Straight Lines Are Not a Prerequisite

Periods of Time, wool , 9” x 12”

 

Blog 8


It always breaks my heart to hear from people who feel not artistic because they cannot even draw a straight line. I always tell them that this is only necessary for architects and similar professions that design manufactured objects. Where do you find straight lines in nature? Look around you and let me know what you discover.


I love the work of Antoni Gaudi, a Spanish architect who tried throughout his life to copy nature’s rounded forms in his buildings. We are the ones who create straight lines and symmetry. Nature’s shapes are much more fluid and curved. Therefore, drawing a straight line is not a prerequisite to creating art.


The problem is not that you cannot draw a straight line. The problem is that you compare yourself to the work of others and put pressure on yourself, expecting a specific result. But art is not mathematics. Art is subjective and emotional.


However, pressure creates apprehension. Instead of enjoying the process, the feel of the brush or pencil in your hand, the softness of the material, and the excitement about creating something that you want to express, you freeze and get frustrated. You focus on the result and forget to enjoy the process. If you have ever been on a long trip, you know that it is much more enjoyable if you are excited about the journey and not only the final destination.

I want to encourage you to pick up a regular pencil and draw simple shapes (circles, squares, ovals, etc.) that overlap without thinking about any form you want to create. After a while, look at the map of lines on your paper. Then, start filling some areas with colour or different shades of grey. Not having specific materials should never prevent you from creating art. The more you use your materials, the more ideas you get. You are increasing your creativity by being more creative. This skill will also help you in other areas of your life where you need innovative solutions to a problem. Maybe you want to listen to your favourite music to get inspired or enjoy retreating to a quiet spot. Once you feel more comfortable, you will reach a point when you are in the moment and forget everything around you.


Do I suggest that everyone will be happy with doodling and drawing? Absolutely not. I recommended the above exercise because most people have pencils at home. I wanted to show you that you can create things. Maybe, you will fall in love with pencils. Maybe what you thought you would enjoy is not a medium or technique that suits your personality.


Therefore, instead of going out and feeling overwhelmed in an art store, find out if you can get a starter kit or beginner workshop, or ask friends to show you and perhaps experiment with their materials. If you have questions, send me an email to info@kerstinpeters.ca. I will help you figure out your next steps to exploring your creativity.


It always breaks my heart to hear from people who feel not artistic because they cannot even draw a straight line. I always tell them that this is only necessary for architects and similar professions that design manufactured objects. Where do you find straight lines in nature? Look around you and let me know what you discover.

 

Detail from Gaudí's La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

I love the work of Antoni Gaudí, a Spanish architect who tried throughout his life to copy nature’s rounded forms in his buildings. We are the ones who create straight lines and symmetry. Nature’s shapes are much more fluid and curved. Therefore, if you cannot draw a straight line, that’s the best premise to create art.


The problem is not that you cannot draw a straight line. The problem is that you compare yourself to the work of others and put pressure on yourself, expecting a specific result. But art is not mathematics. Art is subjective and emotional.


However, pressure creates apprehension. Instead of enjoying the process, the feel of the brush or pencil in your hand, the softness of the material, and the excitement about creating something that you want to express, you freeze and get frustrated. You focus on the result and forget to enjoy the process. If you have ever been on a long trip, you know that it is much more enjoyable if you are excited about the journey and not only the final destination.


I want to encourage you to pick up a regular pencil and draw simple shapes (circles, squares, ovals, etc.) that overlap without thinking about any form you want to create. After a while, look at the map of lines on your paper. Then, start filling some areas with colour or different shades of grey. Not having specific materials should never prevent you from creating art. The more you use your materials, the more ideas you get. You are increasing your creativity by being more creative. This skill will also help you in other areas of your life where you need innovative solutions to a problem. Maybe you want to listen to your favourite music to get inspired or enjoy retreating to a quiet spot. Once you feel more comfortable, you will reach a point when you are in the moment and forget everything around you.


Do I suggest that everyone will be happy with doodling and drawing? Absolutely not. I recommended the above exercise because most people have pencils at home. I wanted to show you that you can create things. Maybe, you will fall in love with pencils. Maybe what you thought you would enjoy is not a medium or technique that suits your personality.


Therefore, instead of going out and feeling overwhelmed in an art store, find out if you can get a starter kit or beginner workshop, or ask friends to show you and perhaps experiment with their materials. If you have questions, send me an email to info@kerstinpeters.ca. I will help you figure out your next steps to exploring your creativity.

Blog-free Week

 

By The River, acrylic on birch board, 14" x 11", CAN $375

Summer Outlook


I booked my flight to Germany and will be gone from the Victoria Day weekend until the end of June. I have never taken such a long time off. It is a little scary to leave work for so many weeks, but I want to concentrate on my family and friends after more than 30 months of separation.

To have enough time to prepare everything I need to do before I leave, I postponed the two-session Beautiful Flower workshop to Monday, July 18 and 25, 2022, from 6 pm to 8 pm. If you want to learn needle felting and love flowers, you can benefit from the early bird price by registering by June 1, 2022. For more information, go to https://www.kerstinpeters.ca/eventscourses/.


What other workshops interest you? Would you be interested in meeting in a park or in our backyard during the summer? If so, please send me an email to info@KerstinPeters.ca.


You can still connect with me for a virtual coffee date. Please book a coffee date with me here. If you live in the Ottawa area, we might even be able to meet in person.


For private events for your family and friends, please send me an email to info@KerstinPeters.ca. I will gladly organize a party or workshop for you. However, I will only offer in-person events outdoors. All other events will be virtual.

Inspiration is Everywhere

 

The Old Rooster, 12" x 9", watercolour study

 

Blog 7

 

Since my fall down the stairs in December, I have only left the house for medical appointments. It has been only about two weeks since I started short walks outside. Being stuck at home, creating art saved me when I was frustrated by my limited mobility and the excruciating pain. Where did I find the inspiration for my art when nature looked like a vast space covered with a white blanket?



Luckily, we have a big yard with many trees and feathered friends. I created some drawings of the colourful birds by looking at the many photos I had taken and picking the postures and birds that I found the most appealing. If you want to capture animals on paper, quick sketches can help you. However, many people use reference photos for additional information.



If you look carefully, nature always offers inspiration for artworks. The rays from the sun create a fascinating play of shadow and light that is ever-changing. At the beginning of spring, areas of awakening nature with rests of snow and ice create appealing patterns. During the summer, you experience lots of brilliant colours. The fall landscape dazzles you with the fall foliage. Heavy snow on trees and brilliant sunsets capture my interest in winter.
 
 

 

Look at the collages I made of the same scene to document the same view during the past week. Are all of them exciting? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on the liberties you take. Just because you use a reference photo does not mean you have to stay close to what you see. It is the same way when you are painting on location. The artist has the opportunity to change a scene. Sometimes, the size of your canvas or paper makes it necessary. Other times you want to enhance something to make the composition more interesting.

 

There is inspiration all around us. Last week, during a week at the cottage, I got together with one of my painting friends. I had not painted in person with a friend since last fall. We know that we could not paint in nature because of my limitations. Therefore, we set up a still life on the veranda. We grabbed a couple of glasses and metal objects, a tea towel, a rooster and fake apples that were part of the kitchen decoration.

At the beginning of 2020, I taught a course, Let’s Draw What’s in Our Fridge. It is astounding what you can discover when you pick a couple of vegetables or fruits and really look at them. We were all surprised at how colourful a simple sweet potato was and admired the shiny peel of a red onion.



When you want to create a still life, setting up a composition that looks appealing can be the hardest part of the process. You want to make sure that the objects overlap and that your eye travels around the setting. However, you don’t need extraordinary things. Look at a couple of masterpieces, and you will discover that fruits and vegetables make great painting subjects. These paintings can also offer you some inspiration for your own still life. Explore the use of everyday objects from your house. Place simple items together that you love. Experiment with things that have nothing in common and those which share similar shapes or colours. Staying in a colour family can be as exciting as using complementary colours.

 

What you see and feel can also inspire your art. Some people create stunning artworks from their imagination without any obvious inspiration from their environment.

Expressing yourself through art takes some courage to get started, but the more you create, the more ideas you will get for new projects. Don’t create art thinking about how others will see your art but for your enjoyment. If you want to share it, absolutely do because you might inspire others to create. I always compare creating art to writing a journal. Some people feel the need to share their stories, while other people write them down for themselves to remember or work through experiences. There is no right or wrong. Pick up a medium you enjoy and start somewhere.

If you need some help figuring out where to start, send me a message to info@KerstinPeters.ca. While I am concentrating on needle felting, I know many other fantastic artists who offer courses in various mediums.

Blog-free Week

 

Parc des Amoureux, oil on board, 8″ x 10″, CAN $250

April is here. In the past, I often joined the Plein Air Ensemble for the spring painting trip around this time. Even though I see some of my painting buddies every week in our Zoom meetings, I miss spending time together in the fresh air.

I finally made it down the stairs and outside for my first walk after my accident. So far, I can only make it to the next corner, but it is progress. I probably still need to use a cane for a couple of months, but I am determined to double my distance every week. I want to be ready to go to the Ottawa Tulip Festival in May.

I hope you have a wonderful, creative weekend!

Playing With Wool

Green Waters, wool, SOLD

Blog 6


Many of my blogs refer to needle felting. While I have written about materials and the process of needle felting, I never told the story of how I started needle felting.

After I had moved to Ottawa, I joined the Grizzly Gang Bear Club in Nepean. From time to time, the club organized workshops. One of the workshops was a needle felting workshop. We learned to create a cute needle felted bear. I loved what I could achieve with the wool. For a couple of years, I made small three-dimensional animals.

However, when going through the boxes in my studio one day, I came across samples of different wool rovings from my six-month internship in the yarn producing company Schachenmayr. When I wanted to study fashion design after school, I needed the required practical experience to apply to university. I loved being around wool all the time, designing patterns for the new collection of colours and products before they hit the market.

I wondered what I could do with these small quantities of wool rovings. Without ever having heard of needle felted paintings, I got inspired to use the wool for a re-creation of my acrylic painting Green Waters. From that moment on, my excitement for needle felting led me to create more and more two-dimensional artworks. When I looked for resources for materials that I could not find in the local craft, art or wool stores, I also found information about other artists and finally learned the expression needle felted painting.

Alex, wool, 12.5" x 10.25"

Fast forward to 2020, when our dog, Alex, needed my care and attention after a stroke. I did not want to leave him alone anymore, and he was too old to follow me to my downstairs studio. Instead, I concentrated on needle felting which I could do anywhere with Alex at my side.

When our puppy, Shadow, joined us less than three months after Alex died, I had another reason to stay upstairs, preventing the mischief a little dog can cause. For him, I even erected a gate to make sure that he did not get into my projects – a lesson I learned from my experiences with our first puppy.

Last year, I felted during many of the Zoom calls. I always need to occupy my hands. After my accident in December, felting and drawing helped me get through the pain and frustration.

I like the ease of felting. The materials are light. Therefore, I can carry them easily. During my time in bed, I could even felt in bed. I can pick up my projects for a couple of minutes or hours because the cleanup is fast and easy. I don’t have to worry about spilling paints, covering leftover ones and washing brushes.

The repetitive motion of pushing the felting needle through the wool is relaxing and meditative. I have so many ideas for new projects that I will keep felting for a long time, and I hope that I can share this passion with you.

Flowers from Students

 If you are intrigued, I invite you to my next virtual workshop. On April 23 and 30, 2022, we will create beautiful flowers. You can copy my example, but I will also show you how to felt your unique flowers. Material kits are available for Canadian destinations. For more information, please click here.