please read this and help spread the word!

 

One of the most intense feelings of love you will ever feel is when you become a parent and being the mother of a six year old boy....makes this project that much closer to my heart, not to mention, an avid Phillies fan myself.

 

A good friend & co worker of mine; Netta, lost her Step daughter Colleen in a motorcycle accident back in October (I had previously said November in error on my other posts, I apologize), leaving behind a beautiful 4 year old son, Cole. It is such a tragic story that just breaks my heart. A lot of you might remember, I had done a portrait of Colleen and her son to give to Netta & her husband Jimmy at the time of the service. Something special to give to the family. It was probably the most touching memorial service I have ever attended. Seeing so many people there, seeing just how many people’s lives were touched by this one woman…I can not even begin to describe it…

 

My friend Netta has been following my Lee DeWyze inspired art journey since the beginning and had asked me to do a sketch of a picture they had of Coleen & her son with hopes to send it to Chase Utley, of the Philadelphia Phillies to sign it for Cole. The entire family are huge Phillies fans (as am I); it was something they bonded over... So they thought it would make a special keepsake for Cole to remember his mother and the times they spent together.

 

Of course I agreed to do this for them! I’ll always do anything to help out a friend! All I have to say is this precious 4 year old boy has been handling this loss better than I ever could. He is brave and seems to almost understand... Asking his grandfather not to be sad... He is an extraordinary little boy. Netta talks about him everyday, so it feels like I'm a part of his life and you can’t help but be touched, saddened and a little proud all at the same time.

 

I have made this sketch for them from one of their favorite pictures taken while watching a baseball game and on it, is a message from her Father, Jimmy. Please help me get this story to the Phillies and to Chase Utley! Please use hash tags, re-tweet on Twitter, post on Instagram and share my Facebook page... Asking all to do the same. Help me make this happen for Cole. I think he more than deserves something this great!!

 

http://lancasteronline.com/obituaries/colleen-e-nesbitt/article_289ae845-a718-5332-b862-b13c927b51d5.html

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this and re-posting! Here is the link to the Facebook page! Please "like" and share!!! 

 https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=514287565350916 

Thank you again! 

Love,

Jenn

"Like" me & my art on Facebook!!!

I finally started a Facebook page for my art. This will aide in entering art shows, where I'll have a broader audience of people to introduce them to the magic that is Lee DeWyze music! Make sure you "like" it and spread the word!!!! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenn-M-Harding-Art/514287565350916

Thank you! 

Love, 

Jenn 

Finally!!!!! .....

So, how many times have I babbled on and on trying to find the perfect words to describe how I feel when I create? How I have this comforting NEED to transform Lee DeWyze’s  music & lyrics into pictures…? Lots, right? Well guess what?

 

As I am sure most of you do, when I get up and let the dog out first thing in the morning, I lay on the sofa and check all my phone statuses, etc like it was the morning paper. This morning I was scrolling through Pinterest and found the most PERFECT quote I have ever read in my life! It is EXACTLY the words I have searched so hard for to get across to you. Well… those lost words are This… it is sheer perfection:

 

Now, don’t get all weird on me… this is strictly from a creative standpoint. So settle down. It just explains exactly how I feel… sometimes you are just meant to do something and meant to meet people. Everyone you meet has something to teach you. And it isn’t JUST Lee, although yes, I am basing this almost entirely on the fact that any inspiration or need to create I have ever had, has been dormant until I discovered his music… But also it opened the doors to meeting other inspirational people in my life… Like Mare- who let’s me run my ideas by her as they come to me. The amount of inspired enthusiasm I get in her feedback is JUST as important as what Lee does for me…. Or this whole thing brought my sister and I close together…And everyone else I met via Lee’s music and Twitter…It’s a giant circle… seriously. Mark is even a part of it. I have an amazing husband that sits there everyday watching me be inspired by someone, listening to only Lee in the car and throughout it all- being encouraging…and if I haven’t met Mark-I’d never know Brittany- who is the one that told me about Lee’s twitter account and got me all set up AND was the subject of my VERY first Lee inspired painting; “Flower Child” …  it has opened all kinds of doors… I am the most creative and inspired right now than I have ever been in my life… and ultimately… it falls back on Music… Lee’s Music…  Can you imagine when the rest of the world catches on to his amazingness? The world will be one happy place. All things happen for a reason and I truly believe that.

 

Now, you are asking about the paintings? I have not given up… Just have not had the time to get everything out and paint…but I will, soon. I have though been keeping up with my New Year’s resolution of a sketch a day for 2014, as I can do that anywhere. And I have! Here are a few of those to hold you over….

 ***I HAVE however, created a sketch for Lee’s new song “Again” and I am pretty excited about this painting! I’ll probably start that as soon as “Stay Away” is finished. Stay tuned………………….

 

Jenn

Art, Music, Inspiration & New Year's Resolutions

P

 

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday and New Year and most importantly staying warm!

 

On New Year’s Day, I went out to buy a new sketch book. An Actual, good sized sketchbook…meant for sketching. Before I was using a lined writing journal…. I am pretty excited about it….oh, and the most exciting feature? The outside cover is plain white painting canvas…so I can paintit!

 

With the New Year, came all the snow and horrible weather, so I got to break in my book right away! **just to set some of your minds at ease, I have not abandoned the “Stay Away” painting… it’s just that we have yet to get the house totally back to normal from Christmas so all my painting stuff is away. Sketching is quick, easy and can be done anywhere… the paints I have to set up, clean brushes, etc…

 

I was thinking about my art & a conversation I had with a good friend that is an established artist and apparently it takes 10,000 hours to master your craft. I have also been thinking about resolutions and how I have never in my life saw one through; I’m sure most of you can relate to that. This year however, I decided that I am going to try to commit to a sketch a day for the entire year. Trust me; I ALWAYS have stuff on my mind… so this should be easy, right? My first few sketches are actually based on old, pre-Idol Lee Songs…. Just certain lyrics that have always spoke to me or have a special place in my heart. There are visuals that I have had in my mind for paintings in the past that never made it to canvas. 

This sketching resolution is the perfect outlet for those images. So, I’m sure you are wondering, since I have already been asked…”you are going to have 365 sketches of Lee DeWyze lyrics??? No. …. Maybe just 300 or so… haha.  Honestly, a lot of them will be lyrically inspired, I won’t lie... but I am going to include things that I see that may just look interesting to meor things that I hold close to my heart. Have no worries, I have been spending no more than an hour a day on these pages, so I will continue to work on my paintings… I still have several in the works, so 2014 will be a busy year! If you’d like to follow the sketch a day for a year journey, you can do that on instagram under JENNMHARDING also, I am not making any promises, but 365 pages is a lot… so I am making a list of things I can think of now. If you have a specific line or something Lee related you’d like me to do… send it my way and I’ll put it on the list to maybe do in the future!

 

On the status of my paintings for the “Frames” songs, I have a some work left on “Stay Away” … My plan was to go right into “Breathing In”, HOWEVER, I have come up with an idea for Lee’s new song “Again” and will be going right into that because I’m pretty excited about this one. …. Stay tuned! And do not forget to go tohttp://leedewyzeofficial.com/ to check in and see what Lee is working on!

 

 

 

 

A story of insomnia , intuition & creativity

“I believe in intuition and inspiration... At times I feel certain I am right while not knowing the reason” (Albert Einstein)

 

Hello everyone. This post is going to be a bit different because I really want to figure out a way to word my reasoning behind my art that actually does justice to my “whys”. I have several posts in the past where I am trying to explain this feeling, but those do not even get you close to understanding.  Last night I couldn’t sleep…again. Had it been a weekend, I would have gotten up to paint. I kind of wish I did because having a creative mind and all those hours to do nothing but think can be a confusing place.  I find myself thinking of the perfect way to describe how I feel when I am listening to music and feel the need to create.  I can’t really tell you why, I just KNOW it in my bones…. I came to the conclusion last night that it all comes down to Intuition. The whole concept of intuition fascinates me and I think that now since I am somewhat acting on my intuition… I am viewing it a bit differently.

 

Nights like this I lay there questioning why I am doing this? How do you know the difference between intuition or if you are just crazy? Then I go into self doubt. I have starting following some amazing artists on Instagram who are so good that it makes me second guess my own talents- but then I think that they are just drawing portraits of celebrities, etc… there is no heart involved…this makes me feel better about my own work...and the list goes on….

 

Are you confused and dizzy yet? Welcome to my world. I also lay there and think, is lee’s brain this jumbled when he is up and writing songs? Is that what was going on in that beautiful mind when he wrote “Don’t be afraid”, Because acting on your intuition and what you feel in your heart can be scary! You have to trust that voice inside you and not think about if there are people out there that will actually “get it”…..

 

All this thinking led me to checking out all the quotes on Pinterest also, which gave me the idea for this post. I found so many quotes that spoke to me and I thought they’d help me explain my reasoning to you. Are you ready?

 

The textbook definition of Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference and/or the use of reason the word intuition comes from Latin verb intueri which is usually translated as to look inside or to contemplate. Intuition is thus often conceived as a kind of inner perception, sometimes regarded as real lucidity or understanding.

Intuition provides us with views, understandings, judgments, or beliefs that we cannot in every case empirically verify or rationally justify

 

Intuition comes in several forms: 
- a sudden flash of insight, visual or auditory
- a predictive dream
- a spinal shiver of recognition as something is occurring or told to you
- a sense of knowing something already
- a sense of déjà vu 
- a snapshot image of a future scene or event
- knowledge, perspective or understanding divined from tools which respond to the subconscious mind

 

When it comes down to how I get my ideas for my paintings, I rely heavily on all of those listed above.  Every. Single. Last. One. This is how I just KNOW……. Isn’t that fascinating? I think so…. Especially with my last painting which wasn’t even based on a song?  Again, I laid there just over thinking and something just told me to get up and sketch….didn’t know why, just felt I had to. Then I wake up to find out that Lee was up writing a song. Ha-ha, excuse my language for a sec, but that shit is just weird….

 

These are the kinds of things that bring me to get lost in all these art & intuition quotes… I get lost reading these, I feel like they just “get me”….

 

Here are some of my favorites and a little insight as to why they speak to me as an artist…..

 

1. “A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants.” Lao Tzu
2. “Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, and comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition.”
   Freeman Thomas
3. “The painting leads the painter, and it becomes an intuitive experience” Ardath Davis

 

I love those. But #2 I think fits the best. The fact that I am painting honestly from my heart and what I feel and it IS collaboration. Maybe not an intentional, as I am pretty sure Lee does not write songs with the thought of how I’d paint it… lol... but you get my point. On a side note, how amazing would that be though? Lol.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Then there are quotes like this that take my brain in a whole other direction: 

 

“Intuition is an essential part of the whole experience of living. Although it will not help predict the future or how people will behave, using intuition as a guide makes life more rewarding. It helps you follow what seems to be the right path, even when social convention or common sense appears to tell differently” 
― Sylvia Clare, 

 

 

I read this and then start thinking about conversations I have with people regarding my art and them trying to rationalize it. (trust me, I have tried to rationalize it.. you just can’t)

 

So, there are very few people in the world that I feel “get it” when I talk. Mare is one of them. I do not feel weird telling her some of my inner thoughts because you seems to know exactly what I mean (and I cherish this, it’s rare, and again I can thank Lee for allowing me to meet her) We have talked many times about intuition because I KNOW that is what drives my need to create, but I still just don’t understand it.  Her explanation makes so much sense to me:

 

“Intuition is basically your heart speaking. Sometimes, your heart just knows more than your head does.  The heart usually defies logic... what it feels can't be explained, it just IS. Logic comes from the brain.... it kind of plays devil's advocate to your heart. It questions, causes doubt, makes you over-think. But which one is honest? Which one should you believe and trust? Is common sense always right? Does there always have to be a reason? Sometimes it's easier to follow your brain... follow logic. Is that where the honesty is though? I think following your heart... following intuition... although it may sometimes be more difficult, is where truth lies. When you follow your heart and intuition, everything that comes from that, is strictly FROM the heart. The heart doesn't lie. When you don't follow intuition, and listen to logic... I think whatever comes from that is "less"... it's been smeared. – Mare”

 

 

Here  are some of the questions I am asked on a daily basis by people outside of the Twitter word and FamiLee, my answers and also quotes that I feel answer those for me:

 

* Q: Why are you here? Why don’t you have an art job?

A: I went to art school and hated people telling me how to do things and basically teaching me to use my unique talent to draw exactly what other people tell me to. That is soulless to me and not what I want. I’d be miserable and it would take the joy of creating for me.   - I know intuitively when the work is right, no training can teach you this, it is simply a matter of feeling. (Robert Ryan)

 

*Q: If you do not want to make money off of these Lee inspired paintings, why do it? A: I do not want to make money off of Lee’s success. I do not roll that way, I do it because I love it and that is that. It’s the only time, oddly enough, that I feel like myself…..

 

And last but not least, I have been told by more than a few fellow, accomplished artists that I am limiting myself as an artist by painting only Lee songs. My answer to that is:  But that is all I want to do and it makes me happy.

End of story.

 

New painting: "Maker of the Music"

“Maker of the Music”

Hello everyone. I know most of you were expecting my next post to be on track # 10 “Stay Away”, but something came up. I promise I will finish that one soon! 

This painting is called “Maker of the Music”. It is not based on a song this time, just merely inspired by Lee as a person & musician. It’s one ofthose impromptu paintings that end up being my favorite. 

On Friday I was at work and Mare had sent me the links to the Accoustic Nations interviews of Lee. Of course I had to watch them right away. On the segment where he was talking about learning to play the guitar, the camera ran across his guitar and something just made me screen-shot that image. I KNEW I had to paint it. The interview was fantastic! He was so happy and excited talking about his thought process and how he learned to play the guitar, how he writes his songs, etc. You can see these interviews here:http://www.guitarworld.com/acoustic-nation-video-our-exclusive-interview-lee-dewyze 

When Lee is excited about something, his entire face lights up and his smile is contagious. It is absolutely adorable! BUT ANYWAY, back to the painting.... 

Since I was at work, I just quick wrote down some key words for the image that was in my head and I went about my day. 

Now this is the amazing part when ideas hit you without you even see them coming. I laid in bed the other night tossing and turning because I was thinking about what I wanted this painting to look like. Finally at 2 am, I got up and snuck downstairs to sketch it out. I had this vision of old, weathered wood with a faded design in the background behind the image that I had in mind. I sketched it up, wrote some notes and went back to bed. I wish I would have looked at my phone because I woke up to see that around the same time I was up, Lee tweeted, “It’s late. And I’m writing a song”  How weird is that? Seriously, when it comes to my art inspired by his music... that happens A LOT” 

Naturally this made me want to get it onto canvas asap! I was worried how I’d get that wood look without making it look cheesy & fake.  I was so into this that we had people over for dinner... I had the painting on the Kitchen island painting layers AS I cooked dinner (master multi-tasker, right?) then after dinner, while my husband and his friend talked about bikes, of course... I worked on my layering to get that wood appearance. and ya know what? When I finished it, it looked EXACTLY like it did in my head. I can  not even begin to explain to you how excited and pleased I was.  

here is a close up of the wood effect I was able to accomplish: 

I started with a base color with a tiny comb over it, then added a crackle agent, then a top-lighter color and it just evolved from there. LOL, to quote Mark’s friend, “Holy Crap! That is amazing, and I got to see you start it!” 

Well, anyway, This is my latest painting. It kind of named it’s self: “Maker of the Music” because that is what Lee IS, it’s even his profile description on his Instagram ;-) 

Hope you enjoy!!!! 

I hope to have “Stay Away” finished shortly after Christmas! I’m not the best at painting people, so I am taking this one slow and need to wait until I have long stretches of free time to give it all my attention. 

Until then... I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday!!!!!!!! 

-Jenn 

Danielle's first Lee DeWyze Show!!!

Hello everyone! It's been a while since the last post, but I've been away and also in the process of working on "Stay Away" :-) 

Below are my sister's thoughts on her very first Lee show at the Keswick Theater in PA on Nov 9th....check it out. It's safe to say... She is a fan! 

Ok I know this post is way over due but better late than never right? Let me begin by saying that I love that the show was acoustic. Don't get me wrong I love guitars and drums and all that but there's just something about acoustic that I love. Like it lets you hear every pitch and every tone in a singer's voice that are sometimes hard to recognize with a band. Lee's voice...oh my what can I say. Sexy, sultry, relaxed! I loved the faces he made because you could literally see how his songs affect him emotionally. He's not just a guy that sings he's a guy who feels every lyric as it flows from his lips. Then I got to meet him.....Lee is down to earth, funny and grateful. I've been to many concerts and met many bands and very few are as down to earth as Lee is. I would definitely attend another show!! As a bonus to my LeeDay with my sister I got to see her interact with her.....as I like to call him...her muse! Watching the two of them talk I felt like they've known each other their entire lives! I always say people are brought into your life for a reason, and since my sister has "found" Lee she's been inspired more than I have ever seen! My sister's art and Lee's music...wow every song he sang I saw her paintings in my head and they just mesh together so well. The songs are deep, but it's the passion in his voice that pushes that feeling into your whole body and it takes over! Can't wait for the next show!!! 

-Danielle