Perspective

Some say that photos look good because of the lighting.  Some say that photography only looks good because of the enhancing, or the editing.  Others think that it depends on what you take a picture of.  I think that it is not what you take the picture of, but how you take the picture.  Anything can look original, or beautiful in a photo, but it all depends on the angle you take the photo.  If you take a picture of a tree straight on, it just looks like a tree.  However, if you take a picture looking out from a tree, it can completely change the viewers interpretation of the tree.  Now, instead of just being a normal everyday tree, you can see all the perfections and flaws that make that tree unique.  You can see how strong that tree needed to be to grow a branch so big.  How much light the tree absorbed, instead of being like humans, and pushing the light away.  

Photo Courtesy of Maddy Lee

Photographers don't just push a button to create their masterpieces.  They have to train their eye to see beauty and possibility where no one else does.  That is what makes a good artist.  Everything we see, everything we do, can be interpreted as an art.  The problem is that everybody looks at the big picture that never changes, instead of capturing the little things that will never be the same. 

Maddy

In Style Then, and Back Again

In style then, and back again.  Vintage style clothing is at the hype of its return.  If you go shopping, you will see a lot of modern clothing with little vintage tweaks such as peter pan collars, high waisted everything, wavy hair, and the occasional person who goes a little too far(you know who I'm referencing...) 

Here are some pictures of vintage style then and now.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia 

Photo Courtesy AliExpress 

As you can see, the pictures above illustrate how vintage style has been incorporated into modern clothing today.  This picture of Audrey Hepburn is a great example of the styles we strive for now.  Looks like this can be found in many stores such as H&M, ModCloth, J. Crew, American Apparel, Urban Outfitters, and many other big chains and local boutiques.  Thrift stores, such as Decades in Salt Lake City, are also a great way to find authentic vintage clothing at good prices.  

Not only is vintage clothing back, so is vintage hair and make-up.  Waves and buns are all modern hairstyles, that we have incorporated from times before us.  Here are some pictures of vintage styled hair and makeup, then and now.

Picture Courtesy of Project Wedding 

Picture Courtesy of We Heart It

If you compare the trend of vintage fashion from this year, to the styles from five years ago, obviously a lot has changed.  That's the one thing I love about fashion.  If you don't necessarily like what's in style, it will always change, just like all kinds of art.  That leads my mind to wonder what fashion will be like in the next couple years.  For all I know, we could be wearing bell-bottoms and tie dye.  Well, let's hope for the best.

Fall is Over, Winter is Here

My Acrylic Fall Painting

Sometimes, a little color is all you need to brighten up your day.  That's why I really like fall paintings.  It's the only season that you can paint using pigment straight from the tube, and have your painting look just like it does outside.  I know that fall is over and winter has started, so I decided to take advantage of my last chance to write about fall; my favorite season.

If you're someone like me, the seasons can really reflect how you live and how you feel.  During the winter, I can't do a lot of what I like to do.  Read or paint in the sun.  Lay on the beach and relax.  Most of the time in the winter, I just live inside.  I never go outside, unless necessary.  That's why I love fall.  It's my last chance to be outside without wearing so many layers I can't breathe.  Without seeing nothing but white when you look out the window.  Winter can be beautiful, but it can get old after six months of the same views every day.  

One of my favorite things about fall is that everywhere you look, the world looks different.  Thousands of shades of oranges, yellows, reds and greens covering the mountain tops.  The trees remind me of people.  They're different colors and sizes, and from afar, they look basically  the same.  However, if you look at them individually, they are like no other.  

Maddy Lee

 

The Perfect Mistake

San Juan Islands
Photo Courtesy of Me

Have you ever made a big mistake, and ended up liking what you end up with.  It happens to me all the time.  In life, in school, and especially in art.  In the photograph above, it looks like it is a foggy day.  Actually, the weather was quite nice. The lense on my camera was fogged up, giving it a very unique look.  Sometimes, the mistakes we make can help us create our best and most unique masterpieces.  As Scott Williams said, "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep."  How he managed to put these situations into perfect words, I cannot explain.  

No art is perfect.  Ever.  But if art was perfect, how would it be interesting?  My favorite kind of art is when the artist depicts not how they see the world, but how they feel it.  When I look at art like this, I can almost understand the artist.  I feel as if I am in their situation.  I almost feel as if I am inside them.  One example of art that really moves me is Edvard Munch's "The Scream"  When I look at this painting, I can feel the terror the screamer is feeling.  And though the actual screamer probably did not look like that, Munch painted how he felt he should look like.  This is how he captured the feeling and the enchantment of such a horrid image.  

That right there is the goal of most artists.  To capture something that can make the viewer feel different.  To create a masterpiece that can change the way people see the world, and the way they feel it.  And it is not simple, but it can be done.

Maddy Lee

Between Seasons

Fuzzy boots, warm coats, hot chocolate and wait... no snowmen.  It's that time of year again.  The time of year I hate the most.  The strange brief season between fall and winter.  After the leaves have fallen, but before the first snowflake hits the ground.  Everything dead.  Everything gray.  But even in the ugliest things, you can find beauty.  The frozen dew on the dead grass, sparkling in the rising sun, like diamonds in a commercial.  Fallen leaves covering the ground, in patterns that only nature could come up with.  The mountains are covered in gray, but not an ugly gray.  The kind of gray that has so much depth that you don't know if it is light or dark.  Whether you should be happy or sad.  And as I look out my window, the gray makes me wonder what is next.  For me, for the world, and for life itself.

Maddy Lee

Inspiration

Painting, photography, fashion, crafting and all things artsy.  This is what inspires me, and what my blog will be about.   I will be presenting both work of others, and work of my own.  I love to follow blogs, and hope that others will follow mine.  

My name is Madelyn Lee, but I go by Maddy.  I am fourteen years old.  I live in Park City, Utah with my Mom, Dad, two younger brothers, two cats, and two dogs.  My background in art does not go very far back, but is quite large for my age.  I loved to paint and draw when I was very little, but my interest in art peaked around the age of ten.  I started taking acrylic painting lessons one to two times a week, and continue to do so now.  I have also have experience in oils and watercolors.  I love to go to art museums, and love to look at anything from John Chamberlain to Van Gogh.  I often craft in my free time, and have recently started photography (if you have any tips, feel free to comment).  

One blog that I really loved was Indie Crafts.  The writer has such a clear style that you can really appreciate, even though she doesn’t write much.  I have found many a craft on this blog, and find almost everything posted interesting.  This blog is also very easy to navigate, and has a really cute design!

Another blog that really inspired me to step up my blogging efforts is what else but Keiko Lynn!  This blog is hugely popular, and is followed by a ton of people.  I really like this blog because I love Keiko’s style.  I also love how her writing really makes you feel like you are a part of her life.  Her blog design is amazingly cute, and she provides many links out to other good blogs.

The last blog that I really appreciate is The Little People Project.  This guy goes around the world and leaves little masterpieces so small, that they go almost unnoticed.  I really love his creativeness, and he has been doing this amazing project since 2006!  I would have never come up with this idea!

Though this is a school project, I hope that it will grow to be more than that.  I am so overly ecstatic about this opportunity, and hope that I will do myself justice!

Maddy Lee