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Recommended Reading: Basic Drawing Techniques

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  Basic Drawing Techniques edited by Greg Albert and Rachel Wolf   I picked up this book at a yard sale this last summer for about a dollar, but the information inside is invaluable to any artist. It is Basic Drawing Techniques, edited by Greg Albert and Rachel Wolf, from North Light Books. It covers the basics of drawing, from beginner to portraiture.  I got a degree in drawing and painting from Academy of Art University, and a lot of what is in this book is in the foundation classes an art student would take there. If you are looking for a resource to brush up on your drawing, or even for how to teach others, this is the book for you.  It begins with an overview of the supplies you will need, whether drawing with pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, or marker. It discussed the different types of papers available and how they work with different media. From there, you will learn about basic lines, shapes, forms, shading, perspective, quick sketching, animals, anatomy, figures, and portraits
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Morning Sunbeam

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 Morning Sunbeam was an assignment for the advanced still life class I took at Academy of Art University. I was to choose an area in my home and make a composition out of it. This was a challenge for me, a mental and emotional challenge, because although I crave order in my life, my house does not reflect that. My house is often messy and disorganized. But this one area, I was able to find a good composition, and to me it speaks of peace even when there is chaos. You can't see the chaos in this picture, but it's in the room. The focus is on the stillness, the bright sunlight peeking through a window you can't see, slowly creeping over the wall, reflecting in the glass shade of the table lamp. It's a moment of stillness, whispering in your ear to take just a minute and...breathe...appreciate what is in front of you. This is available on by website www.dancingelephantart.com and through my etsy store:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/238017485/morning-sunbeam-original-still-
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Stupid Fat Hobbitses

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 One of the things I enjoy painting is known as "altered art" what that means is that I find an unwanted painting at a yard sale or second hand shop, and I alter it, adding in an element of pop culture, normally. Usually I only alter part of it, and try to keep the additions looking like they are part of the original piece. Sometimes, if the painting was really amateur, I will enhance it a little, before adding another element.  For this particular piece, however, it started out as altered art and just became an original painting. I started on a thrift store painting that was never finished. It was a tree with the outline of a child peeking out from behind it. It was just barely sketched in, with a little green painted in the background.  Some pieces just tell me what they need to be, and this one rasped, "Gollum! Gollum!" So I researched, and ended up using three different reference photos of Gollum and Andy Serkis, to draw out my Smiegol. I am not the greatest lan
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Supernaturally Inspired

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 As a portrait artist, it's challenging to find a way to demonstrate to the public my ability to create an accurate likeness, using private commissions and studies, because, well, nobody knows who these people are unless they are friends or family. They may be done well, may be a perfect likeness, but if you don't know them, you are not going to know if it truly captures their essence. This is one reason why I have created celebrity portraits. The majority of people can recognize them. Even if a portrait is done poorly, you can still get a likeness; but if you are really good at what you do, people will see and appreciate that. Right now, we are looking at the end of a 15 year television series being filmed this week. I am speaking of Supernatural. If you don't know what it is, it's about two attractive brothers, Sam and Dean, who are "hunters". They track down ghosts, vampires, werewolves, demons, and other things, with the help of their angel buddy Castiel.
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Trophies

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 Trophies is an original still life oil painting, that was painted in 2015 while I was still in art school, in an advanced still life painting class. I was able to choose my own subject matter, and wanted to do something different than the traditional fruit and pottery that often defines the still life genre. My husband and son are passionate hunters, and so I took inspiration from their pastime to create this one of a kind still life.  This painting shows the tail feathers of a turkey shot by my son (good eating although somewhat tough), and an elk antler from a kill, from either my son or husband (also good eating!). It was really fun trying to make the feathers soft, the antler bumpy, and the gun shells look like shiny metal. This painting is available for sale from my website, www.dancingelephantart.com .
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Night at the Baker Heritage Museum

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 --This piece was originally published in 2015 but has been updated for the new blog format. Early 2015, I received an invitation from Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, to come tour the Baker Heritage Museum. I, along with many other artists, went, and found inspiration for art in the artifacts, exhibits, stories, and people dressed and in character, at the museum. Upon entering the museum, one of the first people I met was a woman wrapped in a red feather boa, with a feather fan in her hand. Her real name is Elaine Logsdon, but her character's name was Diamond Lil. I imagined she had been a burlesque dancer in her youth, and now perhaps ran her own saloon and theater. I am sure she could tell some very interesting stories! I knew I had to paint her, and knew her personality would shine through on the canvas. I decided with the other paintings I made for the museum, to be more creative in the composition. Instead of painting the entire object, I chose to crop it in a way that would b
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More Marbles

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  Here are some more of my marbles. These were painted on 8x8" wood boards for the Little Big Show in Baker City, Oregon. Some of these sold, but some are still available at  www.etsy.com/shop/AmyVanGaasbeckArtist  . It's the perfect size canvas for these marble paintings. It's always so fun to see each marble turn from just shapes and colors to marbles. This one is called Big Blue. Many of these marbles were from a collection owned by one of my oil painting students, an elderly woman, who had a large jar full of them and they had been in her family for decades. This particular one was very old, and not perfectly round...just a little bit off. As an artist, I have to judge when to idealize and perfect something, like remove a blemish, leave out a few wrinkles, make someone thinner, or leave it in and embrace the imperfection. I decided to leave in the flaw in this marble, where you will see my others appear perfectly round, this one feels just slightly off, just by a hair.
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