Watercolor | Callagrace's Blog

March 5, 2019

New Year, New Goals

Well, as you can see its been ages since I posted. It’s almost embarrassing but I figure I just need to bite the bullet and start again. Unlike in the past I do not necessarily have some grand plan although maybe I should. Parameters have always helped me succeed with goals. Anyway, a couple of months back I started painting again, well its a little more involved than that, I guess it actually starts with the creation of my studio space.

Tayto’s Christmas Outfit 2018 – ©CallaGraceFogarty

A year and a half ago my husband and I decided we were going to move houses after months of planning to expand on our previous house. We just were not looking for that kind of investment or project. Luckily we found a house we loved. Nestled in the woods but close to just about everything it seemed kind perfect. The decor wasn’t exactly to our taste per say but it had loads of potential and we have been working one room at a time to put our mark on it. One of those rooms was my studio.

©CallaGraceFogarty

The studio is located off of the main living area but feels slightly separated. I have always wanted to be near the heart of the house so I can still be slightly involved. As my husband can attest to I am famous for being completely uninterested in whatever TV show to movie he decided to put on only to 30 minutes later be completely engrossed from my studio, shouting at the top of my lungs “what just happened?” “Did he just die?” “OMG!” I’m sure he appreciates this.

©CallaGraceFogarty

The studio was at one time used as a dining room. I remember when we viewed the house someone said that the room looked haunted. It had faded lavender wallpaper with a print I cannot recall covering each wall. A golden but faded chandelier in the center, dull drapes that were fitting with the other decor and a lovely built-in cabinet in the corner. Needless to say we had the lights switched to track lighting before we even moved in. The wallpaper came down in a motivated fit one day and the closet was torn out by yours truly along with the neighboring wall. I had a plan I just needed it start.

©CallaGraceFogarty

My husband was kind enough to help me with my vision! I drew up some plans for the storage area and he, being the handyman he is, created beautiful shelving matching my sketches. We relocated the built-in to the common area. I finished removing the wallpaper (not my favorite job) and eventually painted everything. Slowly the space has come into itself and is currently about 70% of the way there but working perfectly for the time being.

©CallaGraceFogarty

Since then I have been trying to find the infamous “groove” but it has been hard to locate. I’m not sure what happened or even when exactly things started to click in my head, but I do remember Lee mentioning setting a time every week where I dedicated myself to my art and at some point I kind of did that. Instead of dreaming about creating something each day, I actual did it (kind of).

©CallaGraceFogarty

I started just hanging out in the studio after work or in the mornings on the weekends. I never really had a plan, I would just rearrange materials and supplies on the shelves, look at old work and attempt the occasional drawing or two. Eventually this process had me reviewing every piece of work I had ever created that was still in my possession. In a way I cleaned house. I threw out a number of pieces which were no longer to my standard or just not good in my opinion. I created folders of work, organizing by to develop, to sell, to photograph, etc.

©CallaGraceFogarty

After that I did a few things which I believe have been critical in keeping my head in the correct mind space. I decided to actually set up my Etsy page and post a few works. I took trips to local Art shows and museums with friends, and I invested some time on my Facebook page. At that point I decided that I should I post more often. This I suppose has been my only real parameter I have set. I try to post once a week and with that I am forced to keep myself actively working.

©CallaGraceFogarty

This process has brought me much-needed encouragement. Allowing a lot people to see what I truly love to do, as it had been suppressed for far too long. It has also allowed me to become motivated again, to try new things and start experimenting in a way I feel I lacked in prior years. I think with a new outlook and approach I have started pulling from new inspiration rather than turning to the past as I have in so many cases before. I still have the goals, to find the gems amonst the mess, the clutter, etc., but in a way I just pull my inspiration from different sources now. Sources that I am connected to which makes the process very natural.

Boo Boo Baby ©CallaGraceFogarty

Throughout this post I included some of my newest works. These have all been created within the last 3 months and represent my journey into finding myself again.

Thanks for reading, see you next time.

Calla

Leave a comment

September 22, 2014

Inspiration comes from the strangest places…

It’s interesting to me how the mind works and how it reacts to stressful situations. Stress can incapacitate a person. They can become depressed, angry or experience phantom pain as a result of too much stress. Knowing that my bodies initial response is to become withdrawn and depressed, I decided I needed to start engaging in something that would focus my mind elsewhere. It has been a while since I have forced myself to paint everyday, but it felt like now was a good time to start up again.

I want to start by saying that I would never ask for a different life. I love the life I was given but it can be stressful at times. Things that should be exciting and happy can be surrounded by stressful situations. For instance getting married, buying a home, having a baby, all of these are wonderful happy events and yet when you ask most people, they will tell you it was stressful. So you may be wondering what my recent stressor was and well it is buying a home. My husband and I are delighted, but it has been overwhelming at times. I assume this feeling will continue until I am holding keys in my hand.

I’m not sure what really started the new series of work, only that it came from this exercise of painting when stressed. The pieces have become much more involved and the integration of hands seems to have come very naturally. I initially thought it was due to so many bodies being involved in the stressful activity but now I’m not so sure. I am no longer chasing the meaning merely letting it play out. The images feel like a much more mature body of work for me and I am very excited to see the other works that develop out of this phase. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, I’ve included a few images of recent works. You can see others on my daily site, 365Days1Year.com. Enjoy and see you next time.

Leave a comment

August 15, 2013

Look who’s been painting again…

It has been way too long since I posted on this page, which is frustrating since I was doing so good for a while but that’s life right! Anyway, I have included images from a few of my most recent works which can be fully viewed on my daily blog 365Days1Year.com Please let me know your thoughts as I’d love some feedback. I really have had a recent spur of creativity again which I can’t really pinpoint to one individual reason yet, but something obviously has got me going again. Whatever is I hope it stays. The images below are really just pulling from past imagery but I would like to push it more and think that in order to do that I will need to start drawing/sketching from life. Not a bowl of fruit really but something real. We draw from what we know and I don’t want that library in my head to get stale! Anyway Enjoy and see you next time.

Leave a comment

April 28, 2012

Well, Today felt like a good day to write!

Hello there,

I know it has been quite some time since my last post but I wanted to announce that I have started a blog that went live on April 1st, The blog is called 365days1year. It is a blog about my everyday challenge of keeping myself in the right mental state to allow myself to draw regularly. With every day I require myself to create something, which can range from a drawing in the sand to a finished watercolor. Either way by midnight of that day there must be a post for everyone to see and read. So far, so good. I am onto day twenty-seven and going strong still. It has been a wonderful challenge for myself, since I now feel that I have an obligation to others to keep the posts coming. Bellow I have included a few images from what I have created thus far. Please take a look and spread the word!

http://www.365Days1Year.com

Leave a comment

June 27, 2011

It’s about time!

As some people may know, I’ve recently graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. It has been such a long journey but totally worth every minute. I started my college experience at Mass Art and studied there for two years choosing Printmaking as my major in my second year, however as a new artist I just wasn’t ready to accept it as my career with everyone always asking me, “how are you gonna make any money? Where are you going to work?.” With my self-doubt leading my life I turned to my second love, figure skating, and began to study exercise and health sciences at Umass Boston. It was ok at first, but I didn’t love it. It was then that I discovered my love for skating came from the impromptu movements and choreography on the ice. After one year I switched majors yet again to liberal arts with a focus in art. This too was a learning point, I was able to work in another printmaking shop and well it honestly made me realize that if I wanted to be a printmaker why wasn’t I back at MassArt. The following year I went back at Mass Art and well it was strange going in not having had a freshman year with my fellow classmates. I always felt somewhat separate, but at least I knew I wanted to be there. The next three years there would prove to me why it was the right decision to return and between the teachers and my fellow classmates I learned more than I could have hoped for. It is definitely bittersweet leaving, since Mass Art has been such a huge part of who I have become and who I currently am, but we are in the next chapter now. I was accepted for an artist residence opportunity at EES (Experimental Etching Studio) in Hyde Park and I’m hoping this will begin to define who I am and where I might be going! Bellow are a group of photos of my final pieces from my final semester. I loved making each and every one of these and hope you yourself enjoy them!

1 Comment

April 24, 2011

Watercolor 4.24.11

This is my most recent watercolor and well, I think this is the first one I actually love. It feels done to me and its strange but introducing the brighter orange/pink really made this image work for me. It’s funny how you stumble upon an answer, I was trying to figure out what the last layer and color were going to be when I was outside with the puppies. I noticed a new flower had just bloomed outside and well wasn’t it the most perfect color to introduce. Hope you enjoy this and please feedback would be great. Happy Easter.

4 Comments

April 21, 2011

watercolors in the works

Working on some larger watercolors, which for now work for me. None of these feel complete yet but they feel good to make. I’m still playing with color right now really just testing to see what happens with different combinations. More to come.

2 Comments

March 22, 2011

a complex web

Well, after attempting to try one type of image for my collaborative project I decided all the previous drawings sucked…. but these ones are pretty great. These watercolor washed webs really have inspired me and I’m trying to push them larger. Currently the biggest one is about 20 by 30. My colors have not really worked themselves out yet but I’m still experimenting.

1 Comment

October 11, 2010

Watercolor studies… lets put a figure back in there!

The first image was a continuation of the previous post, just messing with composition and webbing . The other images are purely studies, I have been curious to integrate a figure back into my images since a lot of my charcoal images have a sense of skin and body references. I decided to draw the body how I enjoy to draw the body which typically means elongated and not quite proportioned.

This next image of the hands is a study to reassure myself that I can still draw a properly rendered hand.

Leave a comment

October 10, 2010

Newbies I’ve been trying to intergrate color… hmmm.

Both of these images were created on a whim, there was no base drawing or reference only a bit of randomly placed tape to create negative space. The top one is my favorite but both we working with the same forms and are nice to see as a pair. Let me know what you think of the colors, I always get stuck in this pallete.

1 Comment

Category: Watercolor