Artist?

I discovered a new blog on "Blogs of Note" that I just love. It is under my blog list called "On My Desk." It is a forum for professional artists to display their private workspaces and the projects they are working on. I am fascinated by this blog. I have always been interested in the unique styles of my friends and others I have read about. I think the most personal space of all is the one that evolves while we are busy working. That space is usually not meant to impress and might even say things about ourselves that we might not choose to convey.

Interestingly, my three friends who have their own businesses also have the most interesting work spaces which are as unique as they are. One friend has a second story studio near the court house in a small Kentucky town where she does typesetting, makes signs and creates homemade organic soap. Another is a computer and marketing professional (and jack of all trades) who has turned an extra bedroom into a spacious and organized office with a big desk turned toward the window. The third is a publisher, writer and mental health professional who works full time creating social skills programs for school systems. Two bedrooms have become busy offices which are full of computers, books and the antiques that she loves. The garage is organized with large shelves which hold all the supplies her business requires. I know for a fact that none of these people set out to "decorate" their work spaces and yet their indidual styles emerged.

All this is a round-about way to say I'm thinking of being an artist! I majored in journalism in college, I worked for many years as a typesetter, I like public speaking, I enjoy photography, but I have never thought of myself as an artist. Sure, I thought of taking painting lessons someday and learning to play the piano. Meanwhile, I discovered some things about myself since getting remarried and becomming unemployed a couple of years ago. I have always kept a daytimer kind of journal and I have always kept family photo albums, but once I discovered digital photography it was a whole new world. This blog fits my purposes so well. I love documenting my life especially with the grandkids and leaving behind a record of our time together. I need to get my daughter's help to incorporate music into this blog and I would like to update to a fax/scanner/printer combination so that I can scan old pictures and family documents for posterity.

What did I discover about myself? I like taking photographs of my grandchildren and I like cooking. Not very earth shaking, but there it is. Meanwhile, I am exploring digital photography with programs such as Photoshop which I used casually in my previous jobs. The pictures above are ones I have created with a simple filter to make them look like paintings. These are the paintings I would do if I had the skills. In fact, I would love to figure out how to get poster-sized prints and embellish them with touches of paint. I would like to sell them at the art shows and outdoor concerts that I love so much. That whole business side and the part about making a profit has me stumped right now, but I am enjoying the process.

P.S. In order to see the detail, you need to click on the photograph. I paid to enlarge one to 20" x 30" poster size just to see how it would look. It came out the way I wanted, but cost way to much to process. If you are interested, look up the other posts labeled "inspiration" to see some of my other ideas. Imagine waiting until you are 61 to dare to think of yourself as an artist!

Sorry to ramble on for so long. Tomorrow I will share what my own work space looks like.