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Showing posts from July, 2013

New Work

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  I have been in the throws of inspiration this lately, and have created SIX new pictures since last week. One was a landscape strait from imagination, the next was inspired by a photo my husbands friend let me use,  then a heartwarming photo of my dog Max, a sketch of my cat Puff and the other two were additions to my "Revival Series" I think I pretty much covered every medium this week. :)   On Tuesday the 9th I had the opportunity to paint with a local painting group called the Tuesday group. It was nice to paint with others for once, and after we took sometime to critique, which was a really nice change for me and I learned a lot. I didn't really know what I wanted to paint, so the night before I did a quick landscape sketch from my head, and that's what I ended up doing. It's called "Daisy Lane" it's 11"x14" acrylic. I finished most of it there, then did a couple updates that were brought up during critique when I got home. I can'

Vaughan Vignettes Show

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  I recently entered a local art show at Harlow Gallery in Hallowell Maine. The show is a Kennebec Valley Art Association (KVAA) members only show, the theme was Vaughan Vignettes, in coalition with the Vaughan Homestead foundation. The Vaughan family has a long and important history in my area, and this show was to honor them, and their legacy. The Vaughan estates are beautiful, along with the Vaughan woods also known as "Hobbit Land". Hobbit Land is known as a natural treasure in our area, running over 166 acres. The Vaughan stream runs through next to the main path, you can see many waterfalls on this stream as well as a century old dam and stone bridges. It is a beautiful place to spend time with many trails and lots to see. The Vaughan Homestead foundation has been very generous in preserving this beautiful place and sharing it with the public.  Buy Prints     I have spent a lot of time in the woods, taking pictures, walking and just taking in the scenery. M

Why Taking Small Breaks Can Be Good For Creativity-Taking care of my artistic health.

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"Love and Be Loved"-Mixed Media © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2012    Sometimes, I get so enthralled in my artwork that it consumes my whole life. I can't sleep, I have hard time concentrating on other tasks and it makes it difficult to find time for day to day tasks. Often times this feeling comes along with a natural high, when I am crazy inspired and doing some of my best work ever, and whipping out paintings like there is no tomorrow. Other times, it comes with lows, where it seems that my hard work isn't paying off as fast as I would like, I'm not getting many sales, or I don't feel I am getting the recognition I deserve. These lows can be detrimental to creativity, so when I feel this way I know it is time for me to step back from art and let myself re-vamp before coming back to it.    I recently went through one of these lows, and realized that I was too consumed with my art and marketing it. I love my art, and most of the time painting is very therapeut