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I know you all know me, but I felt there were some things I'd like to tell you about art and myself and I thought this would be the best thread to do it in. Like I mentioned on a different thread I'm an extravert.
I have been saying that I never drew or painted before a year ago but in contemplating my life I realize now that isn't exactly true. So I decided to write a little bio about art in my life.
When I was in my late teens and early 20's I would draw those pictures that were supposedly contests to get into an art school. I never sent one in because I really wasn't interested in going to an art school but they were fun to draw. I mailed one that I did especially well to my husband and he would not believe I did it (he was on a ship in the Navy at the time.) He said something like I know you can't draw. I felt so discouraged that I stopped drawing pretty much completely. But honestly I wasn't into drawing much I just wanted to have my husband back and start a family and work so some day we could get a decent home.
A little encouragement can be a rocket to success but a little discouragement can be a devastating blow that can shut down a person. That’s why Chanda’s note about being nice when you criticize is so important.
When I was working for a large corporation I had to attend meetings almost every day and they were so boring! So just to stay awake I would doodle little sketches on the page I was taking notes (when was paying attention). I never thought much of this and never considered it art.
I started a dog training business around 1996 (it failed btw), but on the walls of the building we rented I painted cartoons of people training dogs. I used a projector to do this and never thought of this as doing art. I painted signs for the business and made a character we called ‘Boot’ that was the trademark. He was a cartoon Labrador in an army uniform. The name of the business was “Canine Basic Training”.
In 2003 my husband and I built a dog boarding kennel business (it is still going strong! – but we don’t own it now – sold it to my oldest son in 2011 and we retired). In the kennel area (we called them suites not kennels) of the business I free hand painted murals on the walls. I did murals of furniture in some and flowers and trees in others…. You get the idea. They came out really cute…yes cartoonish but appropriately so. They are still there. I used high quality exterior paint from Lowes to do it. I never thought of these murals as art. I just thought of them as decorating the walls of the kennel. The trademark of this business was again “Boot” the cartoon Labrador I created but this time instead of an army uniform I dressed him like a tourist carrying a suitcase. We promoted our kennel as a dog resort. I never thought of the signs or the murals as art…I just thought of it as part of promoting the business.
In May of 2014 I first took a paint brush to a canvas at a fun work shop and I was hooked. I found my additive drug…I loved painting. So that’s the time when I consider I started anything with art. All the things I had done before that (and there were more than I listed) were done for an alternative reason not for the sake of just doing art. Either for wasting time when I was bored or for decorating or for promoting a business. I never thought I had any talent but I think that just might be because I was told I had no talent at a young age so I just never explored it. My mom had 5 kids and the last thing she wanted to do is give us art supplies to mess up the house with. She was always so careful to keep the house presentable. I guess you know I’m not that way. The grandkids come over to my house to paint and play with Play Doh. Whenever the kids get a messy gift my son says to them….”You can play with that at Nana’s house”.
I have been saying that I never drew or painted before a year ago but in contemplating my life I realize now that isn't exactly true. So I decided to write a little bio about art in my life.
When I was in my late teens and early 20's I would draw those pictures that were supposedly contests to get into an art school. I never sent one in because I really wasn't interested in going to an art school but they were fun to draw. I mailed one that I did especially well to my husband and he would not believe I did it (he was on a ship in the Navy at the time.) He said something like I know you can't draw. I felt so discouraged that I stopped drawing pretty much completely. But honestly I wasn't into drawing much I just wanted to have my husband back and start a family and work so some day we could get a decent home.
A little encouragement can be a rocket to success but a little discouragement can be a devastating blow that can shut down a person. That’s why Chanda’s note about being nice when you criticize is so important.
When I was working for a large corporation I had to attend meetings almost every day and they were so boring! So just to stay awake I would doodle little sketches on the page I was taking notes (when was paying attention). I never thought much of this and never considered it art.
I started a dog training business around 1996 (it failed btw), but on the walls of the building we rented I painted cartoons of people training dogs. I used a projector to do this and never thought of this as doing art. I painted signs for the business and made a character we called ‘Boot’ that was the trademark. He was a cartoon Labrador in an army uniform. The name of the business was “Canine Basic Training”.
In 2003 my husband and I built a dog boarding kennel business (it is still going strong! – but we don’t own it now – sold it to my oldest son in 2011 and we retired). In the kennel area (we called them suites not kennels) of the business I free hand painted murals on the walls. I did murals of furniture in some and flowers and trees in others…. You get the idea. They came out really cute…yes cartoonish but appropriately so. They are still there. I used high quality exterior paint from Lowes to do it. I never thought of these murals as art. I just thought of them as decorating the walls of the kennel. The trademark of this business was again “Boot” the cartoon Labrador I created but this time instead of an army uniform I dressed him like a tourist carrying a suitcase. We promoted our kennel as a dog resort. I never thought of the signs or the murals as art…I just thought of it as part of promoting the business.
In May of 2014 I first took a paint brush to a canvas at a fun work shop and I was hooked. I found my additive drug…I loved painting. So that’s the time when I consider I started anything with art. All the things I had done before that (and there were more than I listed) were done for an alternative reason not for the sake of just doing art. Either for wasting time when I was bored or for decorating or for promoting a business. I never thought I had any talent but I think that just might be because I was told I had no talent at a young age so I just never explored it. My mom had 5 kids and the last thing she wanted to do is give us art supplies to mess up the house with. She was always so careful to keep the house presentable. I guess you know I’m not that way. The grandkids come over to my house to paint and play with Play Doh. Whenever the kids get a messy gift my son says to them….”You can play with that at Nana’s house”.
