Caution:Artist at Play-Artwork by Shana Rowe Jackson

  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

"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

   I have posted a lot about my paintings and drawings, but the truth is there are many creative outlets that I enjoy. I like making crafts such as sculpting, wood burning, glass painting and hand made jewelry. I also love to write. Many artists have more than one artistic talent, and love to dabble in all things creative. I personally like to try any kind of craft I can get my hands on. Here are a few photos of some of my other fun creations!!   Hand made jewelry sets with beads that I made from clay Chandelier Earrings that I made Hand painted glass juice set Hand made Geckos on earrings Wood Burned Self Portrait Another pair of handmade earrings Hand painted and filled Christmas Bulbs Hand made pumpkin earrings with hand crafted and painted pumpkins!! For more information about my handmade crafts you can email me at shanarowejackson05@aol.com or shanaroweart@gmail.com See more on my Facebook page!!- Facebook Craft Album

      “The artist is a receptacle for the emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, fro m the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web.” -Pablo Picasso    Funny question I know. Surely it means different things to different people. Many say you are an artist if you are able to create, be it architecture, cooking, crocheting, singing etc. Then there are those who say anybody can be an artist. Others say you are only an artist if you are good at what you create. That's where things get so confusing. Who decides what is good and what isn't? Art is so subjective. What is Art? That question is one that may never have an answer that will satisfy everybody. "My Life as a Painter" Oil © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2013    An easier way to answer is to narrow it down. Art is very personal, so forget what others think makes you an artist, why do you think you are an artist? I asked myself today, what does being an arti

    It has been a while since I have written, I have been very busy between my day job and promoting my artwork. I figured I would stop by and share my newest art accomplishment. I have recently gotten seven of my pieces hung in the Senate Republican Office in the Maine State Capital Building!!! The office is just next to the Senate Chambers so I expect that my art will be placed in front of some very important eyes. This may be my biggest opportunity as of yet!! It feels as if my hard work is really starting to pay off. Here are the pieces that I have hanging!! "Summer In The Dale" Oil © Shana L Rowe Jackson "Watch Over Me" Oil © Shana L Rowe Jackson "Morning in The Mountains" Oil © Shana L Rowe Jackson "Hiking in Maine" Acrylic © Shana L Rowe Jackson "Roasting Mallows" Oil © Shana L Rowe Jackson "A Fort in Maine" Watercolor © Shana L Rowe Jackson "Let's Go Fly a Kite" Acryli

  I read an article recently about a program that takes children's art and makes it into realistic versions. That, coupled with my recent re-do of my "Mother Nature's Kisses" that I originally painted two years ago, got me thinking. It inspired me to go through my paintings that I did when I was a kid, and see if there were any I could revive and make realistic versions of now that I am an adult.  "Revival Painting Comparison, The first was done when I was 13!!   This project is really exciting because it takes the simplicity of my childhood imagination to a whole new level. It brings me back to my roots. It is fun to see where my style started and to see how I've grown as an artist. It's interesting to see the things that I use to come up with. I would sit for hours painting, making things up from my head, and it has been inspirational to revisit those ideas.  Original version 11"x17" Acrylic on Cardstock  Shana L Rowe Jackson 2001

  Last night I attended my first gallery opening! The show that I am in is "PLAY" at Harlow Gallery in Hallowell Maine. The object of the show is to Celebrate the Spirit of Play. Artwork that is inspired by children or childhood that is whimsical or humorous. The artwork was chosen by a jury to be placed in the show and the exhibition will be running through April 27th. "Here Kitty Kitty Kitty!!" © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2012  Click for Prints   I arrived at 5:00 pm when the opening started and stayed until 7:00, the opening ran until 8:00. We were encouraged to bring food for a pot luck style opening, I brought one of my favorite pasta salads and it was a hit, over a pound and I barely brought home left overs. The food spread was wonderful, fruits, pastries and dips, I tried new things I hadn't tried before. They also offered wine and sparkling water.   Click for Prints of this Painting   The turn out was awesome. The place was packed!! There were

  "My life As a Painter" Self portrait 20"x20" Oil © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2013   One of the things I love the most about being an artist is being able to set my own hours. This is great in theory, but not having a set plan for the day can often lead to procrastination and cause important tasks to build up, which will become over whelming. I don't want my passion to feel like too much work!! So to try to curb this at the end of each day I make a mental list of the goals I want to complete the next day. These goals can be something as little as putting a hanger on a painting, doing a blog post, or entering a new contest to as big as starting a new painting. I also factor in house hold chores on my list too. The important thing is to do something to promote and support my art each day. I find this helps me plan out my day a head of time so that I can do something creative each day, and not get over whelmed by how much I need to do. Doing a few things each da

  One of my favorite things about being an artist is doing series work. Often times I don't start a piece of art planning to make it a series but once it is finished, I love it so much that I want to do more like it!! Series work is great for the collect-ability factor. Patrons want more of what they love, a series is a great way to give them that!! I personally like to work on many different subjects, so doing series work helps me to make many different bodies of work, which is really helpful when you have a hard time defining your "Niche".   A series is a group of pieces that are linked in some way. Like doing the same subject at different angles or colors, or a repetitive concept. My newest series is a progression series, which follows a hot air balloon on its journey. In each piece the hot air balloon is a little bit farther along on its journey. I have three in the series so far and have at least three more planned!! A series can range anywhere from three painting

   Inspiration is an artist's best friend, but at times it can also be an artist's worst enemy. When I am inspired I feel like I am on top of the world, but even being inspired has its down sides, like lack of sleep, and an obsession with a certain project that can take over my life. The only thing worse than being inspired is being uninspired. When I am uninspired, in a slump, I don't even feel like myself, I'm depressed and irritable. I second guess my artistic talents. It is one of the worst feelings a creative type can go through. These ups and downs on the roller coaster of creativity is one of the main reasons I think artists have a history of mental illness. Just saying ;).  "Inspiration-The Musician" Part of my "Be Inspired" series © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2012   So how do you get out of it? How do you break out of the slump? The best way is to keep on keeping on. It is so easy when in a slump to just give up and say you are throwing

"Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter." -Oscar Wilde "My True Colors" Self Portrait, Colored Pencil and Marker © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2012   Portrait and figure painting is very exciting for me. There are many things to factor in, not only do you have the same challenges with composition and color mixing as with any other painting, but you also have the challenge of creating a likeness to the sitter. Likeness is not only shown in a persons face, but body language as well, so it is important to pay attention to both in order to capture a persons essence. Likeness paintings can come in many shapes and sizes, they can be of one person, many people or even of pets (just because it's a Dalmatian doesn't mean it looks like all Dalmatians). Whether you are doing a close up (shoulders up [Portrait]) or far away (whole body [Figure]) view, likeness is very important. Looking at the painting below you