| Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. ~ Eddie Cantor |
Over this past week I was in a conversation and the quote “farmers think long thoughts” came up – meaning that farmers (and many other workers) have a lot of time to ponder something in depth. The particular people being referred to were also generally quite reserved. So when they introduced a thought with “I’ve been thinking” that meant they had likely been considering it for months, having debated many different angles and options. In today’s world it is easy to jump to conclusions, reach snap decisions, and immediately share whatever thought comes to mind. Slowing down seems to be something of a rare skill.
This week’s artist is – Amy Wendland – As is so often the case, one of the biggest highlights of spending time at the Art Supply House are the people we get to meet. I first met Amy shortly after starting at the store and she’s been a delight to visit with ever since. She has a great sense of humor, a caring heart, a thoughtful outlook on life and the world, and is an extremely talented artist whose intricately detailed work has been described as “whimsically macabre”. It has certainly been a joy to see different pieces come through the frame shop – I make sure to stop whatever I’m doing to check them out – there is always more to see and appreciate about them the longer I look. As is so often the case, she expresses this much better than I can on her site.
- There is a full week of classes at the Scrapbook Nook. Join the gals tomorrow at 1 to make festive fall-themed cards. Then on Saturday at 10 you can work on coloring backgrounds and previously started coloring pages! Tuesday at 1 it’s another chance to make Halloween cards and work with embossing powder. In October they’ve also added a series of open classes at 11am on Wednesdays!
- Interested in film? The Manhattan Short Film Festival is this week – Thursday in Durango at the Animas City Theater and Friday in Cortez at the Sunflower Theatre. See their website for schedule and ticket purchasing.
- The Cowboy Poetry Gathering is this weekend, with activities from Thursday-Sunday. Check out their website for the schedule.
- The Durango Book Rescue is giving away thousands of FREE books on Sunday from 12-4pm. Swing by the Downtown Security Storage at 923 Narrow Gauge Ave.
- I greatly enjoyed watching an art conservator re-weave and patch a century-old canvas.
- After exploring the Fall Art Festival last weekend, this advice about engaging visitors at your art booth seemed particularly helpful. Keep it in mind if you’ll be showing at any of the upcoming holiday bazaars.
- Speaking of classical working styles: here is a video interview with a traditional sign painter from Vienna and a behind-the-scenes of the creation of an album cover by a sign painter.
- If you, for some reason, wanted to feel miserable as an artist – here is a 10 step process. Alternatively, you could do the opposite of those suggestions and perhaps you’ll feel great as an artist!
- Here is some advice on painting water – if you want to try representing the river, since it still has water running.
- Saturday is Apple Days Community Harvest Day! Join the Good Food Collective – help pick apples and then on Sunday help press them into fresh juice. More info here.
- Inktober has started! Are you joining in the fun? Here is more info and here are the prompts.
- Our next art contest is live. We’ve been pretty painting-focused for the rest of the year so this go-round we’re switching it up. What are you going to do for the Draw Something contest? Check out the contest page on our website. Yes, one of your Inktober drawings can be your submission!
- Don’t think you have enough time to draw? Here are some suggestions:
- This week’s featured products are Copic markers, in honor of Inktober! These are the “forever markers” that are refillable and have replaceable tips. While there is quite a range of blacks and grays, there are also plenty of other colors for whatever you might want to draw with them. Sure, there are plenty of other alcohol markers out there, but Copics are what they hope to become when they grow up.
Thinking long thoughts takes practice. It also takes knowledge about the subject of focus. Otherwise, it’s easy to jump to conclusions. Similarly, when drawing (or painting or otherwise representing an item via art) it’s easy to draw what you think you see instead of what you actually see – jumping to visual conclusions. I believe that drawing realistically from direct observation is one of the best ways to study something. The intentional concentration helps you to truly understand what you’re looking at. Even a single, 2-dimensional representation will yield a better understanding of the entire, 3-d object. And it’s almost always worth taking time to better understand a subject.
Cheers!
Matthew & the Art Supply House crew
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