The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions.

Good intentions are not enough. 

They've never put an onion in the soup yet.

Some projects are started with good intentions. Then they become tiresome, and you find yourself mentally preparing yourself to sit down and chip (slowly) away at said project. Such was the case for Rupert. Rupert was my first "commission based" painting. I say it was commissioned based, but it was really a gift for my boyfriends friend. I would consider it a commission however because he knew exactly what he wanted.

"Can you paint me a monkey smoking a cigarette with a top hat and a bow tie?" 

"OF COURSE!" I said. "NO PROBLEM!"

How ambitious I was. The only problem was that I had never painted a monkey before. Or smoke. Or...anything quite like Rupert. I sat in front of my blank paper with a dumb founded look on my face. "Start with the eyes" I told myself. Eyes are my favorite part of any painting, and if I get those right, than the rest is uphill from there. So that's what I did. I started on the eyes, but then found it taking almost a month to complete his face. I tortured my boyfriend daily telling him how frustrating it was to finish this painting. But I did not want to give up! I found the project to be one of the best learning experiences yet!

After the painting was finished I let out a huge sigh of relief, called up my boyfriends friend and told him it was done and ready to be hung up. My parents saw me work on the painting for almost 2 months, and my dad had come to love Rupert. It was one of his favorite paintings, and he tried to convince me not to give it up. After all that stress however, I was a little happy to see him go to a good home.

I'm proud to say that there hasn't been one single project yet that I've thrown out the window. There have been times where I've had to stop with a painting and just be satisfied with the end result (even though in my eyes it would never REALLY be completed). But I've never given up on a painting. There's always salvation for artwork. No matter how stressful, aggravating, or tiresome it becomes.

And if you're wondering where Rupert's hat went, well....I liked his bald little head a little too much to cover it up!

Creativity is Hereditary in our Family.

"While we have the gift of life, it seems to me the only tragedy is to allow part of us to die - whether it is our spirit, our creativity, or our glorious uniqueness."

I know I have mentioned in my past blog posts that I do not necessarily believe that people need to be born with creativity in order to be artistic. I believe with hard work and hours upon hours of practice, anyone can be called an artist. You are not born with the knowledge of how to play the piano. You learn it. Just like you learn creativity and inspiration.

That is not true with my family however. We were born with creativity running through our blood. Our parents saw that, and they nurtured and encouraged it. I would say that my sister was definitely born with more creativity than I. She can do anything. And I do mean ANYTHING. This girl has done everything from graphic design, to cake decorating, to painting and now sculpting. She does it all flawlessly, and absolutely effortlessly. She amazes everyone who sees her work. Aside from a few art classes here and there, no one in my family has ever gone to school to "learn art". It comes naturally for us. 

So here is an ode to my amazing sister! Who never ceases to amaze me!

For Christmas my sister made me an AMAZING knitting bowl. Yes ladies and gents, she HAND MADE this for me! His ears hold the needles and the yarn goes through his nose. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this! I can't wait to use it!!! 

My sister and both have this weird obsession with Alice in Wonderland. She made these two figures, one of Alice, and one of The Cheshire Cat. 

My sister made a Guardian Angel piece shortly after her car accident. The angel has wings which are real feathers.

For my Birthday I asked my sister if I could have the sea monster sculpture that she made! I was so happy when I opened the box to find it waiting for me! His eyes glow in the dark too!

My sister has more talent in her pink finger than most of my "art friends" combined. I don't know how she does it. Her pieces have been sold for hundreds of dollars at auction. I only hope that one day I can get to the level that she's at!

If you're interested in a commission piece feel free to contact my sister Tiffany and TLeef7@hotmail.com