too funny right? I certainly thought so. I was on a total pity party. Boo hoo! Plus, I really needed a vacation. I suppose my great words of advice are...

"Suck it up buttercup, life goes on"

....and ON it did. To bigger, better, and even more amazing opportunities, and it will continue to do so. Life is an ever evolving door. I'm sure I'll have many many more of these ^^ moments (some more recent than I care to admit... wah wah wah). Ehh.... So, the next time you find yourself stressed out, frustrated, angry, crying, and grinding your teeth over God knows what.... just keep in mind - you'll get through it, you'll get over it, and you'll come out shining brighter.... and definitely hungrier.  I sure could go for a Reese's right about now. Om nom nom!

Cheerio!