Voting for Two Seperate Talenthouse Contests begins in 14 Hours!!! :)

Voting starts in 14 hours for "Design an iPhone and iPad case by John Lewis" in the UK! I will send a reminder for voting this week from Sept 1st until September 7th. Your support will be soooo appreciated. Entries with the highest number of votes will have "special consideration" in the company making a selection.

Please click on this link and vote for my entry:
http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvites/preview/af566cdb5e090d58f1217bcca794c93a/242

Also, voting starts in 14 hours for "The English National Ballet" in the UK! I will send a reminder for voting this week from Sept 1st until September 7th. Your support will be soooo appreciated. Entries with the highest number of votes will have "special consideration" in the company making a selection.

http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvites/preview/af566cdb5e090d58f1217bcca794c93a/281

In the meantime please support my Portfolio at http://www.talenthouse.com/denisefarinsky

Thank you so much for your support! :)

Denise

New Submission to Talent House Last Night

Well, last minute I decided to enter the Talenthouse contest to design for John Lewis in the UK. This contest would mean that I would design and iPad and iPhone cover that would be sold exclusively throughout their stores in the UK. I couldn't believe I was up until 12:40 last night, but today is the last day to submit, so I had to finish. When you are a stay at home mom and artist, you have to "make hay while the sun shines."

 http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvites/preview/af566cdb5e090d58f1217bcca794c93a/242

Artists had free reign to design whatever they wanted. I wanted to design something that spoke to my own style as an illustrator, while trying to appeal to large group of people. This is my first time designing for a "product" and applying my illustration. It was a great learning experience. Most people of course use Illustrator and Photoshop and they look great. For myself, my illustrations are hand drawn and painted so wanted to stay true to myself and my art.

Background and Influences

I began drawing when I was 5 years old...I would draw everywhere when I was little: in church, in a dealership with my mom, at a relatives house, on the porch when other kids were playing outside...I was hooked.

I received my B.A. in Art with an Emphasis in Art Education and have Secondary Single Subject Credential in Art with a CLAD emphasis from San Jose State University. The last 12 years of my life have been dedicated to teaching art to high school students. It has been a wonderful run that ended at the end of this 2010 school year.

"Urban Garden Mural Project" Grant Union High School: Sacramento, CA 2010.

http://www.twinriversusd.org/newsroom/spotlight/?q=26 

I also have always "moonlighted" as an artist for various commissions. Not too proud to turn any request down [within reason], I would do portraits here, reference paintings there. However, I always hungered for a chance to completely devote myself to my OWN style. Of course, as any art historian will tell you, there is nothing "new" and my influences may be very obvious to some. From now on, as a professional artist, I am committed to my own style, come starving artist or not. Love my work, hate my work, but--it's MY own work. No one ever paid Matisse to paint like Renoir. I will paint like Farinsky.

My little "art studio" and wall of inspiration.

My day job, taking care of Darth Vader and Iron Man. They are actually very sweet.

A wonderful opportunity of being a stay-at-home-mom has arrived and, in turn, the opportunity to concentrate on my own work. Art teachers seldom have the time to develop there own craft, especially if they are working full time and parenting young children. There are no accidents.

The Watercolor Purists "Taboo" Against using Black Paint

When I first began to paint with watercolors in middle school in a Parks and Rec class...my watercolor teacher said...we don't EVER use black...we mix our natural "black" paint in watercolor.

In high school and college, using black paint in watercolor was strongly frowned upon. As a professional Art Educator in the Secondary system, my coworkers actaully tossed their black paint in the trash can before their wide eyed art students ever painted with watercolor paints.

Me?...I encouraged my students to use black paint...heck...I used black paint. I enjoyed the mood of it, the contrast that I could never get with a "natural" black. The same way that "Casablanca" or "The Corpse Bride" would never be the same in a bright cheery bubble gum pink, Carribean blue or parrot yellow color. I break watercolor "taboos" in my artwork. It may shock some artists out there, but don't worry! I give you permission to use black too. :)

"Imagination requires work!" or Why did I quit teaching art?

I never thought I would be an art teacher forever. Anytime I was in a staff meeting at work where someone would recieve flowers and a standing ovation for teaching 25 plus years at the same school...I never saw myself there. Why? Why wouldn't I want to serve as an art teacher until I couldn't see or draw anymore? Why wouldn't I want to depart all the knowledge I had to my students? Isn't teaching a noble profession?

Well, the answer is "yes"...it is a sacrificial profession that requires many hours, hardwork and dedication. But as much as I was willing to sacrifice...the artist bug never left me...It would always bother me when people would say, "Those who can, do and those who can't, teach." In October 2006, I went to a CAEA conference. Our speaker was the artist James Christensen.

His work was amazing...imagnatitive, emotional, detailed and professional! He was a master at what he did. A master! After so long in teaching, had I come to "mastery" level? did I have a "point of view"? Well, I doubted I had mastery and definately had no time to figure out my point of view. An art teacher asked, "How did you become so good professionally at you artwork? How did you have time since you were an art teacher?" His answer I will always remember, he said "I had to quit being an art teacher to become a good artist..." There was a gasp in the audiance. I knew it was the truth, and most art teachers felt it too. Later two art teachers I met were kind enough to get me a copy of Christensen's latest book signed. I opened it and inscribed it says, "Denise-Imagination requires work!--James Christensen" And so there is is...Those words had been haunting me ever since.

This is posted above my drawing table. A quote by Ira Glass.

 

 

 

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/great-advice-for-creatives 

As a stay at home mom of two toddlers...time during the day to work on art is limited to naps and moonlighting as they go to bed at night...but now! Now I can work...My personal goal is to do at least 100 illustrations by January 2012 to develop my portfolio. My artistic soul is alive and hungry...I am excited and alive again as an artist and ready to break through the artistic plateau I've been on for the last 12 years of my life.