Mindy Creates

Jenna

2012-01-17T12:16:00.002-07:00

melting rainbow

2011-11-17T09:58:00.001-07:00

I had seen countless melted crayon pieces on Pinterest (not sure how many people actually did them and how many just save to never do them later), and really wanted to do one. So I did! Hot glued the crayons down (which I broke in half, so they wouldn't use so much space on the canvas), and used a regular blow dryer to melt them, and then painted the bunny afterwards. It makes me happy. I may have to try this on a painted canvas too.

Taera and Trevor

2011-09-30T16:50:00.000-06:00

Keith and Tysen

2011-09-05T20:14:00.002-06:00

Sophie

2011-06-11T15:42:00.003-06:00

A gift for my friend Julia, of her little dog Sophie.
12x14 inches, done in only an hour and a half!

cover preview

2011-06-01T10:25:00.001-06:00

A small (8 inch square) practice painting for a book cover I'm working on. I'm not sure I can share the cover here, until it's completely done, approved and published, but here's a hint at it. Aaron absolutely loves this and wants me to make more. Perhaps I will try my hand at some landscapes. (And I'm not sure I even need to mention this, but please be assured the original has a bit more color and texture. It's very hard to get accurate digital representation of original paintings!)

Ike and Jack

2011-05-27T10:19:00.000-06:00

S is for Sherry

2011-05-18T13:27:00.003-06:00

While at the zoo, I asked my friend Sherry what her favorite animal was. She said the flamingo, because she wants some plastic ones in her yard. And she loves how brightly colored they are. So I painted one for her 30th birthday next week. It was after I was done that I realized the neck makes a fantastic letter S, for Sherry.

Tysen

2011-04-25T18:54:00.011-06:00

Tysen Cameron McDougall
5x5 inch colored pencil on paper

sunshine rose

2011-04-18T12:05:00.002-06:00

My largest painting, thus far, approximately 2 x 2.5 feet. Didn't take nearly as long as I expected, but I did pace myself and break it up over a couple of days. Now to figure out where to put it.

a touch of Dutch

2011-04-02T16:39:00.006-06:00

A gift for Aaron's grandmother, on her 80th birthday.
Acrylics on three 6x8 inch canvases.

for Elisabeth

2011-03-23T09:44:00.002-06:00

I asked the new mom what she wanted for her nursery. She said that she didn't have anything in particular in mind, but then as we talked about ideas for someone else, she mentioned seeing a very cute pink penguin at the store. And so we have five penguins representing parents and older siblings, with the pink baby penguin for Elisabeth Hope.

for Gabriella

2011-03-23T09:41:00.001-06:00

It works beautifully in her pink and brown bedroom.

Fabrice

2011-03-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

deviant rant

2011-03-07T09:38:00.003-07:00

I am part of the wonderful online community of deviantart, a fantastic place for artists to share their work with other artists. You can comment and have favorites, join groups, and participate in contests. There is plenty of interaction between artists and lots of inspiration to be found.

As a portrait artist, I have joined several groups relating to drawn portraits, and by doing so receive updates of the artwork uploaded to these groups. Lots of portraits. Lots of the SAME portraits. I cannot count the number of celebrity portraits that show up in my inbox each day. Johnny Depp is a current favorite, along with Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga, and, surprisingly, Emma Watson. There are some highly talented artists in this group, and their pieces are incredibly realistic. But when the next person uses the SAME reference photo found on Google, and copies it to the SAME level of realism, you would be hard-pressed to find a difference between their completed pieces.

I have a question: why celebrities? Is it simply because their pictures are easy to find? Or because other people will recognize them and be more likely to look at your drawings? Do they catch your eye because they look interesting? Or are you inspired by the actual person? I do not understand the obsession with famous people.

Why not draw people you know? So you won't have as much recognition on deviantart, but I'm sure your family and friends will be thrilled to see themselves in your sketchbook. You know these people personally, and are actually touched and inspired by your interaction with them. And to make it even better, no one else will have the same piece!

Okay, so maybe you don't have family or friends, or they are all boring to draw. So you look online for a reference photo. Do you realize that someone had to take that picture? "But it's just a photograph. And it's on Google, so no one owns it." How many artists on deviantart are photographers? Give credit where credit is due. You may have drawn the picture, but you were looking at someone's art to do it.

And another point: hooray for realism! I love trying to copy every little detail to make my drawing look like the photo. And if everyone is working from the same photo, everyone is going to have the same drawing in the end. So why not makes yours different? I've come to appreciate pencil lines, unblended scribbles and water splotches. Let's make drawings that actually look like someone touched pencil to paper and put some thought into it, instead of simply copying what is in front of them. At least leave the edges rough, or make the composition unique. Make it yours. When all the drawings are lined up from that same Googled image, make yours the one that stands out. Use different materials, colors, or shading techniques. I recall seeing one person's drawing of Angelina Jolie, but they added a really neat fantasy element so the finished drawing was less about "This is Angelina Jolie" and more about "I looked at a picture of Angelina Jolie to draw the face in this more complicated piece." Make your pieces unique!

I love to take my own photographs to work from. Then there is no question that each piece of art I create is MINE. If I do need to use someone's photos for reference, I add my own artistic touch to the completed piece. Maybe someday, if I ever meet a celebrity, I'll take their picture and draw from that. But until then, I'll stick with people I know and love.

Layla

2011-03-04T16:41:00.002-07:00

Tawnya's daughter, Layla, at two months old. Less worried about making this incredibly accurate, and more just wanting to throw color on the page. Watercolor pencils are fun because you almost get to create something twice: once by coloring with the pencils, and again when adding the water with the paintbrush. I'm still not entirely familiar with my pencils, so it's a little bit of a surprise to see exactly what colors appear when the water touches the marks on the paper.

Aaron's Dragon

2011-02-25T11:00:00.004-07:00

This is not anything that I would typically do. Obviously I'm the type of artist that bases my art in reality, and does best with a reference. Aaron challenged me to paint a dragon, using a small fountain that he has as a visual reference, since it's hard to find a good picture of a dragon without copying another artist. Good to step out of my comfort zone, but probably not going to paint many more dragons. He's quite happy with it - loves how it comes out of the shadows.

12x16 canvas. Black, white, ultramarine and cerulean acrylics. 3-4 hours.

Cremona fawn

2011-02-16T16:09:00.002-07:00

It had to have been nearly two years ago that I was riding with Barry between TLC and Cremona and we came across a herd of deer in a field. We stopped and I snapped a few photos with my camera from a distance, just to have the pictures on file. The time was finally right and I used one of those photos as reference for this piece. Very soft and sweet, I can imagine it in a child's room or nursery.

12x16 acrylics on canvas. Done in an afternoon.

Nekoshi

2011-02-10T22:17:00.002-07:00

Peregrine

2011-02-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

Cards!

2011-02-01T20:06:00.003-07:00

Birthdays, babies, thank yous and more - my artwork and photography is now available on cards! Check out the new tab at the top of the blog for more information.

snuggle pup

2011-01-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

Jack and Ike

2010-12-20T15:22:00.005-07:00

Portland Temple

2010-12-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas Temple

2010-12-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

Glen and Harley

2010-12-04T18:48:00.001-07:00

Josh

2010-11-15T12:34:00.001-07:00

James

2010-11-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

sky dragon

2010-11-02T15:40:00.002-06:00

40x60cm acrylic on canvas - $260
prints available: 4x6 $5, 8x12 $12

ROCKSTAR

2010-11-01T17:36:00.002-06:00

Aaron's brother's Christmas present (shhhhh.. don't tell!)

three dark dogs

2010-10-25T10:27:00.002-06:00

Lincoln

2010-10-19T11:53:00.001-06:00

Tiffany and Robert

2010-10-13T10:43:00.000-06:00

cupcake with sprinkles

2010-09-17T12:33:00.003-06:00

12x18 acrylic on canvas - $180

prints available: 4x6 $5, 5x7 $7, 8x12 $12, 11x14 $18

Antarctic Butterfly

2010-09-06T14:33:00.005-06:00

40x60cm acrylic on canvas - $300
prints available: 4x6 $5, 8x12 $12

painted penguin

2010-08-31T15:57:00.007-06:00

40 x 60 cm acrylic on canvas - $230

prints available: 4x6 $5, 5x7 $7, 8x12 $12, 12x18 $24

saskatoon berries

2010-08-27T14:47:00.006-06:00

prints available: 4x6 $5, 5x7 $7, 8x12 $12, 12x18 $24

Ashley

2010-08-10T21:24:00.000-06:00

the happy couple

2010-08-05T15:40:00.000-06:00

cow

2010-07-13T22:44:00.000-06:00

vampiress

2010-07-12T10:38:00.002-06:00

Zac

2010-06-12T12:37:00.002-06:00

cherry on top

2010-04-28T15:57:00.000-06:00

Drawn by hand, colored in Photoshop.

ReInspired

2010-04-25T20:37:00.001-06:00

Henry's Hat

2010-04-10T15:57:00.000-06:00

Keith

2010-04-06T14:10:00.000-06:00

Sprocket

2010-04-01T14:47:00.000-06:00

ball player

2010-03-31T18:45:00.000-06:00

Rosemary

2010-03-25T11:04:00.001-06:00

Mindy Creates business card

2010-03-19T19:23:00.001-06:00

EarthBear Serves

2010-03-17T19:22:00.000-06:00

Hemi-Sync Ad

2010-03-16T19:20:00.000-06:00

Bella

2010-03-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

Cali

2010-03-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

daisies

2010-03-01T12:37:00.001-07:00

7.5 x 11 watercolor - $50

sweet peas

2010-02-25T22:06:00.002-07:00

7.5 x 11 watercolor - $50

Henry

2010-01-31T12:28:00.000-07:00

something sweet

2010-01-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

Beers Family

2009-11-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

Mindy and Aaron

2009-11-15T18:35:00.001-07:00

bluebells

2009-07-22T18:27:00.000-06:00

Wedding Portrait

2009-07-16T22:10:00.000-06:00

Karesa

2009-07-09T22:00:00.000-06:00

cupcake

2009-07-04T21:47:00.000-06:00

Amber and Adam

2009-07-01T18:38:00.001-06:00

geese

2009-06-19T18:26:00.000-06:00

puppy

2009-06-18T18:25:00.000-06:00

opposite flowers

2009-06-04T18:20:00.000-06:00

this little piggy

2009-05-19T21:39:00.000-06:00

father and son

2009-03-28T23:24:00.000-06:00

Haley's Comet Coaching

2009-03-25T22:50:00.000-06:00

Lightn-ing Bug Healing

2009-03-20T22:38:00.000-06:00

Elizabeth

2009-02-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

Lyla

2009-01-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

KJ the Pooh

2009-01-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

Rosemary

2009-01-09T18:12:00.000-07:00

Aaron

2009-01-06T21:36:00.000-07:00

color study

2008-12-08T18:10:00.000-07:00

dragon

2008-11-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

little penguin

2008-11-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

SKINS

2008-11-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

masculine and feminine

2008-10-16T13:34:00.000-06:00

artist poster

2008-10-13T23:27:00.000-06:00

shapes

2008-10-06T11:02:00.000-06:00

overshadowed

2008-10-04T11:05:00.000-06:00

Allison Kendall

2008-07-07T10:57:00.000-06:00

Stevie

2008-06-25T10:56:00.000-06:00

Joshua

2008-06-12T20:53:00.000-06:00

heart of a rose

2008-06-10T10:55:00.000-06:00

in blue

2008-05-31T23:05:00.000-06:00

vintage grace

2008-05-30T09:58:00.000-06:00

cat and fairy

2008-04-30T09:38:00.000-06:00

Camille

2008-04-28T09:35:00.000-06:00

fifth position

2008-04-25T22:58:00.000-06:00

pointe

2008-04-13T13:52:00.000-06:00

Julie

2008-04-12T13:51:00.000-06:00

Tessa

2008-03-26T23:08:00.000-06:00

ballerina bunny

2008-03-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

laundry day

2008-03-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

Madeline

2008-03-02T13:42:00.000-07:00