The Creative Coloring Craze

While coloring books for children have been around for many years, in part due to the democratization of art by early free-thinkers such as English portrait painter, Joshua Reynolds who founded the Royal Academy of Art in the 18^th century and author Richard F. Outcault, who penned “Buster’s Paint Book” published by the Stokes Company in 1907 based on his 1902 characterBuster Brown. This was the beginning of the trend to use coloring pages to advertise products.  These books, meant to be painted at first, grew in popularity at first as educational and therapeutic tools for children. Their popularity also was helped in part by the invention of crayons in the 1930s. Most of us know how much children love coloring books, since we were all young once, we can all pretty much attest to the fact that we loved them as kids. But while coloring books have been an accepted form of entertainment for children for all these years, it wasn’t until 2015 that coloring books for adults became accepted and popular, and popular they are. It seems that this genre has exploded onto the creative scene. 

Paisleys from "Color Me" book

Perhaps it is because it was thought that as grown-ups we needed to leave childish things behind, and coloring was one of those things we enjoyed as children but as we grew up, we could no longer enjoy such trivial things as entertainment; it had to be something more sophisticated. Or so it was thought.  If sophistication is what was needed for adults to color, then we got it. There are so many choices now in what are called “adult” coloring books and pages. Some of these books are immensely intricate, beautiful, challenging, and more than enough to hold the attention and creative urge. Now you only need to look as close as your nearest supermarket or department store isle, and there are a multitude of relatively inexpensive coloring books for us grown-ups coloring aficionados.  Online, I found hundreds (I’m sure there are thousands) of sources with free coloring pages to download, for adults and children, as I previously listed some when I talked about mandalas to color. 

Owl from "Color Me" book

As for myself, I’ve never hid the fact that I still colored in coloring books and even though I like to create my own works of art as entertainment and a pastime, I still enjoy coloring. I have included two of my own designs. Feel free to print them off to color, although my scanner is not the best and added some shadowing, they may still work.

Renaissance Romance-Marie Cisneros

I used colored pencils for the pages on this post but you can use markers and crayons of course. If using markers, make sure you put a paper beneath so that it doesn't mark up the next page.

Sunshine, lollipops and Rainbows

I picked up a small coloring book a few weeks ago. I have really enjoyed this simple pleasure. It is relaxing and soothing to the psyche. If you have not colored in a book since you were a child, I do recommend picking up one of the latest adult coloring books that interests you, or download and print some from the internet.

The Sun-By Raven Lockhart

 Oh yeah, don't forget to buy yourself a new box of crayons (144 count, so many colors!) Namaste-Mariehelena.

Zentangle hands-Marie Cisneros

Here are a few sites with free coloring pages and sources. 

 Coloring.com

 The Color.com

Crayola.com

Free Coloring Pages

Sources:  Wikipedia. The colored pages are from "Color Me" published by Publications International, Ltd.  Copyright belongs to listed source. 

This blog is for educational purposes only.

The Art Of The Nude (NSFW)

"Bather Arranging Her Hair, Renoir, 1893"*

People have been painting nudes for countless years, probably since paint was invented, even though the depiction of nudity, in most societies is deemed taboo, artists will continue to paint them. Nudity in art, whether it is rendered in painting, drawing, sculpture or photography; in general, reflects our accepted social and cultural standards within the current time frame.

Statue by Thorwaldesen**

Depending on style or medium, an artist can bring out or exaggerate the features of the human body or attempt to render it as their eyes see it with settings diverse, oppositional, or apropos to the posing of the model within the composition. Nudes are not always painted to be sexual in nature and the viewer should observe the painting as a whole in the context of a work of art; and appreciate the human anatomy in its totality and depth, which may also give the viewer an understanding of how the artist’s mind is depicting the nude or understand how they are seeing the world in relationship to the painting as a whole; as the nudity is not the main concern in the painting.

Three Graces by Thorwaldesen**

Men have of course been painting women nudes for centuries, perhaps as an appreciation of the physical beauty of the female body and as for erotic art. More recently women have been making some inroads into the art of the painting nudes. But, both female and male nudes have been painted and sculpted in many sizes and shapes. With the intricacies of the human body, there is always a new challenge each new model.  Early Greek nudes and sculptures were predominantly of males, perhaps because there was the perception that the nude male was considered "artistically" more beautiful with better symmetry that the female body, which is a matter of conjecture.

"A Seated Male Nude", French 1705-1765*

My own reasons for painting and drawing nudes is because I like the challenge of painting the human form as well as because it still considered a time-honored quintessential art-form. An artist can both pay tribute to the beauty and intricacies of the human form, both male and female; and at the same time create a work that embodies a harmonious synchronicity that is both sensual and imaginative.

"Reclining Nude, M. Cisneros, 2013

I will add more of my work with nudes at a later date...as I will have to resize the files in order for them to upload. The painting "Reclining Nude" is available for purchase. Email me for a price if interested. To view more sites with artistic nudes visit: Novica.

IMAGE SOURCES

*"Bather Arranging Her Hair", "A Seated Male Nude," from the National Gallery of Art, open access images.

**Other sources: J.G. Heck. (1998) The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration. Plates 448 and 447

"Reclining Nude" Acrylic on canvas by Marie Cisneros, 2013.

Setting the Mood with colorful Mandalas. (Review)

Wikipedia describes a Mandala as an Eastern Indian religious symbol representing the Universe. Its basic form is a square with four “gates”with the general shape of the letter T, and within this square is a circle and a central point. Depending on the various traditions and practices, a Mandala can be used for focusing a practitioner’s attention or for meditation, although the word in current usage, may also represent a chart, a diagram, or any geometric repeating pattern.

In general, the traditional Hindu  Mandala is a symbol through the orientation of the central area and is said to represent alter and temple with the central point representing the Godhead at the center of all things. Tantric Mandalas comes from this same source and is drawn or painted to help aid in meditation or marked out on the ground for ceremonies.  Eastern Shingon Buddhism shows the Mandala as a lotus with the center and individual petals as the image of the Buddha. Japanese Bddhis regard the concentric design of the Mandala to be representative of the two complementary and identical aspects of the supreme reality. Tibetan Mandalas is used as a guide for the imagination during meditation. In contemporary psychological symbology, Carl Jung said a  Mandala was the symbolic representation or “nuclear atom” of the human psyche and the pictures were used for meditation and to bring a sense of inner peace. The roundness of a Mandala represents wholeness.

How to Successfully Harness Your Ideas

Untitled artwork, using freeform idea

Whether you’re a writer, poet, artist or other creative type, sooner or later there will be times you just can’t think of anything creative. The mind goes blank and the block sets in. We’ve all been there, staring at the blank sheet of paper or the white canvas.

Three Pairs of Shoes: One Worthy Cause

Steampunked shoes

A couple of weeks ago, I happened to read about a charity event going on right in my neighborhood at the Watermark Center in Muskegon on April 25, 2015, called “Heels for Meals,” this gala event is to raise money for AgeWellServices. In addition to being a very worthwhile, I thought the whole idea of combining shoe fashion with the concept of wheels was very creative as well as bringing awareness to the community of the ongoing need for bringing meals to those unable to prepare their own meals. This event hopefully will raise the needed funds and encourage more attention towards this issue.

I thought it would be fun to create something for this event. I offered my services to help make some of the displays. Here are the three pairs I designed.

The first pair were my daughter’s witness competition shoes she wore in several events.  I thank her for letting me glitter them up. I named them “Ella at the Ball.”

Ella at the Ball

The other two pairs were purchased at Goodwill Industries. The yellow pair caught my eye right away. These reminded me of something from the 50s or 60s, so I went with it and made them into “Sunshine, Lollypops and Rainbows” from the Leslie Gore song of the same name(RIP Leslie) with gold glitter, laser ribbon, and “lollypops.” The last pair were my favorite because they are “Steampunk” They had to have wings, of course.  Not sure what I would name them, maybe “Steam Stomp” or something. Anybody got any ideas for that?

Sunshine, Lollypops & Rainbows

Meals on Wheels serves individuals in their homes who are unable either purchase or prepare their own meals. This name refers to home-delivered meals programs, although  not all of them are actually named "Meals on Wheels". Those served are usually housebound and many of the recipients are elderly. Many of the volunteers are also elderly but able-bodied and able to drive wheeled vehicles. There are Meals on Wheels programs in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the United States.

Hopefully I will be able to attend the event. It looks like it will be a fun evening. For more information, call 231-733-8645. 

If you have a comment, question, please contact me. Namaste! - Marie Helena 

"Awakening Spring" (Art Print Study)

Close up of a section of work

Two weeks ago, I posted my struggles with my decision to color in my black and white drawing, my version of an early Harry Clark print; then deciding I didn’t like it. I originally thought I was committed to coloring in the entire thing. I decided to leave that corner alone for the time being and concentrate on getting the rest of it finished in the black marker. This took another three or four days, finishing that up that portion around 1:00 a.m. But there was still the little problem with that glittery corner. The whole thing was nagging at me. I tend to be one of those pesky “problem-solvers” and sometimes I’m like the proverbial dog with the bone.

Ever come up with a solution at the most inopportune time? I wanted to get started on “fixing” the piece, now that I thought I had figured out how to have this turn out like I wanted. I remembered that acetone nail polish remover will take off marker. One am is not the time to start working with acetones, so thought it best to wait until morning. I don’t know about other creative people, but there is always a sense that if you don’t get the idea down and solidify it into material being, it will dissipate into thin air. I know I have written poems or short stories in my head while out walking, and of course by the time I get home, the idea is gone! Forcing the mind to try and recall something as ethereal as a poem just doesn’t seem to work.

Luckily the acetone remover worked to take off the glitter and metallic marker and with just a dab of titanium white acrylic paint, that area of canvas was almost as good as new, ready for the re-do. I was pretty happy with the result, although I think my next Art Nouveau projects will be smaller.While not technical, it is labor-intensive. I wonder at the intricacy and minute detailing of earlier Art Nouveau pieces. Amazing!

While this piece isn’t a total original, it is my take on it.  I liked it better with some of the back detail taken out, as it left it more open. Obviously a masterpiece can never really be recreated by another but one of the best ways for an artist to improve their craft is to study other artist’s works. This is one of those studies.

I would call this "Awakening Spring."

The original was from an unnamed print by Harry Clarke who was born in Dublin on March 17, 1889 and died on January 6, 1931. He created hundreds of commissioned  stained glass windows and book illustrations for works such as Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson and Charles Perrault’s Fairy Tales of Perrault. 

Source: Grafton, C.B. (1994). Treasury of Art Nouveau  Design and Ornament. A Pictorial Archive of 577 Illustrations. Dover Publications. NY. (copyright free image)

I hope you like my version of this print-Namaste-Mariehelena.

Decisions, decisions. How not to over-do your art

Untitled work in progress

Sometimes when you start a project, whether it’s art or some other creative expression, you began to question whether it is going in the direction you want. You have the image in your head of what you want it to be, but somehow it just didn’t translate once it was down on paper. Then its time to stop and think it over (as the old song says). It’s better to have a few days delay than to rush it and really mess it up. Experience has taught me that I have a tendency to “over-do” my paintings by thinking that it needs just a few more dabs of paint. Within minutes, I have gone from the satisfaction of creating something expressive and creative to something gauche or over-pretentious.  As creative people, we have to learn to trust ourselves enough to make the right decisions about how we are going to create and shape our work, oftentimes a difficult task.

Confessions of a Jewelry Fanatic (with a bit of jewelry history and lore thrown in)

"Walking to Mass", Perm. Marker

I love jewelry. I love wearing it, seeing what new jewelry designs are in fashion, and what jewelry people are wearing. I also love creating jewelry for myself and for others. I began making my own jewelry at age 15, taking a long purchased chain necklace which had broken, taking it apart, making a sort of headgear from it, patterned after the head-wear of the medieval era. My only tools at that time were large, clunky pair of pliers and my fingernails. I planned out my design, cut the pieces, and put them together. It was delicate and time-consuming but after a while, I managed to put it together so that it fit my head just right. Right now it sits upon a glass case, a memento of my first creation as well as a template if I wish to make another. I did make one similar but thought it looked good as a necklace or modified it a bit, which is the Vintage Choker with crystals below.

Why being creative is not always the "Road to Riches."

Nikola Tesla

While I mainly focus on creativity as it relates to artwork, I sometimes forget about some of the numerous inventions that the mind of man has been inspired to create, and of course the people who invented them. One person that inspires me is Nikola Tesla. Nikola Tesla was born in a borderland of Austro-Hungary in what is now called Croatia in 1857 and was of the Serbian race.This gifted man apparently
“saw” his inventions within his mind before he began working on them.
His story is not only of a man with phenomenal ingenuity with over 700 patents attributed to him, and genius almost beyond human comprehension; but also one of tragedy, being left penniless after investors left him stranded. In old age, he had few friends and no one to look after him at the end of his life. The man who gave so much to humanity in the way of technological advances was found

How a Candle Waxed Creative (without really trying) (PHOTOS)

Looking like a flower with glowing stamen

Well the jolly holidays are behind us, time to get back to work...and blogging. Things around my house got a little hectic what with all the party-preparations, thus I, like Bob Cratchit was "quite behind my time...making merry."

While not mentioned here, my Facebook  friends were subjected to my lamenting about my house woes, both with my roof (which was heavily damaged last year in one hellish Michigan winter storm) and a week after THAT was done, my furnace decided to die. (Gee, it was only 25 years old, go figure). In the process of trying to keep the chill out of the air without running electric heaters all of the time, I decided to try

How a generation learned to “Let it Go” instead of “Turning On and Dropping Out”

Artwork-Marie Helena, 1969

I was 16-years-old when Woodstock “happened” in Bethel, NewYork in 1969, a music festival where 400,000 people converged for three days of unbridled joy, “free love,” and over 32 electrifying bands; that in retrospect was a pivotal moment in time, launching the counter-culture of the late 60s and 70s. But besides the “Tuning In” to such iconic greats as the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, there was also a lot of “dropping out” with drugs such as heroin, marijuana and “Turning On” with LSD, mescaline, and I am sure many other substances of the psychedelic genre. In the ensuing 45 years since much has been written about Woodstock and its effects and meaning.

I saw reports of this wild event on the news and of course at my age, this seemed to be the ultimate adventure. I felt left out of the whole hippie generation, although I tried to dress the part. But living some 2,000 miles away in San Antonio my mother wasn’t about to let me anywhere near such goings on (thanks mom!). 

Me, age 14, full Hippie Stance

Not to gloss over the meaning of this event in history, but perhaps it was a means to protest the Vietnam War. No doubt, this was part and parcel to it, and was a time of great change in this country, rejection of the "Establishment" and a strong urge to break out of that 50s “perfect family” scenario that was being peddled as the ideals our parents should be striving for. Ideas such as commune living, going back to nature and living off the land, a questioning of religious traditions and incorporating into it new ones such as Hinduism,Sufism,  Buddhism, and Native American belief systems;  as well as a growing knowledge that we are all one, no matter the color of your skin, sex orientation, or religious or other creed were coming to the fore in the minds of many. 

Unfortunately what started out as a budding enlightenment that was poised to take us into the Aquarian age, it dissolved and degraded into discord, disharmony, violence, and rampant drug use. Its possible that people perhaps became lost in an ideology that was no longer true or the drug use and excesses clouded and obscured the original purpose and what could have been in essence the flowering of the golden age.

Photo-Marie Helena

But now that the smoke has cleared, all that psychedelic tripping is done and the buzz lifted, people discovered that all this served a purpose…. we had actually learned something from the melee…albeit taking 50 years to do it. We had learned to let go of old worn-out traditions and have no fear of exploring the unknown. We found new theologies, new philosophies, a new openness and willingness to explore the unknown, even if it is in the mind or attending to the mind and learning to “Let Go” of the past and live in the present.

And so we learned the concept of Mindfulness. This living in the present or mindfulness derived basically from the Buddhism teaching, called Sati or awareness. To put it in a nutshell, mindfulness is becoming aware of each moment and being aware of your surroundings or situations at the moment they are happening, to fully immerse yourself in them. While admittedly, mindfulness is not easy to achieve, it is worthwhile to work towards achieving some level of awareness in your life, for health reasons as well as a more fulfilling way of living. It has to remain as a sort of constant in your life. Intellectually the concept is relatively easy to grasp, practicing it is not, but is definitely enriching. My concept of mindfulness is living in the moment. No not like a beer commercial, but more as striving to be fully alive in the present, becoming aware of whatever your surroundings are, what your momentary situation is. The “tuning in” part is essential, “Turn On” your five senses, but leave off the dropping out part (turn off your cell phones, T.V., music, and really listen to that person you are talking to!) frequently. Immersing yourself in interacting with others and watching their body language can make one very much more aware of what the person is REALLY telling you. Another aspect of mindfulness is the “letting go” part. When the moment has passed, let it go. Learn from the experience but don’t dwell on the mistakes you have made in the past.

Photo-Andrea Lawmaster

In retrospect, mindfulness may not have come directly from the “hippie” generation, but the freedom of expression they were trying  to experience, the flower power ideology, definitely had an impact on the new millennium. So even if you were too young to experience the hippie generation, you're not too young to feel free enough to “tune in” to your senses and “let go” of negative things and remember to be in the moment, because the moment is all we have. 

This essay just touches on some of the vast aspects of the counter-culture revolution of the 60s-70s, for more information, check out some of the links within the text. Namaste! Marie

Finding inspiration in the simple things

"Dot" by Kayla LaBeau

Sometimes even the simple everyday things are where we find the most inspiration. The minds eye often wants to find images in things. The creative mind can see not just the nooks and crannies made by winds and sand sweeping away bits of it, but instead find castles, and, insects, people, animals and many other whimsical creatures. 

Painted rocks have been found all over the world and are thousands of years old. Ancient artists painted the people and animals they saw. While it may be difficult for us to know why aboriginal people painted what they did, some archaeologists think perhaps the paintings were created to bring good fortune to a hunt or in a spiritual ritual of some sort. I think they painted them because it was enjoyable! When my children were young, they spent hours finding interesting rocks to bring home and paint into colorful critters.

 

Petroglyphs along Lake Superior, Canada

It doesn’t take a great artist to create a painted rock, just some various-sized decent brushes and either acrylic or enamel paint, and maybe a fixative to preserve them.  Some tools such as palette knives, or other interesting tools would work to give different effects. 

Even if you don’t wish to make painted rocks, you can probably appreciate the wonderful creativity of some modern artists. Catherine Chappell of  WildArtTreasures has some phenomenally detailed and breath-taking animals.  

Delores Malcomson of IshiGallery

creates beautiful artifacts from River Beach stones and paints them with acrylic paints with a fixative over them. 

So next time you see what you think is a plain, lifeless rock just lying there, know that within it lies the potential to be something amazingly artful! - Mariehelena

"Trevor" by Kayla LaBeau

What to do After you Smash that Guitar Against a Tree.

The Winged Quill is back. It took me a bit longer than stated to decide whether to say goodbye to this blog or continue plugging away at it. It is going to be a more free-flying blog, so be prepared to be surprised. I've haven't idle, though. Been working on some art projects, this and that. One of the projects I finished was something that happened to come about when a small guitar kind of got sat on. After trying to fix it several times, to no avail, I told my grandson, "here, do something with this" He did. He took it out and smashed it up against a tree. I suppose just to see what the result would be. Anyway, I looked at it and in my weirdness, thought it would come in handy to make an art project with, so I kept the back and front of it. After a year or more of laying around in a box of other junk that I lovingly call "materials" I hauled it out and starting playing around with an idea. I thought it may fit with the memorabilia I had stashed away from visiting Memphis and Graceland about five years ago. 

Music, Memphis and Memories

While I realize that the Beatles don't figure into the Memphis music scene as well as Elvis, I like the Beatles, so I threw on some small pictures of them too, and while I definitely would love to go to Memphis again, I will think twice about eating at the restaurant that advertised "The Best Meal on Beale" (it wasn't, should have ordered the alligator instead of the fish, I guess). Creating art out of things that others throw away to me is the joy of envisioning the possibilities and potentials of what something can BE, not just what it was before it was broken. Imagine life like that. Awesome!

Why Creativity is a Double-Edged Sword-The Inspired Work of Jean-Michael Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat was a Neo-Expressionist painter in the 1980s who was known for  his primitive, symbolic and colorful style as well as having been a collaborator with 60’s pop artist, Andy Warhol who spiraled to fame at a young age, then all too soon, was gone in the blink of an eye.

The Neo-Expressionism movement first made its presence known in West Berlin, Germany in 1963 with a controversial artist by the name of Georg Baselitz. As soon as officials saw the contents of his show,

Sharpies, Sharpies, how do I love Sharpies? Let me Count the ways

Spring Butterflies Card

I wanted to make a card for the Easter holiday last weekend but didn't have a lot of time that I could devote, so instead of paints, I  picked up a new pack of

Creating Decorative Eggshell Keepsakes (Holiday How-To)

Colorful Easter Eggshell Keepsakes

These colorful eggshell keepsakes are great for gifts, decorating, or as heirloom mementos. They keep well if kept in egg cartons and stored in cool, dry area. 

Creative Cakes That Will Make You Say "Ooh" and "Ahh."

Elmo sitting pretty!

For today's Winged Quill Gallery entry I'd like to share with you some very creative cakes cakes baked and decorated by a very artistic and creative women, Kendra Hulbert of Twin Lakes, Michigan.

Why the Ancients may have really created gold

The ancients were a creative bunch. To them we owe our gratitude for immense works of art; paintings, sculptures, inventions, architecture, literature, to name just a few of the many creative accomplishments that have made our world a better place to live in.

To some ancients, though, it was not art that they wanted to create. It was

How George Washington Inspired artists

Litho by Strobridge & Gerlach, 1866

Before there were selfies, before photography, when people wanted to see themselves immortalized, they had portraits painted. Usually these were notable and affluent people, although there were painters who went around the country painting portraits for a pittance. Of the many prominent personages who have had their portraits taken, the most prominent is

What you didn't know about the birds and the bees (and butterflies)

As you may have gathered, I like birds, and other winged creatures, including mythical winged creatures, besides the ideal of free expression. So I felt I might be remiss if I didn’t offer some interesting bits of information on a few of the winged wonders.