From Fairytales to Shakespeare, a World of Fantasy at your Fingertips

(Scene from Repunzel)

When my daughter was three, she learned how to dress herself. She changed clothes so often, I was ready to tear my hair out seeing her clean clothes scattered across the floor. It wasn’t so much that she wanted to look different, but that she hated the feel of the clothes in the first place.

Her favorite complaint: “These clothes are dumb!” She couldn’t stand the itchy scratchy touch of fabric and seams against skin. Had she the choice, she would have preferred dancing around in her Birthday suit. Thankfully she got over this stage, but remained an emotional and temperamental prima donna. Today she is a sensitive and caring artist, mother and teacher, which explains all.

Artists feel life on a deeper level than most people. They see beyond what is actually there and delve below the surface to find the treasure that lies within. Their sensitivity may make their life and that of others difficult, but it also pays dividends in the outcomes that result. Certainly the artist is rewarded with a greater sense of joy and fulfillment.

If this makes you hard to live with so be it. You don’t need to apologize when your attention escapes into the Netherlands to join Pan. You are temporarily absent in mind and body, that’s all; you’ll return shortly. You’re not hard of hearing, either. You simply have one foot in reality and the other in the world of fantasy; always asking “What if?” and “Why?” turning your exterior world into unique creatures and landscapes shaped by your imagination.

As a child I was big on reading fairy tales by Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson. I literally entered a land of enchantment. I was there, walking the cobbled streets, hand-in-hand with my favorite characters. I could clearly see the colors, hear the sounds, and smell the smells of each adventure.

Being into your work is a requirement for success, but somewhere between birth and death we lose our sense of magic. We cease to “make-believe.” When the here and now is such harsh reality, we forget how to “suspend” belief in order to enjoy the present. Some people never do. You know them. They pick apart dramatic scenes in movies, finding errors in plot or photography. Instead of settling back to enjoy the ride, they put on their critic’s hat and blast away ruining it for everybody else.

As adults, Shakespeare provides a secondary world of make-believe. Tense, dramatic, and emotional the stories tell us about real people with tragic problems. Once your ear becomes attuned to the rhythm and flow of Old English dialogue, you soon forget the unfamiliar cadence of poetry and succumb to the voice of character, story and action. Stretching your interests and abilities can only add to the drama in your artwork and in your ability to think and to dream.

I hope you enjoy the stories and tutorials below: Bend with the will of the script and allow it to live and breathe in you. Allow yourself into the character’s minds and let them shape your thoughts and your dreams.

http://genius.com/William-shakespeare-to-be-or-not-to-be-annotated

A tutorial and analysis:

Did you ever feel like an "Ugly Duckling" growing up? Guess what, we all did! The following video is dedicated to all "Ugly Ducklings" everywhere who have since grown beyond their insecurities.

Awash in Color; Electric with Energy

'Greeters instruct artists on the procedures"

My blog title perfectly describes “change-out” time at the Art Council of Southwest Florida Cooperative Art Gallery at Coconut Point. On the first Monday of each month, new paintings are brought in and paintings which have not sold are changed out. There is always excitement in the air and congeniality as artists chit chat, get caught up on the new art scene and the latest gossip.

ACSWF is a juried gallery, and each piece must be judged by a reviewing board who determines which paintings will stay and which must go. The criteria are strict and demanding.

Some artists “play it safe” with predictable scenes and styles. Others take risks to see how far they can push the envelope sometimes ending up on the losing side. The disheartened take their heavy burdens home and hope that next month will be different.

"Registration -- in with the old, out with the new"

I am one of those risk takers. I like to experiment. Sometimes I get lucky, and sometimes I’m disappointed. I stretch myself and challenge myself as much as possible. I like to try different techniques and enliven my palette. There is a certain light or glow I seek that emanates from my paintings. Until I have achieved that look and feel, I am not satisfied.

Every artist that submits artwork in any form is hopeful that theirs will qualify. The gallery is filled with amazing pieces awaiting the thumbs up from the judges. It is a learning process. The judging is a combination of objective analysis, based on the skill and knowledge of the judges, and their subjective opinions of style and taste.

I have sold several pieces online that were rejected by a judge at one point or another in my career. Beauty truly is in “the eye of the beholder.”

Critics are everywhere from the “man on the street” to your favorite aunt Mildred. Everyone has an opinion and they’re all too eager to share it with you. “Why did you do this?” someone once asked me. When I said, “I felt like it.” They didn’t know what to say?

Those little stabs hurt just the same. After all, each painting, each creation is your new baby. You’ve conceived it, nurtured it, and given it life. Who are they to question your motives or your creative license? Still we must be willing to learn from those who have more experience than us. It is a slow and painful process.

How does an artist or any professional deal with "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune?” We must develop thick skin. We must turn our hurts and sensitivities into tools for learning. This is part of the proverbial “learning curve.” We brush off our hurts and try again. Each time we do this, we become a little tougher, a little less sensitive. We weather the storms of life and we forge on. Not because we have to, but because to stop would be to die. Not literally, of course, but spiritually. If we allow others to deter us from doing what we love, we die a little each day.

Believing in yourself and your ability to learn is the biggest hurdle you will overcome. The Cartoonist for Shoe said it so well: “We have met the enemy and he/she is us.”

Our enemy is not the critics, the judges, or our family and friends, it is us. When we give into fear and disappointment, we are the losers. When we face our enemy and the challenges that come to us, we become strong, weathered, and fierce.