Sunday, November 13, 2011

What Does It Take to Get Going?

I love Olivia Quintin (you should visit her blog and see why) and I was thrilled to read this interview on Carrie Waller's blog http://carriewaller.blogspot.com/2011/11/friday-feature-olivia-quintin.html?
Please check it out.  Her art is brilliant, loose and lively.  She said the best advice she received as an artist was to not be afraid.  All day I've heard a voice (with a French accent:)) saying, "Don't be afraid."  If I spoke French, the words would be in French, but the extent of my French vocabulary is "bonjour", "merci", and "au revoir."  Be sure to read how she feels about watercolor.  It's exactly the way I feel, but she said it much better than I.  I love the phrase "swimming in watercolor".

There's no way around it - no magic beans, no divine inspiration - I have to put in the time in order to improve.  Olivia is one of the artists who participated in 100 Washes.  They're all wonderful artists.  I would say they've inspired me to work harder, but since I haven't been doing any painting at all, I have to say they've inspired me to get to work.

There are other blogger friends who inspire me, too.  Lucinda and Sherry are two of them.  They're just as busy with life as I am and yet they manage to squeeze in things like painting, Italian lessons, weaving, knitting, and other activities.

I have to get going on this.  Time is flying and I've got a lot of things on my to do list.  Things like learn French, learn to play the piano, learn to knit, start a rock band...

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I will have to go take a look at her work, it sounds wonderful. I like the sentiment about not being afraid. That's so true! I enjoy reading your posts, and it's so nice that you promote other artists' work so that we can all grow with our art!

Anonymous said...

I was just bemoaning that with weaving I am a one note wonder. I can't even understand my weaving books to attempt new designs. Knitting is fairly easy once you figure out the basics and your own personal tension. Something else I do but haven't really gone too far with making things. If it gets intricate sounding, I give up before I get started. Painting? Well, you see how far I've progressed with that! Still, life is too short when I have so many interests. By the way, somewhere in the last 9 years I bought a nice compact complete French course. (I took 4 years in high school, two semesters at college.) I've gotten as far as taking the cellophane off the box. Sigh...

Pat said...

No fear! C'mon girl, you can do it - and I for one would love to be seeing your paintings again. Get to it! :) xx

Teresa said...

Hi Candy!

So nice to visit with you again... been too long! I'm relieved to hear that I'm not the only one having problems fitting everything in. Been a busy summer (they always are!) and I'm so happy to welcome fall and cold weather. We had a heavy frost this morning....yay!!! Love it!

Enjoyed your post... and off to visit with Olivia and Carrie.

Have a great weekend!

Candy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Candy said...

Katherine, I hope you like Olivia's work as much as I do. I sure like the latest portrait you did!

Sherry, your weaving is great. You do so many things well. You'll get around to that French:)

Thanks, Pat! I just completed a half sheet, but I'm not really happy with it. I still haven't mastered using Jim's camera, but I'll sweet talk him into taking a photo and downloading it so I can post it.

Teresa, it's so nice to hear from you! It's cooling off here, too, but no freezing temperatures. Let me know what you think of Olivia's paintings. She just took a workshop with Fabio Cembranelli. The florals she did are outstanding.

Cobalt Violet said...

I will go check out Olivia's blog!
And Candy, thanks but it's always a challenge for me, I must admit. That's why I take classes! ~~forced discipline, it keeps me going!! :)