Bohemian Goddesses Artist Statement (Revisit)

[Please Note: I'll be back in the studio working on my Goddesses and new blogs and videos this week - hooray!! If you haven't already read my artist statement about my most important body of work to date go ahead and give it a look; hopefully it will bring new love and light to your experience with my paintings:) ]

At last I feel satisfied and confident about the statement accompanying my current Bohemian Goddesses series - woo hoo!! I have been going back and forth on what and how much to share, and I decided to get pretty deeply personal. I felt that it was the only way to really show my audience how much this body of work means to me. 

It is of the utmost importance to me that my message of love and admiration accompanying this series is heard loud and clear, while at the same time being a sensitive writer to sensitive matters.

After you've read through, I would greatly appreciate any feedback in the comments or you can contact me personally if you have any thoughts you would like to share with me. Artists are almost always a bit nervous of public reception when introducing new works, and this release is no exception, especially because of the message I am trying to spread. In this day and age of uncertain futures of civil liberties and common decency sitting in the crosshairs, I am hoping to be a small vessel of love and inclusion and admiration. Hopefully you, as an art lover, will feel positively about the work I am doing, but please know that I am grateful for a thoughtful critique no matter what the opinion. 

So without further ado..... 

"In my latest series, ‘Bohemian Goddesses’, I am exploring women whose beauty transcends the (crumbling) traditional American ideal standards of perfection. Namely, unique and exquisite women who are not primarily of Anglican descent. Women who may have been marginalized in the past, but today are finding their own powerful voices and loyal audiences and are helping to create a more balanced, in tune, and accepting future. 

Growing up and attending art school in the Southeastern US, all of my art professors, live models, and almost every artist we studied, were read more..... 

PS. See the full series here

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originally published: February 23, 2017

Nashville & Full Solar Eclipse Travel and Art Vlog

Hoorayy - My very first travel vlog! This week has been my first time leaving the islands since moving to Hawai'i in 2015 - Wow! 

I kicked off my trip with a visit to my Uncle Todd and Aunt Anita's house in Nashville for a bit of classic country honky tonkin' and soaking up some artsy culture, and, of course, the total eclipse! The sky darkening around that white whipping halo of ethereal striations while listening to the cicadas and crows cry out will forever be imprinted on my psyche.....

Next week I'll share part two of my trip including Charleston, SC (my hometown!) and my parents' super awesome rentable treehouses.  

If you're curious about any of the places shown in the video just pop over to the show note on the YouTube page itself for a list of everyplace featured. 

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originally published August 26, 2017

Always Room for Improvement!

[Please Note: I am out of the studio on vacation for a few weeks so I am resharing some useful posts that I think merit fresh eyes] 

'You don't have to be better than anyone else, just be better than yourself.'

I'm trying to turn that old saying into truth once again, as I'm sure most artists do from time to time. I've been challenging myself to have more of a tender touch in my drawings lately, especially with the white chalk on my figure studies, and I'm already noticing progress. It's amazing what mindfulness can do for you and your art!

I already practice mindfulness in my day-to-day life, mostly focusing on nutrition and mental clarity, but I have noticed that a little intention can go a long way in many more aspects of one's artistic and professional life as well. Once you decide to practice mindfulness it easily becomes like second nature, and just deciding where to channel your new power first will be the hardest part! 

A mindful smoothie-in-the-sunshine moment

What is 'being mindful'?

When I use the term 'mindfulness' I am referring to performing an action or having a thought with intention. So much of our daily routine happens automatically, and even though we are conscious of what we are doing, we are not being conscientious about each specific task at hand. To bring mindfulness into our routine, one must only pick one aspect of your day and ask 'why?' Why do I do this in this way? What prevents me doing it another way? Or perhaps, Is this the way I want to act or think about this action? Is this daily decision going to help me or harm me in the future? 

By taking the time to ask ourselves these questions occasionally, we can help ourselves maintain a healthy and productive life that is always improving. I cannot emphasize this enough, there is always, always room for improvement in one's life. I am constantly evaluating my health, happiness, productivity, and outside relationships to find small ways to clean house or spruce up my own mind and body. In no way am I trying to gloat, but I am currently in the best physical shape of my life, in the healthiest relationship in my life, am making the most strides as a career artist, and am living the dream in Hawai'i... and I can truthfully credit it all to mindfulness and self-critique. 

If you don't like something about your life, change it.         Progress needs a proactive attitude.   

One should never stagnate or be content with the status quo. Every day you can be a slightly better version of the you you were the day before. I'm not trying to sound like some dental office motivational poster, but take a page out of the old Tony Robbins handbook and look at what you're doing and ask yourself if you like it.

Now as I was saying in the beginning, whenever I take that same daily mindfulness and apply it to my art, I absolutely notice improvements, and usually much faster than naturally occurs. Of course if you practice anything long enough you will get better at it regardless of how consciously in-tune you are trying to be, but why not practice with intention and get better by leaps and bounds?! 

The best way I have found to improve with intention is to be very specific where I am channelling that energy. I don't just tell myself, 'get better at drawing'. I would tell myself, 'get better at drawing hair', or more specifically, 'get better at drawing dreadlocks', then 'get better at drawing straight hair', and so on. Practicing your focal point is crucial of course, but practicing with intention by really concentrating on each line and referencing other artists' techniques or photos and doing it over and again until you get it right on every piece you work on will give you dramatically better results than just repeating steps alone or copying other artists.  I find that trying to envision my desired effect before beginning each piece really helps to train your hand to create what's in your brain.

So for my most recent drawing-with-intention exercise, I have been trying to have a lighter touch with my charcoals and especially with the white chalk I use on the toned paper during the weekly figure drawing sessions I attend. When a subject is bathed in bright light, it's easy to record it as all the same value, however, fine-tuning and slight adjustments is what makes a good drawing into a great one. Usually I am a very careful drawer, but, alas, I am human and can get lazy from time to time so my intention is to be more sensitive all of the time because.....

One should never waste an opportunity to create beautiful art! 

Above and below are examples; the drawings on the left are perfectly fine figure studies showing showing correct proportion and volume, but the drawings on the right depict specific musculature and slight bone protrusion and are all-in-all much stronger pieces. With just a little forethought and clarity of intended result, my figures gained a new level of realism. And these drawings were done only about a month apart and in the same amount of time, so this was not a result of great leaps in learning. This difference is all credit of my decision to be more conscientious about how hard or soft I press with my charcoal pencil which goes hand-in-hand with paying closer attention to slight variations in the model rather than blanketing him or her in the same even lighting. 

To sum up, basically I looked at my past work and decided it could better. Then I figured out specifically how, and made a mindful decision each time I worked in charcoal. The results are already notable and very pleasing. This is actually an ongoing focal point of my mindfulness so I will be concentrating on this aspect for a few months until it becomes second nature. Once I am satisfied in my advances, I'll probably find some other little thing to nitpick and so on and so forth. I have spoken with professional artists two and three times my age who say they still make advances in their art so I greatly look forward to forever improving:)

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Words to Live By: Always make sure you are being an active participant in your own life.

I would love to hear about your current or next art-with-intention focus! Leave me a note in the comment section. 

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originally posted: December 29, 2016

Learning Video Production

If you would have told me two years ago that I would be teaching myself some light videography and production tricks for hosting my own YouTube channel I would have told you you were mad. 

Who knew?!

Well, here I am doing it. As per my revamp discussion last week, I've been learning all about how to improve the quality of my videos by adding some interesting camera angles (with my new wide angle and fish-eye lenses!!) as well as doing a bunch of research to find better copyright free music to include on them too.  

I'm also doing a little filming of some natural Hawai'i beauty to pop in here and there too:) 

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originally published August 15, 2017

Children's Portraiture Special Collab

Woo hoo! You know I love to share other creatives who cross my path, especially when I get to make art for them! I recently did a collab with super fun mom & lifestyle blogger who is an impressive one-women-show, let me tell you. Not only does Stephanie take all her own photos and host her website, she takes the time to write really well thought out and informative blogs from nutrition and positive self-image to super helpful content marketing tips. It's like she's reading my mind weekly on her blog!

I recently did this pencil drawing of her adorable kids Zeke and Cici, which I think turned out to be such a perfect photo to create a portrait from:)

Seriously though, this is the most wonderfully written feature about the whole portrait commissioning process on Honestly Mommy's fabulous blog here:

My Custom Fine Art Portrait : A Timeless Keepsake

And make sure to follow Stephanie's gorgeous Instagram @honestlymommy too. 

See the full portrait gallery 

Why I'm Leaving Patreon...

I just sent this to my Patrons and I think it explains it all. In a nutshell, one person can only do so much and I just don't feel like Patreon is where I need to be spending my time at this point in my life. I'd rather just be here with you guys:):) 

Here goes:

I’m writing each of my Patrons today to personally thank you for sticking around and helping me attempt to make this Patreon thing work. It has really meant so much more to me than words can tell, however after much soul searching and back-and-forth thinking, I feel like it’s time to put this particular project on hold for the foreseeable future. Shocking, I’m sure ;) 

Honestly, I had my apprehensions from the beginning regarding Patreon. Not because of the platform itself, because I think it’s marvelous that so many people want to reach out and support creators who make their content free for all to enjoy. But because I felt like a successfully run page needed to begin after the creator’s audience had become of a substantial size. I should have followed that hunch… 

This all began when I had someone from Patreon’s staff reach out to me late last year and tell me that I was a great candidate for starting my own page. Now I am usually very weary of businesses contacting me, but we emailed back and forth a bit and she answered some questions for me and made it sound like beginning a Patreon account was actually a good way to help grow a community of supporters. As in, it sounded like they helped to promote creators to a wider audience. 

Nope. False. At that time Patreon would only promote their very biggest accounts, then I think later on enough people complained (and rightly so!) that they decided to promote no one. A real win-win. 

While I was still debating signing up I had been taking some business direction from someone who had given me excellent advice before and since, and at that time she also convinced me (against my gut) that ‘if you build it, they will come.’ Nope. Wrong again.

Not only have I not really had new subscribers, the one thing I did start noticing was that having this Patreon account made me feel like I needed to keep certain things about my life as an artist ‘exclusive’ - as if I’m some big deal that people should pay money to in order to hear about personal experiences of a human making art. If anything, I feel like I need to be more open on my blog, YouTube and Instagram so that people can get to know me as well as my art up front. I think in the long and the short run, being more open all around will be better for growing my audience as a working artist.

I spend a fair amount of time tending to this page, and I do promote it a bit, but I’m just not a super sales-y type person. I’m just not comfortable trying to convince people to buy ‘me’ or my artwork. I would rather just have myself as a human and my artwork as my passion available for people to get to know on their own terms. 

Anyhoo, at the end of the day, sometimes things don’t go as planned and it’s better to draw the anchor and sail for smoother waters. Oh well, c’est la vie…..   

That being said, I very well may open this page back up in a couple of years if I feel that I have touched enough lives to warrant a community, so to speak. But for now, I feel like my energy is best focused on openly connecting with as many other artists and art lovers as possible, and trusting that the universe will help me find ways to support myself financially through my art along the way. 

Again, I want to really thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for boosting my confidence and signing up as soon as I opened this page. You all understand what a big deal a lil jumpstart can mean when putting oneself out there. I deeply love all five of you Tim, Laine, Steph, Brandon, and Jake. Thank you one million and one times for all the love and support you have given to me. 

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originally published August 11, 2017

Blog Revamp :: Coming Soon!

Hello dear friends! Hopefully you didn't miss me too badly this past week (since my last post was last Saturday - oops!) and my exciting sea turtle rescue was enough to satisfy any recent blog-reading cravings;) 

Anyhoo, I've actually been pretty busy this week revamping my Patreon, blog and YouTube channel... and they are all going to be better than ever! I have new gifts from the studio rolling out on Patreon (in addition to almost-daily posts on my special patron-only feed), as well as creating and finding new graphics and awesome copyright-free music for my YouTube vids. Also going hand-in-hand with all the new new is a recent reschedule of my blog posts. 

I'll still be having blog posts every Tuesday and Saturday, however they won't have the 'Tutorial Tuesday' or 'Inspo Saturday' connotation. My new plan is to have a new vid every Tuesday on YouTube and then a written blog post on Saturday, the only difference being I won't be trying to specifically teach something or share an inspo subject on those specific days, it will be a mixture of the two plus my own updates, diaries, sketchbook tours and artistic adventures, product reviews or artist spotlights. 

 If you're curious into the mind of a working artist, then the two main reasons for this are A) YouTube rewards creators who are consistent so my vids will be shown to more people if the algorithm "knows" when to expect me, plus viewers will know when to tune in regularly too. And B) to help me with scheduling, planning, filming and writing ahead of time. Honestly, I really try my best to have my shit together when it comes to sharing and posting and blogging and vlogging, but too often I find myself treating my output (other than just pics of my artwork) like homework assignments being done at the last minute. I started blogging and vlogging and making YouTube vids as a way to connect with other creative and folks who enjoy my artwork, so if it's not fun and not accomplishing those things, then what's the point?!

So I'm pretty excited about the changes. There are a thousand tiny little things to do when planning a switch-a-roo like this, but I feel like it's better now than later. I am truly excited about my growing little community and look forward to engaging with everyone more and more.

Thanks for all the love! I'll keep you updated on the new new rolling out!

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originally published August 5, 2017

Sea Turtle Rescue!

WE RESCUED A SEA TURTLE FROM THIS FISHING NET!!!!!

If you don't mind, dear reader, today as a special treat I would like to regale you with an exciting tale of honu* liberation and feminine strength in the face of danger that happened just this past Thursday on Kaupo beach, O'ahu. Have I gotten you at all intrigued...?

The story...

My girl Oli and I decided to come out to the beach and we wanted to chill in  more secluded area so when we scoped out and got set up at the perfect spot we noticed this 30 yard long weighted dragnet which was suspended with tiny buoys on top. It was set up perpendicular to the beach in the water attached to a bunch of rocks throughout and heavier weights on either end.

We couldn't figure out what it was doing there all day with seemingly no one around and at one point we noticed a young sea turtle swimming close to the shore. We quickly realized that due to the tide the honu was headed straight for the net! We looked at each other and ran out to the waist-deep water just as the turtle hit the net and got all tangled up. He was probably about 18 inches long and was struggling so badly, getting more and more caught up.

We tried grabbing him and pulling it off but he was really flailing around and smacking us away with his flippers. We just couldn't get it off and I could see it was tightening on his neck so finally I just grabbed the turtle by the shell and bear-hugged him belly to belly and started speaking soothingly to him to calm him down - which actually worked!!- while Oli pulled the net from around his neck and flippers.

It was so scary yet so exhilarating! As soon as we got the lil guy free Oli held the net down so I could release the turtle to the other side and he zoomed faster than you would even believe. Thank goodness he was okay! 

We called DNR to come cut it down but as we were waiting up on the shore we actually saw another turtle probably three times as big about to go into the net as well. Once again we jumped up and had to run out in order to scare off that turtle, and then at that point we felt we had to go ahead and just gather up the huge net. We both scratched our feet on the coral as we struggled to untangle and drag this big heavy net but it was worth it because in the next hour or two we saw at least 3 - 4 more turtles that would've got caught in it too! I honestly think we saved at least five or six turtles' lives on Thursday.

The worst part is, through speaking with the DNR guy we found out there were reports of other nets similar to this being set around the island, most likely to catch turtles. I am positive the turtle capture was no accident because this was a new net purposefully set up like this in an area where there are almost no fish and plenty of feeding sea turtles. Ugh, it just makes you sick!

Anyhoo, the good news is that DNR now knows the spot and will keep an eye on it. Plus my journalist friend said she might do a story in order to shed light for the community to keep an eye out and report any nets set up like that.

Honestly Oli and I felt so blessed by Pele herself to be able to be there to help those beautiful honu. It was certainly an experience we will never ever forget!!

*honu - Hawai'ian for sea turtle

Please Note: These are not my photos of sea turtles (I wish!) but they are the same kind as the fellas we rescued. Click image for source. 

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originally posted: July 29, 2017

Family Pencil Portrait Drawing Demo :: Jimi 'n Kids

Welcome back to my easel, friends:) I've got a lovely family portrait drawing for you today. This is actually an old friend of mine with his two super awesome kids so this portrait was a really special one to draw. Enjoy!

Find out about the materials I'm using here.

And how to get your own portrait here. 

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originally posted: July 25, 2017

10 Ways to Connect With Your Inner Artist

Today's post is something I am especially passionate about because I firmly believe that we all have creativity within us, from visual, music or performing, to culinary or entrepreneurial, and with the right circumstances and surroundings our inner creator soars! 

Since I am a visual artist, I want to share with you 10 ways that I have found to tap into and excite that specific part of your brain to get it bubbling and overflowing with new ideas. And honestly, a lot of these tips could be slightly reworded to satisfy all kinds of inspo cravings for various creative enterprises. Hope you find some fodder for all your right-brained activities to come!

(And stay tuned because I'm working on an accompanying YouTube vlog that delves into each of these ideas a bit further!)

Here we go!

1 - Visit art in person: I know saying, 'Hey, look at art in order to be inspired to make art' can sound like a cop-out, but there really is something to experiencing artwork in person versus online. Go to a local art museum or gallery either alone or with another art-loving friend and really mull over any pieces that catch your eye, making sure to notice the brush strokes, scale, composition, chroma, and subject matter. Try to figure out what specifically about those works speak to you. Take photos if you're allowed and/or collect artist info for further artsy research. (Even though I'm a realist painter and this was a conceptual collection, I still had great sparks of inspo on my visit to the Honolulu Biennial)

2 - Pick up a new medium: This should be totally just for fun. It's really daunting to pick up something relatively new and make "good" art with it, so don't even try. At least at first simply approach the new medium like a first-year art student. You know, like just poking around with line work with a Chinese ink brush or doing tonal exercises in pastels. Same is true for 3D work as well. Make a pinch pot in clay or carve a spoon in wood. Doing an uncomplicated task that no one will ever see will jog your mental and physical muscle memory and open you up to feeling more confident when you do get that creative idea. 

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3 - Take a hike: Go outside and experience a little energetic awe as well as some of Mother Nature's most vibrant hues. If you're on the coast, take a beach walk; in the city, find a nice atrium or park or try to go camping for a weekend. Do whatever you need to do to be in nature mindfully. Just like when visiting artwork in person, the absolute best way to do it is either alone or with someone who shares that wavelength. Trust me, it's no fun to go on a soulful inspiration quest with someone who's uninterested or gets bored with these precious activities. Even as a predominantly figure and portrait artist, I still garner so much artistic inspo from being outdoors. (Photo from my Kuli'ou'ou Ridge hike a few months ago - #luckywelivehawaii for real!!)

4 - Play artistically with a child: Kids are little original-idea factories! I used to teach after school art classes to kids aged 4 to 16 and, especially with the younger ones, I was always delightfully floored with the wacky creatures and scenarios they would come up with when painting or drawing, or even journaling and sculpting!

A really good way to get those creative juices flowing is by active storytelling in which the child/children are illustrating a story that you are making up together. Kids are the best for trying new mediums together too because whatever you make will look incredible to them! A built-in cheerleading squad will help you get your feet wet!

5 - Give it a break: That's right, a good way to get artistically inspired is to stop trying to get artistically inspired. Go read a book or do some yoga or organize your studio or learn to juggle. Maybe even for a few days. Sometimes forcing the next 'great idea' will actually do the opposite since our brains can freeze under too much pressure.

That being said, any professional artist will tell you at some point you must 'paint through the pain' and keep working in order to maintain all the hard work flow that goes into being a successful artist, but little breaks are ok. Hopefully you'll have some emails to send, blogs to write, or art supplies to shop for that will make your time away from the studio productive still. (I'm an avid hula hooper in my free time; it's a wonderfully meditative yet energetic way to free my dancing spirit!)

6 - Check up on your favorite artists: Assuming you have favorite living artists still producing work, go pop in on their websites and blogs. See what they're doing these days as far as subject matter, themed group shows, workshops, or possibly even changing up and evolving their styles a bit. If you don't have favorite living artists, go find some!! There are sooooo many incredible people creating so many great works in this day and age.

Some good ways to find new artists are by following up on any works that stood out from shows you've seen in person, by following and subscribing to contemporary art mags (like Juxtapoz, Art Collector Magazine, Aesthetica, or ARTnews), and by surfing social media like Instagram to see what your like-minded friend folks are liking (find me on there too! @caleighbirdart).

7 - Go somewhere new: Plan a trip to someplace you have never been. It can be anything from a week in Tuscany to an afternoon stroll through those local botanical gardens you've been meaning to see. Anything that gets you out of your usual element or routine will help rejuvenate the creative flow. If you embark on your new adventure alone, feel free to bring some contemplative or relaxing music along. When I was able to spend four whole days at the Louvre in 2015 I listened to just about every piece Chopin ever composed! 

8 - Join a creative crowd: Put yourself around other creative people. Help a fellow artist with a project, attend an art lecture or art opening; join a book club or attend a poetry slam. Just be in the same space while other artistic ideas are being discussed, performed, or shared and you will soak up tons of inspo like a sponge. And not to mention, you might even make a new artsy friend!

9 - Watch your favorite visually beautiful movies: Enough said, really. We artists are emotional and visual creatures so digging down deep to tap into those heartfelt passions and buried feelings should absolutely stir our love for creation. For this exercise stick with movies that are shot and edited so gorgeously that you have to catch your breathe every single time you watch them. A few that come to mind for me are Hero, Avatar, Fantasia, and basically everything directed by Wes Anderson. 

10 - Attend a new kind of art class: This one is similar to trying out a new medium, but in this case you might use a familiar medium but in a different way. I'll use myself as a figurative oil painter for an example. If I wanted to change it up, maybe I would sign up for a plein air landscape painting course. Or focus on my drafting skills by taking a still life painting workshop. The difference between this one and Number 2 is that since you're actually paying money to sign up for a class, you will hopefully be challenged over an extended period of time and will gain new skills to go along with your new inspiration. 

Well, I hope this list helps :) I know after I enjoy any of these activities I come back to my studio bursting with color or design or subject inspiration, whether or not I was even seeking it to begin with!

We really do live in an amazing time on an incredible planet surrounded by epic adventures and glorious people. Each of us has the ability to focus our energy into learning how to tap into that higher creative vibration which is absolutely there for the riding! Woo Hoo!

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What are some great ways you have found to tap into your inner artist? Leave me some tips in the comments!

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originally posted: July 22, 2017