Well m’dearies, simply because I don’t have enough on my plate (liar liar pants on fire), I decided to participate in Leslie Saeta’s 30 Paintings in 30 Dayschallenge.
Except I’m putting my own little spin on this. Ever the multitasker, I decided this is the perfect excuse opportunity to learn–really learn–digital painting. In 30 days I should be able to take it from playing on my ipad to mastering some level of expertise.
Which means you can pretty much count on 30 days of daily Arty Life postings. Imagine that!
I’m thinking this will be a series, Women in Red, inspired by a digital painting I created last week. I’m posting it today just to get this thing going. Today’s WIR is taking her sweet time loading into the Dropbox folder (shaking fist at the digital cloud) so I will start with this one and extend the challenge to the end of the month, which is 31 days really.
Women In Red, Susan Lobb Porter digital drawing
I made this using my iPad 2 and the Procreate app. Unless I encounter some unforeseen technical problems all the images I create for this challenge will with this app.
So that’s it. Come back tomorrow for # 2. And if you like what you see, share it with your friends. As always, I love to hear what you have to say in the comments below.
Confession: I collect arty apps like other people collect, ummm…other things. Imagine that! I’ve played with them a bit from time to time but have never been happy with the results. Everything always came out looking too digital. Like that one over there (arrow pointing right).
Go figure.
Well this weekend I had this AHA! moment, this flash of inspiration that said maybe it’s not the apps’ fault. Repeat, please…maybe it’s not the app’s fault!
Maybe I needed to treat them as any other art TOOL and not a toy.
Maybe I should learn how to use them.
Sometimes I astound myself with maybes.
So I decided to explore Procreate. This is a digital illustration app complete with layers, more layers and a full selection of mark making tools. But I ran into the same issues I’ve had with apps in the past…the end results looked contrived. Looked like cartoons. Nothing against ‘toons but that’s not the look I was going for.
And then one of the many voices in my head, one of the nice ones, said something I needed to hear. She said stick to your own style!
MY. STYLE. You know, the way I normally paint… scribbles and layers and textures and whatever else I throw into the pot. Approach it like one of my paintings sans air guitar and Da Boss. Instead of the studio I was on the sofa. My feet were up on the coffee table and the dogs were snuggled on either side of me.
AND THERE WAS NOTHING TO CLEAN UP!!!
Ohhhhh… I might like this digital stuff.
I have yet to watch a Procreate tutorial (of which there are many). I just dived in layer by layer. Because Procreate allows you to work in layers. Large, like 4K, the industry standard for high def resolution. And export in layered PSD files.
There’s even a free manual you can download. Can you believe that…an app with a manual!
Are you in love yet?
I had several false starts as I was getting a feel for the way it works. I’m still working on that, actually. This is the first image I was satisfied with.
Yes, you’ve seen this image before. Or it’s canvas cousin Red Bob. Red seems to be an ongoing theme of mine. But by starting with a familiar design, I was free to explore the tools. And after I was comfortable with them–
Today, as I write this, it’s the first day of December. Our lazy, easy autumn is about to give us a winter preview tomorrow. Or the next day. Hard freeze. Rain. Snow. The times they are a-changin’.
Take it away Bob—
Well, really, I was only talking about the weather. But other things are changing as well. See the navigation bar up above? There is magic there, oh yes indeed. MAGIC.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh….
I know you’re attracted to the bright shiny colors but WAIT!!! You must listen to me. Come a little closer so I can whisper. Because important things, VERY important things, carry more weight when whispered.
See those two new links? ABOUT and PORTFOLIO.
DO. NOT. TOUCH. THEM.
No no no no no…not until I give you a heads up!
OKay, sometimes very important things need a shout. Sorry.
But you can’t click on those links yet because once you click on them–either one–you’ll end up transported as surely as James T. Kirk to another dimension.
And just to thoroughly mix up metaphors, you will end up down the rabbit hole in the land of SLPorter.
Ooooooooooooo….
The land of SLPorter, my dearies, is my official not-ready-for-prime-time, ART website. The one I’ve been dicking around with rebuilding for, umm…a while now. And it’s still a work in progress. The PORTFOLIO page is a total tease. But soon, soon, you will be able to click on galleries and individual images and sales information for originals and prints.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh….
So go ahead, click on them now. Wander around the site-that-isn’t-quite. And when you’re ready come back here and tell me your impressions in the comments below—because you ARE coming back, right?. And all you have to dowhen you want to come back here is click the BLOG link on the SLPorter nav bar. And poof–just like that–you’re back in Arty Life Land.
Oh my sweetums, this weekend I figured it was time to put on my big girl marketing pants. Either that or rent a storage unit for all those paintings crowding me out of Studio Grande.
As much as I love painting, as much as I paint because it’s either that or go crazy with pent up creativity, it’s NOT a hobby. Let me repeat that. It’s. Not. A. Hobby.
First thing I decided to do was rebuild my website. No, no, not Arty Life. Arty Life is technically my blog, even tho it’s a website unto itself. I decided to rebuild my ART site, the one that no one ever sees or goes to because I pretty much did everything wrong.
I don’t even go to it. How bad is that?
I don’t even have a link to it from Arty Life so you guys can’t get to it either. Unless you have ESP or something and know how to find it in the tangled cyber world of the interwebs.
I’ve been putting this off since forever because, OMG, it seemed so…daunting. Like, where do I begin?
So I began with a list. A one step at a time list. The first thing on it was research. I began by going to Alyson Stanfield’s site, Art Biz Coach. I’ve never met Alyson (yet!) but holy crap, the woman is an amazing resource. Just by spending an hour or two reading her blog I came away with so many technical things I need to implement. Simple, common sense things like my name should be on EVERY page of my website. In the text, not just the header, because that’s how the search engines will find it.
My name wasn’t on any page, imagine that!
Ah, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I have a whole list. And Alyson, if you’re reading this THANK YOU!
After I gained some clarity on the technical what-I-need-to-dos, I began looking at other artists’ sites. Looking for design ideas, for how they put things together, organized their sites and presented their work. Because design was # 2 on my list. And after some cherry picking I came up with what works for me.
I’m in the zone. And now I’m in the process of putting it all together. I spent hours tonight–hours, going through photographs. Sorting what I have in the studio. What I want to offer on the website, what I want to offer as prints. What I thought was going to be an easy-peasy weekend of uploading new work with price tags has turned into a huge undertaking. HUGE.
But I’m up for it. And by the end of the week I’ll have at least some of the portfolio selection up. Imagine that! You won’t have to scroll through back posts of Arty Life for an occasional glimpse of finished art. You’ll be able to see it all in groupings that make sense. Painted Women. Beloved Beasties. Red Things. Landscapes…
So come back next week and I’ll give you a tour. I can’t wait to show you!
If I took a selfie right now you’d see that I’m wearing my barn jacket over a hoodie. Real attractive, like a pale blob of Playdough. Or an albino bear. You’ll have to trust me on this ’cause I’m NOT gonna take that selfie. And if I did, I wouldn’t show it to anyone.
Did I mention I’m wearing this designer outfit indoors? Yep, sitting in on the sofa in the living room, dog by my side. One dog. The other is shunning me for the comfy chair.
Got a fire going in the woodstove and even tho it’s chilly outside, it’s actually quite warm in here. But I’m dressed for the wild winter because, well…because it’s THAT time of year… Daylight Savings Time.
The dark side of the calendar…November.
What can you expect from a month that STARTS by celebrating dead people. I mean, like on the very first day??? Besides face paint and partying, that is.
Come to think of it, that part, the party and dress up part, was pretty cool.
November really isn’t that bad. It’s got a bright side. Instead of salads I’m making soups. Got persimmons on the counter. And apples and pears. Winter squash. Root vegetables. Think cinnamon and ginger. And pots of beef stew.
Hand moves. Art Happens. SLPorter
Short days, long nights…psssft. No problem.
I’ll just go in my studio and paint. Call me when it’s spring.
If you read my blog last week, and I sincerely hope you did, you will recall that I was in Texas. There are not many reasons a fresh veggie lovin’ liberal from northern California would visit the land of everything-deep-fried-including-Oreos, certainly not for the foot long corndogs or the politics–no, no–NOT the politics, but I had a VALID reason to go to the lonestar state, the BEST reason of all … I’m a grandma.
Now go read that post so you can see how seriously I take this grandma stuff. You have to do that so you can understand how leaving the munchkin would’ve been hard, would’ve been devastating, would’ve broken my heart in a thousand little bitty pieces…if I didn’t have something to look forward to…
A side trip to Las Vegas to visit an old friend. A friend who knows me well enough to know that rocks and sun and light and big sky would feed my soul. Feed hers as well.
It was a quick visit, 48 hours, nearly every one of which–when we weren’t sleeping—involved driving around the desert.
Chasing the sun.
And falling in love with a landscape stripped down to the basics. A landscape that makes you reach deep inside and pull something out you didn’t know was there. Something...holy.
Long before the gamblers, the silicon titties, the wild and frantic seven deadly sins check-list that is the Vegas strip, long before that, THIS was here.
And the ancient ones who painted their lives, their gods, their hunts, their stories on the walls of rock were here.
I’ll be back. I HAVE to go back. Have to experience this more deeply. I want to camp. And hike. Take photographs. Make art. And I want to share this with you. The seeds of a workshop have been planted.
Now I just have to figure out the logistics.
And listen to da muse who was WAY inspired. Inspired enough to play with charcoal on a whole ‘nother level.
Primal # 1. Susan Lobb Porter. Charcoal on paper
Primal # 2 Susan Lobb Porter. Charcoal on paper
You up for joining me? It will be quite the arty adventure! Promise, really. Pinky swear even.
As always, would love to hear what you have to say in the comments below.
