New widgets on my blog (en français plus bas)

For those of you who receive the update in your inbox, you may not be aware that I installed a translation tool on my blog page. You may want to give it a try. It's not bad in French and some parts turned out funny. It's machine translation, so it’s a little mechanical :)

I also added on my blog a "Facebook - Become a fan" box, if you'd like to connect there as well.

Nouveaux “outils” sur mon blog
Avis aux interessés, j'ai installé un outils de traduction sur mon blog. Je l'ai essayé en français. C'est fait par une machine, alors c'est un peu mécanique et même drôle à certains endroits.

J'ai aussi installé un bouton "Facebook - Become a fan" pour les interessés.

Oil Study #119: Three Green Apples

Happy New Year everyone!
I'm back (at painting/blogging)! One of my goals for 2010 is to be more consistent/persistent with my paintings/blog and avoid going quiet for a few months in a row. I want to do better and more (of everything) in 2010. I'm looking forward to new art challenges the new year will bring to me.

Here's an oil study I did last October and forgot to post.

Three Green Apples, oil on canvas panel, 6 x 8"

Thanks for dropping by
Johanne
www.JohanneMorin.com
http://johannemakingart.blogspot.com/

Kreativ Blogger Award

Recently I was honored with the Kreativ Blogger Award presented by Jo Castillo. I met Jo at the Austin Pastel Society. She's a great artist and a very kind person. She's active on her blog with sketching, pastel painting, acrylic painting, travel, baseball, etc. Thank you Jo!


In accepting the award I'm supposed to tell you seven things about me.

1. I paint with my left hand and write with the right one.
2. I like to go to the gym every day.
3. I don't tolerate the cold well :)
4. I really miss poutine.
5. I like dark chocolate.
6. I couldn't have found a better husband and I love him deeply.
7. I have a twin sister who looks nothing like me.

Momentum... and learning opportunity

I'm afraid I lost the momentum here... even my exercise routine took a hit this week :( And I'll have a hard time to get back to it in the next two-three weeks. I'm leaving for the International Association of Pastel Societies convention in Albuquerque, NM this week and then I'll have my twin sister visiting me here in Austin from Canada for few days after that... I'll try to post in between...

Here's some exciting news: I registered for Carole Marine's workshop in July at the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts in San Antonio.

I've been following Carole Marine's blog since mid-January and she inspired me to paint daily and start my own blog. One day she posted a painting of a ceramic bunny she did that day (#706) and the painting she had done of the same subject about two years prior (#20) to that (go to January 21 of her archive page). WOW, what an improvement! If she improved THAT much with daily painting in two years, I'M IN. Even if I improve half of that, I'll be happy. Hard work and discipline paid off for her. I'm a hard worker and I can be disciplined so it should pay off for me too, right?

Since I was at the beginning of learning to paint with oil, I decided to use the blog to record my journey. And someday I'll have some paintings to refer back to... If at the same time I can inspire someone else to paint (or do any other activity :) daily then that will be the cherry on the sundae!

I've been doing oil studies (almost) every day since January and I'm ready for some instruction. I still have a lot to learn but feel like I have plateaued. So learning with an instructor in a group will (hopefully) help me to move forward faster. I feel ready for it. And it will be a pleasure to learn with a painter that has already inspired me :)

It's a start

Bonjour!

Welcome to my blog, where I hope to share with you my daily experience making art and hearing suggestions or comments from you.

I'd also like to show that art doesn't come automatically (for most of us). It takes a lot of hard work, patience, and practice.

Cheers!