All Categories

Search

Mental Health Awareness month

2/24/2024

In honor of mental health awareness month Artbrain has created some great new shirt designs.
This month lets advocate by:

Providing emotional support and advice to those with a mental illness.
Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.
Help others understand mental illness, and those suffering with it.
Chat with others about the importance of mental health.
Reach out for mental health resources.
Find out if the person is getting the help they need, help direct them.
Remind them that help is available and mental health can be treated.
Express your concern and support.
Start a conversation.

People show emotional support for others by offering genuine encouragement, reassurance, and compassion. This might include things like verbal expressions of sympathy or physical gestures of affection.
Empowering someone is not enabling the person. Empowering lends helpful assistance and support without the responsibility for their recovery. Empowering builds someone up and helps them regain a balance over their life. Empowering is motivating, and it leads to self-confidence and autonomy.
The best mental health support is empowerment. The support you can provide from behind (rather than pulling from the front) in order to help the person take charge of their own mental health is a great way to empower someone. Though keeping in mind our own mental health in the process.
Social support can have a major impact on our overall health. On the other hand, a negative environment can cause harm. People in our lives also can be toxic influences. Research shows negative interactions— whether it’s with a family member, significant other, friend, co-worker, boss, or someone else — also can cause problems. And if it’s a constantly negative relationship, it can have long-lasting, long-reaching effects. Symptoms of Toxic influences come in the form of:

Anger
Behaviors that affect your self-esteem (insults, downplaying your achievements, etc.)
Controlling behavior
Judgmental
Manipulation
Negativity
Passive-aggressiveness
Self-centeredness
Drugs and Alcohol

If a friend, relative, or someone at work is causing a mental burden, try to spend less time around those people. Empowering others is helpful when keeping in mind your own mental health as well.
Empower someone today!

Fall Deer Saw

1/16/2024

Join me on Facebook

Admire Courage Gain Respect

1/13/2024

You can look at the bear in your fear as scary. Or..
You can look at the bear in faith
as a creation of God
Made by a God who is courageous, compassionate, and strong.

16x20 on a thick matt board
colored pencil, graphite and micron pens and marker.

Paint brushes

1/8/2024

Paint brushes come in a variety of sizes and shapes. The brushes are numbered differently between manufacturers making it difficult to tell the difference. I am going to help you clarify that in this blog post.

Brushes are usually given numbered sizes, but they are not typically standard in their physical dimensions.

Brushes for oil painting have longer handles, and brushes for watercolor often have shorter handles below is a diagram showing the different parts of a paint brush to pay attention to.

Brushes made in Europe often run smaller than the brushes made in the U.S. Also, a manufacturer might also add a measurement, a 4/0 brush is approximately the same as a 1/64 in or 0.4 mm. They can differ in not only bristle size but shape. Also, the same manufacturer may make 2 of one size brush with different quality making them more affordable for beginners and students.
small brushes increase by increments of 1 and larger brushes increments of 2.
From smallest to largest, the sizes are:
20/0, 12/0, 10/0, 7/0, 6/0, 5/0, 4/0 (also written 0000), 000, 00, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30.

Decorator brush sizes are given in millimeters or inches, which refers to the width of the bristles of the brush. Common sizes are:
10 mm, 20 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm, 60 mm, 70 mm, 80 mm, 90 mm, 100 mm.
1⁄8 in,1⁄4 in, 3⁄8 in, 1⁄2in, 5⁄8 in, 3⁄4 in, 7⁄8 in, 1 in, 11⁄4 in, 11⁄2 in, 2 in, 21⁄2 in, 3 in, 31⁄2 in, 4 in.

I hope this will help you in the future find a brush that meets your needs without so much confusion.

Always Alyssa

1/5/2024

Alyssa is a fellow artist who specializes in genuine leather, vegan leather, wood, cork and acrylic earrings. All of her earrings are made using stainless steel hardware which is hypoallergenic and tarnish resistant.
She loves to create beautiful pieces that just make you smile. Whether they are fun and flirty or chic and boho, you can find them made by her! She enjoys doing custom orders as well, so don’t be afraid to ask for something a little different than what you see! Take a look at her facebook page to see all the beautiful pieces she has available.

alyssas facebook

LOVE IN ACTION MINISTRY

1/5/2024

love in action website

Their goal is to partner with already existing ministries in the community of Battle Creek. Each of the twelve apostles had a different aspect of ministry, and so do each of us. We will complement each other.”

Love in Action Community Ministries is a church centered on love, it's their first name. “Their plan is to take the gospel, that is taking the Word of God and demonstrating it out in the community – in word and in deed. They are a church not only within the walls of a building, but within the community!”

Loud Coffee Press Magazine

1/5/2024

Loud Coffee Press Magazine, was kind enough to feature my art on their cover. A Magazine dedicated to flash fiction, poetry, and art. Fuel your day with coffee music and magazines!!!

Loud Press Website

Mikey Hamptons & The Meows

1/5/2024

A rock band influenced by the best of the past and present in Rock Music... Specifically, the Beetles and The British Invasion.
I took part in creating the cover for the release of, (Okay, I'm Ready To Rock Now). There is talk about a Christian cd in the making, could be possible that I illustrate another. The sound of the 80's/ 90's is luckily still here, with this uniquely creative band.

" Music Is Therapy"

1/5/2024

Music has long been a conduit of health. Music therapy shows positive effects on the body. The are positive and negative frequencies of sound. So just as well, Music can have negative effects on your body. Science shows that water vibrates with sound, we are made up of a majority of water and liquid. So because of that, we are a species that is very sensitive to vibration.

"By His stripes we are healed"

1/5/2024

Zebra prints on my website today!!!
This was created with a variety of vibrant colors. This piece is done in watercolor and acrylic. I have it available on canvas prints and T-shirts.