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Horton Art Gallery, Naples, FL (2026)

08/17/2015

Belinda and I were organizing my new art classroom at Avalon Elementary this weekend, and I ran across a wonderful subject for a facebook photo! How cool are these brushes!!

08/09/2015

Day 221 of 365

This summer I taught the most awesome two week art class for kids 6-14. One of the projects we studied and painted was abstract techniques. These photos show six of my terrific students, hands messy after we were finished. And the finished work of art displayed in a gallery. Can you believe each individual canvas panel was painted by each student? And once combined with the other panels, aren't they terrific! Gotta LOVE young artists.

06/22/2015

Day 173 of 365

These little toilet paper roll monsters were made for one of my kid's classes around Halloween last year. The school principal made a little hanging holder to display them, and at the end of the year returned them to me. I liked the display hanger so much I just hung these monsters above my door entrance to my home office. And they look so creative and cute hanging there!

My artsy cousin Chris Gildow likes to display a lot of his art above doors, a space you wouldn't think to use to display art. It's actually a wonderful spot for fun, creative photos and art.

Save those toilet paper rolls for making into fun characters... Halloween, Christmas, Easter, any fun occasion! Lee

06/20/2015

Day 171 of 365

Got some very nice news yesterday from the United Arts Council of Collier County... an art design competition I submitted to was selected and sponsored. So I am one of fifty artists in Southwest Florida who will painting a large Loggerhead turtle sculpture that will displayed publically around town. Some of you might have a similar art project in your town, Chicago had cows, Tampa had dolphins, etc...

I have the rest of the summer to complete my turtle, it's delivery to my home is next Thursday. I'm told these sculptures are very large, full-size with a large base. I'll take a photo next to the blank turtle next week to show you its relative size. This LARGE sculpture will be sitting in the middle of my living room all summer so stop on by to see it!

And of course I'll keep you updated as I paint it, which should take most of the summer. Although I'm so pleased to have been selected, this will be lots of work. Have a great day everyone! Lee

06/10/2015

Day 159 of 365
Week 23 of 52

This was an article an artist friend shared with me. I'll break it down to four days of blogs and hope you enjoy them!
Here we go, with the 22 things creative people do differently than the rest... today 16 thru 22:

16. They see the other side of the coin.
They can always observe situations from a different point of view.

17. They don’t like boundaries.
Rules and boundaries are not for them. Many popular creatives in history have even been labeled as rebels.

18. They often don’t like numbers.
They are brilliant and can really amaze you at times, but try to let them do the math and you will be surprised by how much they dislike numbers.

19. They are great observers.
They often are great people watchers and notice even the smallest detail. People and basically everything can be the inspiration for their next idea.

20. They always make new experiences.
As we said before, they need to be stimulated to stay creative. Is there a better way to escape from routine by trying something you never did before?

21. They do it all over again.
No matter how far they’ve come with their last creation. If at a given point they don’t like, they won’t think twice and will trash it just to start all over again. And again. And again.

22. They love
They love. Everything. They love life, they love people, they love emotions, they love animals, they love beauty. They can stay in silence watching the most beautiful sunset they’ve ever seen, or be excited for the next big art exhibit in town.
No matter what, their love for life is contagious, and if you have some friends like this, stick with them. They will make your life a little more beautiful.

Have a super creative day everyone! Now go and throw some paint! Lee

06/10/2015

Day 158 of 365
Week 23 of 52

This was an article an artist friend shared with me. I'll break it down to four days of blogs and hope you enjoy them!
Here we go, with the 22 things creative people do differently than the rest... today 11 thru 15:

11. They fall in love with their pieces of work, and hate them the day after.
This is still a mystery, but there is some kind of process that makes them extremely fickle about their creations.

12. They hate what they’ve just created, but will totally love it 12 hours later.
Just like n. 11, this can happen too.

13. They are humble and proud at the same time.
They are always willing to learn, but will be extremely proud and confident when it comes to their ideas and creations.

14. They are always looking to new ways to express themselves.
Both if you do it as a job or you are just a creative person, you know there isn’t just one way to express creativity. If you are a photographer you’ll probably love to create in so many other ways. The same applies to painters, art directors, writers and every creative person in general.

15. They procrastinate.
Give them a deadline and they will comply with it, but you can be sure they will do 90% of the work the night before the term.

Does any of this hit home readers? Lee

06/07/2015

Day 157 of 365
Week 23 of 52

This was an article an artist friend shared with me. I'll break it down to four days of blogs and hope you enjoy them!

Here we go, with the 22 things creative people do differently than the rest... today 6 thru 10:

6. They are told to get a real job.
It’s not easy to be accepted as a creative, especially when your loved ones expect something different from you. Real creatives will follow their dreams.

7. They will follow their heart, even if often their mind thinks otherwise
It’s said that creative people are more likely to worry less about problems and take more risks. This can brings to a thousand fails, but a million satisfactions.

8. They get lost in time.
When they are creating they get lost in time and space, they can forget to eat, to drink and even to sleep. When words, colors or ideas start to flow out of their mind there’s nothing else that really matters to them.

9. They work when you sleep and they sleep when you work.
Like we said at n. 1, inspiration comes at the most unexpected times. Just take it and make something great out of it.

10. Where most people see a difficulty, they see an opportunity.
They can see the bright side of things, and brilliantly come out of troubles in unusual ways.

Does any of this hit home with any readers? Lee

06/07/2015

Day 156 of 365
Week 23 of 52

This was an article an artist friend shared with me. I'll break it down to four days of blogs and hope you enjoy them!
22 things creative people do differently than the rest.

If you’re creative, you will understand…

Creative people are different. That’s it. There’s something charming and irresistible about them, somehow they manage to see the world from another perspective, and the things they do, the decision they make are just different than what the rest of the people would usually do.

But what really makes creative people stand out from the crowd, and which are the struggles they face everyday?

The following list is dedicated to all the creative people out there, and why not to all the less creatives as well, because in the end, we are all creative in our very unique way.

Here we go, with the 22 things creative people do differently than the rest... today 1 thru 5:

1. They get inspired at the least expected moment.
They can’t decide when the next big idea will come. It just will, in the least expected way, at the least expected moment.

2. They daydream. A lot.
They are here, but they’re not. They can fly away with their mind at any given moment during a conversation. Don’t be mad at them, it’s just the way they are.

3. They get easily bored.
They need to stay stimulated in order to stay active. They won’t focus on something they don’t like. Call them ADHD or whatever you like, this is just part of their genius.

4. They watch the world with the eyes of a child.
There’s a part of them that never grows up, and maybe this is the real secret, observing the world with the eyes a child.

5. They will fail, and you can be sure they will try again.
Life it’s not always easy for a creative, especially for the professional ones. They will fail one thousand time in their life, then they will rise and succeed, only to fail again. Every creative, even the most successful one, has failed and has been rejected one million times. But they finally did it.

Does any of this hit home to any readers? Lee

06/05/2015

Day 155 of 365
Week 23 of 52

If you have the time, I have a quick question for you at the end of this blog.

I had another blog planned for today but I'm moving it back a day because of a nice chat I had with my Mom today. My Mom is 81 and is in relatively good health... she is really the perfect Mom... kind, sweet, loving, perfect to my father, and has always been supportive of me. Through high school she would sew some of my clothes, cut my hair (and all of my friend's hair!), attended all of my school functions, gave me and my twin sister great birthday parties, and most importantly Mom (and her family) opened my eyes to art.

Mom was a talented artist, as was her Mom, and her siblings. We would spend an entire month every year visiting her side of the family and was introduced to many creative family members, all of which influenced my future.

My blog question for you is, and really think about it, if you could pick one person...who has inspired you most in your life? My Mom is my answer. Lee

06/04/2015

Day 154 of 365
Week 22 of 365

I stopped by the Marco Center for the Arts today to see how the kids sign-ups were going for my (2) one week art classes I'm offering. The ladies at the center said my class was the most popular this summer, one class sold out, the other filling up. So it looks like two weeks of my summer will be filled with preparing and teaching art classes. It'll be super fun but a lot of work.

I'm teaching Monday through Friday, 9-noon each day. So basically I need 5 to 10 GREAT, FUN classes to present to my students, which was easy since my sketchbooks have four years of classes I've developed and recorded. I picked out my favorites and most successful classes and can't wait to revisit them!

Even though I'm going to reduce the amount I get paid, I've decided to present each kids with their own sketchbook at the beginning of the class. I'll be searching for the Michael's Art Store sketchbook deal over the next month so I can buy a bunch.

Have you bought YOUR sketchbook yet? Lee

06/04/2015

Day 153 of 365
Week 22 of 52

Van Gogh and Disney, my two favorite things! Can't tell you where I found this image, but despite poor Vincent's troubled life, I love the whimsy of this image. Hope you enjoy it too. I guess I have this dream that if Vincent were alive today, he'd be a happier painter.

My FB friend Claudia told me about a great episode of the TV show Doctor Who where Vincent Van Gogh is the guest character. I've been searching and searching for a copy of this episode, and was only able to find a small segment of it on youtube, and it is wonderful. I'm sure I'll eventually be able to see the whole episode on Netflix soon.

Until then, keep sending me any cool biographical movie or TV related information with regards to any famous or obscure famous artists. I love seeing them and sometimes sharing them with my classes. Thanks, Lee

06/02/2015

Day 152 of 365
Week 22 of 52

I've attached a photo that inspires me visually, artistically, and creatively. I hope it gives you a fun boost in creativity also. It's all about taking something ordinary, and making it extraordinary. Who would've thought adding different sized colorful marbles to a plain wooden fence would make it so amazing? Love it!

Each marble is like a tiny stained glass window, and seen with the light shining from behind, how beautiful and fun is this design idea? I even like the simplicity of making this art fence... marbles and a drill is all you need. I love it!

If I ever own a wooden fence, I'll be off to the marble store! Have a creative day everyone! Lee

Horton Art Gallery

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