Muscivora Forficata

I have had this following piece for almost a year, and finally got a frame for it! I graduated in December 2010 from The Weitzenhoffer College of Fine Arts at The University of Oklahoma. And being such a small graduating class, we were each presented with a serigraph on paper by our fellow graduate; Sydney Brown titled Muscivora Forficata, which is the scientific name for the Oklahoma State Bird, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Each of the 250 serigraph prints is signed and numbered, making each unique.

Muscivora Forficata by Sydney brown

I loved her use of the state bird for this piece. The bird is seen soaring upward through the skies, just like we as new college graduates are being set off into the “real world” to soar and reach our greatest potential and desires. I love her use of a light blue and an orange on the clouds to create a peaceful, positive, sunny day. I also love the definition of the black lines that create the bird, and that outline the clouds. There is just enough to hint at the scene, and the rest is filled in with minimal color.

detail of Muscivora Forficata by Sydney Brown

I am sure this image resonated differently with each graduate who received it, and I myself feel like I relate more to and better understand this piece now, almost 9 months after graduation, than I did on graduation day. I loved graduating in such a small class (for December, there were only 50 graduates from the College of Fine Arts, and only about half actually came to the graduation ceremony), and thought it was unique and special that we were each presented with an original print of this piece by Sydney. I unfortunately did not get to know Sydney on a personal basis, but am a huge fan of her simple, yet meaningful, artwork.

Monochromatic

I recently came across an exhibition catalogue for Julie Hedrick for her exhibition at Nohra Haime Gallery in New York City titled RED. In this exhibition, all of her works are varying shades of red much like the one below on the front cover.

cover detail of SACRED

All of her pieces are simple, yet unbelievably gorgeous! It has inspired me to choose a color that means something to me, and create a series of works using only that color. Have any of you ever done a monochromatic series? Why did you do it, did you enjoy it, why or why not, and would you do it again? Check out all of Julie’s exhibition pieces at http://www.nohrahaimegallery.com/currentold.php?id=71&from=past. If you look at more of their past exhibitions in 2010, you can see she also had a BLUE series. Let me know what you all think!

Art for a Cause

The Cha Cha for Children fundraiser at Regional Physical Therapy was a huge success this past Saturday. I enjoy participating in this event each year, and loved that I was asked to donate this year.  The piece below, Overcoming Rage, is the piece I created for this event.

Overcoming Rage, by Brittany Raeann, 2011

It is a mixed media beeswax collage which is more detailed and has more layers than my earlier pieces. This piece started with an 11 x 14 canvas and a can of spray paint. I really enjoyed using the spray paint as the base, and plan to use this technique more often. It is just so easy to manipulate spray paint, and to thicken, or lighten, the amount of paint applied just by the distance the can is held. After that I added some various papers, some acrylic paint, and prisma colors. It was at this time that I decided to add the beeswax, more papers, and more color. I am very pleased with how it turned out, and was even more pleased with the reactions I received. It was very exciting seeing people so anxious to win it in the raffle.

Speaking of the raffle, my one lucky ticket won me a piece by Studio Pashnada which she donated to the Cha Cha for Children fundraiser! I am very excited to have another amazing encaustic piece by Sherry to add to my collection. Rhythm is a much different style than the other piece of hers I own, Lots Goin’ On .

Rhythm, by Sherry Ball Schoenfeldt, 2011

I love the smoothness of the wax and the undulating lines it creates, as well as the contrast in the light and darker colors. In the center there are circular burn indentions which are my favorite part of this piece. I love how they break up the color composition. The piece as a whole reminds me of a beautiful summer sunset with it vibrant colors, and the line of circles are like the horizon line. Rhythm was created on a piece of wood, so it is heavier than some other pieces I own. I love its different characteristics opposed to paper or canvas and how it gives the work different qualities. The wood makes the edges appear rustic and aged, which is a small difference I really adore.

Thank you again Sherry for donating this piece! The fundraiser raised over $4,000 for the Bethany Children’s Hospital’s physical therapy department! I’d say that’s a success!

Also, I finally posted about six pieces to my Etsy store, and would love for you all to check it out at Brittany Raeann Art! There is one very similar to Overcoming Rage that I created at the same time, called One in Many. I hope you all enjoy! Please email me at brittanyraeannart@gmail.com if you have any questions or commissions!

More and More Beeswax

Recently, two of my best friends commissioned a couple of beeswax pieces. Now that I have given them their works, I wanted to share them with you all!

This first one is a piece titled Be Willing that I made for Dani, my long time best friend, and someone who understands me more than I often understand myself. As you can tell, it is a similar style to the last piece I discussed, La Liberté de S’éleve, which she was very interested in because the meaning really resonated with her; a meaning we both understand all too well. Therefore I made one specifically for her using her choice of color and details. I loved using the vibrant shades of green as the main colors, and composed it in a different way so as to give the piece its own personality, and not make it an exact replica. I like how the green evokes a calming nature. This time I chose to include the inspirational quote from Joseph Campbell discussed in my previous post, which is the root meaning for this piece as well. I am very happy with how this piece turned out, and am happy to say that Dani is as well!

Be Willing by Brittany Raeann, 2011

Hope as an Anchor, which I made for Danika, also has a similar style as the other two pieces, but it has a very different meaning behind it.  The title, Hope as an Anchor, is derived from the Bible verse, Hebrews 6:19:

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

Danika and I lived together for a little over a year, and in that time have grown very close. We started attending Journey Church together on a weekly basis, and it not only changed our lives, but also tightened our bond. The focal point of this piece is the bold, black anchor in the lower right hand corner. This anchor represents many aspects of our relationship, such as how we help keep each other grounded, as well as representing many things for Danika personally. Red is a bold color which holds numerous meanings, and was perfect for this piece. I love this piece as well, and its display location right outside my old bedroom.

Hope as an Anchor by Brittany Raeann, 2011

Just fyi, I am setting up my Etsy store this week, so please expect a link very shortly, and you can see what I have up for sale! If you are interested in commissioning your own work, please contact me by commenting here or emailing me at brittanyraeannart@gmail.com, and we can discuss what you are wanting, what size, and a price.

La Liberté de S’éleve

I’ve been very conflicted with how to post about this following piece since it is very personal to me in ways in which I am not ready to completely describe just yet. So, bear with me as this post could be somewhat vague. However, no worries, I will post about this specific piece again in the future, but I want to be able to show you all now. It’s my new favorite piece, and has found a resting place on the wall above my bed.

Recently, and coincidentally, very timely, I came across a quote by a man named Joseph Campbell (okay okay, I didn’t come across it all on my own, Ezra totally said it on Pretty Little Liars, and after hearing it, I had to look it up):

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

This quote is what influenced this piece, and I feel like it sums up the emotions contained within this collage titled, La Liberté de S’éleve. This quote rings so true and speaks to me in ways that I cannot describe in words, but thankfully, I can through my art. This piece represents climbing out of the cage you contain yourself in, or away from whatever is trapping or holding you back, and soaring to reach your absolute potential, even if that potential could lead you down a scary path filled with unknown and unfamiliar adventures; however, doing so with strength knowing that this change could quite possibly be the best and most exciting decision you have ever made. I think we all come to a crossroads in our lives where we can make that big decision to reach our full potential, or where we can decide to stay exactly where we are, and be comfortable. I encourage you to take a leap of faith, leave your comfort zone and possibly be extremely uncomfortable, and just do what your heart calls for you to do. I guarantee, you will not regret it.

I chose to use a range of blue tones to evoke a calming and peaceful atmosphere, and also to display an appearance of the crisp blue sky. I used a combination of acrylic paint, tissue paper, papers of all types, crayons, and beeswax for this piece. I want this piece to focus on the positive aspects of making these life-altering decisions to be who you want to be, and not the moments when life gets really really tough and kicks you down along the path to your “final destination,” which happens to us all. Let me know what you all think!

"La Liberté de S’éleve" by Brittany Raeann, 2011, (12' x 12')

Entering the World of Beeswax Collage

I recently took a class, Experiments in Beeswax Collage with Sherry Ball Schoenfeldt from Studio Pashnada at My Heart’s Fancy in Edmond. Let’s just say, this class was one of the best art classes I have taken in a long time! I’ve always been the type who is interested in learning anything and everything when it comes to the art world. When I saw that Sherry would be teaching a beeswax collage class I knew I had to grab a spot! I had never used beeswax as a medium in my mixed-media pieces, and I was intrigued. I went to class not knowing at all what to expect, and left a beeswax addict. I kid you not; beeswax is quite possibly my new favorite medium, and one I plan to use from now on. During the class Sherry explained the process of beeswax collage and she brought each of us a cute customized “tester strip” and an assortment of papers so we could experiment and test how the beeswax reacted with each type. Some papers would become transparent, or remain opaque, and others would just change completely as the wax soaked into them. One of my favorite parts of the workshop was when we learned how to add color to our pieces. I never knew I’d be so excited to use crayons again! Sherry is an excellent teacher and presents the instructions in a very understandable manner. I love mixed-media projects because of the degree of creative freedom, and Sherry makes sure you understand that you can’t make mistakes in mixed-media art! Take one of her workshops, and trust me, you’ll want to take them all!

Here is my completed piece from the workshop, and I am pleased with how it turned out!

"Caged Chaos" by Brittany Raeann, 2011, (4" x 8")

When I got home that afternoon, I decided that I wanted to cut my tester strip into three pieces to add more, and experiment with more techniques. I purchased the necessary supplies and after working further, I quickly realized that my tester strips were turning into pieces. Like I said before, I love the freedom mixed-media allows. When I am working on my pieces, it is like I am taken into a new realm of thought. I do not have a specific thought process of “oh this happens first and then this,” I just “go with the flow.” It’s not uncommon for me to be three-fourths of the way through a piece before I have an idea of what I’d like the finished product to look like. And then other times, I just work on a piece, and then realize that it’s done. I love that about mixed-media; always a surprise. Below are the two completed pieces I created using my tester strip. If you have any ideas for titles let me know!* (Titles added!)

"Beautiful Love" by Brittany Raeann, 2011, (5.5" x 7")

"50 and Counting" by Brittany Raeann, 2011, (5.5" x 9.5")

I am currently working on a mixed-media beeswax piece to donate to my step dad’s yearly company fundraiser for their raffle. This year 100% of the proceeds earned are going towards the Children’s Hospital in Bethany, Oklahoma. I can’t wait to share it with you all after the event!

Also, I should be able to post a few pieces on my Etsy site this week! I will work on adding a link to my blog ASAP so you can all check it out!

Dia De Los Muertos

Spring and summer time equals busy time (and play time, of course)! I finally had a moment, after way too many weeks have passed, to sit down and blog. I am very excited to finally share an artwork with you all that I coveted for months before I was finally able to purchase it! The piece is titled Dia De Los Muertos created by California artist, Jessica Ward.

I absolutely love Jessica’s very detailed and delicate drawing style. Jessica’s current art focus centers on eating disorders. Jessica addresses eating disorders that begin in childhood and their affect in adulthood. Hair has a prominent presence in Jessica’s work to represent a visual representation of the multidimensional eating disorders that she addresses. To read her entire artist statement, and to better understand her work, you can read it on her website Jessica Ward Art – Artist Statement.

To create her works on paper (she also occasionally draws on other surfaces as well, as can be seen on her website), she uses graphite pencil and sometimes incorporates slight color through pastel and colored pencil on certain pieces. In this work, she has used graphite & chalk pastel on an 8 x 10’ sheet of paper.

When I first saw this work, I knew it had to be mine! Not only do I have a slight obsession with anything dealing with the Day of the Dead, I also have a weak spot for women depicted through art. In this image, a beautiful young woman is seated alone with her face painted for Dia de los Muertos clutching her long, flowing locks. Her hands are delicately drawn, with such detail even to the tendons which are taught, suggesting that she is grasping her hair very tightly, maybe out of frustration or anger. However her face does not depict these emotions, it is calm and serine. If you look closely, you can see that entangled in her hair, there are spider webs; at some places you cannot tell whether you see strands of hair, or web. Also in her hair is a bouquet of puffy, white flowers.

The main part of this work that drew me in is the woman’s face. If you look past the decorative painting on her cheeks and forehead, you can see that her lips are stitched shut and that her eyes are a cloudy white shade, vacant, cold, and dead. Possibly her lips are stitched shut because she feels that she cannot speak, as her disorder overcomes her will power. Or possibly, the stitched lips are just an adornment painted on in celebration of dia de los muertos.

The message I receive from this message is one of death through the dia de los muertos subject, the spider webs and the vacant stare of her eyes. However, I feel the flowers are the single glimpse of life added to her work. From her artist statement, and knowing that her work centers on eating disorders, I read this to mean that as the eating disorder consumes your body, there is still a glimmer of hope that death does not have to be the outcome of your struggles, and that life can still be achieved.

When I received this work from Jessica, it was framed in the most perfect golden frame. Framing is often a part of an artwork, as some frames can bring out certain details of a piece and complement it, while others can distract from the piece. This frame is large and has a pattern across it reminiscent of the painted floral pattern on the woman’s face. I am so glad this frame was included; because I know I wouldn’t have been able to find a frame that complements it so well.

I hope to add more of Jessica’s pieces to my collection, I am just absolutely in love with what she is doing with her artwork right now, and just can’t seem to get enough!

Also, check out her website to see the piece she created for the show, “#Winning – The Charlie Sheen Exhibit”  at Hyaena Gallery in Burbank, CA in April 2011 that Sheen himself liked enough to purchase for his personal collection! How cool is THAT!?

For more of Jessica’s fascinating works visit her website, Jessica Ward Art, and her Facebook page.

Figure Study: Space Around

On the evening of Saturday, March 12 my mom, Stacey, and I ventured to our first gallery show at the Individual Artists of Oklahoma (IAO) gallery for the fourth annual Money Talks, Art Walks event. This event features 200 artworks from local artists which are purchased in a very unique and fun way! Patrons purchase tickets which are placed into three separate pools, $100, $75, and $50. Essentially all of the works cost the same, but the higher price ticket you purchase determines the number of works you had to choose from.  Everyone who purchases a ticket receives a work of art; however, the work of art is chosen only when the individual’s ticket number is called. Tickets were first drawn from the $100 pool, then the $75 pool, and finally the $50 pool. When a ticket number is called, the patron has 30 seconds to choose which work of art they would like to take home with them. Mediums ranged from photography, mixed-media, sculpture, paintings, etc; but all art was 8.5 x 11 inches or smaller.

We arrived at 7:00 p.m. when the event was just starting up and met up with my bestie Dani, her friend Tyler, Dani’s mom Sherry (the same Sherry whose art I blogged about in my first post), and Sherry’s husband Patrick.  After a few minutes of chatting and visiting the open bar for a glass of wine we made our way towards the walls displaying all of the artworks. There were so many pieces of all different styles. It was a great collaboration of what many local Oklahoma artists have to offer.

I was particularly drawn to a small 4 x 5 inch photograph of a nude woman leaning at what appeared to be a table. All of the artist names and the titles of the works were hidden, only to be revealed once the piece was chosen. I made my way to the ticket booth and purchased a $50 ticket in hopes of the photograph still being available when my ticket number was called.

After about a half hour of grazing the hors d’oeuvres and finishing a second glass of wine (Yellowtail Chardonnay is yummy, I had to have a second glass!) it was time for the $100 ticket pool drawing to begin. I anxiously waited as each name was called, hoping the work I wanted wasn’t chosen. Somehow the photo I was dying to receive made it through the $100 and $75 pools without being chosen. I knew that it was meant to be mine!

As the $50 pool drawings began, I was clutching my ticket in hopes of getting the piece I wanted. My number was called, and it probably took me all of 2 seconds to cross the room, hand over my ticket, and point at the photograph. I was ecstatic, and in awe that I actually ended up with my top choice (trust me, I had many many back up choices, and would have been happy with any of them; there were so many amazing works). As they pulled my photograph off the wall, they read who the amazing photograph was by, Raven Capps-Crowl, and titled Figure Study: Space Around.

Here is a picture of me right after I received the photograph. Photograph by M. Tim Blake.

Photo Credit: M. Tim Blake

After returning home from an amazing night at IAO (I recommend this gallery, so much fun, and they always have so much going on…check out the IAO Gallery website).

Raven Capps-Crowl is a local photographer from Norman, OK who combines photography and digital art to create unique photographs with an artistic spin. I am in love love LOVE with the photograph of hers I am lucky enough to add to my collection. This piece is titled Figure Study: Space Around and measures 4 x 5 inches printed on a metallic photo paper (which happens to be one of my favorite photo papers – I just love the metallic sheen of their surface, and how the shimmer adds to the photograph).

"Figure Study: Space Around" by Raven Capps-Crowl

I have always been a fan of nude photography and the human body in general, and really love the delicate way Raven has displayed this woman’s body. You do not see details of her nudity, but do see the beautiful l curvature of her posture and body as she arches her back over a table. There is softness to the texture of her skin mixed with thin harsh black outlines that have been digitally rendered against certain curvatures along her body such as her stomach and back.

Her figure takes up the entire left side of the composition, with the right being a void and silence against a wall with a subtle natural color pallet of golden yellows and green which create a mysterious feeling of uncertainty of what location this woman is placed in. Is it a home? Is it a studio?  The woman’s chestnut brown hair cascades across her face obscuring her identity. There is a brilliant use of shadows and highlights along the human figure emphasizing her toned body. The highlight on her arm leads the viewer’s eyes up and along the figures back and down her leg. I chose a nude colored mating to surround this piece to bring out some of the rich flesh tones in the photograph. Unfortunately, I could not get m camera to accurately depict the mating shade.

I used a black 8 x 10 inch frame I had in my room, but hope to find the perfect chestnut brown frame to replace it with, as I feel that would be a more fitting frame for this piece. What are your thoughts? Brown frame? Or does the black one work?

Also, what are your thoughts on nude photography, or nudity in art in general? Living in such a conservative part of the country, I know nudity is a controversy in certain aspects. Should it be a controversy in art? Where should the “lines” be drawn? Share your thoughts, and if i receive enough I will post a blog of some of your responses.

Needless to say, I am very pleased with the art piece I purchased, and can’t wait to participate (and even submit an artwork) in next year’s Money Talks, Art Walks event at IAO!

Window Seat

Goodness, it’s so easy for life to get in the way of blogging! Sorry it’s been such a long time since my last post, but I have so many wonderful things to share with you all! This post with be the first where I get to share some of my personal artwork with you! I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to participate in the 2011 Sit. Stay Art! Event held at the Film Exchange building in downtown OKC this year. Artists chose an animal in need of adoption as their inspiration for an artwork to be sold at the event on the evening of March 18^th. Sit. Stay. Art! joined with Pets and People Humane Society in a fun way to support finding homes for many cats and dogs. I chose a two year old feral cat named Fandango as my inspiration.

Photo courtesy of Pets and People Humane Society

Older cats have trouble being adopted, and not only is Fandango older, but he has special needs. See, feral cats are cats that have spent time back out in the wild and have somewhat reverted back to their instinctual nature. These cats need love, and other cat friends, to help rejoin domestic cat life.

Being a cat lover and owner myself, creating an artwork of an animal was not too difficult for me. I watched my cat Shadow, who we adopted at Pets and People back in 2006, in her “territory” (aka my apartment) to see how she acts in everyday life. She lives just like many other cats; eats, sleeps, plays, and wanders around. Recently she has been spending a lot of time sitting at the window watching birds fly by, cars pass, and I’m sure dreaming of outside life. When I saw her perched at the window, I knew that was exactly how I wanted to portray a cat in my piece; facing away and gazing out into the world, being the watchful eye of their domain.

"Window Seat" Brittany Raeann, 2011

After deciding what to do, I needed to decide how to do it. As I stated in my last post, I am a huge fan of mixed media artworks; therefore, that is how I decided to create my piece for Sit. Stay Art! For this piece, titled Window Seat, I started off with an 11 x 14 inch canvas and began gluing red magazine scraps to the left side to create what would eventually become the curtain. The Sky is a base of blue tissue paper and glue. I then used Nevr-Dull (one of my favorite tools) over the magazine paper to create a “dulled” look which, in my opinion, creates a smoother transition between the scraps of magazine. Next I added acrylic paint and prisma colors on each side.

For the cat, I decided to draw him on a separate sheet of paper and glue him to the canvas when completed. One of my most used techniques is prisma colors on dark shades of paper. For this piece, I chose gray paper, my favorite hue of choice, and blended many different shades of prismas to create his fur. I next attached the kitty-cat to the canvas, added a few more adjustments, and voila!

Now for the night of the show! I was kind of nervous; this was the first time any of my artwork was being displayed anywhere that was not my home, a friends’ place, or school. My mom Stacey, Step-dad Ted, and sister Sydney all attended the event with me to see my work, as well as the many other amazing and cute pieces available (check out Sit. Stay. Art!’s facebook page to see some of the other beautiful works).

Many people attended and were able to view my work. I would get giddy each time I saw a potential buyer, or anyone for that matter, walk up to my artwork to get a closer look. Towards the end of the night, I had noticed a couple that kept coming back to view my piece…and I knew that meant they were thinking of purchasing. I walked away (because thing always happen only when you’re not looking…can’t watch a pot to make it boil), and when I returned, my piece had sold! I was ecstatic and decided to walk up to the couple thanked them for liking my work and choosing to display it in their home. This is a feeling I hope to have more times in the future as my art career grows.

It was an amazing experience and night, and I can’t wait to enter my work into many other shows. Thank you all for your support! I have so much more to share with you all, and hope to do so soon!

Lots Goin’ On

For my first post, I thought it would be fun to review my most recent (and very first) artwork purchase. This mixed-media piece titled, Lots Goin’ On, was created in 2010 by one of my favorite local artists (and someone who happens to be my best friend’s mom), Sherry Ball Schoenfeldt. I have loved Sherry’s artwork for a long time, and am lucky enough to own three jewelry pieces made by her, and was ecstatic when the opportunity to purchase a piece of her artwork came about.

You can read all about Sherry and see many of her amazing pieces on her website, studiopashnada.com. or visit her blog here!

Sherry is a local Oklahoma artist working in mixed-media art techniques. I am a huge fan of the medium of mixed-media because I feel it gives the artist complete freedom from the “rules” of art. Not only does the artist have the freedom of artistic expression, but they have the ability to use any found material their heart desires in any manner they can imagine. Let me put it this way, when you are working on an oil painting, you only use oil paint as your medium, therefore, there are subtle limitations to what your work of art can eventually become. However, with mixed-media, your imagination and materials are limitless. Some examples of popular mixed-media materials include: paints, tissue paper, magazine paper, buttons, beads, feathers, metal, nail polish, pins, pencils…really ANYTHING your heart desires to use.

"Lots Goin On" by Sherry Ball Schoenfeldt, 2010

Lots Goin’ On was created using beeswax, encaustic, acrylic paint, patterned tissue paper, and crayon, and the results are spectacular. Abstract pieces can say something different to everyone. Sherry’s use of bright colors evokes a playful happiness of chaos. She has used red, pink, yellow, blue, green, black, white, as well as silver. These color tones jump across the canvas from side to side creating an abstract image that is very pleasing to the eye. Sherry has a wonderful layer effect she uses while creating her works. This layering gives her works depth. I feel like every time I look at this piece, I see something new, uncover a new layer that I never knew existed before. I love the complexity of this piece, there is always something new to see and discover. This is one of my favorite aspects of Sherry’s art.

Something that pulled me into this painting are the hidden French words that can be seen in a lower layer in the lower right corner (above her signature) as well as in the lower center of the work. One of the “hidden messages” is the French phrase “un jour”, which translates to “one day” in English. These two words say a lot amidst the chaos of the work. To me, it relates to a day in anyone’s life, and how so much can happen in just one day, or how one can feel like there is so much to be done in one day. We have all heard the phrase “there aren’t enough hours in the day” and this work makes me think of that. However, oddly enough, this work gives me a feeling of peace through the chaos. A feeling that we all at some point in our lives feel overwhelmed (I sure know I do, many many days of the year) and that feeling overwhelmed is normal, and that we should accept it for what it is.

My eyes are also drawn to the 4 silver dots at the bottom of the work which are arranged in a triangular pattern. Throughout the history of art the triangle has represented balance (oftentimes referring to the Holy Trinity), and I believe that to be the representation of the triangle in this piece of artwork as well. I love that this dot triangle is placed close to the phrase “un jour”. I see this triangle as a reminder that in order to control the chaos of our lives, we must learn to balance all of the tasks and events life throws our way. Only through balance (for me this balance comes through Christ) can we accept the chaos in our lives, and learn to not let it consume us.

As I previously said, abstract artworks can communicate different messages to different people. Maybe the message you receive from this work is completely different than the one I see. I want to hear your thoughts. What do you see and feel when you look at Lots Goin’ On? Just remember, there are no wrong answers in art, that’s what makes art so freeing!