Happy New Year

Goodbye 2019

Happy New Year to my artistic friends! I am excited and sad to see this year go because I feel like I haven’t accomplished all I set out to do. It is a bittersweet thing. There never seems to be enough time. I struggle with making time for my art, I have so many responsibilities. Being a Mom has its rewards and I love my children and family. Maybe I need to start to try noticing what exactly it is I allow to steal my time.

I did have this piece in a show recently for a local library, this show was all about text in art and I was proud to have this piece in there. While I did other shows too I want to do more and interacting with more artists would be something I want to continue. It is fun hanging out with them for the most part, I will not let negativity intimidate me.

Just get your canvas here 8 x 10 Inch Stretched Canvas Value Pack of 10 and get going experimenting, it is lots of fun. Be creative and find your tribe.

Hello 2020 Happy New Year!

There is so much art I want to explore and I may struggle to find the time but onwards I will go. There is abstracts, landscapes and creative things to delve into. I want to do more oils, acrylic, sketching, watercolors and pencil. My first love was pastels and I wish to return to them because I miss the qualities they have, nothing really compares to them although oils come close.
I am so excited to build upon what I’ve learned and to keep learning. I want to be more prolific, so I am going to try to plan my days out better.

Hope for the New Year

My hope is for my art to really mean something in the end. I hope to touch people’s hearts and minds, but who am I? If someone gets something out of my art I am happy. Looking forward, watch for new additional art for sale here https://den-of-art.com/shop
If you didn’t get what you wanted for the holidays, maybe now is a great time to invest in yourself. This set would be great for any artist.

XL Drawing Set – Sketching, Graphite and Charcoal Pencils. Includes 100 Page Drawing Pad, Kneaded Eraser, Blending Stump. Art Kit and Supplies for Kids, Teens and Adults.

This set would be great for on the go. I think I have an addiction to art supplies, but they do help to get the creative juices flowing.


Darice 80-Piece Deluxe Art Set – Art Supplies for Drawing, Painting and More in a Compact, Portable Case – Makes a Great Gift for Beginner and Serious Artists

So, for now we celebrate this old year and the new with everything that it means to each and everyone of us filled with hope, peace and love. There will be work that has to be done and things to experience. Never give up.

Amscan Black Tie Affair New Year’s Party Kit for 50, Includes Top Hats, Cone Hats and Tiaras

To purchase my art on a variety of cool things visit my other art stores.

Redbubble

Society6

Zazzle

What am I currently working on?

Beginning sketch on acrylic toned board.
Sketch on toned board.
Progress in the base drawing of the hourglass.
Shapes more clearly defined.
Adding lint, texture and more color.
Beginning to build up texture.
More details and other media added for interest in the golden time painting.
Golden Time
Close up of glittered sand for the hourglass.
Close up of acrylic glitter paint with lint.

Projects in the new future

I am currently working on a lot of stuff at the same time and looking forward to doing some acrylic atmospheric abstract scenes with a palette knife and cannot wait to start this series. I would love to have this set because it looks so inspiring. Ationgle Palette Knife 9 Pieces Paint Knives Set Palette Scraper Basic Painting Tools Kit with Stainless Steel Blade and Wooden Handles for Oil Acrylic Painting. I have lots of reference photos and ideas for these.  In the back of my mind I’m thinking about trying to turn some acrylic pours into something more. There has to be more to it than just a pour. So many ideas come and go or are simmering.

Plein Air Painting

Summertime is my time for plein air and travel because I love the warm weather. I don’t like lugging too many supplies around so maybe this year I will look into lightening my load. My palette of color I believe is small enough but it is all the other things. Sunscreen, water, turps, brushes, hat, bug spray, oil, garbage bag, easel, sketch pad, palette, camera/phone, snack, paper towel, wet wipes… this list seems to go on forever. I have started to try acrylic on site because of the quick drying time but am so used to oil. I can’t seem to make up my mind which Medium to use. Hopefully I think I have a plan to do several trips in the same location and use different mediums. Practice makes perfect so I think I will go do that! I kinda wish I had a whole separate set-up just for plein air painting, something lightweight maybe like this Sienna Plein Air Pochade Box, Artists Adjustable Easel and Palette Box (CT-PB-0910) – Medium.

Currently Working on On these projects

I will be working on all my sale sites and website such as https://www.zazzle.com/s/jacyncas cleaning them up, updating and adding great new art. Using all these will hopefully bring me to a point that I will have more time for creating if I set things up right.

I also have a few paintings that I consider unfinished, so I am hoping to pull them out and see what I can do. It would be nice to finish them or start all over or just decide to totally abandon them. I develop a personal relationship with each work and I need to be able to let them come to fruition and let go.

Cyn

To purchase my art on a variety of cool things visit my other art stores.

Redbubble

Society6

Zazzle

My year in review

My year in review

My year in review is not really a year, it is more like 6 months since I have started my website. I have had an online presence on various social media sites and others like Redbubble and zazzle. therefore it will be interesting to look at this post in another 6 months. Maybe I should do a review every 6 months instead.

I continue to learn and experience new things at every corner, never getting bored. Making new friends in the art circle is absolutely essential to me and this helps a lot to avoid feeling alone. Sometimes being an artist can be isolating. It is great to have the help of peers to review my work. Old friends and new always seem to come up with great ideas and suggestions. Of course trying to get and keep a thick skin can be tough sometimes, but true friends help. They don’t tear me down, but bring me up, elevating my work in the process. Friends help teach me and I hope to discover more friends continuously.

I am happy with my progress although I wish it was faster and further along. Some progress is better than none. I certainly look forward to the future. This is partly due to the constant instant gratification we get from perusing the internet, but it is also due in part to the amount of finished pieces I have. In the future I wish to actually finish more of my pieces.

Organization

I did start the year being fairly organized and still make progress organizing more. I am hoping to make my online presence more noticeable, get more followers and learn how to wield that weapon. Making more posts on the various social platforms makes me realize I need to have more material to post.

My year in review causes me to post a picture here of an old transistor cabinet remade into an organizational tool for my tubes of paint and other odds and ends. It was exciting to be able to do this and I think it will be very useful. I can find out at a glance where each color is and what I may need to replace.

Going forward, I hope to have a larger online presence and maybe travel more. I do think travel is very good for an artist.

My Favorite Place to Create in.

My favorite place to create in is the great outdoors. I love to hike when I can and it can be difficult to have enough supplies when doing that. It is quite a challenge but very exciting.

My Studio

I also love my mini studio at home because it has very close proximity to my kitchen and there is great light with lots of windows. Washing brushes and cleanup is made easier because of this location. Although the family and guests can see my progress and comment on my good or not so good works. It is a lesson for them all on how a painting moves from one point through what may be considered finished. As Leonardo Da Vinci said, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” Knowing when to quit is half of my struggle. Everyone seems to have an opinion and I try to listen to my inner voice to decipher good advice from advice I maybe shouldn’t listen to. I think the best advice can come from fellow artists, so you should get yourself out there and network.

I remember seeing my Mother’s paintings take shape and I was taught by more absorption than actual formality. Things I just know were handed down to me without my actual knowledge. Her way of teaching me as I grew up reminds me of her “studio” in our dining room. This was just off the kitchen also. I’m sure many artists struggle with space and light, I am very lucky to have my little corner.

My Dream Studio

But just imagining a big real studio is great fun. I wonder how it would affect my art and maybe how thrilling it would be. How much more prolific I could be. How much more space would be helpful for storage of works in progress and supplies. It is wonderful to dream. Who knows maybe my dream will come true one day.

N.C. Wyeth’s studio in Pennsylvania. It is just beautiful.

Another part of N.C. Wyeth’s studio with its walls of windows. This a very short walk from his main house. This is a very special place and I can only imagine the freedom he must have had to create here.

This is something I think more creatives need. How much farther along would they be?



My favorite Piece?

My favorite piece

One piece I have done that garnered a lot of attention was “The Eye of God”. This artwork was based on photos from NASA. I have done several paintings based on what we can see out in the universe, but this is my favorite piece. I find those sights beautiful and otherworldly. Sometimes I feel like there is hope and a God when I look at some of these pictures. It makes me feel Small and filled with wonder. I realize there is more to what we see around us.

Comparable Images

There is a similar inspiration from the Eye of Sauron that was a symbol of the Dark Lord. It was featured in The Lord of the Rings and is known around the world. It is ironic that these two symbols, one representing good and one bad, are both are so similar. Like good and evil, they are juxtaposed against each other and yet sometimes have the same reason for their execution.

I have a lot of fun painting clouds and they seem to come out pretty good. That just naturally lends itself to star dust formations. There is a freedom to these as well.

I remember when painting these, there was a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. It is great to get lost in them and feel peace because I think this a good thing. Even though I cannot actually go and see these formations in person I think they are beautiful. I can only imagine how it would feel to see them in real life. These formations are absolutely awe inspiring.

CYN