The Importance of Physical, Mental, and Emotional Health in Art

June 20, 2020June 19, 2020 | Amie

just for you

If you have been following my blog for over a year, you know that I’ve had a bit of a struggle with my mental health. For months I lived in a haze of depression, and today I still have to battle it daily, along with the impulse to destroy myself due to anxiety.

A lot of my mental health issues were linked with physical health, and so today, I thought it was time to talk about the importance of physical, mental, and emotional health in art. Some of you might have just balked. Physical health? How does that affect art? And emotional health? Don’t we need emotions to impact people in art?

We’ll be taking a quick look at each of the different categories during the post, and what I’ve found to be helpful.

Physical Health

The clock showed that it was one o’clock. Another night of only sleeping five hours. Another night when my brain kept me awake past the time most humans should be awake.

Insomnia has been one of my greatest enemies. It has hindered my artistic pursuits, and my regular day – to – day life. One night I decided that I had had enough. I was going to figure out how to fix this problem.

Physical health affects more than we tend to realize. The food we eat, the amount of activity we indulge in, and the amount of water we drink really does matter when it comes to art.

Art is a type of work that uses primarily your brain, and if you don’t have a keen and healthy brain . . . well, your job is going to be a lot harder. Just as athletes must train, eat healthy, and drink lots of water, I’d like to argue that artists need to do the same.

Personally, to help my insomnia and brain fog, I’ve found that avoiding certain foods my body is sensitive to was the first step. I try to eat high – fat, high – protein meals, as well as a lot of vegetables and fruit. Water is also my best friend. Not only does it (along with avoiding chapsticks I’m allergic to [yes, I have a lot of allergies]) make my lips hydrated and full, it also helps me feel better. XD (Such a lame ending, goodness.)

How do I take care of myself physically? Glad you asked. XD Besides my food, I like to wake up a 6, in order to make time for some “me” time and exercise. Directly at 7 (am. Yes, it’s early), I’ll go on a walk with my dog, and if I get back soon enough, I’ll do a ten minute exercise. I also exercise around 6 or 7 in the evening, in order to tire myself out for bed. If I’m doing a lot of computer work throughout the day (writing, anyone?), I’ll take a break every 20 – 30 minutes and do as many pushups as I can.

I tend to follow the diet that is shown on this YouTube channel

This is my favorite channel for exercise.

Mental Health

I feel like I could also encompass “spiritual” health in this category. (Which is just as important as all of the other things!) Mental health is one of the biggest things in art. If you don’t have the motivation to get out of bed, how are you going to get up and create some art? If you aren’t happy, how can you make people smile?

Eventually the inner turmoil will come out. Perhaps art is your therapy, and if it is, no judgement. I’ve found, however, in my own art journey that it’s so important to at least be aware of your mental and spiritual health as you create. If you’re not, then you’re in danger of a major burnout.

For my mental health, I religiously take A LOT of vitamin C. I know, a strange thing to take for mental health, right? But I’ve found that it helps my brain fog, it helps my joint pain, and it helps my fatigue and depression. My mom can even notice a difference with my outward personality. Now, I’m not a doctor, so I can’t guarantee this to work for everyone, but it’s worth a shot, right?

I haven’t been able to find anything yet that has helped my anxiety. If any of you have a natural suggestion to help me, drop it in the comments. I need help to keep me from tearing off my skin and pacing the house. 🙈

For my mental and spiritual health, I wake up at 6 every morning, unless I’m sick or was sick recently. I light a candle (because I love candles, and it makes me look forward to getting out of bed. 😉 ) and make myself a cup of tea before recording what happened the day before, writing down goals for the day, and reading my Bible and writing about what God is teaching me. I also take time around 5:30 to read more out of my Bible and work on memory verses. If I’m have a particularly hard day, or stressing about something in particular, I will take time to just write a list of either blessings, or reasons I’m stressed, and figure out how to make the day better.

Vitamin C I take: Lypo-Spheric packet and tablets.

Emotional Health

Doesn’t this fit with the one before it?

Hmm. I think all of them intertwine, but I want to take a moment to just look at emotional health. Some days I can have amazing mental and physical health, but I’m just sad. Or I’m just bleh emotionally. Emotional exhaustion is just as much a thing as mental and physical exhaustion.

Emotions are one of the biggest part of art. We are trying to convey our emotions to others, we are trying to play with emotions of those who see/read/hear our art, and so our emotional health needs to be somewhat stable.

For my emotional health, I try to keep myself scheduled, and take time to do things that make me happy. Some of the things I do that make me happy is drink coffee, burn candles, wear outfits that make me feel beautiful, and style my hair. As well as listening to my favorite music.

Everyone has different things that make them happy, and it’s okay to do some extra things if it gives you a little bit of happiness. When I was younger, I told myself that I should just work, work, work, and ignore the little things that I can do to improve the quality of each day. There’s no need to do that. In moderation, a little bit of extra sparkle can make your day much better.

How is your physical, mental and emotional health? What are some things you do to improve those three things? Do you enjoy being scheduled?

~~Amie~~

Interview with Artist

January 22, 2019 | Amie

Hello, it’s Cam today, and I’m here to interview a fellow artist, who’s art far outshines mine. Can we please put our hands together for Muffin?

Hello! Would you like to introduce yourself?

Heyo, Muffin from https://toadstoolartblog1.wordpress.com here. Thanks for having me Cam!

What started your interest in art?

I’m not sure what initially got me into art. I’ve always loved drawing as far back as I can remember. Even when I was in kindergarten, I took art seriously. Of course, when you’re five, your drawings aren’t going to be that great unless you’re a prodigy (which I am not, unfortunately). I remember one particular drawing I made of a girl with a skateboard when I was little. I had high hopes for it, and I ended up hating it…trying to get good at anything is a painful process.

What is your favorite painting/sketch you have done so far?

That changes with time as I improve and make more stuff. Currently my favorite work is a pastel drawing I did of pears. (https://toadstoolartblog1.wordpress.com/2019/01/02/pastel-drawing-3-pears/) My favorite used to be a portrait I did of a famous actor, but I accidentally messed it up by drawing on the back of it with an ink pen. I actually cried when I realized what I did. I had poured hours into that drawing. I was depressed for a whole week. Still makes me sad when I think of it.

What is your favorite art medium?

Currently I’m in love with pastels. They’re soft, colorful, and, bright. And they’re relatively easy to erase (unlike colored pencils), and fairly easy to control (unlike paint). I do draw in pencil a lot because pencils are easy to erase if you make mistakes, and very portable. No need to worry about making a mess or anything like that. Plus I’m extremely comfortable with them. They’re also very cheap. You can make a good sketch even with mechanical pencils from your local dollar store.

Are you courageous when it comes to art, or do you prefer to stay with what you already know?

Depends on my mood, really. As I just mentioned, pencil is my go-to medium. Whenever I need to unwind and just draw without the uncomfortable sensation that comes when using a new medium or drawing a subject that I’m not familiar with, I pick up one of my smaller sketchbooks and a pencil and doodle characters. However, I do like to try new mediums and push myself to draw things that I’m not as good at drawing. That’s what helps you improve. Sure you could draw the same thing over and over and get really good at that one thing, but it’s nice to be well-rounded.

Besides art, what are some of your hobbies?

I love to hike (especially in the mountains). I love reading and writing when I get the chance. Reading and writing are a part of me just as much as art is, but I don’t read as much as I used to because of my busy schedule. I tell myself that I’ll read after school but then I’m exhausted and just want to do nothing. I also hope to start taking violin and voice lessons soon. I played the violin for two years, then quit because I was lazy (and my teacher was a bit intimidating). No more of that nonsense. This time I’m going to stick with it (hopefully…). I dance three times a week. My favorite part is ballet. I’m pretty bad though, as I just started this year. I got on pointe recently, and it’s cRaZy pAiNfUl sometimes but I like it. It makes you feel elegant. And last but definitely not least, I like orienteering. My dad’s been taking me orienteering since before I could walk (he carried me). Now, orienteering is NOT geocaching. Orienteering is when you use a map and a compass to navigate to different points and determine the best route possible. I’m pretty sure you can use a GPS when you’re geocaching. The point of orienteering is to hone your map-reading skills and apply them to your surroundings. So no GPS’s allowed. Plus when you’re orienteering, there’s no prizes involved or anything.

Do you have any siblings?

Just one. We’re roughly a year and a half apart. She loves horses, planning/organizing things, minecraft, and reading. Here’s an example of our typical interactions:

*We decide to play Mario Kart*

Me: LET’S DO RAINBOW ROAD

Her: NOOOOOOOOO it’s too hard!

Me: That’s what makes it fun! Besides it’s really pretty. I love all the bright colors and the noise you make when you run into the fence and how you burn up in Earth’s atmosphere when you fall off the track.

Her:…..that’s why you like it?! You. Are. A. Weirdo.

Me: PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Her: Fine. If AND ONLY IF you play minecraft with me.

Me: FINNEEEEEEEE

*a few minutes later*

Her: AIOSDJFAWEIOFJJDSKLFJASDJFKLI I JUST DIED AGAIN I’M SO MAD I HATE THIS

Me: WHEEEEE HEEHEEEE I JUST DIED AGAIN THIS IS SO MUCH FUN I LOVE THIS

Why is this so much like me and Cassy?

What is something you would like to do in the future?

I would love to own a quaint cabin in the mountains on a small farm. Something manageable, nothing huge. Chickens, goats, bees, a vegetable garden, and a pig (for a pet). I love the mountains SO MUCH. I’m going on a trip to a little mountain town with my mom for my 16th birthday soon. I’ve done it every year since my 12th birthday (or 13th…I can’t remember) and it’s the highlight of my year.

Thank you so much for coming on Crazy A with me! (I needed ideas, and so yeah. You were helpful.)

Thanks again for having me! I had fun. I think I got a bit too carried away with some of the questions…

Nope, never. This is a very fun interview. Now, go check out Muffin’s art, and follow her amazing blog!

–Cam

Art Lab Episode 63

November 16, 2018 | Amie

Okay, I’m a bit annoyed at WordPress. I had this all written out, and then the kind WordPress deleted it all for me. 🙂

Today I actually don’t have a prompt for today. I was brainstorming what to do that was slightly Christmasy, but still something that will last well through January and February, and so I came up with some evergreens. I wanted to give it a new twist, and so I chose my least used and detested art medium, water colors.

It seems that most artist really enjoy water-color, so I went with what the majority seems to enjoy. What you’ll need for the art project is:

~water color paints~

~water color paper~

~pencil~

~brush~

~water~

~white acrylic paint~

So, to get started, grab your paper and pencil.

Lightly sketch your main pine tree. I decided to do a typical pine tree, even though I’ve never seen this type where I live. In the South, our pine trees look like this.

fullsizeoutput_3a2

When I was little, I asked my mom why pine trees in the Christmas books didn’t look like real pine trees. Apparently those kind of pine trees grow where it snows.

I decided to do four different colors on my picture, with four different zones. Zone one is the farthest from focus, and zone four is closest. I did zone two as mere peaks, and then added slight detail for zone three. Now, grab your paints.

Honestly, I don’t understand how you would like water colors. They stress me out. XD But, I chose the dark blue paint for the sky, and slathered it on there. While it was still wet, I used my finger tips to add texture. I think that’s my favorite part of the whole picture. 🙂

For zone two, I chose blue-green, and put it on there. Since the dark blue was still wet, they kinda combined, but I actually decided I liked that look. Now it was less defined.

For zone three I used the brightest green I had. I love the pop of color, and I just slathered it on.

On zone four, I took dark green, and added dark areas here, and lighter areas there, until I was happy with it. Just play around until it agrees with your eye. 😀

Now, I kinda forgot to take a picture in-between? So, we’ll have to go with this. The paint had started drying, and so I took the light green and used it to define zone three slightly. Don’t go over board, because we don’t want the viewer’s eye to be drawn there. Take the dark blue and add it to zone four, along with some dryer dark green.

Next, take some acrylic and mix it with water. Put some white on the top of zone four, and then take the left over and splatter it all over the picture to make it look like snow. Let the picture dry before you sign it, and you’re done.

Do you enjoy water-color? Are you looking forward to the holidays? What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

~~Amie~~

Art Lab Episode 60: Regency

October 19, 2018 | Amie

Hello, folks! I’m glad to be back here today to show you a new tutorial. I’ve recently been interested in the regency era, and I found this beautiful picture on Pinterest, and I thought, “Why not paint it?”

I decided to make it ever harder by using pastels. Now, before I begin, let me warn you. PASTELS ARE MESSY. And when I mean messy, I mean your whole entire floor will be green from that lovely dark green you used…If you don’t take precautions. I would advise using something with a tray underneath it as you use pastels, and do it outside, or with newspaper on the ground. Also, wear clothes you don’t care about, or cover yourself in towels, like I did.

Now, on to the art project!

You’ll need…

A pastel set (I have a set of 72 different colors my aunt gave me.)

Pastel paper

A pencil

Eraser

Fixative

(optional: tape)

This was the prompt I chose.

So, first off, I taped my pastel paper to my music stand, which will be serving as my easel. I had the choice of grey, or a more skin tone, and I chose the skin tone, since it was easier to rip out.

Now, the first rule I always try to follow (and usually forget) is when drawing, start with what’s closer, but when painting, start with the farther away things. I’m really bad at freehand painting, and that’s why I always sketch before I paint. Start with your person’s head.

I gradually sketch more and more…and then erase more and more. XD Just work with one line at a time, or one shape at a time. I ended up erasing the whole head, and moving it back a bit, and then I erased the arm, and the shoulder…And you get the point. Just play around with it.

Now, I’ve added a bit of the detail. I don’t want the girl to be too detailed, or else I’ll get distracted. Just a rough outline. Now, you’re ready for pastels!

I decided to start with a light blue for the background, and then mix a light grey with it.

This is what it should look like once you mix it all up. I portioned the painting off because I wanted to. (Haha.) You can do whatever you like with the background of your painting. I find the less detail, the better and easier, especially with pastel.

For the top part of the background, I used mostly a dark red, blue, and a very dark grey.

I have a lot of pictures of this in progress, but I’ll give you this one. I used the darker color more in the corners, and left a gap in the mid-left side. If you look at the prompt, you can see the light reflecting. That’s why I left that spot there.

Part of the reason pastels are so messy is that you use your fingers to smear, and smear, and smear some more. Honestly, if you love mud, and dirty hands, this is the art project for you! (I actually enjoy those things…Sooo…) Smear your colors together, and bring them as close to the lines you’ve made as possible.

I used lots of different blues, and white for the light reflecting, and then I took more of the red. Smear those together.

These are the different yellows I used for the thin strip in the middle of the background.

I took the darker yellow, and outlined the outside, and used the lighter yellow for the inside. Another good thing about pastels are that they’re really forgiving…And they let you continue to work with different things. I also added more white to the background, with a bit more red.

I took some orange that I felt needed to be used to outline the outside a bit more, and then the brightest yellow for the inside. Smear it together.

I used a purple, and the same blue for the background to make the dress. Just slather them on there, and smear ’em together.

The dress in the prompt has a lot of lines, and folds. I used a blush pink to draw them, and the white to highlight the ones up top. (Don’t worry if you end up smearing them…I did.)

I decided I needed more light and dark contrast, so I used a lot of white on the left side of the dress, and a lot of an eggplant color on the right. Use as much white as possible, but be gentle with the dark colors. Dark colors aren’t as forgiving as the light colors. 😉

It took me a long time to get satisfied with the dress. Just play with it for a long time, and step back every once in a while to get a new look at it. Then, add the white for the gloves and sleeves.

I used a yellowish creme color for my person’s skin…At least, to start the skin.

Add the blush color you used on the dress, some white, and a brighter yellow where you think the shadows are.

I decided I didn’t like how bright the background was, so I paused on the skin and slathered white all over the background, and smeared it all together.

The background ended up like this.

Take a bit of dark grey, and accentuate the shadows before taking a bright blue to outline the girl. You don’t have to use blue…I’m just drawn to blue, since it’s my favorite color. You could use a yellow, or a lighter color, or even a green. It’s up to you.

Then add whatever color you want for her hair. I’m partial to redhead. 😉 I couldn’t get the mirror to suit me. Even now…I reluctantly admit that the mirror isn’t what I wish it was. But I needed to post this for Art Lab. XD

I played with different colors, and played with the mirror. Then, I left it like this for a while.

After a while of letting it sit, I came back to it and added more red, and grey. Sign your name…

You have your finished project! I will be the first to admit that this did NOT turn out like it should have, or like I wanted it to. *sigh* But…Let me know what you think.

Have you ever used pastel before? What is your favorite historical era? Do you enjoy messes?

~~Amie~~

Peak at my Desk

August 4, 2018 | Amie

I’m taking you to a very personal place where I spend a lot of my time. I usually blog here, I draw here, I write here, and I live here. This place is one of the few places I decorate (why decorate???) and so, I thought I’d show it to you.

Here is a quick overview of my desk. I have my cup of green tea, my note paper, and my drawings and important stuff. I made the decoration over the window, and it’s rather simple. I had a lot of scraps from making doll clothes, so what do you do? Just rip them up, and tie them on some string. Then get some photos developed, and use clips to put them up there. I have a lot of pictures of my pen-pals and stuff, too.

Here’s a side view of the decoration. I love the bright colors I chose, and, of course, I love the memories that are shown by the pictures. (I just love pictures.)

All right, here we have a sign Olivia made me for my birthday, and a sign Laura made me just because. The pictures are of my darling bunny, Snowball, and Megan’s rabbit, Basil. The five leaf clover was sent to me by Jordan, and the little sprig of wildflowers was from Megan. (I love this part of my desk. <3)

The Amie was made by K, and the verse was written by Megan. The picture is of me on my friend’s horse, Cody. (This pictures drives me insane, because I have my heels up. GRRR!)

The sign was made by Laura, and the little hat ornament was given to me by my aunt. It was hand-made in Guatemala, or one of those small countries stuck in the middle of Central America. The picture was one I took last summer of two zinnias.

My sweet pen-pals don’t forget me on Valentines day, and this is the leftover heart from how I decorated. It was given to me by K. ❤

I have a lot of my artwork around my desk, so here’s a quick sketch of an eye I did with pastel pencils. I’m in love with pastel/pastel pencils at the moment, so comment down below if you want another post with the art I’ve been doing lately.

Over on the right side I have my video camera, fondly called Pee-wee, and my instrument tuner, a box for memory cards, and my tape dispenser. Everyone needs tape, right?? And, you can barely see my thumb pick if you look hard enough.

My pen-pals are so sweet! I love all their sweet messages. If you’re my pen-pal reading this, thank you so much for bringing some sunshine into my life! If you don’t have a pen-pal, you have no idea how much joy it brings to open your mailbox to see a sweetly handwritten (or computer typed) letter. I would highly recommend finding someone to be your pen-pal. 😉

In the middle of my desk I have my cup of tea. Usually I drink black tea, but this morning I was really wanting green tea, so I made myself some green tea. And, now for the background…

I’ve been working on this painting, and so far I’m not half satisfied, so I’m not done, but I wanted to ask everyone what color they think the girl’s shirt should be. (Yikes, the grass, the one tree, and the girl need so much work. LOL!) But, I need a color, and I’m not sure what color it should be. And should she have long or short sleeves? Probably short because there are leaves on the trees.

This might be my favorite corner of my desk. We have my letters I need to respond to, my pens and pencils, my junk, my candle, my much-needed chapstick, my Washi tape, my horse and unicorn, and the picture of me that Laura drew.

I really like my candle. I mean, look at the holder. Again, thanks so much, Grace, for sending it to me! I’ve used like, four candles up, and I just keep putting new ones in the holder.

And here is another piece of artwork that I’m trying to figure out what to do with. I just randomly started doodling, and this is the dreamy girl who kinda came out of that doodle. You should see some of the people I doodle with. The most fun is to take a highlighter, or some other kind of pen, and try to make them look real. My siblings are often like, “Who’s that dude?” Me: “Doesn’t he look just like Joe?”

“Joe who?

“This dude, Joe.” XD

And that, folks, is what my desk looks like. Not too clean, and yet, not too dirty.

What does your desk look like? Should I do a post about my art? What color should the girl’s shirt be? Do you enjoy doodling?

~~Amie~~

My Favorite Kinds of Things

July 10, 2018 | Amie

Did you guess what today’s post is about? If you guess my favorite things, you’re right! Here are the rules.

Rules…

Thank and link back to the persons blog who tagged you!

Ahem, sorry. I forgot my manners. Anna, thank you so much for tagging me! It was very kind of you. ❤

♥ Thank and link back to the persons blog who started the tag! (Beth in Boots)
♥ Write about seven of your favorite things in your post! (add at least one picture of everything!)
♥ Tag seven people at least! ( If you don’t know seven blogs to tag just tag as many as you can)
♥ Put the seven rules in your blog post!
♥ Include the picture above for the beginning of your post!
♥ Have fun!!!

My favorite things are…

All right! So, here we go! (In the order I thought of them. Please realize they might not be in the order of my favorite, but it’s just some of them.)

Instruments/music/singing

My instruments! (Sorry, I was not about to drag my piano outside.) For those of you who don’t know instruments, there is a guitar, a violin, and a banjo pictured above. Comment below if you play any of them! This also includes all music. I got distracted while I was taking this photo shoot, and just sat there and played violin for a few minutes.

Western apparel and horses.

I couldn’t add a horse, since my horse photos are a little outdated, but this was as close as I got. Anyone love anything horse related? Picture above are my Sunday boots (That’s why they’re clean), my cowgirl hat, and my boho tie. I wish I could have pictured more, but I kinda felt it would loose it’s photogenic qualities, if you know what I mean. Maybe you don’t. Either way, those are some of my favorite things!

Books and reading.

Books! Who doesn’t like books? I just realized that one of the books are upside down. Oops. I guess that photo was a photography fail. 😬 But these books (with the exception of “Caleb in the Country”) are by one of my favorite authors, A.L.O.E. I just recently read “Exiles in Babylon”. I’m a collector of stories, whether they are in the published form or not, and that’s part of the reason I’m a writer.

Sending and receiving letters/pen-pals.

Letter writing! Maybe I’m just old-fashioned, but I like myself a good, old, handwritten letter. I send out a letter a day, mostly. I’d say about twenty letters a month on average. That’s roughly 240 letters a year, which is $120 in stamps. And if on average, I write three pages for each letter, that would be 720 hand-written pages per year. Yep, my signature might be pretty, but I write it over 240 times a year, plus I also practice it. Did anyone say I’m obsessive? You said the truth. 🙂

Art.

I’ve really gotten into art the last month or so. I’ve been enjoying some pastel pencils someone gave me, and I’m super excited about trying oil! I’ve always been into charcoal, and my favorite thing to do is portraits. Now, I’m not saying I’m good at it…Just that I like it. There is a difference, you know. 😉

Writing…

Writing. I enjoy writing more than I can say. I think everyone that follows this blog can tell that. Oh, and what do you think of the picture? I think it’s very dramatic, isn’t it? I think I like it better than all the other photos. (Or maybe it’s just because that hand lettering took some effort.)

Hot drinks.

Coffee. One of my absolute favorite things is coffee. It’s just so good, and tasty, and the bitterness is addicting. But, I don’t like it unless it’s black. Give me it strong and black. (Oh, someone from the army told me that they have instant coffee, and some guys wouldn’t bother making themselves a cup of Joe. Instead, they’d just pour the packet of instant coffee down their throat. Talk about gross! That’s almost as bad as drinking a raw egg.)

That, my friends, are seven of my favorite things. Can you relate to them?

Nominees…

I am nominating… (Let me think…)

Mandalynn!

Madi!

Malachi!

(Man,why do their names all start with M?)(Anna! You stole all the good nominators!)

And there you have it folks. You need to stalk those fella’s blogs for the next few weeks and see if the post their favorite things. I know I’ll be stalking them. (Oh, wait, don’t stalk Madi. She only does tags once a year. 🙂

What are some of your favorite things? What is your favorite art medium? Do you enjoy horses?

~~Amie~~

P.S. HAPPY NATIONAL COW DAY! *throws confetti* Don’t you all just love our cow friends? I’m going to celebrate by eating beef!

Peek into Amie’s Sketchbook

January 13, 2018January 12, 2018 | Amie

I have realized I hav never let you peek into my sketchbook (which is probably for the best). Isn’t that strange? I mean, I’m the best drawer out there. My art will ASTOUND you. Actually, I’m the wimpiest artist out there, and I think you’ll cringe at my effort to draw. Either way, you’re doomed for art and calligraphy, since I (sorta) enjoy both.

For our first page that I’m showing you, we have a quote that I mixed with my passion for horses. “The eyes are the window of the soul”. Okay, so I’d give this a four, since this was one of my first attempts at hand lettering. You can barely tell the “e” at the end of “are” is an “e”!!! But I am really proud of how I did the contrast of the girl’s eye and the horse’s eye. So, all in all this isn’t that bad, if you make allowances.

Welcome to my life, folks! “Writing is an understated art, you are painting colorful images in black and white”. Guys, take a minute to appreciate the “art”. Do you know how long that took???? Of course you don’t! But, I must say I’d give this a seven or lower, since the “and” thingy is messed up and some of the words are crooked. Since then, I’ve started using a ruler when I do calligraphy.

How many of you know of my ABSOLUTE fandom for Narnia? Oh, none of you??? What is wrong with this picture??? Any way, this get’s a four, since I messed up that arrow. But if you cut everything out except “The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe” it would be a nine. Look at the “witch”! It’s a work of art. So is the Lion. Hmm, I’m going to have to keep looking at this one. 🤨

Okay, ignore the phrase underneath the picture. This was an eleven o’clock inspiration for a friend. We were trying to write a story, I had three cups of coffee, and was scribbling away in my sketchbook. For all that, this picture is fairly realistic. Guys, her eyes look REAL!!! I first saw the picture and was like, “Hello! When did I say YOU could come alive, Maddi????” I think this deserves an eight, since I didn’t do much shading. Perhaps that’s why it looks so real…

Now for a portrait! I love drawing portraits! This is one of my friend. Okay, ignore the hat. It looks HORRID!!! But, admire her face! And the shading. Guys, this took me….four hours? Or five? I’m not sure, I just know it took a lot of erasing 😂

This is my Christmas picture! Don’t you love the tree in the background? Okay, the guitar neck is crooked, and so is the stool leg. I have horrible eyes. But you must say her pant legs are nice. I’m envying her socks, they look comfy. Wonder if she’s about to die over the “F” chord as well…

Silhouettes of terrible horses. I have a plan for them though…

I’m in love with this picture. LOOK AT HER HANDS!!!!!! THEY ARE ALMOST PERFECT!!! So, her face could use some work….I know, I know…But look at hands! And the banjo! Who plays banjo? I do! Comment down below if you play banjo. Also, her hat isn’t that bad, is it? I think it’s lovely. *sighs*

Of course, my bunny doodle page. Look at the “My”! Isn’t it amazing?? I love my darling Snowball.

Photo on 1-12-18 at 1.19 PM — Random bunny picture. ISN”T HE CUTE?????

Sooo, I did have a story to go with a simple doodle, but that will come another time, since I’m going onto 700 words for this post. You are all warn out and wishing for a break from art 🤔 I’m not sure if I’ll let you take a break yet…

So, what is my drawing skill? From 1-10? Who thinks Snowball isn’t cute?? (YOU WILL DIE). Should I make my next blog button with Snowball on it?

~~Amie~~

Amie Anne

a girl chasing the stars

Art

The Importance of Physical, Mental, and Emotional Health in Art

Physical Health

Mental Health

Emotional Health

Interview with Artist

Art Lab Episode 63

Art Lab Episode 60: Regency

Have you ever used pastel before? What is your favorite historical era? Do you enjoy messes?

Peak at my Desk

What does your desk look like? Should I do a post about my art? What color should the girl’s shirt be? Do you enjoy doodling?

My Favorite Kinds of Things

Rules…

My favorite things are…

Instruments/music/singing

Western apparel and horses.

Books and reading.

Sending and receiving letters/pen-pals.

Art.

Writing…

Hot drinks.

Nominees…

What are some of your favorite things? What is your favorite art medium? Do you enjoy horses?

Peek into Amie’s Sketchbook