Well... I wasn't going to do any art on this mini summer break before class start on June 24 but I got restless creatively. I wake with the excitement of being able to create. It's being a daily routine like brushing my teeth. My husband and I love going to the lake and he really loves fishing while I'm pretending the fish LOL.. I go because I love to spend quality serene quite time with him, love watching the sunrise and set over the water and watching the sky change. I love to see nature transition throughout the day. Going to take more photos when we go again. This is a reference photo found online.  June 30 is the Pancake and Booze art show so I will have this one framed and for sale. I have too stop holding on to my original paintings so I will have others at a big discount price.

What a challenging and rewarding semester.. I took 9 graduate hours. Chiaroscuro, Color Theory and Figure Drawing. I can see the improvement in my work. With depth and perspective and blending more with charcoal. In color theory I really got into learning the psychology of color and its relationship to each other. My favorite assignments are above from the classes. The most challenging of my course would be figure drawing. I had a rough start with establishing the gesture and seeing the shapes within the body. I will be working on this more through the years. I don't want to not be able to teach it at college level without getting better myself. Summer classes; Landscape and Still Life Painting. I am eager to take both of these classes.   

)Well, the semester (Spring 2018) semester is going pretty good. Hectic and sometimes overwhelming because I'm still full time in the classroom ( elementary art). So, Its basically doing my assignments Monday-Sunday with hardly a break most days. I'm up at 5:30am and end my day before or sometimes after midnight. With 9 grad hours I don't think there is any easy way to balance but I do have to stay on top of a daily planner. Listing out each of my tasks for the whole day. I did figure out that if I wrote 1 list out for all assignments needed to complete then a separate to do list per day that has worked out best. Then I check off each assignment as completed. I still haven't gotten a way to separate the days by subject. Color Theory, Figure Drawing, Chiaroscuro. Sometime a class can have an assignment that is a WIP and have to get feedback from the professor before moving on to the next one. So far each of my professors get my critique back within a day or two so that is good. 
I have found my Keratoconus ( a condition in which the clear tissue on the front of the eye (cornea) bulges outward) is getting worse. My right eye the worse hurts so bad feels like needles poking and extreme pressure like my eye is going to pop completely out; that on top of the dryness. I've noticed I am see in a somewhat warped impression and I don't see the value changes as well unless I really squint. So, I am seeing this cornea transplant a must in the near future. I have to work extra hard on my assignments to correct proportions etc. This is week 8 out of 15 and I'm holding down strong B's in all classes. Very close to an A in Color Theory. Going to finish out the semester strong. My week area is figure drawings but they are better than I have ever imagined. A lot of practice and repetition is needed. I a very excited though to be working on all these skills because I am so ready to become a college instructor. I yearn to teach young adults; get them to a level where they can develop their skills to style of their own. In the elementary classroom I feel I am babysitting and disciplining with showing crafts all in due time. Patience and Prayer. Overall, I feel confident in what I am accomplishing and proud of each learning experience. 
Found Quote: Today I choose Life, Peace is the beauty of Life. I will find a place inside where there's joy, and joy will burn out the pain. Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. We are shaped by our  thoughts; we become what we think.
*Wk1-7 Art Assignments below)

bDecided to practice chiaroscuro this week to prepare for this Spring class. I peeked ahead on my degree plan and saw the book needed for head drawing too so I decided to purchase it. I really like it because it shows some step by step demos to doing the face features and the drawing prints are very clear. The reading is very clear and to the point and helps as well. So I purchased the pastel pencil recommended ( Caput Manguum and white) but because I didn't have the velvet grey charcoal paper I used the light toned paper I had on hand. I used only the red pencil and used the paper as a tone (the highlight) so no need for the white. I also found that mixing the white with the read gave a pinkish color and I didn't like it( the book recommended not to as well) but I had to test it for myself. 
Put in about 11-12 hours started Tuesday and finished Saturday at the Chocolate and Art Show. The show was nice a lot of guest watched as I drew live ( motivated me :) also I sold prints and a original so that was a plus. This show I didn't get as much sold as I usually do. Next show Houston-Pancake and Booze -  March 23.
For the drawing of the head- I used a sample in the book but changed it up. I didn't not use any sort of technical measuring for the face and features; more of sight measuring. Started with  the contour of the nose and went from there. Steps are show in the video. Overall I love the smooth yet hard pastel pencil (never used before) I will be using it more on some person work until I have to use it for a class.. plan to take Head Drawing this summer.
I am really enjoying learning new techniques and styles during grad school. I have changed my plan to MA: 36 hour program so that I can get the master degree and start teaching a local community college. From that that career change I will complete the other 33 hours for the Masters in Fine Arts program. I just do not want to stay in the elementary or grade level class room anymore. Hoping to get the 36 hours complete by Summer 2019 or the latest Fall 2019.
Book->​The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head Paperback – January 1, 2004
by William Maughan  (Author)

This painting came to me in my sleep a month or so before I decided to create her; after some research I stumbled across the Five Elemental Symbols all of which expresses the vision I had. The lady is one with all of the elements; Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Spirit. 

Earth representative of potential and transformation; the point where the old gives way to the new; the empty fertility readies to feed new creations.
Water is the element of  emotion and wisdom, particularly the wisdom of age
and the unconscious.
Air is the element of intelligence, creativity, increase and new beginnings.
Fire is associated with strength, activity, blood, and life-force. It is also seen as highly purifying and protective, consuming impurities and driving back the darkness.
Spirit is a bridge between the physical and the spiritual. In cosmological models, spirit is the transitory material between the physical and celestial realms. Within the microcosm, spirit is the bridge between body and soul.
​

 It is still winter break session from class and between practice drawing figure poses I am testing my skill in a portrait painted with oils. My usual medium for portraits would be Acrylics. However, during the Fall semester of class I really enjoyed painted with oils. I found it different and educational painting with the limited color palette; yellow ochre, terra rosa, titanium white and ivory black. 
I decided to render my color for my portrait using the same limited palette. I started with calling in a model to pose for me. She did pose several shots and one was chosen. I did sketch out with charcoal the portrait and transferred it to my linen canvas. Size 18 by 24. The video shows the painting stages; transfer sketch, under painting and as of now laying the first stage of color. I am having somewhat a difficult time with the skin tone working from the reference photo and now wish I would have created a small color study before beginning my large painting. Lesson learned for the next painting. Below: photos and Video of this work in progress......took a week long mini break from my painting. I have learned when I feel overwhelmed with a piece or unmotivated to take a break. Photo below of how much completed. This painting has undergone many stages... mainly because of experimenting with my brushstroke technique. To complete; hand holding breast, and pearls. 

December 18- February 5, 2018 
Winter break session from school. I decided to work on the critiques I received during fall semester. I know that the main one was my drawing techniques; measuring and proportions. From still life setups to figure drawings. So, practicing this will improve my skills for my spring class. I am scheduled for Chiaroscuro, Color Theory and Art History ( Art & Culture. 
My first drawing; a still life figure sculpture I set up in my home art studio. Using a large black foam board as the background and a light grey linen cloth for the table cover. I used one light source and rendered all the shading in my pitch black studio w/ the one light source at a 45 degree angle on the sculpture.
I did send my drawing as a private message after semester to my instructor and she recommended for accuracy to the still life my drawing such be taller. So for my next study I will focus even more on the height and weigh measurements. I did take my time with this assignment to focus on not shading the reflected light value too light and I believe I did way better than all last semester assignments. Medium used Nitram Charcoal and General charcoal for all values instead of the pearl where I used Luminance Colored Pencil in Black and White.  Next, I will be working on a oil painting using limited color palette; terra rosa, yellow orchre, white, black mostly. 

​Academy of Art University- San Francisco- Online: Major Drawing and Painting
FA 601 OL3: Drawing- Instructor A. Cunningham FA609 OL2: Painting- Instructor: A. Cunningham Overall I learned a lot about what I needed to improve.From Drawing class I need to continue to get more accurate measurements, proportions and reflected light when rendering values. From Painting class the same as drawing because w/o mastering the drawing techniques no matter how well the colors where rendered it lacked technique. I learned that classical drawing and painting is all about accuracy. At the end of the semester the last module of painting; expressive landscapes was my favorite mainly because I felt more free throughout the whole process. In Drawing class my favorite was drawing and shading with charcoal-the seated figures and the head sculpture. My least favorite would be drawing the simple forms; cube, cylinder etc. For my next semester I am going to draw in my sketchbook daily figures; the gestures,contours and measurements. Below are my favorite final assignments.