I'm starting to run out of paintings to put up. At least ones that are decent in any way. Then I realized I have had more classes than just painting classes. I didn't exactly specify that this was only a painting blog. I think. So anyway. This summer I took my final required drawing class. It was an abstract drawing class in which we explored various different mediums and techniques. It was really fun, and very free. The projects never really had very much in the way of restrictions which left it very open for exploration. Unfortunately (or fortunately in a way), the professor is holding on to some of our work to have a small show to display the work that was made in the class. That means that she still has some of my best things from the class. Doesn't mean I can't put up some of the not so great things.

So here's one:

This was done with graphite powder and some conte crayon.

I think I may give up and giving titles to my posts. I can never come up with anything. I'm not a very creative person...

I'm not sure I have much to talk about so we're just going to get straight to the art.

So here is another one I did early in last spring semester. It was probably finished sometime in January or February. It's one of my larger pieces. It's 34 x 45.5 in. This one was actually in two separate art shows at my university, the big undergrad one and a smaller one just for the advanced and intermediate painting classes.

So after this week is a big training week for supervisors in the cafeteria, then another week, and then classes start! So once classes start I should be able to update this blog with a lot more new stuff. Get excited!

Work, Work, Work, and No Play

This whole trying to sell art thing can get pretty discouraging. So can this blogging thing. I think I'm up to 50 views on my blog and more than half of them are from Russia, and find my blog through a website to get payed while wandering around social websites. I know I already mentioned this but I think it's funny. I can't figure out how my blog would be related to those websites. Anyway, I doubt they actually read this. Let me know if you do! I'd love to talk to some people from Russia anyway. I also have one visit from Macedonia and one from Germany.

More than that though is I'm working in the cafeteria full time, as well as a bit for teaching English. Adding this blogging thing and keeping my Etsy up, which no one has visited my shop in 4 days, I'm getting pretty busy. Basically it's all a lot of work with nothing to show for it. Well, I knew it wasn't going to be easy!

Well on to today's art!

I do believe this one was accepted into the art show last year as well. I'm already forgetting which ones were in there. I don't really have much to say about this one.

Well, now I'm going to have to start pulling out more of my paintings and taking pictures. Maybe even paint some more new things. I'm pretty much out of one's that I've already taken pictures of.

Keepin' It Up

I think I may already be running out of paintings that I have photos of to post. What shall I do? I can start posting not so good things I suppose. Or paint new things. That's a lot of work. I guess I don't have to post as often as I have been. Not many people read this anyway.

 I've found one of the things I enjoy the most about this is the statistics I get through blogger. I get to see who's looking at my blog and all those fun things. There also is Google Analytics which I just recently found out that I can in fact put that to analyse my home page as well as putting the code in my posts. Before it only collected data from the posts that I had the code but not many people actually click into the separate pages for the posts, they just read it on the home page so it wasn't very accurate. Anyway, according to blogger a good portion of the people who visit my page are from Russia, and they come from some other page so I think they're not actually reading it. Now that I have Google Analytics on it I can tell because it lets me know how long each person stays on my page. Is that a bit creepy?

 Anyway, here's a quick art thing because this is an art blog after all.

This is another small one, and pretty old-ish. One of the first ones I painted at the beginning of last semester I believe. It's only 11 x 13 in. I'm a little fond of it. That might be because it was accepted into the art show. Every spring semester MSU has a big art show for all the undergrad students. You're allowed to submit up to four pieces in every medium. Many people will submit as much as they can in every medium they have things in, so four paintings, four drawings, four ceramic pieces and so on. Every year they bring in someone else to judge the pieces. I can't remember who exactly judged it last year, but it was a woman who was the curator for some relatively large art museum somewhere. Anyway, I submitted four paintings and they were all accepted and this was one of them. I was a bit surprised they all got in, especially considering how small this one is. To hang it they just stuck some Velcro on the back, which I thought was funny.

So you should bother me about painting new things because the more people who bother me about it, the more likely I am to do it.

Into the Night

So in my last post I said that I would paint something new and I actually have! Woohoo! I've now painted a total of two things over the summer. Anyway here are some photos, in backwards process order.

This last one is really interesting isn't it? Also I think I forgot to edit it. Oh well it's just a sketch anyway. I know I said I'd have this up last night but the color of the pictures I took last night ended up being really off and I decided to wait until I could get some natural light. The light in my apartment is terrible.

Anyway, in case anyone is curious this painting is based off a map. A map of Florence, Italy to be exact. I think I may do some paintings based off maps of places I've lived/worked/taken classes. If I run out and still feel like doings paintings like this I'll start on maps of places I've just visited. This is the second one I've used a map, the very first one in this blog is based on a map of where I currently live. I can't remember if I mentioned that in that first post.

Every time I look at this painting I think that I've seen these colors in some other painting before but I can't remember where, or whose it was. I'm just stealing someone's colors and I can't even remember who they are.

Well, I have to head to work, because sadly painting does not yet pay my bills. I get to feed thousands of boy scouts this week. It's going to be a blast.

Moar Artz!

So back to my art! Because this is all about self promotion after all. Maybe. So here's another one I've done sort of recently-ish.

So all I really want to say about this one is that I really really need a better camera. Or learn how to photo edit better because the colors are much nicer in real life and I did try to edit them a bit. But oh well, chances are your computer doesn't display the same as mine anyway. This one was also done last semester, it's 24 x 33 in. I think this may have been one of the last paintings I did last semester actually.

I really want to paint something new. I have the board ready and everything I just don't feel like I really have the time. Maybe tomorrow. I started working in the cafeteria as a cook again, and I'm still working my other kind-of-sort-of job teaching English to Japanese people online so between the two I'm pretty low on free time. Well that's sort of a bad excuse anyway. Alright! So today I think I'll lay down an under painting and hopefully paint it tomorrow. By the end of tomorrow hopefully I'll have something new up here, so get excited! If I don't do it you have every right to bother me about it.

Oh the Things I've Learned

Well I suppose so far there aren't many things I've learned about this whole process. I mean this is only my fourth post, and I have yet to sell anything on Etsy so all I've really learned is either I need to be patient or I'm doing something horrendously wrong. Which wouldn't surprise me. One thing I have learned is I need a better camera for sure. I just can't take decent pictures of my paintings. I don't know how. Also for some reason all of my blog's views are from Russia. From a specific site that has something to do with getting paid to wander around Facebook so I'm going to go out on a limb and say I don't have any actual readers yet. Unless you are out there! Let me know! Well other than that I wanted to make a post to talk about my friend's blog instead. I know I don't have any readers to really send her way. She has many more than I do and I do mean to tell her that I'm over here yelling at the internet a bit to try and get some attention but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Anyway, she's a former classmate of mine, we had a few painting classes together as well as one drawing class I believe. More importantly we were roommates when we studied abroad in Italy. Oh Florence, how I miss you. She has always been a bit of an inspiration to me, I've always admired her work and I don't doubt that she has influenced me quite a bit, even if our styles may be completely different. Here is one of the most recent pieces she has uploaded on her blog:

And here is the link to her blog, Solid State Studios. Do me a favor, and if you're reading this blog of course continue to read this blog but stop over by her's and check that out as well. Hey we are the new up and coming artists from Michigan after all. Wouldn't want to miss out.