Frogs Frogs and More Frogs

Flying High

It's almost fall and the retail stores are already putting out Halloween themed items. Today, the temperature outside would tell you that it is already here! The high for today was lower 60s. I'm used to upper 90s low 100s in my area of the country. I had to find a jacket this morning before going shopping. On the bright side, the lower temperature was a nice change and I haven't felt so drained today. Heat is definitely draining here at times in Oklahoma.

This is painting number one out of a series of four Halloween witch frogs I completed last week. I am trying to do at least 4 images with each drawing I make.
For those who want to know how this was created...I drew the frog out on watercolor paper and used acrylics to create him and his 3 other froggy friends  : ) Completed in photoshop. These images can be arranged into any size needed. If you are interested in licensing this image for products please visit my website to learn more about how to contact my agent.

~ Val

Fear, Stress and Creativity

I'm saving this as a draft first so I can look back and think about this post before letting it go live. (You might find that line funny if you continue reading)

I have been stressing out about what to type for over a week now and I was feeling fear about not posting anything at all...and this is a vicious cycle that continues week after week.

Fear. We all know it and if you're an artist in any way, I am sure that you have had the same thought patterns go through your mind as well.

What is nobody reads this. What if my art isn't good enough. What if I sound stupid. 

I over think things and then panic sets in and I end up not doing anything at all. I have to overcome the What ifs.... and move on to the Just dos. I have a pile of drawings that never make it beyond my sketch folder because I like it but then think... what if someone has done this already! Well probably in one form or another but they won't have it with my flair and style.

When fear and panic set it I am just as good as done for a couple of hours until it has passed. My mind closes up and nope your not getting any new ideas from this one. On the plus side, once I conquer that little bump in the road I am able to pick myself up and learn and try new things.

There are a few blog post out there about fear and stress. They both block creativity that is for certain, but here is how I move on.

I do step back and acknowledge the fact that it is just fear, my fears that are blocking my process and I take the time to relax. I know that if I push myself to create when panicking about some unknown that I will fail. So an hour or so...sometimes a couple of days and I am back to creating.

I will go outside to calm down. Unplug from the media, phone, computer... there is something constantly being tossed our way and too much of that and I am done.
Listen to music I like.
Just laying in bed with silence for a few minutes can do the trick.

I will try my best to just start posting without the fear of rejection. I will try to start sharing my creations with others. (the block on this is the advice not to post poorly made items with others until they are perfected...well, the perfect in my minds eye may never happen)

The trying is better than the nothing and not moving forward.