Tag: creativity

Painting and Fixing the First Draft, Part 2

Previously, I wrote about ways I develop first drafts of paintings, then transfer elements I like from the first draft and create a better second draft painting. This time, I want to show how I correct the first draft without making a new painting. The oil painting above shows a whitetail buck drinking at a … Continue reading Painting and Fixing the First Draft, Part 2

Painting and Fixing the First Draft, part 1

As a writer and an artist, I see similarities of writing stories and poetry, and painting paintings. For this post, I’m including double photos of some of my paintings, showing the “first draft” of an idea, and the final draft of the painting. I almost always begin the construction of my paintings from a series … Continue reading Painting and Fixing the First Draft, part 1

Night of the Hell Hounds, Story 2023-0329

Those of you who know my books and have followed my previous blog know that my “Ghost Dogs” short story, which I featured last week, became the basis for my “Night of the Hell Hounds” stories. Recently, I found an older version of “Night of the Hell Hounds” that features Vree Erickson as a teenage … Continue reading Night of the Hell Hounds, Story 2023-0329

Ghost Dogs, Story 2023-0320

Many years ago I wrote a story for a high school English class. My teacher helped me to understand story structure the best she could, but it was enough to create an aha moment that aroused my interest in writing more stories. The more stories I wrote, the more my interest in the craft grew. … Continue reading Ghost Dogs, Story 2023-0320

Fantasy

I write a lot of fantasy fiction. It began when I was in high school. I like fantasy because it’s about what’s not possible. My journey into fantasy didn’t begin with writing, but with art. Fantasy allowed me to explore my imagination—there was no limit to what I could draw. It could get silly at … Continue reading Fantasy

Painting from Memory

This week, I found an old mind-to-hand exercise painting from 1986. I occasionally did mind-to-hand exercise paintings to keep my coordination and reflexes sharp. Instead of painting something in front of me—a still-life, for example—I painted from memory, which is what mind-to-hand exercise painting is. I used acrylic paints because of their quick drying time … Continue reading Painting from Memory

Reminiscing, part 3

I’m still peeking at old photos and reminiscing about the past. (You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.) I plan to wrap this up today so I can get other jobs done. Pictures are time machines that can whisk us immediately to earlier times. I have photos of my childhood that includes … Continue reading Reminiscing, part 3