One Wolrd One Heart 2011

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!

Hi everyone and welcome to
NatashaMay Art World!

Today begins a 5th annual One World One Heart (OWOH) event. If you're not yet familiar with it, click on the OWOH logo above and it will take you to the introduction post.

My name is Natasha May and I live in a small country in Europe called Slovenia. I’m a self taught mixed media artist and I make whimsical pretty faces on layered backgrounds using acrylic paints, colour pencils and tissue paper to name a few. I even started exploring some abstract painting with spray colours just to keep myself on toes.

I am married and have 9 (yes, nine!) fur babies. :) 7 cats and 2 dogs. Most of them are adopted. We don't have any human babies yet but we're working on it. Is that too much information for you? :))

If you want to know more about me you can check out some previous posts of mine where I bore my soul out. :) Well, not really but It felt good writing it down anyway. :)

So this is what you will have a chance of winning.
It's an original mixed media painting of my Penny girl on a 20x20 cm wrapped canvas.

And here are the rules:

1. It's open to all active bloggers worldwide.
2. Leave a comment, making sure there is a way to contact you if you win (e-mail)

3. The winner will be announced on my birthday 17. February :)

Good luck all! And make sure you check out other participants of this event. Thank you for stopping by. :)

One Wolrd One Heart 2011

Commenting

I want to talk about comments today. I LOVE your comments. Any comment will do. I’m just happy to know that someone out there is reading what I write and looking at what I create. And I’m not fooled by bloggers who say they don’t care about comments cause let me tell you if they didn’t care, they would turn off the comment section.

I appreciate the fact that you took the time to write a few words of acknowledgment. Even if you just say Hi. I don’t mind. You don’t have to be awed by my blog to leave me a comment and you shouldn’t be afraid to tell me what you think either. My heart goes a little pitter pat every time I see a longer comment. I relish reading what you have to say.

So, what kind of comments do you like? And what kind of comments do you like to leave on other blogs?

Are you bothered if someone just says Love your painting! on a blog post where you just bared your soul and told about your dying grandfather? Are you bothered by comments saying just Good work! or Love it! instead of elaborating what they like? Are you bothered by a critique?

Since I started blogging back in 2008 I only got maybe 2 negative-ish comments. How many did you get? Was it awful? Did you get offended or pissed off? Or did you shy away from it? I got pissed off. :) You want to know why? Because I didn’t ask for it. If I wanted a critique I would ask you for it.

I want you to critique my latest abstract painting. What do you think? Do you like it? Does it invoke your emotions? What would you change? Do the colors clash? Is a diagonal line a good idea?
I’m asking for your opinion.

But if you show us a piece of art that you love and you're content with it, would it be ok if someone left you a comment telling you what they think is wrong with it? Or would you think, If you don’t like it then move on, Go look at something you do like?

I think that, if someone asks for your help then by all means give it to them. But if they don’t, leave it alone. If you can’t leave it alone and you really care about that artist and want to share your insight with them, then you always have the chance to e-mail them privately. I never got such an e-mail but I would love it. I really would.

Others however don’t do well with critique. It might be heartfelt and with best interests but if the person didn’t ask for it, they might shut down. They might stop blogging about their art or give up on art all together.

And there is a difference between teachers critiquing your art or some passers-by.

Well, that’s my 2 cents on it. What’s your opinion? I hope I didn’t scare you off with this post. Sometimes people read in between the lines where there is nothing to read in. And I know you can’t really tell my feelings behind the writing. I sometimes give my writing to my friend to read before I post and she’s like, Damn, you’re pissed off!. And I’m like, No, I’m not. :) You won’t believe how much censuring goes into my writing. :) Really I love you all! Oh, wait! That’s so not hip and happening right now. I HEART you! Yes, I do!

Commenting

Forgive me bloggers for I have to vent. :)

There are a lot of online workshops these days and of course you’re gonna see a lot of similar work on blogs. Students of said workshops are learning and they want to show their progress. But does that mean everybody is making the same kind of art?

Of course there are lots of similar techniques used and you can see a similar painting but that’s because you’re learning by copying the teacher. However later on I always notice that students adopt their own style of artistic expression. You mix and match different techniques you’ve learned and put that something extra in your art. That something extra is called your heart and soul. And even though a bunch of bloggers are doing, let’s say “folk art dolls”, I never see two folk art doll faces alike.

So I’m baffled by some comments saying everybody’s doing the same thing. I feel like some people that are formally schooled have a problem with self taught artists. And they might or might not be artists themselves but they have so much to say about the art everybody else is making. And it’s not a constructive criticism either.

So what, if it seems like everybody is doing the same style of art. And so what, if the shading is not perfect. And so what, if the lines are crooked and not symmetrical. Have you ever thought that maybe the artist intended it so?

As long as your art makes you, the artist, feel warm at heart, nothing else matters. What if you’ve never heard of Picasso? Looking at one of his famous cubistic (did I say that right?) paintings, would you still think it was done by a genius? Or would you say my five year old could do that? :) And I see a lot of artists that can do amazing realistic paintings but choose to make whimsical folk art instead. What’s wrong with that? The beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

P.S. These paintings are for Mačjelovka, the accociation for feral and stray cats I told you about. And they are inspired by Natasha Wescoat.

Forgive me bloggers for I have to vent. :)

Beginning the year with Butterfly Penny

Hi everyone! Hope you have all recovered from the holidays. :)

I took 3 days off after New Year's so I would relax since there were no days off work. And I finaly finished my new Penny.

(available on Etsy)

I actually didn't use color pencils for the face this time but just went with the acrylics. I think I might adopt this for the future Pennies. :) The face was finished quicker than usually.

I have another Penny in the works and I started 2 backgrounds yesterday. I just hope I finish on time since one of them is going to be a birthday present. :)

Beginning the year with Butterfly Penny