Creativity | ArtSpirit7

April 8, 2014May 5, 2014

3 Favorite Mobile Apps for Art

Drawing No. 18 on Note3, by Mary Gow — Drawing No. 18 on Samsung S-Note, by Mary Gow

Aeolian Harp App Drawing No. 2492 by Mary Gow

Photo of The Light by Mary Gow using Paper Artist

As mobile phones get smarter and smarter, it gets more challenging to choose just one. I like the iPhone for its photography, video, and sound. I like the stylus on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. It’s like carrying around a mini-Wacom tablet!

If you’ve been reading other posts on my blog you’ll find my references to Aeolian Harp app created by Uwe Oestermeier, and Paper Artist, produced by JFDP-Labs.

In the past few months I’ve been experimenting with the Samsung Note 3’s S-Note. I’m hooked on the spontaneity of the medium and the ease of the stylus.

The Aeolian Harp app has you uniquely playing harp music while you draw elegant line drawings.

Paper Artist has 30 filters you can apply to photos and make them immediately look hand-rendered.

I’d highly recommend you treat yourself to any or all three. What’s your favorite app for drawing?

March 21, 2014March 27, 2014

The Main Thing I Learned from Music about Art

"Inner Wave," acrylic on canvas, 16 x 20, by Mary Gow — “Inner Wave,” acrylic on canvas, 16 x 20, by Mary Gow

I enjoy making improv music and wouldn’t call myself a “musician.” As I observe what makes a song great – variations coming back to a chorus – I get it.

Painting is similar. Variations can come in texture, line, color, or shape… something within it holds the creation together. Some pieces have no repeats, no reflections, no rhythm.

As there are many types of music, there’s many types of paintings. Quiet paintings with a limited pallette. Vibrant energetic paintings with bold colors and lively lines equate to jazz for me. (This is the type I often like to create).

It can be symphony or rock n’ roll.

Or quiet like the sound of rain.

Or screeching like nails on a chalkboard.

Since art is subjective and there is no “right” or “wrong,” I like it when a piece of art feels lyrical. Like a dance.

I’m drawn to the beauty of lines, especially ones that curl and wrap and circle.

Life is like that.

February 21, 2014March 5, 2014

Award-Winning Anger

"HerStory," photo illustration by Mary Gow. — “HerStory,” photo illustration by Mary Gow.

When you’re mad and you know it, make something!

I found tremendous satisfaction from constructing this photograph when I was furious.

Have you heard the saying, “You’re trying to get water from a rock”? I created this photograph to express that pain.

The heart-shaped rock sits on a bed of nails that stick up from a piece of foam core. Red nail polish and red paint illustrate blood oozing.

I titled the piece “HerStory.”

I am thankful this is not a recent creation. “HerStory” was submitted to a juried competition and won an award in 2005.

What have you created from your anger?

February 7, 2014February 9, 2014

My Biggest Takeaway from Superbowl 2014

Symbiotics, drawing by Mary Gow using Harmonious App

I found myself exceptionally interested in football in January as the San Francisco 49ers almost made it to the Super Bowl. My biggest takeaway this season is what I heard on the commentary about the Seahawks’ quarterback, Russell Wilson. When he was in high school he told his father his dream was to play football.

Here’s an excerpt from William C. Rhoden’s article in the Feb. 5 New York Times, For Seattle’s Celebration, Russell Wilson is an Unofficial M.V.P.:

When Wilson was in high school, Wilson’s father, Harry, encouraged him to pursue his dreams by asking, “Why not you?” Wilson said the same thing to his teammates throughout the season. “We believed that we could get here,” a euphoric Wilson said after Sunday’s victory. “At the beginning of the season I told our guys, ‘Hey, why not us?’ We wanted to win it all.”

He also acknowledged the historical significance of being the second African-American quarterback to lead a team to a Super Bowl championship. He didn’t belabor the point, but he didn’t ignore it. He simply acknowledged a continuum and moved on.

“It’s emotional to think about all the guys, the great players that have played before us,” Wilson said. “That was our thing. We wanted to say, ‘Why not us?’ We believed that. It was real for us.”
(Read the entire article here).

What’s your dream?

Why not you?