Artist Ruth / Art Is Truth
Cultivate Insouciance – Avoid Doubt
Most artists need to remember to cultivate insouciance. What is insouciance, you ask? It is a word of French origin that means light-hearted unconcern or nonchalance. This is the attitude of children as they create. We should use child-artists as our role models....
Wherever You Go….
“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” - Anita Desai Saint-Cirq LaPopie, One of the Most Beautiful Villages in France Why do we love to travel? For me, the sights, smells, sounds and textures of life in different places stimulate my imagination to create...
Discover the Silence
Read about why silence is so important to me.
Plein Air Packing – Giveaway
Paring down your painting materials for plein air painting or travel can be a challenge. I’ve been testing color combinations, narrowing my choices for which colors, paper and sketchbook I’ll bring with me on my trip to France. I hope this post gives you some ideas of...
Fun is Good
"If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good." - Dr. Seuss It's been a fun week of experimentation. Through the generosity of good friends, I've had the chance to try out two mediums I haven't had a chance to explore before. On Monday, I gathered...
New Watercolor Block Giveaway – Plus: Fail Better
Why do we paint? Sometimes I think the thing that keeps up working is our inability to create to the level of our imagination. "Maybe this time I'll get it!" Each painting I complete has something to teach me - sometimes it is a relative success, and I can share it...
WIN This Beautiful Hahnemühle Travel Journal
A beautiful travel journal is one of the first things to pack for your trip abroad. Hahnemühle sent me some journals and watercolor papers to try. Just for fun they included extras for me to share with my readers! You can enter the drawing below.
Art Term Thursday: Meraki
meraki [may-rah-kee] Meraki is a Greek word that describes doing something with love, creativity and pure soul. It means leaving a little piece of yourself in your creative work
5 Rules for Art Students
I have compiled the following 5 rules for art students to help learners get the most out of a class or workshop. I know it might seem like these are common-sense guidelines. However, I am surprised at how many times our monkey-minds take over when we are in an art...
12 Great Gifts Ideas for Artists
One of the participants in my Colors of France workshop asked me for gift ideas for artists who are traveling with us, so I thought I’d share them here!
Mixed Media Workshop Now Open
New mixed media workshop for February! Join Carrie Moore and Ruth Armitage for a joint workshop combining colorful acrylic painting and dimensional paper clay.
Art Is Exploring
I’ve just come up for air after teaching 4 3-day workshops in the last month. One thing I’ve learned by repeating some of the same lessons to different groups is that the students who let go of certainty were more successful and more creative.
Where Have You Been?
Where Have You Been? I’d like to know: where have you been? As I’m planning my workshop in the Dordogne Valley next June, I’m thinking of extending my trip before or after to a nearby country or two. While I’ve spent time in Paris and loved every minute of it, I’d...
Nefelibata: Cloudwalker
The word Nefelibata has drawn my attention recently. The word originates in Portugese, derived from 'nephele' (cloud) and 'batha' (a place to walk.) It refers to one who lives in their own imagination or dreams, or one who does not abide by the precepts of society,...
Colors of France – A Dream Come True
How does a painter capture the colors of France? 13 lucky artists will have a chance to find out when they travel with me next June to the Dordogne and Lot Valley and Domaine du Haut Baran. It will be a dream come true- painting the colors of France together! When?...
Top 12 Titles for Creatives
My Top 12 Titles for Creatives - Thought Provoking work on Creativity I find myself sharing many of the gems of wisdom found within these books with students, and thought that having a reading list resource for creatives would be a good addition to my blog. I hope you...
Painting and Golf – 3 Similarities – New Workshop Announcements
In last week's plein air workshop I kept thinking about the similarities between Painting and Golf. I like to make analogies when I teach, to help students keep perspective on the creative process. By comparing painting to other activities like music or golf, the...
12 Binge-Worthy Summer Art Films
It's so easy these days to access top-quality Art Films, and summer is the perfect time to sit back and relax. You'll beat the heat and absorb inspiration and information at the same time! I've started a good list with these titles, but please be sure to add your own...
Pareidolia in Abstract Art
Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon in which the mind responds to a stimulus, usually an image or a sound, by perceiving a familiar pattern where none exists. Classic examples might be seeing a face in the full moon, or imagining that cloud shapes represent a...
I Became a Maker
I became a maker by following the example of my mother. She is well-known for making beauty out of what is on hand. Her friends marvel over her knitting, sewing, cooking, gardening and decorating. I love the following quote, because it exemplifies what I think most...
