What Happens After Covid and BLM

Hi guys.....don't worry I'm not going into the whole Protesting things and the unfairness that Blacks encounter. My main question is what happens after all of these Big Situations? Will we go back to normal? Will we change and what will change specifically? Will we have new behaviours? I'm always curious as to do we understand the source of these issues whether it's why did Covid happen in the first place?

Yes we can't think about that right now while in the core of the virus killing humans but I hope someone out there is looking or delving into why did this happen and how do we prevent this from happening in the future, because it seems humans never learn and we tend to repeat the past over and over again. I'm concerned with that aspect. What is the true source of Covid? What is the source of the judemental/prejudice against blacks? I live in the Caribbean so the majority are black or mixed and even with that you will still encounter people making judegments but there are people who do things and behave in a way that gets them labelled and then eventually judged.

FREE MINI SELF IMPROVEMENT COURSE FOR YOU

If you are from an environment where to survive it's the norm or expected that you behave in a particular way but that behaviour is seen as miscreant or immoral or uncomfortable to the majority of society then you will be labelled and seen in a particular way. It's unfortunate but my question is how do you change that? It will take a lot of changes in many different ways and by many people. That will take time. Humans love but they love selectively sometimes. We don't really know how to love unconditionally. And we don't know how to stop categorising people. We seem to need to categorise or label people or things to be able to know how to organise society.

I've never understood why in America people are labelled as...black american, latino american, asian america....what is that. We don't do that here. You american, what's with the distinctions? Stop seeing colour, see character. OK!! I started to rant a bit but in a low keyed quiet way. Love you guys and I hope everyone is safe and not in any kind of pain. My last words are that I'm so glad that I never encountered racism here or even when I travelled abroad, because I'm not sure how I would deal with it and I tend to have a bad temper, I'm not a curser, but I will make a fuss.Caribbean people don't get on badly though, but we will speak up if we see something we feel is unfair, wrong or totally crazy.

How To Stop Procrastinating & More

Hi guys... I read this a few years ago and recently found it again so I decided to share this with you guys, because in these times it is something we really need to consider. We are at a point where we have to seriously think about what we want for ourselves for the rest of our life after Covid. So I hope this helps some of you and I do apologise for my late post, staying on top of posting twice a week is not easy so I will probably post just once a week or as I can. Here is the information by woman called Lisa Brown who send these out at least I used to get them but I haven't received these sharing in a few years. I hope they help you or make you think:

HOW TO STOP PROCRASTINATING

Here’s a great tip on how to stop procrastinating for real so you can take action on your goals and explode your success.To use this tip, we need to understand that our will power is strongest in the morning. In his time management program "Wake Up Productive", Eben Pagan says that we want to “routine-ize” our high value activities and do them at the same time every day.

There are two steps:

1. First, figure out which task will move the needle. Which task is most important? Which one will give you the most leverage?

For those of you not familiar with leverage, it is the one tiny action that gives you the 'biggest bang' for your buck.

Example: When it comes to investing money, the technique that will give you the biggest leverage is compound interest. Albert Einstein even called compound interest the eighth wonder of the world.

There was a study done by UNLV. Researchers asked, “What would happen if we went out in 1976 and we bought every stock Buffet buys and sell when Buffet sells?” The researchers stipulated that they we would buy the stock on the last day of the month on the worst price of the last day. They would not have any special information.

Well, here's what would have happened to you if you did that:

You would have beaten the market every year except for four years. Your overall rate of return would be 24.6% per year, which doubles your money every three years.

If you had invested $10,000 with Buffet 30 years ago, you would now have more than 7 million dollars. And if you got a rate of return of 26%, you would now have 14 million dollars.

That's leverage. 

This to me is an opportunity to do some introspection and plan out what you will have to do when this is over because there will be, in my mind, a lot of changes to not only who and what companies do but also how people will live their lives. There will be changes and although most people say they like change....most do not. I took this opportunity to develop a self improvement course for those who would like to start planning out what changes they will need to make not only with themselves but with how they pursue their lives. The course is free and I wanted to coach people during this period when we have nothing else to do.

CLICK HERE FOR THE COURSE

I WANT TO DO THE COURSE

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2. Once you've determined your highest leverage activity, do it FIRST thing in the morning. 

Why?

Because, says Pagan, when we procrastinate, all that’s happening is that we are resisting doing something DIFFERENT than our daily routine. He says, “You already do the same things at the same time, every day, automatically.”

By creating rituals that become a daily habit, we no longer need will power to be highly productive and effective. Our mind and body will automatically want to do our high value tasks, simply out of habit.

I personally learned the power of rituals when I became a parent.

From the first day of my daughter’s life, she has had the exact same bedtime ritual every night, ending with a 7:00 pm bedtime.

Her mind and body are so conditioned to go through this ritual and climb into bed at 7:00 pm that she will do it, even if she is not tired at all. (Of course, she doesn’t always go to sleep at 7:00 pm. Sometimes she has a ‘party for one’ that involves telling stories to her stuffed animals. But that’s her business, not mine.)

If you’ve ever seen a child’s intense desire to extend her bedtime, you can appreciate how powerful such a ritual can be.

"I can attest to this as well because from babies I got my kids into a routine and at first it isn't easy because they will scream their heads off to get their way, but when they realise that that doesn't work they eventually give up an conform as do most humans, but you have to be the strong one and not give in"...

Taking control of ourselves so we can explode our personal power, our career success, and our financial wealth is the formula for success and abundance.

FEARS

Want to achieve any goal in 30 days or less?

Then I suggest you cultivate extraordinary coaching power. People who achieve big goals fast understand that you cannot succeed alone. To accomplish anything worthwhile, you need to eliminate FEAR.

Eliminating fear is absolutely the KEY, because it is fear that holds us back from reaching our potential.

Fear is, and always has been, the great enemy of human achievement.

But...here’s the rub...there’s very little information out there on eliminating fear that actually works. I learned this myself first-hand years ago.

After testing virtually every self-help technique (cognitive therapy, NLP, hypnosis, meditation, positive thinking, energy medicine, goal-setting, journaling) I realized none of them work very well to eliminate fear and here is another tip:

In helping others, you also transform yourself. There's an old adage. "Who you are is shouting at me so loudly I can't hear a word you say."

To succeed and help others we need to walk the talk. That means mastering yourself first.Once you do that then you set the goals that you now understand what those are. Then start executing on those goals.

Fear has always been the great enemy of human achievement. Abraham Maslow, the great psychologist, said that the the story of human race is the story of people selling themselves short.

One reason why fear is so difficult to master is because most people assume their fears are caused by external events.

You see a news story on the recession and you start worrying about money.

Your staff makes a mistake and your stress goes through the roof.

Your husband acts distant and you start a fight.

Convincing, isn't it?

The truth is, most fear does not come from external events at all.

It comes from deep inside.

I'm talking about our negative beliefs. 

What exactly is a 'negative belief'?

A negative belief is anything you think is true that is holding you back.

"I can't sell myself."

"Nobody listens to me."

"I'm too old to change careers."

"Starting a business is too risky."

"I can't get a raise."

Think of a negative belief like a wound.

Every time a person or situation touches your wound, it hurts and scares you a bit.

That's why we blame external events.

Now here's the tricky part.

Most beliefs are unconscious.

We don't even know about the belief.

All we know about is the fear, the procrastination, or the self-sabotage.

Where do negative beliefs come from?

Usually a failure or trauma from the past that's never healed.

I was a premature baby.

Born when my mother was seven months pregnant, I weighed just 4 pounds.

I was rushed into an incubator where I stayed four weeks.

My parents weren't allowed to hold or touch me for even a moment before I was whisked away.

My only human contact came days later when nurses were allowed to feed me.

It's a scenario filled with abandonment pain that can lead to beliefs like "I am alone," and "the world is a scary place."

Watch for this emotional wound in case it gets scratched.

This way don't over-react to people if they're cold, insensitive, or just plain pre-occupied.

Their birth story may be unusual.

But everyone suffers loss and disappointment.

We all start adulthood with a few negative beliefs. 

In fact I've discovered that most people share the same three self-destructive beliefs.

These Toxic beliefs create fear and self-doubt on a daily basis, holding you back from success. Figure out what are the beliefs you have that hold you back and analyse them, question them, and see if they are relevant or even true and if not them do an exeercise of writing them on a sheet of paper then either burn it or rip it apart, because that belief is NOT TRUE!!



So guys...I hope you found this interesting as i did when I first read them. See you soon and stay safe, stay well, wear your mask and social distance.



Regards,

Gail

As An Artist, and with this Pandemic, What Have I Learned?

Hi guys... so with this ongoing situation of being on lockdown here in Trinidad and all around the world, you tend to or have no choice but to learn things about yourself as well as about the people or person you're locked up with. Unfortunately for some, the situation has not been very nice and we have had a few cases of domestic violence but overall most people have been pretty low keyed. I knew a lot about my husband so that was fine, but as he now has to work from home....I don't know how his admin assistant handles it. He will call your name a hundred times. But I cut that down..especially based on the way I responded so it's not so bad now.



What did I learn about myself....that I'm very accommodating with any situation and I adapt quickly. I may not like change initially especially if t means I'm losing out on my freedom or independence but give me some time to think about it, then I will most likely be reasonable and go along, but don't tell me what to do. That won't work.

I also learned with this lockdown, that I accept the idea of death easily. Most people are afraid to die, I am not...my only issue with death is that I don't want to die painfully...so with all the news being about the large number of deaths, it doesn't bother me hearing this on a daily basis but my husband can't handle it for too long or if at all so we have to change the channel.

I hate to cook but i'll clean so thank God no one expected me to be suddenly the key chef. In fact everyone cooks on designated days and I am the chief washer upper and I'm great with that. When you have a house with millennials you have to set the expectations and roster or else they will do nothing, especially the boys. My boy does his part and so does everyone else so things are running pretty smoothly. I am so glad. I do hear some grumblings between the siblings because one is very fussy so every noise disturbs her but when she is making noise it's alright...sigh. I stay out of that.

I can stick to an exercise regime every day for 3 days without making excuses because as we're home we tend to eat more and the weight climbs on so you gotta do something about it. So people I've learned that I can stay positive through the worst of situations once I can keep busy doing something creative...like blogging and that despite all the bad going on around I can still see the good in it because it is brining families together, it's changing how we see our planet and each other, it's brining out the best in most people and it's teaching us that we can work from home and thereby cut down the amount of traffic and stress that we workers go through daily in trying to get to work and lastly that technology is our friend and not our enemy.



What have yu learned about yourself or your roommate(s)?

P.S. I'm still trying to decide if to merge this site with my art site and stay focused and a Lifestyle and art blog. Trying to figure out which is best to keep...the ".com" or the ".org" site...sigh. Later people

The Attitude is Everything Programme

Hi guys....as you know I am a Development Coach and I coach mainly managers, supervisors and executives. I am licensed by a company in the US and recently with the situation of this pandemic, they brought out a program caled Attitude is Everything. It's 4 sessions once a week, it's a digital programme and I coach you through it for the 4 weeks, helping you to get grounded, focus on what's next and I help you get a better handle on where you want to go in your life, especially to deal with the effects of this pandemic. Unfortunately they didn't offer this free, none of their programmes are free, but I decided to mention it on my blog in case anyone was interested.



I would be your coach, you would get the digital programme sent to you, we would organise to meet every week and go through each lesson as I coach and facilitate you through the programme material. We would use zoom to interact and at the end you receive a certificate and you do an evaluation on the process. I don't know if this is of interest to anyone but I said let me at least give you my followers the option. Wth my clients they normally do these types of programmes for their staff so that is on a different level.

If you want to organise some coaching one on one without the use of the program or you're interested in my other programmes, give me a shout out via gfrancistt@gmail.com



ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING



Oh and in case anyone was thinking this, please note I'm not trying to sell a program....I'm not selling you on anything, it's all about if you feel you need something like this....You either do or you don't, if you don't not a problem but at least you know about it and you have choices because there are a lot of things out there that can help us but we don't know about them, that has happened to me many times and I find out afer the fact. In those cases then I pass on the info to others who I know might benefit, although I missed out. Let's share things we know can help each other. That's what the world is all about....

So, i'll check you guys next week and stay safe. Luv you all



Regards,

Gail (Gafra)

Making Changes During This Epic Period

Hi guys....how is everyone doing? I am great. in fact I love being at home and working from home. one thing that definitely happens is that you start to reconsider how you do things and what you do and what are the things you can do without and what you simply need to get rid of. So on considering all these different considerations I've looked at what has been the reason for me starting a blog and why? I've also started looking at how I spend my income on my different Online sites.

Basically, I started my blog to share my culture and my thoughts. I've leaned from the different Youtube videos that you can use t to teach and help others. I do that sometimes but my main focus is my Art, so I created another site called gafra-art.com for my art and there I share my present blog posts as well as all that I am experiencing in my art life, so I've been considering closing this site and shifting everything to that art site. i want to concentrate on sharing my life, thoughts, my art life, my art learnings and with such a change I know I may lose a few or maybe even all of my followers.

It will be like starting over and for some of us this can be a scary thing. Change is always scary and we will have lots of doubts and uncertainties as to whether or not we're doing the right thing, but I have no choice to some extent as with this pandemic we all have to watch our dollars and I presently run 3 sites and if you're not aware....in the caribbean our exchange rate is 7 to 1 so where you pay $100USD for your website that is equivalent to $700.00 TTD for me so with 3 sites that's a good bit of money.

Another reason i may cancel this site and move everything to my art site is that I don't get as much feedback or comments from this site as I do from the other. People let me know if you want me to keep this site and I will. If I don't hear much of a response then it will be a case of sitting and making that hard decision to close one. My next uncertainty is that in reading one article they say it's best to keep a ".org" Wordpress site versus a ".com" Wordpress site and I'm not sure what that means. An third, the other site has my new branded name whereas this site has my very very old brand. WAHT DO I DO PEOPLE? I love both sites but am I really losing out on anything if I close this one and revert everyone to my other site? SIGH!!!! Questions, questions????? Guys...help me here...What would you do?

some other changes that were pretty easy since this Pandemic are:

1. Working fully from home

2. Closing my office as an office, brick and mortar is no longer really needed

3. Changing exercise and eating habits that are now a routine

4. More involved in my Coaching business with the cash flow and budgeting (before i let my husband make all decisions now we do most together)

5. Paying bills online and doing most of our transfers etc online

So guys, ther are a few more changes that I've made...just can't think of them right now but I'm sure you've had to make some major changes and they probably will remain even after this pandemic is over.



People all the best, stay safe, stay at home, wash your hands and stay well.

Regards,

Gafra (Gail)

My Routine During This Pandemic

Hi guys.... so we've been on lock down for about 3 weeks now and as I mentioned i'm used to working from home but my husband isn't. But as time passes and we start to organise our separate spaces things are working out well. I have my little corner in my bedroom where I do all of my Coaching sessions and he does his meetings and sessions in our Library/art studio at his desk. It gets hot in there at a particular time of the day so he then moves into the bedroom with me...unfortunately that is when challenges occur but we've managed to work those out.

We used to go walking on a popular hill called Chancellor every afternoon but with Covid that has stopped, now we do a Pilates video called Winsor Pilates...I used to do her years ago via a CD but my husband borrowed it one day to try it and it got scraped and was useless, so it's great to see that now everything is accessible via Youtube. That is where we found her. We do her pilates 20 minute video then a 10 minute Kettlebell video. They might be short but...oooohhhh....they are killers.

So getting into a routine has really helped him. We also follow a pattern on getting up fairly early, have a bath, organise and have breakfast, organise for our sessions, conduct our sessions, take a break at lunch, restart our afternoon sessions then end at around 4pm, relax for an hour, exercise then bath, have dinner and relax via watching V or a movie. On the weekends we spend a lot of time in our garden and we tend to get up latter and we do any chores that are outstanding. Life is good despite what is happening all around.

How are you making out and what is your routine, I would love to hear about how you're doing. I'm even open to chatting online if you need some advice or coaching....I mean that's what I do so if you ned help with anything then contact me via my gmail and we can connect. I am here for you - gfrancistt@gmail.com

Stay safe guys until next post, love you all!

Covid 19 - What Am I Up To?

Hi Guys....I did a Vlog so you can see me in the flesh if you haven't already followed me on my other platforms such as my art site @gafra.org. So enjoy, it's short and sweet : )

A Virtual Art Launch

Hi Guys...I Know, i've been MIA for a week but I was deep in organising my Art launch and closing my office so I could fully work from home...selling office furniture and packing up and my husband was ill and more... So I really didn't get an opportunity to write to you guys.



But I did it!!.......I did my Art launch and it went OK by my book...a few bumps here and there but not bad. It was streamed live on my Gafra Facebook page, IG and Zoom. I planned to do it on Youtube but that didn't work out as I expected.

I'll share it with you (after cleaning it up a bit) but i'll share with you now the links to view the Virtual Art tour itself at your leisure, as well as the Google Slides version for anyone who wants to purchase a piece. I'm so proud of myself. It was a lot of work that entailed a lot of social media things I didn't really understand...but ah well!! I finished what I set out to do.



My Virtual Art Tour of all of my pieces: https://bit.ly/gafravaexhibit
Google slides of all of my art: https://bit.ly/3g5nFKJ

Covid 19 & Injustice

Hi guys...I've been listening a lot to all the Covid 19 information to make sure I know what's correct from what's garbage and now the topic of the day is no longer Covid 19 but George Floyd. This is a very serious situation and not one that can be solved quickly. Injustice has been happening for years. Injustice in the Government, in schools, in jobs, in the justice system...everywhere. Because this world is made up of people and that is the point...the world is made up of people. Good people, bad people, people with agendas, people with ulterior motives, greedy people, violent people, smart people, gentle people, loving people, etc. We are all humans, who bleed, who eat, sleep etc. We may come from different cultures and have different beliefs and look different but we are all humans. And this virus is making us look each other in the face and admit to some of the wrongs that have been happening for years. Not just to the planet but to each other.



Prejudice is everywhere because it comes from a human and as I said all humans have different beliefs and this is what drives them. You will always have a minority that causes disruption whether it's for their own gain or to cause chaos. But we all have to take personal responsibility for who we are and what we do. What was done was extremely sad, unnecessary, horrible, wrong and unfair. We can't be treating one another that way whether we're in charge or not. I still don't understand what he was stopped for and why he ended up on the ground. We need to accept each other as different and not judge.

I've been following youtube videos of mixed marriages between koreans and blacks, or greeks (white) and blacks and the difference is, that, Asians don't see colour they see character. Unfortunately, they are more and more being conditioned by the media coverage, to start believing that all blacks are bad but luckily the young koreans because they mix with blacks, they know that isn't true and even the older generation although they may believe some things about blacks they are still not disrespectful. The issue there is that they aren't accustomed to seeing the black skin and different hair type in most asian countries, and that is fine, but you can't make judgements on every black person that you meet, it's just not fair or right.



These riots and protests were long in coming. It has been happening for years and the families get no justiv=ce and it is suddenly never heard of again, but we are moving into a different age and generation. The millenials are different and they won't stand for what they deem as unfair, unjust or wrong. GOOD FOR THEM!!



I hope this doesn't die into nothing like all the others and something begins to change not only within the USA but all over the Planet. I thank God that I was born in the Caribbean because everyone her is mixed with black, east indian, spanish, portuguese and more. We all look different but you don't know what genes you have within you so calling anyone black is just dumb. Even if you are totally african, so what. Yes some get away with more than some but again who cares once I get what I need when I need it. People as we say here....one love.



Regards,

Gafra (Gail)

My Virtual Art Launch Part 2

Hi Guys…I completed the Virtual Launch and these are the videos after I cleaned them up. This is part 2 and it also has a bit of local entertainment, an interview and the start of the tour. Hope you like them.

The Launch of My Virtual Art Exhibition

Hi Guys...on June 28th 2020 at 4:00pm my time I'll be launching my Virtual Art Exhibition. It will be a sharing, a bit of music, and an art tour. I'm attaching my intro video and Facebook ad. If you're interested in getting the zoom link directly then send me your email address so you can receive the zoom link on the day itself. Hope you enjoy this and I hope you can join me for a short, cute event...you just have to watch with a glass of wine while you relax.

PODCAST:The Art of Listening

Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: The Art of Listening https://anchor.fm/gail-francis/episodes/The-Art-of-Listening-e9m6ip

Podcast: Termination: A Difficult Decision

Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: Gafra's Free Talk Ep.7: Termination: The Difficult Decision https://anchor.fm/gail-francis/episodes/Gafras-Free-Talk-Ep-7-Termination-The-Difficult-Decision-e8vkj7

PODCAST: Communication Issues

Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: Gafra's Free Talk Ep.6: Communication Issues https://anchor.fm/gail-francis/episodes/Gafras-Free-Talk-Ep-6-Communication-Issues-e8uvti

A Virtual Art Launch with a Difference

Hi guys......I did it, I had my Virtual Art Exhibition Launch this Sunday and it went great. I didn't write for the past few weeks because it was crazy busy here due to the organising of this Launch, but it's finished and I'm sharing it in parts with you and it will also allow you to see a bit of my culture as there is some entertainment mixed in with it. Hope you enjoy it and share your comments: Simply click the video below for Part 1:

And don't forget to go visit my art shop either at www.gafra.org or my Etsy Shop by clicking the button below:

Avoiding Social Media is similar to Avoiding Technology in the Workplace

Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: Avoiding Social Media is similar to avoiding Technology in the Workplace https://anchor.fm/gail-francis/episodes/Avoiding-Social-Media-is-similar-to-avoiding-Technology-in-the-Workplace-egb7hs

Enjoy and on an aside if you need PRINTABLE PLANNERS click HERE

5 Things I Would Like To Change About My Industry - Coaching

Hi guys...when I say my industry I mean Coaching. As you know I am an Executive coach and I work with a variety of different companies from Banks, to Retail Stores, to Government offices, to Oil Companies, Insurance Companies and more, but there are certain things I would change based on how coaches and coaching is viewed and these are as follows:

5 THINGS I WOULD CHANGE

1. Development is one of the first areas to go when a company is trying to cut costs. I've seen this every time that this is the time to spend on development as you are now doing more with less of your human resources so they need to be working at their optimum skill level as well as be able to handle the stress and streamline their abilities. But we find that the opposite happens. Companies cut down on training and development when they decide to cut costs. Big mistake.

2. Don't jump from one vendor to the next - companies tend to start with one development coaching company or consultant then as their revenue drops they move to the less expensive vendors. This can end up causing the company to spend more because the less expensive vendor doesn't do as much as is required to make the necessary behaviour change required in the person so it's like placing a bandaid on a chop wound. It is an extreme temporary solution that comes to naught quickly and then the company has to return to the quality vendor and asking for a discount because of the money lost in using the first vendor. Stick with one vendor who is spreading the right jargon and type of development that your company requires and which you see works. If you want to use the less expensive vendor then use then for a certain stage of a person's development or for entry level development.

3. Value t your local development Coaches as they are just as and sometimes more experienced than an international consultant who may talk the talk but don't deliver after charging you a pound and a crown. We also understand our culture and as such we know how to guide and manoeuvre to get our people to convert or change their behaviour as per the needs of the Company and the individual

I WANT AN ARTIST PRINTABLE PLANNER

4. Understand the amount of work and emotional drain it takes to coach and develop a person - Coaching is an amazing process but you must have the ability to build trust with individuals quickly, you must be able to keep peoples' confidence and you must be able to be sensitive to others while at the same time understanding and showing empathy, being a great listener and having the ability to not take things personally and not being judgemental. So clients must understand that our time is just as valuable as any other employee and not be disregarding us so that when sessions are scheduled, don't take it for granted and show some consideration and let the coach know of any changes that may occur. On another note I must say that all coaches must have some way of cleansing them \selves emotionally of the negative energy they encounter everyday as they work to help others.

5. All Coaches not attempt to steal the intellectual property of each other. There are some who will ask for a proposal on your process then not give you the job but take your process and do it themselves internally in the organisation as if they came up with the idea. Fortunately that can't happen with us as we take copy right very seriously and even if a company copies our process they don't have us doing the coaching with our years of experience and understanding of how the process works.

I love what I do, I love helping others discover their potential and achieve their goals, but as i mentioned it is an exhausting process and i use Art as my way of cleansing my energy and lifting off the negative or draining energy that can occur depending on the person you're working with. There are some who give you more energy and there are many who drain you of energy in your drive to help them and do your job.

So guys....these are what I would change and although they don't sound too serious to you they can be quite challenging and cause some issues sometimes.

Love you guys,

Regards,

Gafra (Gail)

When Learning About Art

Hi Guys…..I want to share the confusion I went through when I first got into painting. I just painted t enjoy and experience what t was like to paint. Then as I learned the different rules that go with painting I realized it wasn’t as easy as I thought. I love to learn so I understood the rules quickly but I couldn’t seem to find out my style. I knew I could easily copy most pieces done by others but I eventually wanted to be able to recognize my style or my “voice” as Tara Leaver talks about.

I have recently begun to recognize my style and maybe even my voice. I have a minimalistic abstract style when it comes to acrylic abstracts. With watercolours I seem to be slightly detailed but fairly loose. I love painting road scenes, old historical houses, and simple scenes as are familiar to Trinidad. It took 6-8 years of painting and  trying different  techniques to reach this point.

I want you to be open to learning or finding different outlets to learn the different techniques needed to be good or even a great artist. There are downloadable E-books that can help you and I have read many as is this one called “Real Art Lessons, Downloadable E-books By Artist Delmus Phelps. He shows you step-by-step using techniques of old that makes painting easy. He allows and teaches you to be able to make realistic paintings if that is the style you want. If that is not want you’re looking to learn and you want to do portraits then another way is via Benneclli’s Popular Art Lessons on how to paint portraits or do calligraphy.

 GET YOUR FREE ARTIST LOOK-BOOK HERE

The other mediums I’ve tried are pastels, charcoals, pen & Ink with watercolours. Once you understand the different rules for the basics of paining then you can transfer what you learn using any medium that calls to you or brings out a level of emotion from you. Another medium is Pastels and they can be quite freeing. As with the different available methods to learn you can learn about pastels through Pastel Piainting Secrets which is a Guide to Painting with Pastels. You can CLICK HERE to learn more. Art has this power over the artist. We have an inner need to let out something inside of us and although we’re not sure what it is that needs to be free we do know that there is a driving need to try whatever we can to get to the core of the internal energy that allows us to release it.

So lets talk all about the different aspects and definitions of Art. Th characteristics of art is how an artist creates emotion in their artwork. This includes shape, line, value, colour, space, size, smell, etc... properties can be described as how sensory properties are organized to create unity, balance, imbalance, movement, dominance, etc. There are also elements to art, these are:

These elements are:

·       Line.

·       Color.

·       Shape.

·       Form.

·       Value.

·       Space.

·       Texture.

The seven elements in art are colour, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value. The ten common principles of art are balance, emphasis, harmony, movement, pattern, proportion, repetition, rhythm, unity, and variety. It is how the Elements of Art and Design - line, shape, colour, value, texture, form, and space - are organized or composed according to the Principles of Art and Design to give the painting structure and convey feeling. The elements of art are sort of like atoms in that both serve as building blocks. You know that atoms combine and form other things. ... Carbon etc, in art you have got line, shape, form, space, texture, value and colour and they combine to form artistic scenes, abstracts etc via different mediums. This is when you start to develop your style.

In the visual arts, style is a "...distinctive manner which permits the grouping of works into related categories" or "...any distinctive, and therefore recognisable, way in which an act is performed or an artefact made or ought to be performed and made".

Often, these types are misrepresented or more often, misunderstood. Whether the work is three dimensional sculpture or two dimensional, it will still fall under one these three main types. These types are representational, abstract, or non-objective.

Art Styles

·       Fine Art By Movement.

·       Contemporary.

·       Pop Art.

·       Abstract Expressionism.

·       Cubism.

·       Art Deco.

·       Art Nouveau.

·       Post-Impressionism.

Then you begin to realise the importance of composition. What is composition? In the visual arts, composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or 'ingredients' in a work of art, as distinct from the subject. It can also be thought of as the organization of the elements of art according to the principles of art. OK. That’s the dictionary type definition. Composition is the placement of shapes and the use of colour, lines …all the elements to draw the viewers attention and keep their attention. The composition is what grabs the viewer.

Other important aspects of Art are as follows:

 The most necessary skills for a fine artist:

1.    Realistic drawing. ...

2.    Constructive drawing. ...

3.    Ability to draw from life. ...

4.    Drawing from memory and imagination. ...

5.    Knowledge of art materials and their skilful use. ...

6.    Knowledge of the rules of perspective. ...

7.    Knowledge of golden proportions. ...

8.    Composition skills.

The Five Basic Skills of Drawing

·       The Perception of Edges.

·       The Perception of Spaces.

·       The Perception of Relationships.

·       The Perception of Light & Shadow.

·       The Perception of the Whole or Gestalt.

Once you’ve reached a certain level in your art skills , part of that process is keeping a scrap book or artists sketchbook where you experiment with ideas and collect drawings of your environment. Top artists have often used their sketchbooks to explore themes and make compositional studies until they find the right idea and subject for a larger painting on canvas. Keeping up a sketchbook is a great way to keep your drawing skills sharp. Maintaining that skill is important since sketching out ideas is a major part of your design process. ... It also comes in handy when you're trying to communicate ideas to others.

Regards,

GAIL (GAFRA)

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