Holy Land Watercolors

As I prepared for my semester abroad in Israel I went to my Illustration professors for advice as to how to keep up my artistic practice while away.  I didn't have much extra space in my luggage so bringing canvas and an easel was out of the question.  After congratulating me on the incredible opportunity I had and sharing stories about friends who have gone in the past, they directed me to some excellent websites and fellow artist blogs from which I gathered enough information to put together an artistic travel kit of my own.

The goal was simple, keep a sketchbook like I do every year, but also, take this rare opportunity to paint scenes and images on site at places that I will very likely never get to go to again.  Before this past semester, I had only painted with watercolor once and I will be the first to admit that I am not very good at it.  With each painting I have no idea what I am doing and, therefore, have to experiment until something looks alright.  My paintings are nowhere near professional looking, but I am able to look at them and remember the moment I made them.  Where I was, what I was doing, who I was with.  Yes, you can do the same thing with a picture, but there is something different about being able to say that, "I painted that sitting on the shore of the Sea of Galilee."  It is my personal take of what I saw and what I found important enough to put on paper.  My journey, not only through Israel, but through art.

The beloved Jerusalem Center

En Gev's view of the Sea of Galilee

The Garden Tomb

Now I must apologize for not finishing my Jerusalem posts sooner.  Once I arrived in Michigan I gave myself quite the list of projects to complete, sadly, finishing my blog was not near the top.  After filling out my mission papers, art was my highest priority.  I wanted to challenge myself further by painting more detailed images then the quick on-site paintings I did while in Jerusalem.  Not needing to worry about homework or class readings certainly gave me the clear schedule and mind that I needed.

It's a funny process that I go through each time I start a new art project.  When first beginning, I look at what I'm trying to recreate, visualize what I think the end product will look like, and think to myself, "Oh yeah, I can do that easy."  Then as I get further and further into it I become more discouraged.  I take frequent breaks, stomping away in frustration because I just can't figure out what to do to make it right and I can't look at it anymore.  I'll stare at it incomplete, telling myself how inadequate of an artist I am and that I will never be able to make it look the way it should.  But then I do finish it and I can't believe it.  Every time I look at it I have to remind myself that I was the one who made it.

Do you ever forget that you have talent?  You are used to using it all the time and it comes so naturally to you that it doesn't feel special at all, just  average?  That's how I feel with art.  It's no big deal to me.  I just do it.  When people tell me how amazing it is that I'm an illustration major I can only respond with a, "Yeah... it's fun."  But there are rare moments, usually just after I've finished a project, when I step back, and take in my work.  Only then does it dawn on me that I am pretty amazing at drawing.  Actually, the thought is more like, "Holly Fetch I'm GOOD!"

Jerusalem from Mt. Scopis

Church of St. Mary Magdalene and Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives

Don't worry, more on my adventures in the Galilee to come.  I promise!

Cartoons and FHE

Well here they are, some of my final sketches from while I was in Jerusalem.  Even though I didn't have any art classes this semester, I feel as though keeping this sketchbook has really helped me grow.  I wanted to challenge myself in the stylization of my characters,  giving them more emotion, movement, and stories of their own.  Looking back and comparing last semester to my previous sketchbooks, I am very surprised and impressed by the improvement.

This past semester my calling was to be an FHE mom.  I had the best "family" to work with.  One night, they convinced me to draw each of them, originally to make t-shirts but that plan fell through.  We then came up with titles for each member and what their role was in the family.  I think we were pretty accurate in the descriptions.  Please say hello to my little family.  I love them all dearly.

Skylar: The Absent Father

Eden: Mother Hen

Paige: The Prodigy

Meg: Punk Teen

Katie: The Forgotten Child

Jacob: Golden Child

Anne: A Classy Grandma

Aubreigh: The Kookie Aunt

Sarah: Flower Child

Jenessa: The Pet Bunny

“Everything you can imagine is real”

 Just a few more of my doodles and sketches.

Doodley-doo

I am an art major.  Illustration to be exact.  And one of the first tips I picked up on how to be a starving artist is that you must have an art blog.  It's practically required.  Everyone I know in the major has one.  All of my professors direct us to professional artists that have them, and apparently, it's actually a great way to get work (if you become popular enough).  So here is my thought process:  I have a blog -- I have some artistic ability -- I like money -- what harm could it do?  At the very least it provides a way for family and friends to follow my progression through school.  So, without further ado, I present just a few of my doodles from my Jerusalem sketchbook.

After our trip to Jordan, in which every Bedouin woman haggled us to buy jewelry,  trinkets, and even rocks, I felt compelled to create this t-shirt design.

After realizing that I was only drawing cartoons and hadn't done anything realistic since last semester, I became determined to try a few live sketches.  So (while still paying attention to the lecture) I now take the first ten-ish minutes of class to pick a fellow student and creepily stare at them while completing a rough sketch of their profile.  Ten minutes and no more.  Very rough indeed.

Since I'm not taking any actually art classes this semester I felt the need to challenge myself somehow.  So I packed a little watercolor kit and told myself that every week I would paint a picture.  Disclaimer: I have never done watercolor before so everything is experimental.  That is where the true challenge lies. It has been very interesting, as well as frustrating to test out different color combinations and techniques.  Here are a few of my attempts.

Last week a few of us went to Gethsemane.  Here's my quick interpretation.  I also snagged a bit of lavender from the site.  It smells wonderful.