Exercising your mind, exercising your talents

Have you ever put something off continuously, and eventually found yourself in a rut? Or maybe you find yourself complaining about the smallest things, as if it's become a habit. Is it because of boredom? It's easy to fall into a trend, especially with modern technology doing so much for us these days.

A few days ago I had my entrance interview for an art school I had high hopes for attending. A conversation I had with the program coordinator really stuck with me. Going through my portfolio, she mentioned that it seemed my work had a lot of time and effort put into it and asked me if I had any inspiration behind what I had come up with and how much planning went into it. The only answer I could come up with was, "I need to keep my mind busy, or I get lazy and stay that way." She agreed with me and we began talking on how easy it is to get stuck simply by not challenging ourselves and our minds. We spoke of the shapes I use in my ink drawings, and how there isn't any planning, and that a pencil is never used to plan. It's all up to what my mind wants to do, and usually, the more I have on my mind, the more I like the photo when I'm finished. The more time my mind takes to work itself out, the more time I spend on the drawing. If I get lazy and stop, I will likely never finish what I had started.

I am guilty of this - quite often.

I have endless amounts of paintings, sketches and drawings, all not finished. The ideas lost forever because I chose not to work hard on it when the ideas were there. Now, the ideas and the inspiration are gone. I can't even remember where I wanted to take many of the pieces I had started.

An example of a drawing which was never finished.

Now, I'm not trying to sound like such a downer. I am quite fascinated by the fact thoughts can become lost, as if they just disappear into nowhere. Do they go somewhere? Or are they simply gone forever as quickly as they came? Some thoughts eat at you, and to me, my art really fixes this. A good way to take it out instead of yelling or getting upset, is to use all that energy and put it down on paper. Often fantasizing or elaborating the ideas makes it so much easier to come to terms with.


Just remember, if you're bored you should try challenging yourself and getting out of old habits. Before too long you might start looking at the negatives. Keeping busy will help keep you positive. Being positive not only makes you happier, but the people around you too.

Until next time!

All You Need is Love

So after more than a week, I have finally completed another painting. Life is busy, and gets in the way, also my motivation decided to go on vacation. Now it's back, and I've finally kicked myself in the butt to get going.

Do you ever wonder what artists did before they made it? Or what they do as their full-time occupation? If I ever made it, I think it would sound silly to have my biography say, "Sof was a cashier at..." Not so interesting, right?

Someone made an interesting comment recently when seeing one of my pieces, and it got me thinking. They said, "I wish I had some sort of talent." Although the comment made me think maybe this person was just being a bit of a downer on themselves, it made me wonder what their talent was. Everyone has one, whether it be art, music, public speaking, listening to others, math...the list is endless really. We look up to people with special talents. Many of them musicians, and artists. Whether it be someone who we can relate to, or someone the complete opposite. I find myself having a hard time with public speaking and carrying on a conversation in general. Someone very close to me is a very confident speaker, and carries themselves very well. I really look up to them, even if they don't think that is some kind of talent. To me, things that help you in everyday life such as good charisma, being able to listen and giving good advice are amazing and rare talents.


Anyways, here is my newest painting:

Evening Dreaming

I'm still trying to decide where I want to take my art. I guess I won't know until I work more on it right?


Thanks for reading!

Details, Repetition and Deadmau5

Do you ever look at something and think, "Wow, that's really detailed. I wouldn't try to repeat that." Or maybe the opposite, "That looks so simple. Why would someone pay so much for that?" Sometimes the ideas behind the piece are what make the art, more than what is seen to the naked eye. Other times, art is made to be visually appealing, regardless of what inspiration is behind it.

When I come up with an idea, I try to make is as visually appealing as I can. I don't want someone to have to think too much about the idea behind it. Most of the time, there isn't any idea or inspiration behind what I come up with. I do it because I enjoy it. Many of my paintings have a re-occuring theme of trees and night skies. Many of my drawings have a "tribal" theme filled in with miscellaneous shapes and figures. When I look at something, I want to be able to look at it again and again without becoming bored of it. You pay good money for art, you don't want to be sick of looking at it in a few months, do you?

Often times when I create something, I do it because I like the subject. For example, on two separate occasions, I was listening to a lot of Deadmau5 (pronounced 'dead mouse'), an electronic artist from Toronto, Ontario, and decided to paint a portrait of him wearing his Mau5 (pronounced 'mouse') stage costume. Another time I drew a picture of various Mau5 heads floating around. I couldn't find any Deadmau5 posters in my area, so I hung up these two pieces instead.

Deadmau5 Everywhere
(early 2011)

Deadmau5 Nightlife
(mid 2010)

I'm not saying anything is wrong with simplicity. Stories and ideas behind art are part of what makes it so interesting. In times like today where patience is rare and people are just too busy with their lives, I want to create something that will make them stop what they're doing and say, "That's really nice." 

Take a break from life, and start enjoying it a little bit more.

Goal Setting! Oh wait...you mean I actually have to complete these?

Good evening!

Lately, I have been coming up with certain goals, and as I mentioned before, one of them being getting my work into a few local galleries. I really have to push myself, but it's going to get done! A few things I have coming up involve photography, drawing and some mixed media. Stay tuned!

What's on my mind?
One of my supervisors at work made an interesting comment today. Apparently I am not weird enough to draw attention to myself and my art. This got me thinking....
Do I want people to know me because of my art, how I look or carry myself? No... I want people to see my art and say, "Wow, that's nice. I would hang that in my living room." It seems as if some artists create art to describe themselves, or to be part of them and their persona, and there's nothing wrong with that. Art is all about self-expression. I'll confess I have an obsession with making others happy, so what I come up may not always be "self-expression" because I want others to like what they see. In a way however, this may be self-expression -a way to come to understand the intent behind the piece and who the artist is as a person.

Now some good news...
I took place in an art show recently, to raise money for street artists and a local community centre and found out both of my pieces sold! I was very excited. Definitely a couple bonus points for self-esteem.

I was feeling a little lazy the past few days and didn't feel much like painting, so I did some freehand doodling in my sketchbook. This is what I came up with:

Now that I've set all these goals for myself, time to go find some motivation to complete them!

Goodnight and Happy Easter!

Good Morning Good Morning

"The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them." -Stephen King

So I've finally given in and created a blog for all of the stuff I come up with. I sat here, probably for the past half hour trying to think of how to begin. Where do I start? What do I talk about? How about I tell you what I believe the definition of art is? 

To me, art is a way of telling a story, displaying emotion, or simply any way of expressing something words cannot. 

Visual expression is the most important form of communication. Having relied on it all my life in everyday communication, I have always taken into account someone's body language much more than what comes out of their mouth. 

Growing up, art was always a big part of my life. Drawing and creating things were part of everyday play, and it was always encouraged in my family. My grandmother was very creative, always sewing and knitting and creating crafts. My mother teaches art, drama and music to elementary students. Both of these women greatly influenced me. 

Through elementary and high school, my main interest was drawing. I rarely picked up a paint brush, and rather detested the idea of painting until I was older. Now, I paint almost everyday and hope one day to make a profession out of it. Now my focus is on painting, ink drawings and photography.

"Blue Night" (early 2011)

Most of my paintings consist of bright skies with silhouettes of trees in the foregrounds. I am fascinated with the idea of the branches of trees forking out to create more branches. Follows the idea of, "one thing leads to another." One decision can lead to something new, different and exciting. 

As of right now....

I am working hard at coming up with a series of paintings to submit to galleries around my city. They follow along with the theme of trees I have taken a liking to. I hope everyone enjoys looking at them as much as I have creating them.

That's all for tonight! Thanks for reading!