When your muse plays hide & seek

…..I guess that’s being a bit dramatic, huh? My Muse is not lost; sometimes I just get in a funk and cannot find him. As most of you know, about 95% of my art is inspired by Lee DeWyze. Some people can argue that a true artist can work on anything, at any time. If this is true, then I guess I am not a “real” artist. Trust me, I have tried to do subjects that are not lee related. Those turn out ok, but there is nothing there for me; I am not attached to them. I know that is hard for some people to understand, but it is what it is. 

That being said, with my “Muse” being a touring, busy musician; he is busy. I have never been a needy person, but when life gets too busy for me to draw, or I don’t see posts and tweets about Lee creating…I can’t. I need to hear the new music, I need to explore new lyrics that spark new images in my head. 

 

For the last month or so, between my busy life and not being as active on social media, I have felt myself falling into a creative black hole. When this happens, it actually makes me sad. I have done a few sketches in the meantime, including a self-portrait, but I wasn’t feeling them. they didn't take me to that happy place. 

 

This Past weekend I watched the movie “Big Eyes”, the story of Walter & Margaret Keane.

It was about the famous “Big Eye” paintings in the 60's that became famous by an artist named Walter Keane; however it turns out that Walter never painting them. As a matter of fact,he was not an artist at all. His wife, Margaret Keane had been painting them for over 10 years and keeping this inside. I can not imagine how she must have felt! To have work that means something to you and no one knows where is actually came from. There is a scene in the movie where she talks about what her “Big Eyed” children mean to her. I was so moved by her because that is how I feel about my Lee art. They are not just sketches to me, they come from somewhere special. True Inspiration. You may think you have been inspired, but you don’t realize what that actually means until it finally hits you. 

A few of my favorite quotes from the movie that struck a cord with me are: 

Margaret: "People buy art because it touches them. Walter: You’re living in fairy tale land. People buy art because it’s in [the stores and in vogue]. They don’t get to discover it."

Margaret: "Why are you lying? You are taking credit for something you didn’t do. These children are a part of my soul"

"You don’t know what it’s like to put your emotions out"

Watching this movie sort of nudged me a bit to want to get back into the sketchbook. 

 

Last night, my husband went out for a mountain bike ride and I decided that enough was enough. If I could not think of visuals for lyrics, I was going to go straight to the source of my inspiration and do a portrait of Lee himself. We all know I am not the best at drawing faces… I have had some trouble in the past… 

I decided to put on my headphones, listen to Lee 's music and do a portrait. I took it so seriously too! Usually I just sketch with a No. 2 pencil and use my fat fingers to smudge. This time I broke out the sketching pencils and blending sticks I bought once and never used. Boy did that make a difference! 

I have never been one to toot my own horn. Actually, I do not even think my art is THAT good. I often feel that the praise is coming in merely because of the fact that the subject is a song someone likes, or just because they are Lee DeWyze fans,. Etc. Know what I mean? I know they like it, but there is always that doubt in my mind. And faces? Forget about it. My main style has always been no faces... You know, let the gestures set the tone and emotion....

 But Mostly because I am just not good at it. For instance, I recently did a sketch for one of Lee DeWyze’s new songs; “Give me something” For the life of me, I could not do the people’s mouths. So, I just left it as is. I know I’ll never finish it…. 

 

Well this time, I actually drew a face! I decided to draw a picture of Lee that was taken and posted by Vox concert series. 

I was so proud of it! I mean, it actually LOOKS like Lee. I've come a long way from my first portrait where he looks like he was stung by 100 bees. Haha. When Mark came home, I lifted up my sketchbook beaming with pride like a little kid. I was like “look what I did!!!!!!”  I can honestly say that although I have other sketches that are my favorites, this is the one I am the most proud of. I still have lots of room for improvement obviously... But still! 

 

Thank you Lee DeWyze, as always for giving me the inspiration I need simply by just doing your thing. 

Lee DeWyze is currently on tour! Go to his website for a venue near you! Get out there and see for yourself how amazing his man is!!! 

 http://leedewyzeofficial.com

-Jenn 

 

 

Lee is on the road!!! Tour dates & other cool stuff

Hello everyone! 

Exciting News! Lee DeWyze has released new tour dates and has tweeted that there are more to come!!!!!!! He is currently in the Midwest, but making his way this way!

**This was created by Lee, not me

Keep up to date by checking Lee’s Website for more dates as they are released!: http://leedewyzeofficial.com/

Knowing Lee DeWyze is on the road traveling makes me incredibly happy and excited.

Why am I so excited you ask? It’s funny because I have seen him live many times and there are some fans out there that can double, even triple my number!

What keeps people going back for more? What makes people travel across the country to see this one person perform? The answer is Passion. You can see it in him, every. Single. Time.

I grew up going to concerts, As a matter of fact I am sure I mentioned this before, but I was taken to my first was when I was 6, I was in 1^st grade. Skid Row & Bon Jovi. My parents were very much into music, especially rock.

My dad played bass in several bands, supported friend’s bands, worked the sound boards, played roadie and even wrote a couple songs… you name it. So I wonder where I got my love of music from? Anyway, I can not even count the total number of concerts I have been to in my life. Heck, I saw the band LIVE 23 times alone!

You know what though? No other concert gives me the same feeling as I get when I go see Lee perform. My favorite shows are when you can see the fire in Lee’s eyes when he is performing- you can feel that he is putting 100% of himself into it and joking in between songs and telling stories… in that moment, it is honest to God my favorite place to be….

I have read several articles that talk about touring not making sense for indie artists today because social media is more effective. I disagree with this. Nothing beats seeing someone perform live… you SEE their passion, you SEE the gratitude on their faces…. Sometimes you can tell they are tired or homesick, of course…. That is natural… but at the end of the day, they are traveling the world sharing there gift with the very people that support them and share that passion. No amount of tweets or face book posts can top that. 

No matter what words you read on social media, they are just words until you can see the sincerity on that person’s face, see the look in their eyes as they sing along, etc…. Touring is important for a musician.  When you go to a Lee DeWyze performance, he never does a song the same way… ever. I found a quote by Taylor Swift that I liked:

I like touring extensively because I think the more hours you spend onstage, the more you know who you are onstage.

-Taylor Swift

She is right because I know that as a fan, every time I see Lee on a stage, you can see him finding his place and it is amazing. He belongs there. Gosh, I love music…..

You know another quick story about music and my dad, Over x-mas I had the best conversation with him.

It started off with him talking about his Grateful dead tattoos. I have always knew he was a huge fan, but I found out that night that he saw them perform live 137 times and can remember every detail about every single one of those shows.

Now we all know I was raised by my grandparents and never had a close relationship with my parents, but that night was the first time in 35 years that I felt truly connected to my dad. To hear the passion in his voice when he talked about a certain guitar riff in a certain song…. We have something in common! It never ceases to amaze me what the power of music can do. I mean, it has connected me to so many people that have become a huge part of my life… I love that! I feel like I belong somewhere, people that love all the same things as me!

Ok, ok, enough mushy stuff!

How about an Art update?

I have completed and delivered my commissioned piece I was working on! It was for Annie and her daughters. I am so glad they loved it!

I have done a few sketches over New year’s while camping:

This was a picture that Jonna had taken of Lee and Bear. There was no way I couldn’t NOT draw that, right? Lol so with the permission of Jonna, I did it!

This is a piece from an awesome BoHo store I follow in Instagram. Lol I only had pencil & pen, so I used a Q-tip & blush for the color in the rose. 

They are called OfAMuse and they are in Texas. You should check them out, they have amazing home décor and clothes!

This was just a random doodle I did because I was bored and did not feel like drawing, but I did… I’m sure you know what I mean!

I did this while sitting at Owen’s swim practice. It was just a visual I got in my head from something I heard. And I am incredibly happy with the way it turned out!

This is my first sketch of Lee's new song "Stone"

And last but not least, While in the camper on our last night, I created this little guy and put it out on Instagram for people to help me name him.

After his name was chosen, I posted that I’d be doing another interactive drawing. This is still open, so please go find me on Instagram: @JennMHarding. I need 3 more “scenes” .. what happens to Reginald Boney III next?????

Go to Instagram to read the store so far and post your idea there!!! 

Other than this, Work has been incredibly busy, but I am looking forward to making more time for creating.

I am currently working with a local musician friend that I’ve known for almost 20 years. He is working on a solo album and I'm helping on the cover art concept. I am excited to share it with you when it’s done!

 Hope everyone enjoyed the post and will have a chance to get out to one of Lee's shows!!!!! Keep checking his site!!!! 

-Jenn