The Artist & Exercise

We talk about so many things when we talk about what artists should do in their daily process, how to improve their creativity, or how to be more productive, but I feel like I never hear how an artist needs to care for their body. To me, this is possibly the biggest part of the artist’s practice outside of the studio. Keeping your mind and body healthy through exercise, eating healthy food, taking medications as needed, and meditating all make you better when practicing your craft.

I thought it might be helpful to share what I do to stay feeling my best physically & mentally so I can show up consistently to my art desk, do my best work with focus & stamina, and work in a way that doesn’t leave me feeling depleted or in pain.

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We all already know that sitting for long periods of time is hard on your body: higher blood pressure, higher blood sugar, metabolic syndrome, increased risk of heart disease & cancer. I recently bought a convertible desk so that I can switch between sitting & standing when I have to be at my desk for long periods of time (like writing this blog). You can find very affordable options and even ones that are just a portion of your work surface if that’s more your style. It’s made a huge difference in how I feel after a long day. If a new desk isn’t in the budget, you can take regular breaks to stretch & walk around. Experts suggest taking breaks from sitting every half hour. This actually meshes in really well with the Pomodoro productivity technique:

1. Set the timer (usually 25 minutes)

2. Work on the task

3. When the timer rings take a short break (five–ten minutes)

4. Go back to step two and repeat until you complete four cycles

5. After four cycles are done, take a long break (20—30 minutes)

6. Repeat steps two through five for as long as desired

I recently got this timer on Amazon that I really like for doing this technique. I love Pomodoro for making sure I’m moving around and for signaling when to switch between sitting and standing. It’s a good way to make sure I’m drinking enough water, too. Your brain needs water! During the longer breaks I like to grab a snack, make tea, do a short yoga video on YouTube, do a short chore, or walk my dog.

I’ve always been a bit of a jock. As a kid, my free time was spent exploring outside—running, digging, climbing trees, finding critters, building forts—basically being one of Peter Pan’s lost boys. I played a variety of sports throughout school. In college, I fell in love with weightlifting and distance running. And in the past few years, I’ve fallen in love with yoga and meditation. All these things together are what make up my perfect physical fitness routine. It counteracts the time spent sitting at my art desk and the long hours of being on my feet at my day job. My day job can be physically demanding, too, so I try to stay strong to handle the rigors of the job.

I was extremely skeptical when I first started my yoga journey. I used to call it “advanced stretching” instead to trick myself into doing something I saw as woo-woo. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Now, I’m absolutely a convert & I wish everyone would do it. I follow a few yoga teachers on YouTube & doing yoga at home was how I originally got started. Practicing in your house takes a lot of the pressure off & you can find teachers you connect with without having to pay for an in-person class. I do yoga daily, aiming to do 30-45 minutes. It keeps me flexible and helps work out the tightness of running and weightlifting.

Weightlifting and running are usually three days a week. I do both on the same day—lifting first, then a run. My weightlifting routines lean toward classic gym rat & bodybuilder exercises. I alternate between simple upper body & lower body routines of about five exercises each. This is a complex, multifaceted world to explore if lifting is something you’re interested in. I would highly suggest finding a trainer or mentor to help get you started if you’re a total beginner. Lifting with proper form is non-negotiable if you want to avoid injury & it’s a difficult thing to know until you really get a feel for it. I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t have some amazing mentors along the way. As for running, I prefer to run outside to get fresh air and sunshine. I’ve been doing mostly road running, but I’d like to get more into trail running. I aim for anywhere between a mile and a half and a 5K (3.1 miles). Signing up for 5k fun runs has helped to keep me motivated & accountable. I’d like to work up to running a 10K race some day.

Exercising outside is better for you—it can improve your mental health, lower blood pressure & heart rate, and lower stress. These benefits have been shown in studies of simply walking through the woods or “forest bathing.” And exercising outside seems easier than exercising inside. Cool trick, huh?

I’m not super strict about my workout routine. My body will remind me if I slack off too much and I’ll be achy or my mental health suffers. Finding balance can be challenging for me—I tend towards overworking and injuring myself.

Now that the weather is a little warmer, I’ll be biking around town and getting some cardio that way. I recently tried rock climbing at our local climbing gym and really enjoyed it. I want to try to get over there once a month on their industry night. Long walks or hikes, with or without the pups, I count as exercise, too.

Walking is one of the most accessible ways to exercise since you don’t need any equipment other than some comfortable shoes. Just a half hour a day is shown to have numerous benefits. You can work your way slowly up to running if you want or just go for longer walks or hike rougher terrain. Walking can improve your immune system, reduce join pain, lower your risk of Alzheimer’s, and strengthen bones & muscles.

I know meditating can seem a little woo-woo. It doesn’t have to be. If you’re willing to give it a chance, but need something a little more “science-y” look into NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest) also called Yoga Nidra. Meditation is a great tool for reducing anxiety & stress, improving focus, and can help with memory issues, addiction, and pain. I’ve come up with solutions to art problems while meditating. There are a wide variety of wonderful guided mediation sessions on YouTube and Spotify.

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I hope this blog post has given you some ideas about how you can care for your body & mind so that you can show up to your art practice as your best self!

Disclaimer: I am obviously not a medical professional, so take everything I’ve said with a grain of salt and talk to your doctor before starting any routine. Start slowly and err on the side of doing too little instead of doing too much. Work with a trainer if you’re getting into something for the first time or if you need/want guidance. Do what feels safe in your body. Prioritize your mental health, too. Love you.

Update: Graphic Novel

I’m doing exclusive updates and behind the scenes content over on my Patreon page, but I thought I’d do a quick recap what I’ve been sharing over there so far this year. I’m making steady progress on the graphic novel that I began writing in 2017. The script got a rewrite last year and since then I’ve been working on character design, page layouts, and the like. I’m more than halfway through the page layouts now—for a 93 page graphic novel it’s been quite the undertaking. While I have a day job that I love, it nonetheless takes a lot of time away from my creative endeavors. Progress is happening, if slowly.

You can follow along and get all the updates and see all the sketches over on my Patreon.

TheArtistBird etsy shop open

I have soft opened my new Etsy shop.

Everything is ten percent off until December 3rd. Orders over $50 will get three free random mini prints.

All of my prints will be moving exclusively to Etsy. There are other things that I have been wanting to offer for a while: mugs, notebooks, tee shirts, phone cases, and stretched canvas. In the future, I hope to expand my offerings to include more such as framed prints, hooded sweatshirts, digital prints, and more stationary. All my original pieces will be staying in my shop here.

"The Four" Artist Profile Interview.

I was recently interviewed by 9&10 new’s “The Four” for part of their ongoing artist profile series. It was such a wonderful experience, especially for someone who gets nervous in these sorts of situations. Sarah was incredibly kind and easy to talk to.

Here is the transcription of the interview with a link below to the video.

Who are you?

I’m Bird! I’m a Traverse City native. I’m back after being gone for about a decade. I have been a professional artist for probably four years.

When did you get started in art?

I’ve always been artistic and creative. I was a doodler as a kid and I got in trouble for it a lot. It was the natural thing, even though I tried doing some other things before I ended up here. So, I went to Northern Michigan University, I started out as a graphic design major, thinking I would eventually go into set design, or transfer colleges, but I just didn’t love it. And, I fell into illustration and that was the major for me. I minored in creative writing as well.

What is your favorite medium? 

I’m primarily a watercolor artist, though I do dabble in collage, graphite, ink, colored pencil, but watercolor is one that I keep coming back to over and over again, it’s challenging. It makes you kind of collaborate with it. So I think that’s what draws me.

What inspires you?

Nature is probably my biggest inspiration, local wildlife, local plants that’s super interesting to me. I’m also really interested in the occult, world religions and spiritualitie,s and how the human mind works.

What do you hope people get from your work?

I hope people learn something, maybe about nature or mythology, or maybe just about themselves and kind of what’s going on internally with them. A moment of peace and introspection.

And here is the video!

I Love My Day Job

I feel like artists don’t talk much about their day jobs. Or if they do it’s usually negative. I work a day job that I love!

Some artists’ day jobs are adjacent to their passion, but mine’s not in my field at all. That’s actually why I applied for it originally, almost three years ago. I wanted something I could do that would pay my bills, but I wouldn’t “bring home” with me or be expending creative energy at. I wanted something physical that wasn’t retail.

As some of you may know, I worked for one of the big art & crafting corporations through college and beyond (six years total). It’s the job that allowed my husband & I to move out to Maine. But when we decided to move back to Michigan, I knew it was time to quit & move on to something else. I landed what should have been the dream job, but wasn’t. After that I was unemployed for a while. Like, starting to panic because I couldn’t find a job. Maybe I was being too picky, maybe the job market just kind of sucked. I don’t know, but I ended up applying for all kinds of weird jobs. Then I saw an ad for a bar back position at a local winery. I had no idea what to expect having never worked in the service industry before. My husband made it seem like it would be awful & backbreaking.

I applied anyway.

It can be hard. In a good way. Sometimes, I have to hustle all day. But that’s where I thrive. I like to be moving and doing things for my whole shift. Standing around with my hands in my pockets with nothing to do drives me absolutely crazy.

While I started out doing bar back duties I’ve done so many other things since then. I’m listed as “Jill of all Trades” on the website. At some point or other, I’ve helped on the bottling line, been on the crew processing grapes & apples during harvest, worked events, done deliveries, cared for the plants outside the winery, worked in the vineyard, packed online orders and wine club shipments, and cleaned just about everything. I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting!

Recently, I began creating artwork for some of the bottles. It still feels totally surreal. The bottles above are the ones currently available that have my artwork on them. Though the skin fermented pinot gris on the left (my personal favorite label so far) has a very limited amount left! The ability to use my degree has been the best bonus I could ask for and truly an honor. I hope that LFC is able to use this artwork for years to come.

When I applied, I was simply looking for a paycheck. I somehow found a little family as well.

Artwork for upcoming labels: in order a riesling, blaufränkish, and pinot blanc.

Review: ArtGraf Watercolour Graphite

I’m not sure how I ended up being introduced to ArtGraf Watercolour Graphite (perhaps my brother, who is interested in calligraphy, brought it to my attention), but I’ve had a tin for a couple years. This is a very unusual product. As far as I know, it’s unique in the art materials market.

ArtGraf is a line of water-soluble graphite products from the Viarco company. According to the company’s website, watercolor graphite was discovered in 1990 by a meeting of minds between Viarco manager António José Vieira Araújo and painter Jose Emidio. But the products weren’t released until 2007. This article gives a little more information about the company and the discovery. And a little treat: here is the painter himself working with the tailor chalk version of the product!

From the Viarco website: “ArtGraf graphite watercolour is a revolutionary product that totally changes the artist’s relationship with graphite. Pencil painting is perhaps the best expression to define the artistic potential of this material, with which the user can obtain the full scale graphite shades, only with a brush and water. Possible to apply on different surfaces, fast drying, but with great capacity of correction, the ArtGraf watercolours are ground-breaking products.”

By the way, I am not endorsed by Viarco or receiving anything for this review.

Novice artists generally start out using graphite pencils to learn the basic principles of art. This is a very cool, topsy-turvy, almost Wonka-esque reinvention of this familiar medium. This watercolor graphite behaves almost like you imagine it should and retains some of the traditional graphite traits. I’m not sure how they suspend the ultrafine graphite particles, but I would assume some proprietary suspension agent like in pan watercolors.

I’ve used this a couple times for paintings such as “Ophelia.” So, it isn’t new to me, but I revisited it with a more critical eye.

Let’s dive into the details, shall we?

I “test drove” this on a piece of 400 series Strathmore watercolor paper. This paper is my go-to paper for painting. The Viarco blurb says that it can be used on a variety of surfaces. Thus far, I’ve only used it on this Strathmore paper and some artisanal 100% cotton watercolor paper from a local shop. I’m not sure that I would use it on anything other than watercolor paper. I think it’s just the nature of the beast when you’re working with something with a high water/liquid content. It could be added to other vehicles (oil or acrylic paints, for instance)…but that’s an experiment for another day.

I applied this to the paper in four ways: wet on wet, wet on dry, dry on dry, and dry on wet.

In wet on wet and wet on dry applications it performs very similarly to watercolor. The graphite is heavier than your usual watercolor pigment. It drifts beautifully in water, but doesn’t flow or bleed as much. So, those lovely formations that you get in watercolor occur here, but on a smaller scale. Wet on dry easily achieves very dense, opaque darks. I didn’t try dry brushing at all. Water is very quickly evaporated/absorbed in the tin. It helps to have a palette with wells when working with this product. When it’s watered down, it’s important to make sure that the graphite is well mixed before moving to paper as the graphite particles tend to settle.

Another thing to consider when working: it can be difficult to layer. Previous layers, even dry, tend to migrate when a wet layer is applied overtop. It’s not impossible, you just have to be careful and intentional.

In dry on dry applications it’s indistinguishable from powdered graphite. I scraped some out of the tin using a knife and then ground them into the paper with a brush. A blending stump, tortillion, or fingertip would also be perfect tools. It’s easy enough to move around, if messy. If you tend to work this way with traditional graphite, I’d suggest giving this a try and then experimenting with adding water by brush or perhaps spray bottle to complete/semi-complete pieces. I imagine some very cool effects could be achieved this way.

When dried, the graphite is still somewhat mobile. You can blend it out across your paper to some degree. If applied wet, some will be locked deeper into the body of the paper and not be able to pulled across the paper’s surface. That said, I achieved some wonderfully soft gradients using this method.

With this in mind, finished pieces do need to be protected with a spray fixative or they will smudge.

Dry on wet was something different all together. I’m not sure how I feel about it or sure how I would put this application into use. It would be difficult to control values. It probably would work best to add texture to darks or as an effect added to a finished piece.

In the second set of boxes I put the claim that it is “completely erasable” to the test. On the right half of each I tried to pull the graphite up. And I have to say, I wouldn’t consider this erasable. Application method and intensity greatly changes how removable it is. I tried two types of eraser and I had the best results with a kneadable eraser. Rolling it over the square rather than scrubbing and kneading the eraser often picked up the most graphite. The other eraser I used (Staedtler Mars plastic) did almost nothing. Actually, it seemed to grind it into the paper more and made it shiny. It would take a lot of effort to pull up the darkest values. Most likely, the paper would be ruined before the graphite came up sufficiently. Dry rubbed in graphite on dry paper came up fairly well, pretty similar to regular graphite, but there was still some staining.

I did some fun experiments as well by mixing some scrapings into ink and watercolor (both Winsor & Newton). I think in the future I would pick a watercolor without chalk in it. I think this made it too heavy. The far right square shows almost none of the flow that watercolor is known for. The ink seemed to behave more or less normally. In both cases, a darker ink or watercolor would be a better choice, but for illustration purposes yellow worked very well. I’m not sure what applications mixing the graphite into ink or watercolor would have for me personally, but who knows.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
I thoroughly enjoy this product. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys watercolor. They operate on nearly the same principles. It intrigues me in the same way. It’s versatile, unusual, and challenging. It encourages experimentation and creativity. I really should pull this out more often. I feel like I’ve only discovered the tip of the iceberg as to what this is capable with this medium. I’m imagining stencils, layering over watercolor or ink, multimedia opportunities, pulling out ghostly shapes with eraser…the possibilities are endless! And unlike watercolor, which has a long, established tradition, this is a very new product and no rules about use/misuse.

I was also recently gifted the ArtGraf water-soluble Tailor Shapes in the primary colors. I hope to do a review of those as well.

If you enjoyed this review you may also like my reviews of the Sennelier Metal Pocket Set and Winsor & Newton Cotman Travel Set.

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The Viarco website
Buy ArtGraf Watercolour Graphite

Patreon

I set up a Patreon! I figure there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

There are five different levels spanning from $1 to $50.

The beginning patronage level receives a personal thank you on my Instagram story every month and access to select posts on my Patreon feed. At the highest level patron receive personal thank yous on my Instagram story every month, access to my feed on Patreon, early access to items (like prints, books, etc.), a monthly signed print (3x5") & a personal doodle (3x5"), and surprise monthly goodies (like an extra print, stickers, etc.) included with their monthly art mail.

"Your pledges will help me buy supplies (paints, brushes, paper, matting, packaging & shipping stuff, etc.), enter work into galleries or contests, and pay bills (website upkeep, business & copyright fees, etc.) so I can keep making art!" 

Check it out! 

I'm STILL HERE

After we moved I really got caught up in working on my own projects and just in work in general. And we were trying to get a business off the ground by October. Plus being close to family means spending a lot of time with family. And not to mention all the settling in things you do when you first move in to a place. There was a lot going on. 

It's nearing the end of five months here. Things have settled down. I've changed jobs. I'm working just part-time now, as opposed to nearly full time. That means more time to work on art! And I have been doing a lot more art in the past two or so weeks. It feels really good.

It's all been art that I make for myself. I got a beautiful Sennelier watercolor set for my birthday, so I've been playing with that a lot. I promise I'll do a review on it soon.

With all the art I've produced in the past few weeks, I thought it was more than high time I get the shop opened. To that end, I've obtained an LLC. I have NO idea really what I need to be doing to run a business, but we'll find out as we go. Mostly what I'll have for sale in the shop right out the gates will be prints. I do have a handful of originals, too.

I've really been focusing on the small floral pieces, but I need to get back into projects. I should get back into the graphic novel, but somehow just thinking about it makes me all weak and nauseous. So, I've been outlining for the past months, in the free time between other things, a deck of divination cards that will be similar to a tarot deck. I'll go more into this project in another post. 

Kickflip'd: A Skate Deck Art Exhibition

The show I'm in at Awesome Hobby Shoppe is having its opening reception at 6p on March 15th.

My piece, "Queen of Heaven" (AKA the pussyboard), will be available for purchase.

See you there!

Kickflip'd Facebook Event Page

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

There are some big changes ahead.

We, Max, Trinity, & I, are moving back to Michigan. We'll be moving to Traverse City, my hometown.

Our lease was coming up at the end of April here in Maine. It got Max & I talking about what we wanted to do next. Did we want to stay here another year? Did we want to try to move north, to Augusta, perhaps? We started digging into our ten year plan, talking about what we want to accomplish, and thinking about where we want to end up. It quickly became clear we didn't want to be here another year. And maybe Maine hadn't been the best choice right now after all... (Northern Maine is still one of the most beautiful places, we may eventually move back.)

Well, we got in touch with my brother & sister-in-law who have been trying to get us to move in with them for forever to see if the offer was still open. It is. And they've asked us to be their business partners & open an art supply store with them! What!

To that end, I'm quitting my job. I've been with the same company for six years, three of which I've been in a management position. It's very daunting, losing that stability (& the benefits, let's be honest). I'd been planning to leave when I turn 30 anyhow. The timing just felt right.

It's been a year of incredible change. I don't regret any of it. Both Max & I have grown so much & we've learned a lot. We've made some great strides on the paths of our chosen careers & we've stoked the passion-fire for our dreams. I think you struggle to make you strong. 

I'm feeling very positive, very at peace about the decisions we've made. It's a good feeling. I know this move is going to bring great good.

The coming of April will bring to a close an amazing, crazy year & open up onto a whole new wonderful adventure that will be full of even more success!

What is the Graphic Novel We Keep Hearing So Much About???

I should have written a blog about this a billion years ago.

This idea came to me in a dream many years ago, maybe five years ago now. In fact, I called it "Dream." The final version is very different than it was at first. In the beginning, this graphic novel was very fantasy based, involving weird alien life & such.

Now, it is the story of three sisters in a vast desert world. After their parents were killed they escaped & are on the run from a cruel warrior queen who wants to make them an example of them to their enslaved people. Along their years-long journey, they meet many different people, learn, grow, & love. Ultimately, they have to decide whether or not they should face up to the queen & free their people or not.

That's the short & sweet version. I'll post more updates as work on the graphic novel progresses.

Graphic Novel Update

If you listen to the podcast I do with my husband then you already know what my plan is for the graphic novel. If not...

I've given up on getting four pages of the graphic novel done a week. I don't know yet what I WILL be able to get done in a week. I wanted to get it done in a year, but I don't see that happening now.

I've stepped back to reassess.

I need to up my technical drawing skills. When I was writing the graphic novel I wasn't really thinking about the art, not the making of it. I was thinking more abstractly about it, composing the panels & pages like shots of a film.  So now that it's come to the making of it I've found that my imagination has reached far beyond my skill level. This is a good thing, truly. But a difficult, frustrating, & painful thing as well. Growth is hard, or it can be.

My new plan is to work on perspective drawing every day for thirty days. I think I'll start fresh February first & finish some other paintings up in the meantime. This was prompted by an episode of Your Creative Push, a (kick-ass) podcast I listen to.

I'm hoping this will force me to get better. Maybe I'll even find that this sort of drawing is something I really enjoy. All I know is I want the art to be worthy of the story.