Caution:Artist at Play-Artwork by Shana Rowe Jackson

Wow! Can you believe we are already into 2022? The past couple of years have been crazy for everyone. With a world-wide pandemic and growing political tensions, it can be hard to look forward to the future. However, I find that the only way I can personally combat the negativity that comes along with events that are out of my control, is to focus on the things that I can control. That is where making goals comes in handy.   "Tree Song" Acrylics on Panel, © Shana Rowe Jackson 2021 Times are tough, so I have made a vow to be gentle with myself when it comes to setting and achieving my goals. When it came time to sit down and brainstorm my art goals for 2022, I tried to come up with a variety that will not only help me grow as a businesswoman but are also reasonably obtainable in a years’ time. There are some goals that I like to call bite sized goals. Ones that involve using certain media more often or adding to an already existing series of mine. A key phrase when making m

   This project has been such a crazy ride for me. It has been a long time since I have been this engulfed in a body of work. My inspiration and my drive have been through the roof. It is both exhilarating and exhausting. Everywhere I go I am looking at the sky, even more than usual. Currently I have completed ten pieces in the series and am a little over half way done with the eleventh. I also have plans for at least six more pieces, but this of course will depend on time constraints. I need to be done by mid April. My main aim has been to choose skies that tie in to personal memories for me. It hasn't been easy though because I am somewhat limited to my references. However, this has also pushed me to become a better and more creative photographer. None of my paintings will be exact replicas of the photos of course, however, the photographs are a great bouncing off point. Overall, I have been growing in many ways as an artist, I taught myself how to do star photography

Comparing Colored Pencil Lightfast Ratings (4 popular lines)             I am comparing the lightfast ratings of four popular colored pencil lines, and the results are quite surprising!           I will be comparing the lightfast ratings as well as pricing on Faber-Castell Polychromos, Prismacolor Premier, Caran d'Ache Pablos, and Derwent Coloursoft colored pencils. The purpose of this exercise is to compare the general lightfast ratings of the complete lines of four of the most popular brands of colored pencil. I am not including lightfast information on each individual color of these lines. This is merely an overview to gauge what lines are worth investing in and what lines are not.           I am basing my comparison on my own calculations done from information on lightfast ratings from each company (when applicable) combined with lightfast information set out by the Colored Pencil Society of America. If you would like to see the Colored Pencil Society’s co