July favorites

1)Pokemon go

I'm addicted to Pokemon go and I just love the game. The good thing about Pokemon go is that it gives me exercise. I bike around on my bike most of the time, but sometimes I walk when I play Pokemon. I play the game anywhere from four to six times per day. So yeah I just love it. The image above is just a sneak peek into my Pokemon's. I could talk about Pokemon Go all day but I just gotta sum it up for this post. 

2)Sun bum lip balm(banana flavored)

I love the taste of this lipbalm. It just tastes amazing. I just put it on my lips and lick it off. Then repeat. It really has the best flavor ever. 

3)My summer playlist

I love listening to my summer playlist. My summer playlist has my favorite songs from last summer and this summer. I love all the music that is on the playlist. Also if you want to check it out, the most recent songs are at the bottom of the playlist. This is the link to go to my summer playlist- https://soundcloud.com/courtney-hardy-14/sets/summer

4)Strawberry cheesecake lotion

This lotion smells so good. Every time I put it on I feel like I'm a cheesecake. I highly recommend this lotion if you love the smell of strawberries and cheesecake. I wish all the people reading this could smell it somehow because it's amazing!

5)My birthday

My birthday was a couple of days ago and I enjoyed it. I ate tons of good food and I went shopping. It was not as relaxing as I wanted it to be but it was still fun. The food is really the best part of birthdays in my opinion. 

Things I have learned from being an artist

1)Painting is fun-To me painting is really fun and that is the whole reason why I paint. I enjoy creating a lot and I'm always thinking about what my next painting is going to be. 

2)When you're a beginner painter you think every painting is good. Then once you have been painting for a while you will not like every single one when it's finished.-I think this is because as we keep painting, the more we learn. Once we learn certain things we will analyze our paintings more to see if it looks good and if everything flows. For example-before creating a painting I think about composition, focal point, aerial perspective, etc. I also think it's because I want to create my best work so I put in more effort. 

3)Artist blocks are common-When you're an artist you will come across artist blocks and you will not know what to paint. Then you just sit there and stare at the wall and no ideas come into the mind. It happens all the time. But a tip that I got for this is to sketch. Sketch out whatever comes into your mind. This really works for me. I'll sketch a chair or a cat or something and then sometimes it turns into a painting.  

4)It's really relaxing to paint-Painting really relaxes me and it heals the stress or other things that may prevent me from relaxing. So it's a great way to to destress and just relax. Who wouldn't want to relax? 

5)Art supplies are so expensive-It's like fifteen dollars for a good tube of acrylic paint. Nobody has money for that like we need food on the table. A super helpful tip would be to conserve the art supplies and get a lot of use out of them. 

6)You're always learning new things-There will never be a time when your not learning new things about art because there is just so much to learn. I think this is a good thing because that way we are always growing. 

7)You don't want to compare yourself to other artists that much-If you compare yourself to other artists frequently, your confidence will lower. I did this when I was just beginning to paint. I was doing a cityscape when I was starting to paint again and I was comparing my work to Ken Auster's. I then thought "why can't my art look as good as his". 

8)Always sign your name and date once you finish a painting-Never skip on doing this because it helps you keep track of your progress over time and it is just something that completes the painting. 

9)Change up your subject and experiment with things-If you paint the same thing over and over again you're not experimenting with things and it's good to explore your options in painting. I used to just paint goblins and my dad told me to switch up my subject. So I did and now I'm exploring other options. I'm glad I did because my art improved. 

10)It's hard to make money from art-People don't buy art like how they used to. It's hard to make a career out of it. So I treat it like a hobby. You can make money from it but it's not like it's reliable. I have seen some people do art full time and still make enough money to pay the bills and such. But that is just not that realistic. 

The setup that I use to paint

I'm a painter if you didn't know already. I have a certain setup for my artwork and I thought I would share it. 

So I have a giant canvas that is really like a mat that I lay out on my floor. It is great because it gets really messy when I paint and it feels great to know I got coverage for the mess. 

This is an example of how my brushes are layed out. Usually there is a couple of brushes in my paint water and then I have other brushes scattered around. 

This is where I mix my paints. I use wax paper to mix my paint. I use this as a palette for all the paint that I'm using. I use both sides and recycle it afterwards. 

I lean my canvas up against the wall when I paint. I hang up sheets of paper to protect the wall from paint. It is really great. I like how I can just move the hanging paper back in my closet after I'm done using it. 

This is how the papers look without the canvas leaning on it. I do adjust the papers based on the canvas size. 

That is pretty much my setup. I like painting on the floor because it helps me focus better and this setup works for me. I'm glad you guys got an inside look to how I create my art. 

June favorites

1) New haircut

I was combing through my shoulder length hair a few weeks ago. It was really tangled so I decided to cut a few inches off by myself so I wouldn't have to brush it. Then afterwards my mom said it was uneven and nagged me(a lot) to cut it even. So we made a deal. That if  I got my hair cut by a actual hair trimmer I would get batteries. I needed batteries for my camera because my batteries were running low so I just said yes. So when I went to the hair trimmer I found out that I really cut it uneven. So my only option to even it out was to do a bob haircut. So I did a bob haircut. At first 

I didn't like it but the more I looked at it the more I started liking it. I really like it now because it's cute, stylish, easy, and I don't even have to brush it. 

2)Deodorant

After I workout I always put on crap to smell good and this deodorant is awesome. It smells great and it's longlasting. Sometimes I'll be chillin in my house and then I'm like "what smells so good" and then I realize it's my deodorant. 

3)Trip to Atlantic beach

We went to Atlantic beach for a day and it was really fun. We went to fort macon and the beach and that was about it. I liked relaxing at the beach and going in the waves. I really enjoyed going on the pier at sunset time, it was really pretty. 

4)The Danish Girl

This is one of my favorite movies. I really liked the artistry of the movie. The movie is about a male artist(Einar Wegener) who tries to change his sex because he feels like he is a woman named Lili. Lili was created when his wife's(Gerda Wegener)model was absent and she used him as a model. He then dressed up as Lili and abandoned painting. The couple go through a hard time in the movie but Gerda's success came from painting Lili. This is a really great movie and I liked the way it was filmed. There is some symbolism in the movie too which I find very cool. I would suggest watching it.

5)Painting

I love painting and I have been enjoying painting for a couple of months. I'm sure I will keep painting for a long time. This is literally something that could be on my monthly favorites every month but I just thought I would mention it again.