IT'S ALL ABOUT THE ART ...

Art is such a varied term. It describes a lot of different things. Painting comes first to my mind when I think of the word art. But you can also classify music, crafts, pottery, writing, architecture, dance, etc. as art. In fact, Wikipedia defines art as...

"Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artifacts (artworks), expressing the author's imaginative or technical skill, intended to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power."

It's just such an exciting and wide area.

The classics are lovely and you can't help but be inspired and thought-filled by what the masters did with paint and a brush in their time. But I also enjoy contemporary art.

I'm definitely an armature. I've always loved crafts. I've been painting for years, both craft projects and canvas. And no, I wont be showing any of my "art" here on my blog because I'm not very good at it. I just love to do it.

In the past, I've used oils, but recently have discovered the art of acrylic dirty pours! I LOVE this "new-to-me" style of painting. Fill a cup full of various colors and watch the magic happen on canvas. YouTube is filled with different artists who do this style of painting and each one likes to add their own spin on things. Over the last two months, I've watched many videos and now have decided to try my own. I've purchased all the products to begin, now I just have to find the time.

Here are some links to a couple of my favorite fluid painting videos.

One of the favorites is from an artist called Wigglz' Art. Just look what he does with a paint, canvas and a mallet. Yes! I said a mallet! :)  Check it out here! Make sure to check out his string art. It's WAY COOL!

I love watching MelyD.artist! Her acrylic pours are stunning and what she can do with paint and a hair dryer? So creative!

I also really enjoy Sandra Lett's Youtube page. She does a step by step explanation of how she works her canvas's.

There are so many more I could list, but if you're interested, just search "Acrylic Pours" in the search box and it comes up with a TON of videos for your viewing pleasure.

Another form of art I participate in is writing! I love to write. I've not published anything ... yet. But one day, maybe. But I love to write. This April, I've taken part in CampNano, which is a smaller version of NanoWriMo (National Writing Month) that happens in November. With CampNano, you get what's called online cabins and cabin mates where you can challenge yourself along with other writers in your cabin and feed off each others success and inspiration. My goal was to get 40 hours of writing time in for the month and I've succeeded so far with 52. I'm very happy about that. Finding time to write is difficult with a busy life. And ... I had to stop last week because of a sever sinus infection, but hopefully I'll be able to finish out the last couple of days with more words! Wish me luck!

Not heard of NanoWriMo? Check it out here --> https://nanowrimo.org/

Now, what inspired this post? Well, I do a monthly blog challenge with The Herd Presents, where I'm given a prompt and have to write a post about it. This month's prompt was ART.

I also try to include book(s) I'm reading to coincide with the prompt. And this month, there was a perfect match! I'm reading an ARC about an art thief! Cool, right? You have to read this series. It's called ICON Trilogy by Vanessa Fewings. If you've been a part of my blog for a while, you know I post about her a lot. She's one of my favorite authors. She writes sexy, heart stopping, all consuming adult romance you can't help but fall head over hills in love with. The ICON Trilogy is about a smokin' hot art thief and a talented forensic art specialists who are on different sides of the law, but are too drawn to one another to ignore the sexual tension or the emotions they each bring out in the other. Vanessa portrays the art world beautifully, with all it's mysteries and intrigue and she sites a treasure trove of masterpieces and art history in such a way as to lure this reader into research mode. I always find myself looking up things from her books. Always!

The first two books, THE CHASE and THE GAME, are already out. Click those links to read my 5 star reviews! They are MUST READ series. 

Book three, THE PRIZE, will be released June 26th!

You can read all about the Trilogy with buy and preorder links here!

Once I get some dirty pours done, I might make a post about it, so keep watch for it in the future. I've posted some of my wreath projects on Instagram. Head over there and check it out if you want.

Explore the art world! It's fascinating and varied. What's you're favorite art? Comment below and let me know!

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