I got away for a weekend and discovered... Smithville

I don’t get away often enough and it shows.

I’m in a season of demanding work and tight schedules. My schedule, my family’s schedule: t-ball games, taekwondo everything, choir events, tennis things. All the things are fine. Everyone is healthy. We’ve never been more fulfilled. I’m in fetal position.

““Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while,””

— Jesus in Mark 6:31

I try to hold onto the example of Jesus stepping away in solitude as he did often during his ministry. It helps me fight the critical (and lying) voice in my head that says “You don’t deserve to step away from your life.” Well, if Jesus did it, then I’m going to do it.

So, feeling a bit of burnt out and over-stimulated, I started browsing Airbnb and came across a secluded cabin about 2 hours away in a tucked away piece of land just outside of a place called Smithville, Texas. I was happy to be close to a town but still in solitude so I booked on less than 24 hours notice, packed and left the next day and arrived at 2:30- just in time to prepare and take my last meeting of the day. Then my weekend getaway began in earnest.

I brought Meal Simples and fruits and vegetables from HEB and prepared all of my meals except my Sunday brunch, where I stopped by the Comfort Cafe on my way out of town.

On Saturday, I took a short hike at Buescher State Park. I shopped on Mainstreet, had an ice cream at Hope Floats, had a latte and egg bite at The General Store, and because of a brief but enlightening visit to the LPAA Art Gallery, I am submitting my application to join the Lost Pines Artisans Alliance and hopefully sell my prints in Smithville.

I did a painting of the cabin, did a small acrylic study of a magnolia blossom, did some sketching while out and about. Did more sketching while watching Steel Magnolias in the cabin living room… I did a little work because I felt like it. Then I took a nap because I felt like it. Restarted reading The Artists Way- did my morning pages every morning…identified some inner critic resistance to work through.

In summary, I went on a getaway with myself and enjoyed it. I write this just before leaving the cabin feeling refreshed and renewed and determined to draw and paint more. My lesson is learned: schedule the getaway. Step away and return to yourself- then return to your life.

A Mother’s day commission

This year, I had an amazing opportunity to create a beautiful painting for a client. It was a heartfelt picture of his wife, daughter, and son enjoying a holiday at the beach. He wanted it to be a special Mother's Day gift for his wife, so I had about 6 weeks to finish it.

The original photograph was horizontal and not quite the right composition for a square canvas if I was to recreate it exactly, so I cropped it in a bit and rearranged the subjects very slightly to make it more balanced for a square canvas. I love square canvases - I think they're compact and go well in any space. Or maybe I'm just a child of Instagram, who knows.

The warm embrace of a mother and son is something I can certainly connect with, being a mom to two boys myself. But the star of the show is without a doubt the sweet little girl and her stick. While I painted, I imagined her wandering curiously around until she found the perfect stick and had to take it home with her. I wanted to capture her quiet wonderment most of all.

I'm very happy with how this one turned out and was a little sad to see it go- how funny that works. Every project is just a request until you create something that didn't exist before- and then you feel a little loss when you see it leave the easel and go to it's rightful home. I hope this piece is enjoyed for generations by this beautiful family. <3

FREE download!

In honor of the 2022 Winter Olympics, please download a free figure skating fashion design template from yours truly! Have fun designing, everyone and if you use, please post and tag @brittartist on Insta!!! I can’t wait to see all of your designs!!

A Short Reflection on 2020

As I start up my blog again in 2021- it seems I have to address the year-long gap in pursuing my fine art life. 2020 was to be the year I really gave it my all, attended shows, painted more than ever. Well, that didn’t happen. Like many artists, my creativity fell by the wayside.

 Or did it?

 Looking back now, I think it just manifested in unexpected ways. I think reflection is the first step in moving forward. So here is my list of how creativity manifested for me in 2020:

1. I became a gardener- perhaps everyone has?

2020 was the year I became a gardener of sorts. (And it seems I’m not alone.) What started as a pre-Covid 2020 desire to install basic landscaping against my back fence and plant an ornamental tree or two turned into a year long desire to transform the backyard into something I could escape to and learn about. I learned the term “kitchen garden.” I grew tomatoes, okra, carrots, swiss chard, herbs, turnips, kale, lettuce, and broccoli. I made mistakes, planted the wrong things at the wrong times in the wrong places. I learned about soil and that it matters. I realized where sunlight shown during the day. I took many a work call on my patio. The backyard was my first escape and I found a bit of myself. We’re planting again for 2021- a little older and a little wiser and maybe a bit more hopeful. (If you’re thinking of planting, I recommend using A&M as a guide for Harris County.)

Most of my sketches consist of garden plans or studies.

  2. I focused more on my home and how it felt to be in it.

I found myself living a more domestic life of remote working, parenting and beating back the daily chaos of a really lived-in house. I organized more spaces, furnished more rooms and really thought about how I wanted my home to feel. We shared more housework and meals than ever before. Think about how many breakfasts and lunches you shared with your family in 2019. If you’re like me, not many. Now almost every meal is spent with a loved one. My cooking and baking have become my expression now- every meal is a wish for order and safety.

 3. Did I mention I was pregnant?? I wasn’t alone in that either although the data shows a bust.

I spent most of 2020 being pregnant and not just physically being pregnant but taking on the identity of a ‘pregnant woman’ and all that entails. The fear, anticipation, fatigue, anticipation, and joy. I created a beautiful nursery which allowed me to feel some sense of control. I literally built a human so perhaps that’s the closest root example of creativity (if you want to get deep about it.) I got to enjoy his first months completely at home. The holidays were surrounded with family at home. He goes to daycare now- one we love and trust. I miss him during the day but I’ve regained some order and am able to work full-time uninterrupted. That feels good.

4. I made way less art than you’d think an isolated introverted artist would during a pandemic.

I didn’t complete any major paintings, I didn’t sketch everyday- I didn’t even journal, which I used to do every single morning. I just… did what I could and found meaning in the everyday activity. Perhaps that’s what most of us did. Just tried to find meaning in it all. I did complete some sketches and art which I’ll share here very soon. But 2020 was not the type of year I planned for my creative life. I’m just now feeling a need and desire to sketch again. One thing I did try is live-painting on Instagram. That I will continue. In fact, I hope you’ll join me and let me know what you think.

View fullsize

The Birdcage

View fullsize

Mer-drag queens

View fullsize

An exercise in skeletons for Oct.

View fullsize

An all time fav.

View fullsize

I draw veggies now

 So that’s my short list of what I actually did create in 2020- perhaps overall I gained a better sense of who I am and what I deem as really meaningful in my life. The garden has become such a huge part of our lives. Alex and Reid are thriving and I’m grateful for that. Tyler is the extrovert and I think he’d give just about anything to return to the office but we’re both still at home. Working and living and loving all under this roof. 2021 is bringing us a little bit more normalcy and with that I do feel it is time to get back to creating traditional art and I’m genuinely excited to do it.

Oh and one more thing. This art didn’t come from 2020 but it most certainly has ushered in 2021 with a creative spark. The internet has taken many things away from us. Our time, our attention and sometimes our sanity. But, by God, the internet is a fickle mistress and when it gives back, it gives back.

It was a short time, but a fun time. Bernie meme 2021.

Here’s to a new year of reflection and healing. Follow me on Instagram to see what I’m up to in 2021 and to see WAY more art. I promise.

Thank you and an Announcement!**

Thank you to everyone who came to my first art festival appearance. I have been working hard this year to produce new art and prepare existing art to showcase in the tent. I had so many wonderful people come by and share their love of art with me and their amazing feedback. I had some people take some art home with them which made my heart absolutely dance. I’ll never forget the experience. So thank you again to everyone.

ARTumn art festival 2019

Announcement:

I had all the original paintings in the booth but did not offer prints of those paintings for those who wanted smaller sizes or on different surfaces. In the coming weeks, I’m having all paintings captured and processed to be available to a wider audience! If you love Octopus, now you can have him as a print for your office or home. If Lucky Cat charmed you to pieces, you can order a print of him and have him forever. <3 I’ll be working on making the painting prints available in paper and canvas form. Stay tuned.

I’ll update the website as soon as they are available! If you have any sizes or art you’d like to see in the meantime, please let me know!

Talk to you soon friends!

-Britt

Come See Me!

I’ll be showing my art for the first time ever at an art festival! With a tent and everything!

Come see me at the Artumn Art Festival at City Centre this weekend!

Saturday, October 26th @ 11 - 6

Sunday, October 27th @ 12 - 6

Sketches at the beach

The first beach I ever went to was a clean, blue-clear water, white sand beach in Destin, Florida. Great at the time, but in retrospect- a terrible beach for your first-time beach experience. You can’t compare a Galveston beach to Destin. That’s not to say there aren’t some great beaches in Texas and the Gulf, it’s just that you think all beaches are clear water and powdery sand, and then you see a different beach and the wind is taken out of your sails. “The water is … brown? But why?” Ha. Because, it’s the world, man. Grab a Corona and chill your expectations.

Anyway- we’ve been to the beach twice this Summer and had a perfect beach day every time. We don’t go to Galveston, we drive down to Lake Jackson and hit up a beach called Surf Side. If you drive down the beach a little-ways, you’re sure to secure yourself a space with ample room and settle in. This past weekend was particularly lovely because the water was clear and the beach was pretty seaweed free for the most part. To Alex’s disappointment, the crabs seemed to be on holiday. In their place, little tufts of golden seaweed rolled on the waves gently. To Alex, every crab is a potential friend and every menacing warning-swipe of a crab’s open claws is just a friendly wave from a potential life-long pal. It’s gonna take a hard pinch to break him out of this fairy tale.

A photo from our first beach trip when Alex was trying to snag a crab.

I have come to love being in places like this just for the exposure and chance to maybe draw something new. Also to get a tan. And let Alex frolic in the waves. Which is curious because he’s upset if pool or bath water gets in his eyes but waves hitting him directly in the face and almost knocking him over are a welcome experience. He’s six, I dunno.

Last beach trip, I took some time to do a little observation sketches. Tyler and Alex were bonding over fishing and “ocean sitting” which gave me some good little sketches. They created a pretty impressive sandcastle also- in my mind it was Storm’s End from game of thrones so I tried to build the massive winding staircase that Jon Snow had to walk up to meet Danearys after his first trip there. Soon, we had an attack-crab for the mote and Alex made a paper American flag from some of my sketch paper. Twas a sound structure.

a perfect father-son day

In this most recent beach trip- I didn’t feel as compelled to sketch any sandcastles or ocean views but rather a far off place in my mind. I’ve been wanting to visit Japan for many years. Now that Alex is old enough, he wants to go to. We watch a lot of NHK at our house. I had a moment of dreaming where I thought up a mountainside Japanese retreat. This fictional place is ancient, beautiful and known for it’s natural mountainside hot springs. I wanted to draw something so beautiful- the kind of place I imagine myself going. And then, as my mind does, I was immediately compelled to ruin it. Hence the little tourists running all over the place.

A majestic scene of a Japanese mountainside hot spring temple.

I’m not getting in that hot spring.

I just feel compelled to ruin things.

This was one of those times that I didn’t really know what I was drawing until I was drawing it. Loose lines became less loose lines that eventually formed into actual things. A ledge, a bridge, a pool of water, a cluster of trees. I felt anxiety the whole time worried that I needed a reference or that I would end up in a place that “didn’t make sense” and would end up scrapping my page. I didn’t let myself though, I tried to combat those voices with a “who cares” attitude. It’s hard to force myself into a curious place but it’s often the best place to break through and develop something new or rediscover old techniques and ideas.

Inking is always a scary place for me too- because you can’t erase at this point. You have to trust the little clues you left for yourself in pencil and commit and trust that your hand knows where you need to go. I’m also not really taking this step by step truly- I’m finishing pieces as I go. As of now, I still have large areas that are just pencil but the bottom half of the page is already at watercolor stage.

ink, prisma marker(greys) and prisma pencil

Here’s how the process is going for me on this one:
pencil > ink lines > layering of prisma pencils > white gel pen for highlights/details > washes of watercolor to add depth

I don’t always do the same process, it depends on the piece really. I know a lot of artists have their set style and method. These artist’s work is recogniseable and follows a similar thought process and workflow every time. There are also other artists that just experiment more than others and start from a total blank mindset every time. Their work is more varied and experimental using a variety of mediums and looks. I’m more of the latter- I’ve always gravitated toward mixed-media, though I do have a few processes on the mental shelf I go to.

Don’t feel like you have to “find a style” or land anywhere in particular to be relevant or to be taken seriously as an artist. I struggled with that belief for many years. Being curious and willing to experiment is proving to be advantageous for me in this stage of life. I’ll be experimenting and trying new things for many years to come because I haven’t tried NEARLY what is out there to try. I spent many years not drawing at all. I just didn’t make time for it and I forgot my passion for it. I’m catching up and rediscovering myself.

This week, I’m spending my lunch breaks in our company café lining, then coloring, then inking, then painting one section at a time. Every section that is finished is satisfying and I’m excited to finish this. This piece is teaching me courage, acceptance, and self-trust.

Comparison L to R: A little watercolor stroke on the side of that left cliff makes all the difference.

What’s really exciting is we’re going on our third beach-trip next week: to a beach house! We’re staying in a very cute Airbnb beach house on Crystal beach with another family. Alex will have a few friends to chase crabs with, Tyler will have a fishing buddy and I’ll have a friend to lay out and tan with. What will be really interesting: I’m having a painting and wine night for everyone one of those nights. I’ll be teaching two adults and 3 kids how to paint a simple beach-themed painting. Similar to one of those wine’n’paint places BUT your instructor is super inexperienced and there are kids and a dog running around. You don’t sound impressed. Well, it’s free so. Like I said earlier, grab a corona and chill your expectations.

Ocean sitting.

Octopus

When I was pregnant with my son, I went through a pretty fun ‘nesting phase.’ I had to transform our guest room-art room into a nursery- so that meant moving Tupperware bins of paints, brushes, half-empty craft paint bottles, old leaking containers of mineral spirits, half finished small canvases, tiny bits of gold leaf stuck to dried out copic markers- you get the picture. At the time, I wasn’t painting as much so it wasn’t much of a loss.

After the new paint was on the walls and baby furniture moved in, I decided to paint a little painting as a gift for our new son. I painted from a place of pure joy and that painting looked like a little Octopus floating in a teal and blue world. The tentacles were little cute spirals and his one eye kinda stuck out like, “Hey, I’m an octopus and I don’t have any particularly hard opinions on anything. Nice to meet you, I guess.”

It sat on the tallest shelf in Alex’s room for these 6 years and it’s always been a favorite. Over the weekend, I thought what a perfect enjoyable activity to blow it up and create a piece to share with the world.

I didn’t care much about recreating it perfectly so no tracing or projecting or gridding was really necessary- that step is always the most tedious to me anyway. I just eyeballed (ha!) it until I was happy with the composition I had. Before I drew it out, I decided to paint it the same teal color that I used 6 years ago- I almost always paint the entire canvas before beginning- it eliminates the need to keep trying to cover the white and gives you a common tone to work off of. Since most of the painting is water, I just had to worry about layering the octopus’s skin on top and deciding when to let the teal peer through and when not to.

At this stage, it’s just layering on paint until you’re happy with the look. I used a small brush the size of a dime to add tiny strokes. I like the texture of the original octopus and decided to carry that throughout the painting into the water this time.

After a series of layering, I did something experimental for me at the time: oil pastels. I liked their effect because they grabbed at the ‘tooth’ of the canvas and gave it a nice texture and dimension. It was also super fun to work with something new and build a new technique to add to the mental lock box for future use.

In about 12 hours, it was done! My “Mommy and baby” painting. One for Alex, and one for me. (^-^) Which one is your favorite?

-Britt

Work in progress: Oranges

I wake up at 4 a.m. every morning and spend an hour writing in my journal. Why do I do that? Anxiety. But also, general self-discovery. The “morning pages," as they’re called in The Artist Way, are a daily practice of writing 3 full pages of stream of consciousness writing first thing in the morning. It’s recommended that you set aside an extra 30 minute to do this, but honestly, it takes me 45-50 minutes to complete them. I’m also using the official Artist Way workbook if that’s a helpful data point for you, but you can choose whatever size paper you like. For four weeks, I’ve had this routine and made this an almost daily practice (i’ve missed three days total when company was in town) and I’m seeing the fruits of this labor. (I did not mean to do that but I’m keeping it.)

The morning pages are supposed to give you insight into your feelings. I can say things in my morning pages that I have been hesitant to say out loud for months or years. “I don’t like that,” “I actually don’t want to do this anymore,” or “I have had this idea forever. I want to do this now.”

There is something about writing something down, I’m sure you’ve heard. But I never experienced the actual power of it until the morning pages. Since I’ve begun writing them- I finally bought a huge easel and put it in my husband’s man-cave: something I’ve been “thinking about” for more than 4 years. Then… I bought another one. I put that one in the other corner. I’ve made progress on a long-neglected painting and created a new one in less than 48 hours. I finally declared that I want the next phase of my life to be immersed in my artwork instead of continuing the corporate climb to a title that may just mean nothing to me. It’s been an illuminating three and a half weeks.

One such idea that sprung from the morning pages one day was Oranges. I just wanted to paint some oranges. I don’t know why- I’m not particularly fond of oranges. They’re fine, I guess. I don’t drink orange juice. I’m super into the color yellow right now, which is totally not orange. I can’t really explain it but I just wrote it down as soon as I thought it, “I wanna paint some oranges on a big canvas.”

Not one to argue with myself, I got a canvas, had the husband pick up some oranges which he handed to me in a grocery bag when I was in the bath; “Here. I got you these.” I looked in the bag and saw three lighter-than-i-was-expecting-but-i’ll-just-mix-darker-paint oranges. “Thanks honey.”

And then I set to ripping them apart.

I spent most of my Sunday on my second easel painting a square a custom-mixed orange. Then watching Neon Genesis Evangeleon on Netflix while it dried. I held my little platter of orange parts in front of me as I stood and outlined the shapes roughly on the canvas. Then I mixed 2 more shades of orange and blocked in the orange elements: darkest for the skin, lighter for the pulp, lightest cream for the inside of the rind.

I’m doing something new with the details- I’m using oil pastels. I used them this weekend on top of Octopus painting to create details and fill in gaps and I’m liking how they add a bit of detail and are easy to work with on dry acrylic. The pastels are giving a unique rough texture to the white rind that would be more time consuming to achieve with smooth acrylic. In this way, this painting is teaching me new techniques. It’s a try-as-you-go experimentation that I love about painting.

I stopped Sunday night with the details, but i realize I need more contrast eventually. I need to decide on a shade for the shadow. Do I keep with the orange hue as originally envisioned or do I introduce a new color? If I do, I’m thinking teal but I’ll have to experiment a touch before I commit. There is something in the all-orange look that appeals to me, but it seems to be disappearing in itself at the same time.

Like the morning pages, this painting is telling me what it wants to be as I put it down on the canvas. Most artists will tell you, that’s the way it happens. There is a vision- but the art already knows what it wants to be. To be honest, sometimes I disagree hard with the end result and it’s frustrating, but in the end- it’s what it was always mean to be. I was meant to paint oranges this weekend and Alex was meant to help me apparently.

UPDATE: 7/3/2019

I finished the painting! One of the most satisfying parts of painting is adding those final touches. For this one, that was the shadow and the hilights. I knew both had to be minimal and not overpower the work. I didn’t want to seperate the parts from each other too much or give an outline effect on accident. Also, unless you’ve broken the membrane around the pulp, it’s not a very shiny texture. It’s very matte- including the skin and especially the soft inner rind. So the risks were overdoing both shadow and hilight.

I mixed in a bit of purple to the darkest shade of orange for the shadows appearing on the skin and did the same thing with the middle-orange shade for the pulp. For the highlights, I took a tiny brush and ‘dabbed’ tiny, seed-shaped hilights to the pulp. Occassionally, I’d drag a little line to pick up the texture, but that was it.

Now, here is the finished product! The dimension I was missing has now been achieved and I had so much fun painting that I think I may either move onto another citrus fruit or do a eclectic still life. I have a desire to play with more light and shadow now- stay tuned.

Lucky Cat (repost from 2018)

You know my favorite feeling in the world? That overwhelming, uplifting rush of: "... I need to make this right now." I had that feeling in a Pei Wei one Sunday after church with the family. I glanced up at their lucky cat on a shelf and just ... wanted to paint it on a huge canvas. So I took the truck, went to Michael's, got the biggest canvas they have and spent my Sunday afternoon painting a cat on a big piece of cloth.

Then after a few more weeks off and on, I had this:

I think it fits quite well in my dining room. Although, I do feel like it is destined to hang above the bar at a modern sushi restaurant or tea room. For now, it makes me smile in the morning and hopefully will bring us some luck in 2018.