New Opportunities-Idea Overload 

A freind of mine recently introduced me to a wonderful organization called The Art Guild of Menomonee Falls. I joined and it looks like I will be offering a Saturday Beginner Watercolor class at their downtown Menomonee Falls Gallery. I am very excited and hope to get a good turn out. When I first started painting I can tell you I had a lot of fear. I am hoping I can help beginners overcome that fear. If you have any interest in Watercolor at all, please consider signing up. Just shoot me a message and I will get you details. Or watch my Facebook page and this blog for details. 

Switching gears.Right now I have 6 paintings going at once. That's a lot, even for me. But the idea's keep coming. As my skill improves I realize that it is not my hands that create but my eyes. Seeing the way the lights and the darks work together to create the mood, interest and beauty that could never exist without the other. 

I have been making it a point to look at something that I see everyday and really take the time to see it. It could be a simple as my coffee cup. See the way the light creates hot spots on the rim. Notices an unexpected highlight on the shadow side. Understand how the computer monitor looks in the curved reflection. how the objects on the desk change the shadows and colors reflected back in the various tones on the mug. I may not ever paint the mug but I believe this act of seeing will help on every painting I work on going forward. It is this act of seeing that fuels my fire and keeps my list of "Things to Paint" growing beyond what my life allows. This act of seeing also spreads to people. I love painting people. But I want my paintings to grow and be much more than they have ever been. I want see not only the physical features and record them but see the person and spirit within. So that with just a glance the viewer can feel who that person is. So their spirit comes alive off the paper. It's a tall order. I'm not sure I have made that happen yet. But that's the cool thing about watercolor and art and painting and life; we can try to do better tomorrow. 

May you be the highlight that brings beauty to someone else's shadow. 

Lance