No Right Answer

Art has no right answer. The best we can hope for is an interesting answer.

Seth Godin / The Icarus Deception

Stained Glass-look Owl
Artist Trading Card

I have an artist friend who "disdains" the use of tracing in their art.  I say horse feathers! Use whatever helps you create your own original art. 

4 Owl Artist Trading Cards
Twinkling H2O Watercolor
#14, 15, 16, 17

These owls were all traced onto the ATC from a drawing I made using a picture as a guide. The rest was free hand. I wanted to mimic the stained glass look. They are headed to ARTzona as part of my ATC for trade, along with the original (top) that was entered into the monthly contest on atcsforall.com.  

I couldn't show these last four when I created them in early January as voting was happening, however they are considered paintings #14 - 17 of the "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge. Tiny paintings count and besides, these owls were addicting. :) 

Happy Wednesday! 

On my book stand - The Icarus Deception

On my book stand - and recommended reading for artists of all types.  The Icarus Deception.  I love a book that makes me think. 

A favorite quote from the book: 
"The art of moving forward lies in understanding what to leave behind."

From the Village Books (our fabulous local book seller) website: 

"In Seth Godin’s most inspiring book, he challenges readers to find the courage to treat their work as a form of art.

Everyone knows that Icarus’s father made him wings and told him not to fly too close to the sun; he ignored the warning and plunged to his doom. The lesson: Play it safe. Listen to the experts. It was the perfect propaganda for the industrial economy. What boss wouldn’t want employees to believe that obedience and conformity are the keys to success? 

But we tend to forget that Icarus was also warned not to fly too low, because seawater would ruin the lift in his wings. Flying too low is even more dangerous than flying too high, because it feels deceptively safe. 

The safety zone has moved. Conformity no longer leads to comfort. But the good news is that creativity is scarce and more valuable than ever. So is choosing to do something unpredictable and brave: Make art. Being an artist isn’t a genetic disposition or a specific talent. It’s an attitude we can all adopt. It’s a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map. If you do those things you’re an artist, no matter what it says on your business card. 

Godin shows us how it’s possible and convinces us why it’s essential."