Artistic and Creative Processes and Discoveries

Certainly no self employment road is without its highs and its lows and when an artist wakes up and decides his or her life will be one of painting pictures for a living it is a little like standing on the edge of a high cliff and trying to decide how close is too close? Fortunately it gets better!
In the lows of an artists career one discovers truths about themselves that are very revealing. It is during these lows that an artist pushes their limits. You can choose to throw your hands up in the air and give up, or push forward and experiment with new media  or tools or both. I find it is during these lows that I make the greatest strides in my artistic  journey and push my creativity to paint something out of my comfort zone and head into new directions.
Discovery  is not a bad thing, in fact, for all of its nuances it ends up being the most fulfilling choice a person can make, leading to new heights and enriching discoveries which do not necessarily involve only monetary rewards. 
I have presented "Discovered" as a beacon to the crossroads of change and it says to you: Go forward! and discover!

Brigitte Granton
www.brigittegranton.com

As a Canadian landscape artist, there is no shortage of beautiful lakes to paint. But on a recent cross Canada trip this summer, I was stunned by the rugged beauty of our more northern Great Lakes. White pine studded rocky shorelines of Georgian Bay, Lake Huron are nationally iconic, but to me the wild and rugged beauty of Lake Superior had me awestruck.  White pine gives way to the dominant scraggly black spruce which form dense stands along rocky shorelines and islands. The dramatic skies over these expansive shorelines begged to be painted. 
It was through posting one of these paintings, "SuperiorDay" on twitter that I got the attention of a young journalist from Michigan, Steven Maier, who writes for the environmental group, Great Lakes Echo, greatlakesecho.org. and featured my art and biography on their site. This group fosters and serves as a news community for the environment of the Great Lakes Watershed. As both Canada and the United States both benefit from the Great Lakes, it is reassuring to know that there are environmental groups on both sides, looking over the well being of our lakes.  It is important to work together to keep these bodies of water healthy for future generations to enjoy and perhaps paint!
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​I recommend anyone interested in the Great Lakes environmental issues to check out this group.

http://greatlakesecho.org/2017/03/31/ontario-artist-finally-doing-what-she-loves/