The last time I wrote a blog, or really did anything productive on my website, was on August 22, 2014. A lot has changed since then.

The first change was the loss of my best fur buddy cat, Micah. He passed away just three weeks after my last blog post. It was an extremely difficult time and life was no longer the same without him. We had a very tight bond. Not having another cat around at all never felt right. It felt lonely. Having a pet in your life does so much and to suddenly be without that feels more devastating and lonely.

Year 2015 was spent researching the different kinds of cats out there and then waiting until I could pick the kitten up. Waiting was soooooo hard. But so worth it. July 31rst, 2015, I met a stunning miniature puma, a ruddy Abyssinian boy kitten, who was quite scared and unsure of the car ride. The whole way home, the only way he would stop meowing was when I had a comforting hand on him, or near him, in his cat carrier that I used to use for Micah. Having an Abyssinian is so fun. I cannot believe how smart he is. They don’t have the nickname *Abyssilians* for nothing!

Meet Rain, on our ride home, when he & I first met

I spent the next few months enjoying my new kitty and getting to know him, and vice versus. Savoring his kittenhood, because I knew it would be gone in a flash.

I would love to incorporate Rain into my blog posts, I feel he could teach us a lot about pet health and behavior (and adventures). Should I mix it in my blog posts with my artwork posts? Have a separate Blog Site for Rain? Or just create Rain Centered Blog Postings on my website here? There’s so many options! I would love to hear your thoughts about doing this, and what way you believe would be preferable.

Most of  year 2016 was spent figuring out what to do with my artwork. I didn’t really want to focus mainly on greeting cards. Sure, I’ll do them when I create something card-worthy. But it’s so much pressure trying to create something specifically for a greeting card. I get overwhelmed and then it makes me not want to do anything. It doesn’t bode well when I try to work like that. In the end, I taught myself how to paint in watercolor with mixed media. I studied various YouTube artists, their techniques, advice and tools that they used. I was able to try it out for myself last summer in small studies and I fell in love with how detailed I could get. Pastel paintings are fun, but there are some aspects of it that makes me…. Kind of lag on working on an art piece in pastels, which isn’t a good thing especially if it is a commission! Some things I find difficult and trying are applying pressure to the sanded paper board when I transfer a drawing. Or when I rub my fingers to death on the sanded pastel board. And how dusty the air gets around me as I use the pastel chalks. So, it’s a beautiful medium, but I needed to find an alternative. And I did. And I love it. I love that the amount of details I can get in a painting seems far more effective than with using straight up pastels. And it is so fun to mix different art mediums in one art piece. I can still use pastels in the paintings, but mostly to make it pop out a bit more. It’s mainly touch ups near the end. For those who have been following my artwork over the years, I hope you notice a difference in my traditional artwork.

So far, I have completed two paintings in watercolor mixed media and one illustration in color pencil mixed media. I will be posting separate blogs that will go into a bit more detail about them, but you can watch the videos of them here. Each video has a song in it (in case you are at work, need to turn the volume up or down, or need to use headphones or something). They are all fairly short in time length. Posted in the order of creation. Be sure to watch in HD!

“Baby Rain”

“Dancing Snowflakes”

 “Hazel Puppy”

Let me know what you guys think!

I am open to doing artwork for people, commissions. If you know someone who would be interested, or maybe if you yourself are interested, send them my way by email or let me know!

~Sarah

3 Responses

  1. Sarah, thank you for sharing this site. The winter scene of the young girl was a perfect capturing of the whimsy of childhood and snowflakes. Your talent shines in these delicate scenes. You have captured the essence of the season for me and the wonder of mystery in each flake of falling snow. Definitely a picturesque rendering of poetic dimension.

  2. Hi Linda! It’s a high compliment to receive such an artistic and eloquent reaction. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I very much enjoyed reading it many times over :} I’m glad you were able to connect with the Dancing Snowflakes. How you described it is pretty much why I illustrated it.

  3. Thanks Sarah, I always worry after I comment because I am concerned that I don’t express clearly what I am trying to say. I enjoyed the progression of your videos as well . When you discussed the difficulty of creating something in a fixed time frame I can so relate. Like you, I also find it discouraging. I think you captured your animals well but have you ever tried popping up the minuscule shades of color within the colors. I took a class one time and the instructor made me take each shade and break it down into dozens of small patches of the different colors and it became more spontaneous and resulted in a less controlled rendering. I had to paint an apple and was amazed how there was purple, red, blue, green and multiple shades and hues of each color. When I was done it was the most vibrant apple I had ever painted. When you are stuck, try this; just take a piece of paper and work fast short pieces, focusing even on one area of the pet and see if it shakes out the ‘cobwebs ‘out, so to speak. Or maybe abstract out the form
    except for that part that is the focus, like eyes or ears . Whatever you do, don’t stop. Inside you lurks a giant creator pushing to be set free. blessings. L.

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