Wayward artist

Well I tried posting about a month ago and blogger was down... honestly I did not mean to go so long between postings!  I will try to do better in 'all my free time' (haha).

I have completed the pair of wolves that I had going on here as a WIP and titled it "Mouthing Off".  

"Mouthing Off" - 16"x20" Scratchboard and Ink



















I also completed a smaller wolf piece recently. 


"Just A Glance" - 11"x14" - Scratchboard and Ink



In January I started an oil painting class at the Art Student League of Denver with artist Rob Gratoit.  My first 'assignment' was to paint something that appeared abstract, but actually exists in real life (such as an aerial photo, the insides of a mineral, etc.)  I chose to paint a photo I took of Sand Dunes National Park many years ago (way back with my 2 megapixel camera!).  Anyways at the end I decided to add a pair of gemsbok oryx to it :)  Not so abstract after all.  It turned out... ok... not bad for a first painting, but I wasn't totally happy with it either.  Not up to my standards I guess you could say.

Anyways I started my second painting before going to my next class because I didn't want to do another abstractish thing... I wanted to paint animals of course!  I chose to go with one of my photos from South Africa of a male collared sunbird, which has lots of colors and iridescent feathers on its head.  I am pretty sure my instructor thought I was jumping way too far ahead, but I would rather paint something I was interested in than not...LOL  Anyways it came out great I think.  Now onto the next one... a grizzly bear I think.

"Napoleon" - 18"x24" oil painting on claybord

"Tassels"

An 8"x10" board that I worked on this week.  The tassels are put on the bridle as decoration and are often seen on bridles that were historically used as decorative attire for the horse for fancy events.  They may go back historically as a form of fly preventative to keep insects out of the horses eyes, but I could be wrong about that too :)  This quarter horse I photographed at a junior rodeo and I thought the tassels and fancy bling buckle made it visually interesting.  The original is available for sale.  e-mail me at cathy@aphelionart.com if you are interested in more information about it.

"Tassels" - 8"x10" - Scratchbaord Art

Great article by Jim Bortz - Talent...or Skill?

I am reposting with his permission a great blog posting by Jim Bortz, a fellow wildlife artist.  You can check out his blog at: http://jimbortzart.blogspot.com/

Talent... or Skill?
by Jim Bortz


When someone tells me that I’m “talented,” I know it’s a term of admiration… though unknowingly misguided. Don’t admire my talent, for it is such a small part of what I do. Admire my dedication, skill, and sacrifice. Those are the qualities of which I’m most proud.


It starts out innocent enough. Someone at a show or exhibit will be gushing over my work, tossing complements about like rice at a wedding (no one throws rice anymore, do they?) and all but making me squirm with at having to say “thank you” so many times. Then the words come out that make my blood boil. “I wish I had your talent. This must come naturally to you.” Really? Like I eat a couple of tubes of paint for breakfast every morning and crap out finished 12x16 canvas later the same night (never mind how painful that might be. Or the fact that if it were physically possible to “shit out a painting”, the “important” galleries in London, LA, and New York would be fighting over my so-called “art.” But I digress). And I know they mean nothing hurtful by these words, so I just smile and nod hoping they don’t notice my white knuckles as I grind a fist into my leg. If they only knew the mind-boggling stack of past failures it took to get here and the paralyzing knowledge that there are many more failures to come... the years of study and frustration to achieve a level of competence where I wouldn’t throw up at the thought of showing my work in public... the amount of research and planning it takes before I ever dip a brush in paint.


I love what I do, but there is no “magic” in the process. It’s simply work. Not the kind of work you do with a wrench or shovel. I’ve done plenty of that in my time. And not unpleasant work, but a continual task of study, experimentation, evaluation, and then application of a learned knowledge. It’s a skill… not a talent. The magic happens when someone stands in front of a painting and says something like, “I’ve been there” or “I can almost smell that water.” Now that’s magic!


I don’t deny that it’s possible (maybe even necessary) talent may play a part in the stages of artistic development. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an obsession with drawing. Still, I didn’t understand much about it until I started studying the work and teachings of others who were highly skilled at the craft. To dismiss what any skilled craftsman or woman does as some whimsical gift by a higher power is an insult (though it’s almost never intended that way).


There will always be folks that disagree with me on this subject (though very few of them are professional artists), and that’s okay. I’m not really hoping to change anyone’s mind. These merely the ramblings of my own tormented mind (discussed in an earlier post). It’s fine that there is some mystery to art. It adds an element of romantic notion to what I do. But I’d much rather that romance be directed toward the finished piece than any mistaken enchantment in its creation.
 
 
Cathy's thoughts on the topic:
I am re-posting because it is a topic that I have almost posted about myself several times, but never been able to figure out quite how to do so without offending.  I get told that I am "so talented" often with both my photography and my artwork in recent years and each time it causes a bit of a clenching of my jaw.  I know it is a well meaning comment, but the term talent indicates that the skills you see before you are something that someone was born with, not requiring further development, and I know that is only a very small part of it.  And yes I am talented, but it is maybe 1% of what makes me the artist that I am.  As a matter of fact throughout high school I was little more than an average artist, but I enjoyed it and I pushed myself to improve through practice and seeking honest and constructive feedback and learning from those who were more skilled than me.  I have literally spent 20 to 40 hours a week for over 10 years learning my artistic skills.  I have messed up many drawings and deleted hundreds of thousands of bad photos, but through it all I have taken my 'talents' and learned and honed my skills, and honestly I still am still learning and still honing :)  I learn new things with ever work that I create.  Yes, it is nice to be talented, to have a natural affinity for something, however like most artists (or top sports figures, or world class musicians) talent will only take you a little ways by itself. To truly become a good or even great artist requires much more than talent - it requires sweat, tears, and MANY hours of hard work.  I once heard an art teacher say that they would much rather have one hard working student than ten talented, but lazy ones (and that the hard working one will usually go further with their art in the long run that the talented one), so go forth, work hard and prosper, with or without any natural talent!
 
My thanks to Jim for allowing me to re-post his article.

Scatter - Magpies - FINISHED

I am calling the magpies done:)

"Scatter" - 18"x16" - Scratchboard, Ink and Iridescent Medium
Black Billed Magpies

Updates on Works In Progress

Well last time I tried to sign in blogger was down, so I am glad it is working again. 

My art web site has officially now moved to http://www.cathysheeter.com/ and has a new color scheme and some other changes to the layout.  Please check it out and let me know what you think.  My photography will stay at http://www.aphelionart.com/ and hopefully I will get that too updated by early next year (not easy to sort through 500,000 photos on three different hard drives and decide which images are my best!)

I continue to have multiple art works on the go. 

I am getting close to done on the black and white portions of "Coming At Ya"  (36"x24") though still doing some 'tweaking' all over to get everything the way I want it.  I'm actually going to hold off coloring it as I have heard from an outside source that I was accepted into a show that I will need a large, impressive, black and white piece for, and I am not sure whether I will have time to make another one between now and that event.  I should hear officially in January (and I don't think my outside source knows 100%, so not expecting either way).  If it does not get into that show I will be doing some subtle color on it.

Anyways here is a picture from a last week (I have done a bit more since then, but it is snowing outside, so can't get a good updated picture right now).  Still a ways to go though.



"Coming At Ya" - Palomino Quarter Horse - 36"x24"























I also have been working on a piece with a couple of Black Billed Magpies.  While not really a favorite bird to many, I really enjoy all of the corvid family (crows, ravens, magpies).  Even though they are scavengers they seem to have a true sense of humor and intelligence.  While not as beloved as the birds of prey to me, I still really enjoy them.  I am temporarily calling this work "Scatter" as a title, but not sure if that will be what I go with.  Size is 18"x16" and it has been a bit of an experiment.  Not only is the background more 'contemporary' than my usual works, but it also has some iridescent medium added to the colored feathers, so they truly do have a bit of iridescence to them from different angles.  I was a little worried that it would make it look cheesy but it actually is quite subtle and nice I think.  It is not quite done yet, but it too is fairly close.



"Scatter" - Black Billed Magpies - 18"x16"























And when I need a break from scratching I return to my harris hawk wood burning.  Many people really like how this piece is going so I will definitely finish it, just not quite sure when :)  I find burning to be even slower than scratching and also shading large areas starts to hurt my fingers a bit.  I hope to finish it by April to possibly enter it into "Birds In Art"  Size is 18"x24"


"Landing Gear Engaged" - Harris Hawk Pyrography (wood burning) on birch plywood



















I also heard back that I will be included in the Colorado Governor's Show again in 2012.  I did very well at this show last year and am excited to be included again this coming year.  I believe the opening is April 28.

Progress on "Coming At Ya!"

This big board (36"x24") I started way back in May.  Sometimes I have to set aside these big boards and take a break on them and then work on some other stuff to get renewed energy and fresh perspective.  Anyways I am back at it and here is a couple of updates.

Little Grizzly Bear

I felt like doing a quick little board and desided to go with this grizzly bear that I photogrpahed at the Denver Zoo.  I like how his fur and shape of his head is almost a heart shape.

This piece is only 6"x6" in size

Mother May I?

Well this piece that I did a few months back I decided to color, as I felt it was missing 'something'.  Here is "Mother May I?" in color.

Spotted

Here is the piece that I mentioned in my last post that I said I would post when it was done.  I started it on my trip to Michigan and finished coloring it today.  It is from one of my photos (as usual).  Size is 14"x11" and I am pretty pleased with how it came out.  I will probably do a little more tweaking over the next few days, but it is pretty much done as it sits here.

Here is the black and white version.  I knew I was going to color it so the whiskers had to be added after the color was put in to make them more pristine white and not risk getting colored ink on them.  The lack of whiskers definitely made his jaw look funny.

And here it is after coloring and with whiskers!

"Spotted" - 14"x11" - Original Available

As always, I love hearing your comments nad feedback!

News

Well it has been a while since I have posted, so my apologies to those that follow along on here.  The days just go by too dang fast!  Here we are toward the middle of October and it seems like the new year just rolled around not long ago at all!



The cover of my 2012 calendar.



Anyways firstly please check out my 2012 calendar.  These are high quality calendars printed on heavy weight paper featuring 14 of my scratchboard images.  If you enjoy my art this is a great way to get to see it all year round.  Many people tell me they have kept my previous ones alter the year is over just to enjoy the art.  These calendars are a reasonable $15 each plus S&H.  To order go to  http://www.aphelionart.com/calendar2012.html 




Next news is about the International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA).  We have officially launched and are now taking members!  It has been months of hard work getting everything in place, but it is quite exciting to watch it become a reality!  Members joining in 2011 will have their membership carry through to 2012 too!  We have all different level of membership designed to suit everyone from novice up to expert scratchboard artist!  Some of the perks of membership will include a quarterly newsletter, reduced rates for entering our 2012 exhibition and workshops, publicity on the web site, and of course being connected with a group of other scratchboard artists.  For information on joining please check it out at http://www.scratchboardsociety.com/


And then updates on art.  I am still working on the wolves.  Also have a new leopard piece that I am going to wait to post until it is finished.  But here is an update on the wolves.  Getting there, but still not done.

Where Wolves?

Well I didn't make as much progress as I wanted on the pair of wolves, while I was in Michigan, but did make some headway and I am pleased with how it is progressing (and also started another board, which I will eventually get around to posting). 

Here is the update on "Sibling Rivalry"

I am headed off on Monday to Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP.  I love that part of the country and try to go there once a year (usually at peak fall color which also happens to be around my Birthday).  As a matter of fact the images for "Sibling Rivalry" were gathered on my trip through that part of the country last year (at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, MT).  I will be spending a few days there on this trip as well.  The reference images for  "Edge of Darkness"  came from there as well.  Where do you like to go and take reference photos?  Wolf works are some of my favorites to do and also my best sellers, but getting good references is not always easy. 

Progress on Sibling Rivalry

Here is an update on the wolf piece.  I will be taking it with me to Michigan next week for the Society of Animal Artists show opening in Travers City.  I will be staying with an SAA friend for a few days afterwards and she is going to take me to her art class and I offered to demo scratchboard for them. 

Updates

I was notified that my scratchboard and ink piece of a white tiger,  titled "The Interrupted Drink", won Viewer's Choice at the Bennington Center for the Arts "Art of the Animal Kingdom XVI".  Thanks to all who voted for my piece!  It was totally unexpected to me :)



"The Interrupted Drink" - Original Available

















Here is an update on "Comin' At Ya" the big horse piece that I am working on (36"x24").  Still a long ways to go.



"Comin' At Ya" - WIP - 36"x24"























And I have also started a new piece titled "Sibling Rivalry" sized 16"x20".  As you may figure by the title (and random tooth) there will be a 2nd wolf in the image

"Sibling Rivalry" - WIP - 16"x20"

International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA) continues to take shape

First Ever Scratchboard Society: International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA)

Scratching, as an art form, has been around since the first people painted and scratched on cave walls. Today’s scratchboard is much more refined, allowing for intricate detail and a wide variety of styles. Scratchboard Art involves using a variety of abrasive tools to remove darker color to reveal a white layer below. Artists may leave the artwork in black and white or color it with a variety of mediums. Scratchboard Art was historically used for illustrations in the advertising and publishing industries as an alternative to engraving. It has recently experienced a resurgence in popularity, is now finding its way into fine art circles.

In recent years an International group of artists have been experimenting, pushing boundaries and honing their skills in scratchboard, working to move beyond illustrations into the creation of fine art. It was discovered that a large portion of the general public and art community had little knowledge of this medium. When entering juried shows, often show organizers do not know what category to put scratchboard art into and some would even exclude it from shows without ever seeing the work or understanding what scratchboard is capable of in the hands of fine artists.

Initially brought together through an online art community called WetCanvas, the first International Scratchboard Exhibition was held in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2008 with a second one held in Alamosa, Colorado in 2009. While these shows were very well received, they were not juried and not inclusive to all scratchboard artists or promoted to those that were not part of the online community.

With almost all other mediums having their own societies representing them and helping to promote their interests, it was felt that a similar society dedicated specifically to Scratchboard Art was overdue. ISSA has the goal of lifting the profile of scratchboard art internationally; providing exhibitions to showcase this art form, organizing workshops, uniting all artists working in the medium, and endeavoring to continue educating about the medium to the arts and public communities.

In July, 2010 discussions started for creating a formal society dedicated to Scratchboard Art with the aims to reach and include all scratchboard artists everywhere. After this meeting work began on the society’s bylaws, the development of a board of directors, and a lawyer is presently working with us on incorporation and the process to obtain 501c3 non-profit status. The ISSA will begin accepting members in Fall of 2011. Its web site, presently still under construction, can be found at http://www.scratchboardsociety.com/.

Membership within the society will include a variety of levels to encourage artists from novice up to professionals. Top tiers of membership and all shows will be carefully juried to encourage and promote excellence in the medium. At least one international show of scratchboard art will occur each year. In 2012 all scratchboard artists, worldwide, will be welcomed and encouraged to submit for jury to the inaugural ISSA International Exhibition of Scratchboard Art.

The Founding Board Members of the ISSA are Lorna Hannett and Sue Rhodes from Canada, Patrick Hedges from Australia, Diana Lee, Ken MacFarlane, Cathy Sheeter, and Sandra Willard from the US.

"A King On His Throne" - A Scratchboard work by founding ISSA member and artist Cathy Sheeter

Back From Africa and some bird photos

Well I had a long, fun and productive trip to Africa, coming home with many reference photos (though completing zero art) and memories.  But I am HAPPY to be home (at least for a couple of weeks...LOL).

We saw LOTS of animals in SA! An incomplete list off of the top of my head includes Elephants, Impala, Springbok, Steenbok, Bushbuck, Greater Kudu, Common Duiker, Bush Duiker, Klipspringer, Eland, Blesbok, Gemsbok, Waterbuck, Blue Wildebeest, Black Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, Burchell's Zebra, Mountain Zebra, White Rhino, African Buffalo, Warthogs, Bush Pigs, Hippos, Giraffes, Lions, Leopards, Side Striped Jackal, Black Backed Jackal, African Civet, Honey Badger, Spotted Hyena, lots of Mongoose of various types, various bats and tons of birds!

Here are a few photos of birds that we saw in South Africa throughout our trip.  South Africa is a premier birders spot with over 900 species calling it home for at least part of the year.  And while I am far from a hard core birder I do enjoy documenting and looking up the species that I saw.  Since I didn't even have a bird book for that part of the world (the cheapest one I saw was about $35) I had to sneak peeks at the bird books that were being sold in each and every gift shop to get my IDs :)

Yellow Hornbill - a VERY common species around Kruger National Park




This is a Crombec (not sure what type).  They have virtually no tail feathers to speak of, which makes them look quite funny.  Before I looked up the species I thought maybe his feathers had been pulled out by a predator, but nope... that is just how they are!




Collared Sun Bird - These little guys are Africa's version of a hummingbird, though they do not hover, they do LOVE nectar from aloe plants.  This is a male sitting on a Marloth Aloe flower. 

Greater Blue Eared Starling - South Africa has many starling species.  Several of them are incredibly iridescent (they look anywhere from black to green to blue depending on the light) from head to tail (not something that you can capture all that well in a photo).  These guys are very common, but nevertheless the beauty of them is something I never got tired of.

Many would consider the Lilac Breasted Roller as one of Africa's more beautiful (and trademark) birds.  I never did get the 'killer' shot of one that I wanted but got a few shots I can't complain too much about.

White Capped Shrike - These little guys flock together and like to talk a lot.   I think their fluffy look is very cute :)

Pied Kingfisher hovering above a river.  I WISH I could have changed the lighting situation on this photo to illuminate his head better, but it is still a neat thing to see.  I also got photos of a brown hooded kingfisher and a giant kingfisher.