ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Chotacabras [2018-11-27 01:06:28 +0000 UTC]

Sounds like a good group! Sure thing, joined!

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Chotacabras In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2018-11-27 07:19:17 +0000 UTC]

Great ... I hope you enjoy a lot in our new group ... Submit your first deviations whenever you want and tell about this group who you think might be interested ... 

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Sjoelie [2018-11-20 01:45:07 +0000 UTC]

Thank youuuuu!

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to XristiEno [2018-09-03 06:23:03 +0000 UTC]

LOL, woot!

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to KittySib [2018-08-30 22:59:54 +0000 UTC]

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Lethal-Lana [2018-04-04 23:36:04 +0000 UTC]

Thanks, and you're welcome! Bird is the word!

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Lethal-Lana In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2018-04-05 01:37:05 +0000 UTC]

you are very welcome

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to SiwySzczur [2017-12-04 07:38:29 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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SiwySzczur In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2017-12-04 07:50:38 +0000 UTC]

No problem, I like good art I invite you to my galleryIf you like my work, watch me

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to SiwySzczur [2017-12-07 02:10:36 +0000 UTC]

Your art is epic! Very cool figures! What do you sculpt with?

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Lensations4Life [2017-10-16 07:45:50 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! Oh yes, I love all kinds of cats, especially black cats! Cool!

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Deutsche-Drache [2016-12-15 06:48:13 +0000 UTC]

Hey! It HAS been a long time! Hope your "adventure" wasn't too rough and tough. Real life can be a real kicker. I'm still artsy fartsy as usual, a hermit trying to make my way in the business that is art.

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Deutsche-Drache In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2016-12-15 16:49:06 +0000 UTC]

Re the "adventure," I'm still alive, so I'm grateful for that.  I wrote about it in my journal, but began in Jan 2014 with (1) the final computer consulting contract I had was terminated by the new owners of the company, who wanted to go a different direction; followed by (2) a family member who became suicidal (but thankfully survived and is now thriving), and (3) the announcement that one of my sisters was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, and who died from it about a year later.  Meanwhile, the psych who was treating me for ADD retired his practice, which thrust me headlong into a "drug holiday" which took nearly two years for me to adjust to the lack of meds.  This last one turned out to be a blessing, as once I came through it I discovered abilities that were being suppressed from the drugs.

And yes, I'm still working on my novel.  However, I'm taking a fundamentally different approach to it which is yielding excellent fruit.  I'll save the details for the journal, but I now have some 27 pages of single-spaced, handwritten notes that extensively describe character and plot development, along with the overall story arc.  I've also downloaded the outline from The Writer's Journey, which was derived from Joseph Campbell's excellent "Hero With A Thousand Faces."  (This, BTW, was the work that George Lucas closely followed while writing Star Wars.)  I'm almost finished typing up the handwritten notes, which I'll cut into "strips" of one idea per strip.  I'll organize these along the 12-phase Outline from Writer's Journey, and then "backfill in" with appropriate narrative.  At this point, the novel has never looked more promising, and everyone among my close contacts whom I have described these new results to are excited at what they're hearing.  They are convinced, more than ever, that I have a "clear and certain winner" on my hands, not the least of which is because it is now mirroring what is happening in the world and especially the USA.

I'm glad to hear that you are still doing and enjoying your art.  Also, because it's coming up again in my life, I'd like to resurrect the satyr picture I had mentioned to you about.  I still have the sketch you sent me, so I will annotate and email it back to you, and we can describe going from there.
 

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Deutsche-Drache [2016-12-28 01:13:32 +0000 UTC]

Wow, life really has been a roller coaster for you! I'd found it odd that you just vanished several years ago... real life has a way of doing that. I haven't been as active on DA either. But I'm glad you're back and doing much better!

Awesome! I'm glad you haven't given up on it. Sounds like you've put a ton of research and thought into it! Now the fun part, actually writing it. You can do it! If you need a test reader I'd be glad to read when you get it together. (and, you might want to read up on Non-Disclosure Agreements for anyone else who might want to test read. It would protect your work and ideas.) I've been doing a lot of study and work in the book market myself!

I think I still have that satyr drawing around here somewhere... would take some digging to locate it! LOL

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Deutsche-Drache In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2016-12-28 18:15:55 +0000 UTC]

Thank you.  Yes, it has been a "journey through the shadow of death" kind of nearly three years, and I pray that is behind me.

I'm really happy with the direction the novel is taking.  This may sound silly, but since the Hero is a Christian wizard, as part of my Petition to God (and which I'll discuss with you through Notes), I asked Him to "initiate" me into "Christian magic," so that I could write with authority and from experience in describing the Hero and what he goes through.  That prayer certainly was answered, as the last five months I've been through horrific spiritual battles, and sensed my knowledge of "spiritual things" growing immensely.  I never would have gotten to where I am today without that Prayer.

Good advice about NDAs!  And it's something that I knew about, but I never really put much thought into it until you mentioned it.  And yes, I very much need a test reader.  Thank you for volunteering.  The Prologue, which establishes the core concept of the Hero's soul, is pretty much polished up.  I'll send you a PDF of it and you can tell me what you think!

I found the satyr drawing.  I'll annotate it and Note it to you as well. 

Thanks again!

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Chaya1230 [2015-12-25 05:41:15 +0000 UTC]

^_^ Yep I sure can! They're such cute pups! What size would you like it? I can do miniature (3" or less) up to life-sized.

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Chaya1230 In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2015-12-25 23:46:00 +0000 UTC]

I suppose that decision would have a lot to do with pricing. Do you do any custom work under $100? If not that's fine, I'll just have to save more.

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Chaya1230 [2015-12-27 21:57:52 +0000 UTC]

Yes I do, miniatures are $45. Mediums that are around 5-7" range from $80-100+

Mini samples: gourdanimals.blogspot.com/p/go…

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Galrosk [2015-11-29 07:17:13 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much! I'm always happy to give tips and advice, so if you'd like to learn more just ask a question!

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Galrosk In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2015-11-29 20:13:13 +0000 UTC]

I appreciate that and I will definitely take you up on that. My biggest questions relate to the process and the ability to focus. I tend to start adding detail before I get the values and shapes in the right places, which thus makes the piece look warped or amateurish. While I concentrate on digital art, the process for painting is still the same, as far as I know. And any advice on how to stay focused? I tend to work for about an hour or so before I get distracted (or bored, honestly). I've read about how one artist will literally disconnect his internet in order to help remove distraction. I may try that. But any other advice?

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Galrosk [2015-12-06 04:30:49 +0000 UTC]

Before adding detail you should have a strong base. Otherwise it's easy to get discouraged and disinterested (and yes, eliminating distractions like the internet is a must at first!) Focus is actually a skill that has to be learned, like learning social skills and how to make art. The more you work at trying to stay focused, the better you will get at it and the stronger your attention will get. Exercise that brain! I used to be pretty easily distracted too. I would get to a part of the painting that I refer to as the "ugly stages", the base part before you get to detailing, and then get disinterested. It took a while before I learned that you have you power through that. Nowadays I can sit at the easel for hours on end and not even think of doing anything else. My mind likes to do several things at once though, so I listen to podcasts as I paint. That way I don't have any extra brain power to get distracted. LOL.

Here's a little tutorial on how I paint in steps. You're right, digital and traditional painting are very similar. They require the same steps - though digital is much more forgiving to be honest! On the other hand, some things are much easier to do traditionally, like textures. Anyway, take a look at this and see if it'll help you:

If you'd like to ask anything else I'm happy to help!

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Galrosk In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2015-12-07 18:49:48 +0000 UTC]

I really appreciate that and I will take your advice to heart. It all comes down to that focus. I find my ugly stages are where something doesn't look right and it drives me nuts trying to perfect it when I just want to move on and get the piece done! Then I rush it because of said frustration and it never comes out the way I would have liked it! Heh, I should have paid more attention to the basics back in school.

I've been working on a few animal portraits for friends that have been hit or miss. In the latest one I'm trying different techniques to see if I can speed up the process, but I've drawn myself into a supremely frustrating corner and I just want to start over. But I've spent so many hours on it that starting over feels like such a tremendous waste! Ugh...I think I read too much into it, but time is such a precious commodity to me that it often times will cause so much frustration that I end up wasting more of it than anything else, haha! But your advice about strengthening one's focus is pretty much exactly what I need. I know that, if I can strengthen my focus and work through the pain, I should be able to produce a lot more quality work in a shorter period of time.

Hmmm...who said (and I'm definitely paraphrasing here) "creating the idea is the best, but working to achieve it is hell." Haha! Thanks again for the advice and for continuing to share your work! That tutorial is very helpful and I will definitely be studying it quite a bit!

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to Galrosk [2015-12-07 20:24:57 +0000 UTC]

 I feel like the trial and error on your own can be the best teacher. Not everything is going to be pretty (I've repainted over many of mine!) It can be incredibly frustrating...especially when something is off and you can't quite figure it out. I have a few tricks to help with that. First - the ugly stages are supposed to look bad. So don't get too worked up trying to fix the early stages. Second, if something is off and you can't quite tell what, look at it in a mirror. I find it REALLY helpful to see the artwork reversed. Either hold it up to a full sized mirror or use a hand one and look backwards. The reflected view makes it look like a whole new artwork, and anything that's off sticks out like a sore thumb! Give it a try, it really works.

Speed doesn't matter - Do NOT try to work fast! I know you want some of them to be over with quickly, but you're supposed to be slower at first. When I first started painting in 2007, a painting I would consider simple now took longer. It's because I wasn't quite sure what I was doing, and I was still testing techniques and ideas, and I was really afraid of messing up. Now that I've been painting for 8+ years, the same paintings will take half the time. I'm comfortable and confident with my techniques and I can jump into them without a second thought. I uploaded an example for you:

The 2007 version was one of my very first paintings. I was still trying to figure out how to use acrylics. Once I worked out how to use them, then I started refining my technique and getting better with form and stuff. The paintings are both 16x20". The top painting took 9 hours. The bottom, took 6! (yes I meticulously record my hours LOL). Despite it being much more detailed and refined. As cliche' as it is, practice really does make perfect. I can pick out so many things wrong with the top painting - the otter's face looks off, the background is distracting, etc etc. But that's okay, I was still learning. I also hear alot that "artist's are their own worst critics". Got that right! XD So don't get discouraged - art is supposed to be a bumpy journey! It's a wild ride but once you get comfortable with it, and have played with new techniques and ideas, then you'll learn how to ride in style.

Good luck! And happy painting. If you never need help you know where to find me!

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to WhiteGecko93 [2015-10-24 05:56:08 +0000 UTC]

Thank you SO much!
Devils claws are amazing things! I haven't made sculptures out of them for a while (I discovered that beetles love to eat the seeds, which sucks when you can't remove all of the seeds and they end up getting in to the sculptures occasionally to get at them.) That discouraged me from making them and many of my older sculptures I dismantled... BUT, I do plan on finding a way around the issue, and I will make devil claw critters again! I still have a handful of the sculptures and a bin full of devil claws ready to be used.

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WhiteGecko93 In reply to ART-fromthe-HEART [2015-10-24 06:41:36 +0000 UTC]

Would some type of varnish keep the beetles out? I read that yacht/marine varnish is good for weatherproofing paper mache... so it must be pretty tough.

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ART-fromthe-HEART In reply to WhiteGecko93 [2015-10-29 19:01:30 +0000 UTC]

That's possible. The beetles get into the crevices though, so I'd really have to get it in there. The pods are very deep and the seeds are in the center of the pods. I plan on reviving the sculpture series, and figure out the issue, when I get my own studio. They make a mess and currently I've already done enough damage to my parents' dining room. XD LOL

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