the writing process blog hop

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A number of weeks ago, Chrissie of tv-kitchen, asked me to be a part of the bloghop she was in. My interest: 100% “Of course! It would be fun”. The actual time I had to do it in late July/early August: 0 min. So now that it’s the very first day of September and I have time, here is the blog hop:

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1) What am I working on/writing? 

I have a lot of things that I am working on. At least, I am working on them in my head. There are so many projects I want to do. I have probably 3 different children’s books I’ve been thinking about. I have been brainstorming a number of possible additions to my elisaann.etsy shop by way of new hand drawn tote bags. I was also toying with the idea of doing a not so painterly thing and writing a book about minimalism. Well, about the steps to take to help get rid of the excess stuff we all have in our homes.

As these are all in my head, I do have something on my easel: the 2^nd of my smaller sized landscape series. This one is going to be of a farm image in northern California. I’ll post pictures soon.

2) How does my work/writing differ from others of its genre? 

Well, landscape painters seem to be all over the place. There are some that are doing the traditional paint the landscape as you seeit. There are some that go all out and you can’t tell what the landscape is and if it’s real. One of my favorites is an artist who takes pictures of the human body and it’s so close up that it looks like a landscape. I also like the work of artists who create things on the landscape to become a part of it (temporary or not). How does my art differ from all of that? Well, I see landscapes as very calming. Especially when you take in more of the sky than anything. There are other artists who focus on the sky but I’m not quite sure if they are doing it for the calming effect. I’ll have to go ask to find out. I’ll let you know.

3) Why do I paint what I do?

Wow. This can be a big question. Hopefully my answer won’t be too long.

I live by Lake Michigan and I noticed (sometime when I was growing up) that the lake can be so Zen. You look at it long enough and it becomes a form of meditation. It’s almost like you’ve fallen into it and everything else fades away.

I grew up in the Chicago area, graduated from art school in Chicago and then moved to New York. I wanted to help the world (still do) and became a social worker. I worked really hard, gave it my all, and got burned out. Then we moved back to Chicago. During the drive from NY to Chicago, I started to see how big the sky was. How relaxed and happy I was getting as the sky was getting larger. And now we are here, and I am close to Lake Michigan again and somehow I realize how our much our landscape can heal. I see this big, beautiful, relaxing sky and I want to share it.

4) How does my creative process work?

It usually starts with a road trip. I’m in the passenger seat, shooting pictures from a not so fancy camera while my husband is driving. Sometimes the pictures are from hikes but mostly it’s from the car. After the trip, I go through and find the ones that interest me the most. Once I have the photos printed, I head to my easel and start the painting/drawing. I draw out the very basics of the image and then fill in from there. I don’t necessarily keep everything that was in the original image. If there is something that doesn’t look right or doesn’t work with the overall aesthetic, I’ll leave it out. As I work on the piece, I may move things around a bit or add something I may not have seen the first time I created the sketch but otherwise the structures is pretty much the same as it is when I first put it to canvas. There ya have it. Not very exciting but it works for me.

Chrissie Moore : tv-kitchen

 

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Chrissie Moore : tv-kitchen

I’ve known Chrissie for about 8 or 9 years now. She's pretty cool. She is incredibly funny and very much obsessed with film and television pop culture. I always know it’s an awards night when my FB feed is filled with funny commentary by Chrissie.

Chrissie’s bio:

Hey! I'm a freelance writer and digital content strategist based in Atlanta. I previously worked for a bunch of years in a bunch of roles at Cartoon Network, helping build digital experiences for brands including The Powerpuff Girls, Ben 10, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Chowder, Adventure Time and Regular Show.

I'm originally from a suburb of Chicago and graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. I've performed improv and stand-up comedy in Atlanta, and in addition to my TV Kitchen blog, I also write about television and comedy for Paste Magazine. In my spare time, I love cooking, baking, checking out Atlanta restaurants, spending time with my husband and preparing for the arrival of our first baby later this year! (Uh-oh, I sense another blog coming on...)

Maria-Therese Sommar: afori

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I started reading Maria-Therese’s blog well over five years ago when I saw her beautiful photographs on Etsy. Her blog is just as colorful and takes the reader along for all of her photo shoots and daily life. I’ll admit, the fact that she’s Swedish pulled me in even more as I tend to get very excited when I see images from the countries of my ancestors. Her blog is in Swedish and English and is always full of interesting stories and beautiful pictures.

Maria-Therese’s bio:

Hello! My name is Maria-Thérèse Sommar and I work as an artist, photographer, translator, proofreader and writer. Art photography is my main focus. I sell my photographs via my internet shops and when I exhibit ”in real life”. I also work as a wedding photographer, illustrator and do freelance work for newspapers.