After completing Höllgrotten in Spring Storm and taking a day to relax, I am back at it. But the excitement I felt at looking forward to beginning something new has turned to that familiar feeling of anxiety. Yes, starting a new painting scares me. I am afraid of regressing, rather than moving forward in skill and expression….
new painting – höllgrotten in spring storm
Hi all. Happy monday! To celebrate the beginning of the week I am posting my just-finished painting Höllgrotten in Spring Storm. The title is pretty self-explanatory. Höllgrotten is a pretty cool cave system near here that the family went to visit near the end of March. Unfortunately, we did not know it was still closed for the…
weekend wander – may 10/2014
Sometime after noon my family had had enough of me ruining their laid-back saturday fun so insisted I “go for my walk.” Thank goodness, even I was getting sick of clucking around the house tidying things that I knew would be a mess again in half an hour. Anyway, they think that post-walk I am a…
Its ok to hate your paintings (sometimes)
My husband often tells me I am too hard on myself where painting is concerned. “You should have a bit more confidence in your talent” he tells me. While I appreciate and love him for this, I do not entirely agree. It is precisely because I do have faith in my abilities that I am…
How do you measure success?
Hey fellow amateurs- how do YOU measure the success of one of your works? Does just getting one finished make you happy? Is it by the praise of your nearest and dearest? Obvious technical improvement? Success in a club show? A sale? I have a hunch that for most of you (correct me if I…
weekend wander – may 4/2014
One passion often opens gateways to others. With that in mind it seems natural enough that a person who loves art and loves the outdoors should be drawn to landscape painting. To feed these passions I have been trying to head out on a long walk/hike every weekend. I look forward to this all week as a…
most of my teachers are dead
I am a “self-taught” artist. Aside from middle and high school art classes and a few community centre painting-for-beginners courses, I have been mucking my way through on my own. But not alone. I have had my constant dead companions with me. No, I am not insane, just really into the Group of Seven. Growing…
first shy showing
As this is a blog about what it is to be an amateur artist (in my case, landscape painter) I guess it makes sense to share some of my painting. I am sure there are you amateur painters out there who know this is not easy – even if it is just in the context…
are you an amateur artist?
A few years back I was online looking for blogs and websites to support me emotionally and practically as I sought to step up my painting a bit. In my search I happened across an article called 9 Warning Signs of an Amateur Artist on a blog called Skinny Artist. A year or two after…
inaugural post
“Creativity is essentially a lonely art. An even lonelier struggle…” – Lou Dorfsman The above quote is true for the artist, but perhaps even more so for the amateur/hobbyist artist who lacks the language, the confidence, and the community to share something that is an important part of his life. If you find this to…
The Tipsy Pine 