Caution:Artist at Play-Artwork by Shana Rowe Jackson

As an artist I am faced with many choices of tools with which express myself. New mediums become available frequently, each with their own set of unique qualities. I love experimenting with new mediums and incorporating what I have learned into my work. In order to grow as an artist, I think that it is part of my job to study techniques and mediums to see what works best for me. While I get some information from “how-to” books and by speaking to other artists, I find that nothing compares to good old fashioned hands on experimentation. Two of my favorite mediums are oil and acrylic; oil, being known in the art world as “The medium of the Masters” has been around for centuries, whereas acrylic is fairly new in comparison having only been around since the late 1940s. Oil paint is often the preferred medium among professionals, because it has a long history to back up its quality and many of the famed artists such as Claude Monet and Leonardo Da Vinci once painted their masterpi

     Spring has finally sprung, and that means flowers, green grass, blue skies and beautiful weather. This kind of beautiful weather means the opportunity to get out and paint something wonderful. The apple tree in my front yard has been a great inspiration for many of my works in the past, and recently the apple blossoms have been in full bloom, making it a perfect subject for my newest painting. The sky was an awesome blue, and I was so eager to get out and paint that I forgot sunblock until it was a bit too late (big mistake...ouch!!) but I had a wonderful time, and in the end it was all worth it. I didn't realize how much I had missed my acrylic paints!! They lend themselves perfectly to painting outside, I just kept a little water on hand in case it got too breezy causing the paint to dry too fast on the pallet. Sometimes the perfect subject can be right in front of you, in your own yard. I found a day of painting outside was very therapeutic, and fed my soul. The finished p

Just Me © Shana L Rowe Jackson Phew...Time really flies!! It has been far too long since I have written. I have had a lot going on lately and it has been a whirlwind. Most recently I have been getting myself prepared to go back to school. I will be starting in the fall to get my Bachelors in Art, very exciting and nerve wracking but I am ready to start this new chapter in my life. In between work and preparing for school I have been falling deeper in love with colored pencils! May 8th was my one year anniversary with this medium! I have been delving into realism, and my skills as an artist have really grown. My interest lately has been portraiture, but I really love drawing anything that comes up. I think I have found my medium of choice! As an artist I am always growing and experimenting though, so check back in a few months and that may change :). It's funny because I went a very long time always painting and never drawing, and now it seems I always draw and never

I just ordered my first few copies of my calendars for 2015, and can start taking orders at anytime. Calendars will be $15.00 ea (additional shipping charges may apply). Here are the previews for each calendar!! Email me at shanaroweart@gmail.com or shanarowejackson05@aol.com for more information or to order a calendar.   In other exciting news, one of my colored pencil drawings, "Being a Girl" made it into the gallery section of the September 2014 issue of colored pencil magazine!!! "Being a Girl" 11"x14" © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2014 To get prints of this drawing click on the picture of it above!! For more information about Colored Pencil Magazine, and the September 2014 issue or to get copies of it , click the link below. Colored Pencil Magazine

Whoo! Time sure flies!! It's already August, which actually means I am a bit behind. I am currently working on my 2015 calendars and my goal is to have them done by the beginning of September. Like 2014, there will be two choices for calendars, one will feature landscape and still life images the other will be "Life in the 'Dale" themed ; a favorite for 2014. The landscape/Still life one will feature quite a few of my newer works as well as a couple of my old favorites. "The Life in the 'Dale" will be chalk full of fun, humor and plenty of puns! If time allows I may also do a third featuring my "Freedom Fairies" collection, but that may have to wait until next year.  Keep your eyes open because once I am finished with my calendars I will post previews and will be able to take orders at that time! "Berried Alive" Featured as August in the "Life in the 'Dale Calendar!! © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2 014

   Sometimes, when you work a lot, or have a limited income it can be hard to travel very far to get inspiration and reference photos. This can force one to look closer at the things around them, and find compositions that they wouldn't ordinarily think of. This has been what I have been up to lately, partly because I don't travel much, but also because I think there is something wonderful about taking something simple and using it to make a beautiful painting. Growing up I learned at a really young age that you work with what you have, (hence the fact that some of my first paintings were done entirely using q-tips because I didn't own any brushes at the time.) Spring is the perfect season for this, and the macro setting on my camera has been my best friend. I have been scouring my own backyard looking for small flowers, plants and animals that call to me, waiting to be painted. I have also taken reference photos of clothing and random things around the house, when you find

   I have to say one of my favorite things about being an artist is learning new techniques. The possibilities are endless, and there is always something new to learn, no matter how seasoned of an artist you are. I love the feeling I get when I read something or see something that I didn't know before, especially when it comes to a classic medium. Artists as a whole are innovative, we love to push the limits, experiment and see where things go. Because of this, on the internet and in books, you will find so much information just waiting to be learned, put there by generous artists who want to share their hard learned treasures with the rest of the world. No man is an island. This is especially true for fine artists, and a surprising reality for the self taught. Being self taught does not mean you do not learn from others, it's that you go and seek the information out for yourself instead of having it thrown at you in a classroom setting.    Recently I have been playing around