FIRST ART JOURNAL ENTRY...

Happy New Year to all of my bloggy friends!!! I hope this year brings you all much happiness, creativity and love!


I am looking forward to what this new year will bring and I am hoping to achieve some of the goals (not resolutions) I have set for myself. As far as my artwork goes, I am ready for change. During the holidays, I created so many pieces for others that I really need a break. I have started an art journal (finally) and am so looking forward to creating art for me. I am ready to explore and find who I really am as an artist. Then I need to figure out what I want to do with it (if anything).


This will be the last year my son will be home with me before he starts kindergarten. The plan was always for me to go back to work when he starts school, but honestly I don't want to go back to that life. Until my son was about a year old, I had been in the work world since I was 18 (banking, mortgage) I will be 39 in Feb. What I learned is there are a lot of people that care only about themselves and getting ahead. These people will scratch and claw their way to the top and will destroy others in the process. When I left, I was mentally and emotionally drained from years of this. I started to become something that I never wanted to be...bitter.


When I decided to stay home with my son (January 2008), I discovered art. I was on a popular scrapbook artist's blog one day and she was showing pictures of some prints she bought from her favorite artist. The artist was Emily of The Black Apple. I was so intrigued with Emily's art that I started searching for other artists. I came across Paulette Insall (my very first online art teacher) and Suzi Blu. Because of these artists, I decided to pick up a paintbrush. I haven't stopped since. I have found my passion in life and can never imagine life without art.


The other thing I love about staying home is watching my son grow and learn. The new things he discovers reminds me of the good things in my childhood that I have forgotten (like the joy of Christmas morning etc.). He is the light in my life and I don't want to miss anything from his day.

I was raised by a single mom who worked really hard all night (graveyard shift) and she missed so much of my life growing up because she couldn't participate. I don't want that for my son. He has a mom and a dad and deserves the best from us both.


So back to the art thing. I would love to find a way to make a decent second income with my art, but the Etsy thing isn't really working for me. This is my last year to figure it out and I would really love any ideas you could throw my way. I don't really have a lot of support at home which really makes me sad, but that isn't going to stop me from making art. Thanks to you, I have the support I need, but I'm not really sure where to go from here. For now, I will make art for me.


Here is my first art journal page. I took the tools I learned from the amazing Misty Mawn and her first online class. I am starting another class with her in the middle of the month. The class will focus on painting faces (Misty style). I am looking forward to it.

This is the image transfer I used...
And it turned out to look like this...
Thanks for all of your encouragement and support!!! I really appreciate it!!
Shonna