PHOLKART*BLESSINGS

FINDING INSPIRATION

2012-02-01T17:32:00.000-05:00

Source: tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com via Patti on Pinterest

I've always thought it would be so cool to be a photographer!... carrying your camera wherever you went & snapping random inspirations from life. As an artist, photography seemed like the best way ever to capture & keep inspiring moments for later "creative fuel." The only problem I found... is that I'm just not a "born photographer!"

Sure, I've got a pocket-sized digital camera that I keep handy... but more often than not, I forget to grab it when I stumble upon some "perfect photographic opportunity"... Or the pictures I do take look a whole lot less inspiring than I'd imagined they'd be! :/

So you can imagine my EXCITEMENT when I discovered the wealth of incredible photography (done by those who are so much more gifted than I am!) that I can "collect" on Pinterest! :) I've had the best time creating boards that focus on my many interests... everything from art to decorating to crafting to animals to adorable (& inspiring!) kids pics! What a neat way to "scrapbook" your favorite things!

I'll be sharing the images that inspire me the most here on my blog... and as much as is possible, I'll try to give credit where credit is due! I hope that YOU'LL find these pictures to be as fun & inspiring as I do!!

** The ADORABLE picture above was found at TinyWhiteDaisies. What a DELIGHTFUL reminder of the many simple joys of childhood! :)

SIGNS OF SPRING???

2012-01-28T11:31:00.000-05:00

It felt more like Spring than like Winter today at my home in North Carolina! Mother Nature had blown a warm front through last night, leaving plenty of blue skies, blustery winds, & mild temperatures behind... Perfect kite-flying weather! :) On our afternoon walk, our lab Winnie & I even discovered some bright yellow crocuses enjoying the sunshine!... So nice to shed my Wintery layers for a while & look forward to the warmth of Spring!

Thank You, Lord, for the beauty of your Creation!... Help me to have eyes to see the many gifts You give each day for us to enjoy.

"Let Your Imagination Soar" is another one of my Daily Doodles... but I like it so much that soon this design will be in my Etsy shop, PHOLKART*BLESSINGS! :)

DAILY DOODLES... JANUARY 25TH

2012-01-26T15:15:00.000-05:00

Recently, I met an artist who told me about his daily habit of creating "Five Minute Sketches." As a portrait artist, he enjoys finding interesting people in local coffee shops & creating "quickie" sketches of them. Later, he goes home & inks in the drawings that appeal to him most & finishes them skillfully in watercolor.

His habit of creating "Five Minute Sketches" really appealed to me!... so I tucked the idea away & wondered how I could do this too.

And gradually it hit me!... The new 3x5 sketch system I was setting up for myself in the New Year would be the PERFECT way of adding "Five Minute Sketches" to my day! Afterall, there's nothing intimidating about an itty-bitty 3x5 card! It's small size could easily be filled with a Daily Doodle!... And because it's not "Art For Keeps" (ie: these babies aren't for sale, just for practice & fun), there's no pressure to make things PERFECT. This would be my daily invitation just to PLAY!! :)

So here's a Silly & Doodle-y look at my day... a very NORMAL day filled with laundry & groceries & doodling & dinner-making (though I must confess, somehow by the end of the day, the spaghetti had "morphed" into pizza!... LOL!).

If you're wondering what materials I use to create my doodles... I LOVE using:

* A simple mechanical pencil with a Prismacolor Kneaded Rubber Eraser
* A 01 & 03 Micron Pen
* My slowly growing collection of Copic Markers
* ...And my much-loved Prismacolor Pencils.

GETTING ORGANIZED IN THE NEW YEAR!

2012-01-15T16:48:00.002-05:00

For a while now, I've been playing with the idea of changing-up how I create my doodles & sketches. Somehow, loooong ago, I started carrying around a legal-sized pad of graph paper, neatly tucked into a portfolio that held LOTS of my pens & pencils. I liked having everything stored together so I could just grab my sketching supplies & go! I really felt like my "system" worked for me.

But I never quite hit on a way to organize my finished creations so I could find them easily at a later date. I tried filing them by topics in notebooks; but my cut-and-paste system was too time-consuming & required more discipline than I could manage. I ended up with random stacks of disorganized drawings that never quite made it to the "Finished Art" stage. As a "Chronically Neat Person", this drove me a little Nutty! ;)

So I'm trying something brand NEW in the New Year!

I headed to Target & Office Depot earlier this week & bought a bunch of blank 3x5" & 4x6" index cards. And I was tickled to find some cute little plastic file boxes with the "clippy" lids on sale... Buy One, Get One FREE!! So I snagged two of those & happily headed home to create my new filing system (Haha!... It doesn't take much to make my day!). I plan to eventually file my doodles by topics behind colorful dividers.

Obviously, it's too early to tell if my new system will work for me. But, hey!... for under $10, I now have an equally portable Art Stash that I think just might keep my sketches organized!... and I hope it will make doodling a whole lot more FUN for me too!

"Best Friends Forever" is one of my first little sketches, with many more on the way!... I hope you like it! :)

MOVING DAY!!

2012-01-12T18:43:00.004-05:00

Welcome!!... You've found your way to the brand NEW Blog Home of PHOLKART*BLESSINGS!! I'm delighted you've come for a visit! :)

As you can see, I'm still unloading the moving van, so please excuse the DUST! Winnie (my lab) & I will be unpacking art supplies & doing a bit of decorating (OK, Winnie supervises while I do all the work!... LOL!). Hmmm... Now WHERE did I put that COFFEE POT???

I would LOVE to have you follow my blog!... So while you're here, please sign up on the right side so you'll receive my Arty Updates as they happen! And THANKS as always for your encouragement!... I LOVE what I do & I LOVE to share it with YOU!! :)