I've been Tagged!

This piece is 16x22 inches, color pointillism in ink on paper, titled Stargazer. It is not for sale.

I would love to tell you that my extended absence from blogging was due to my tedious, time-consuming work on the above art piece, but that's just not the case. The fact is this piece was supposed to be a week long project in the one semester of art class I took in high school (13 years ago, yikes!) and it ended up taking almost six weeks to complete. My art teacher was fine with the extended time and entered it into the city, district and state competitions, where it got first place for it's division. So why am I posting it now?

My blog has been tagged (I think as a subtle nudge to get back to posting - so thank you) by Hershberger & Huff Studios, a pair of artists with a lot of talent. I love the textures and colors incorporated in their works. Go check them out!

The rules are as follows: 1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog. 2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. 4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I'm using the above art piece to demonstrate some of my 5 facts.

1.) I absolutely love working in color pointillism, but the above piece is the only one that I've ever completed. I have started 5 others throughout the years and they have all met a tragic end because they take so long to complete that inevitably they get something spilled on them, one or both of my kids contributes their own artistic marks, the paper gets creased or torn - something always happens. I do plan to do more of these some day, but they will probably be on a smaller scale so it doesn't take weeks to complete them.

2.) I have the patience to work with millions of little dots to create a piece of art, but no patience with watercolors - they drive me crazy. I like a lot of control in what I am painting. Acrylics are a great medium for me.

3.) I was offered a full scholarship to the Art Institute in Houston, Texas and an intern job by a recruiter from a major greeting card company who visited my high school art class and saw me working on the above art piece. I turned him down took a full scholarship to study Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas. I often wish I hadn't passed up the offer so I'd be a lot further along in my art career.

4.) I lived with my grandmother and her twin brother from the time I was 2 until I moved out as an adult. Losing him was what I imagine losing a parent feels like and it has taken me quite a while to get through the pain of his loss. I know I told him often enough that I loved him, but I'm not sure I ever told him thank you for all he did for me.

5.) I love to write poetry too. I wrote a poem for my son when he was born titled Hope and it was published and also chosen for a collection of poems read aloud on a CD. Wednesday my son Gavin (now 7 years old) came home with a poem he wrote for me:
"Snow" - When it snows, it's as pretty as a rose - like you. - Gavin K. Ard

He also wrote one for his teacher:
"School" - School is fun, + is fun, - is none. - Gavin K. Ard

Bonus fact: I love being a mom and experiencing life with my kids. My 2 and a-half year old is always telling me, "Mommy, I want to paint so bad. I need to paint." The other day I took her to an art gallery and she pointed out a painting and said, "I don't like that one. It's really scary." The title of the abstract painting was "Fear." Apparently the artist did a great job of conveying the emotion :-)

Here are the 5 blogs I am tagging:

Eric Francis - watch his daily videos as he creates incredible paintings and sketches each day
Connie Tom - see her breathtaking, vibrant landscapes
Dee Sanchez - check out the lining technique she uses in her paintings - love the effect
Nicole Wong - great illustrations, paintings and ACEOs
Takeyce Walter - lovely oils and pastel pieces posted at least twice a week