Thankful for Creative Outlets

   Okay, so I put a little bit of a twist on today's photo-a-day challenge. The challenge was "Grateful for this piece of creativity." I decided to kind of put my own spin on this and showcase how grateful I am for even the simplest of creative outlets... such as coloring. 

  Coloring is the first creative outlet most of us get to establish a connection with as a child. For the better part of my childhood, there was nothing in the world like sitting down with my favorite coloring book and a big box of Crayola crayons. I still love to color... only now, most of my coloring is done via the click of a mouse via the color palette on Photoshop... but I do believe my love of coloring opened the door to my passion for art.

 Day #2: Grateful for creativity and color

  Now that I have children, they get to explore art and put their creative energies into coloring. So, I am grateful for creative outlets that allow us to find ourselves and bring out the passions that dwell within. 

________________________________________

Shop Crayon themed custom gifts at Zazzle. Click Here!

Art challenge- Spade/ Morning

I've really been missing out lately and I hate that I have. I enjoy being a part of the 2 Things community and entering their weekly art challenges. It helps me think up new ideas and get my creative juices flowing. I am going to try my very best- no matter how busy life gets- to stay involved. 

Anyways, enough rambling. Here are this weeks challenge entries for spade/morning:

This interpretation is in black and white with exception to the main focus of the image which is the gardening tool often called the 'spade'. This image also features sun rays from the top left corner to represent the morning.

This interpretation features the spade symbol with a large sun bursting within to represent the morning.

This interpretation is my favorite. The spade symbol with a vibrant yellow squiggly sun representing the morning inside of it.

Did you enjoy this week's art challenge? Do you have an art interpretation for Spade/Morning? If so, share a link to your interpretation in the comments and I'll check it out! Thanks for stopping by.

Quotes on Dreams

I am a big believer in dreaming. By that, I don't necessarily just mean the type of dreams we acquire while we sleep but also about the kinds of dreams we make for ourselves to give ourselves hope for something greater; to be something greater in life. The dream home, the dream job, the dream family... I believe we need those types of dreams to inspire us and to motivate us into being all that we can be. Reach for your dreams... reach for the stars.

Photo Copyright 2012 Kristina Conatser via BWC Designs by KC
You may share this image for non-commercial purposes only. Commercial use is prohibited.

"Dreams are the seedlings of reality."~Napoleon Hill
"All men of action are dreamers."~James Huneker
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."~Walt Disney"Dream and give yourself permission to envision a You that you choose to be."~Joy Page

"Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions."~ Edgar Cayce
“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”~James Dean“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”
~Ashley Smith

Silly Drawings

I am majorly one who does not partake in drawing. I am simply not very good at it. My brother inherited that skill from somewhere, I didn't. My artwork is mostly derived from my photography, vectors I have made using Inkscape and fractal programs. I do sometimes endeavor to draw though and I do have a few products with my hand-drawn artwork on them. I never tend to leave my hand-drawn artwork as is, so I usually put my drawing into Photoshop to touch it up a bit and bring out the colors. 

Last night, so I put pencil to pad and went to work. It took me some time to do three silly little drawings, but I like them and would like to share them here today. I would really love your input about them. Please leave me a comment or send me a message using the contact me button. 

Amorette- Angel of Love
© 2012 Kristina Conatser (BWC Designs)

Aaralyn- Angel of Music
© 2012 Kristina Conatser (BWC Designs)

Butterfly on Flower © 2012 Kristina Conatser (BWC Designs)

I hope you will enjoy my art and share this article with others. 

P.S. These silly little doodles are being introduced into my Beauty Within Creation shop as you read this, so if you really like them be sure to keep checking back for when they'll arrive. Thanks for reading! 

Art Challenge- Card/Blue

This week's art challenge on the 2 Things Blog was for the themes Card and blue. This challenge was originally set for last week but because of the Thanksgiving holiday, it was postponed. 

When I saw that this was the theme to be interpreted, my mind flooded with ideas and I became overwhelmed. I finally settled on something that I really enjoyed making and feel really good about. It is a digital art design and it's (you guessed it) BLUE! I feel it would make a fantastic business card, so you may see me posting about that in the future =) 

Check it out: 

© 2011 Kristina Conatser

Can you think of a cool name for this design? Nothing likes to be nameless. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

What did you think of this article? Did you enjoy it? Leave me a comment and let me know you've stopped by.

Fun Pop Art Creations

I like to play around in Photoshop as a hobby as well as for work purposes. Lately, in my spare time, I have been creating pop art or cartoonized manips of images I have lying around on my PC. I have also been asked to make some of these for others, so that they may be used as profile pictures on FB, Myspace and etc. I enjoy creating these type of graphics. I find fun in adding textures, patterns and filters to images of people, places and animals to give them a unique look.

Here are a few of my creations:

Holiday Pup © 2011 Kristina Conatser 

Actress- Nicole Kidman 

New beginnings...

Hi, thanks for peering Thru My Lens. My name is Kristina, or KC for short. I am a self-taught artist with a love for creativity, imagination and all things beautiful. I believe that art is an expression of the soul. It is an outward reflection of our innermost thoughts and feelings. It is a universal language. Read more about me HERE.

My hope for this blog is to share my artwork, poetry and photography with others so that it may inspire the artist within you to express yourself. Art is naturally a part of who we are and it is what we are because we are creation. We are all a form of artwork; each of us individual, beautiful and inspiring. 

My goal for my creations is that they may help others to enjoy the simple things... those things we often over-look and forget. The little joys, inspirations, and times of faith that we tend to forget are what inspire us to become better, to dream, grow and to change. When we look for the beauty within creation, we can change our perspectives, our actions and who we are. I hope that Thru My lens my readers will see the beauty all around them as well as within them. 

New Beginnings by BWC Designs