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“If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.” Edward Hopper Art has always been a transformative force in my life, providing solace and a creative outlet during challenging times in my life. The act of creating has not only saved my sanity but also brought me immense peace and helped me navigate through many difficult situations. It's a powerful form of self-expression that has truly shaped my identity and brought true self-awareness into my life. Art, especially line and wash, helps me capture and tap into the spirit of the crazy, yet brilliant world around me. Creating helps me vocalize what's happening around me and many times, what is happening inside of me. For me, creating art is an intimate, safe avenue for me to express my feelings, whether self-imposed or influenced by the ebb and flow of life around me. It is honestly one of the rare times I actually feel comfortable enough to be completely vulnerable and open; it helps me often to feel a connection to the outer world because I have difficulty with that. It is my truest voice when I am too broken and sad to speak or even when I am so happy, so excited, that the words come tumbling out in an awkward, rushed jumble. Art plays such an integral role in my life; it helps me alter my perspective of living and thriving. In creating, I need no words, no proper grammar, no fancy jargon - I just need my brush, a pen, and lots of colors to let you know what is circling in my head, what I am seeing with my eyes, and what I am feeling in my soul.

I don’t even know where to start with this tale of the roller coaster ride I have been on in the last year! I will start where my fried brain can remember, ha! First, in 2023, one of my urban sketches was used by Brunswick Beer and Cider on their tee shirts! You know how much I adore being a part of the urban sketchers - it’s one of my biggest passions! Second, I was interviewed (me, who doesn’t interview well because I am eternally goofy and awkward) by Raleigh Voyage Magazine. That was one of the most surreal moments for me - to have a printed editorial spread of my interview and photos mailed to me! Now, onto one of the biggest things still happening to me - I am working with an amazing author out of PA, Craig Jones, and illustrating his children’s book!  I have already gained so much on this project, from learning about the publishing world and how it works, to how much creativity I really do have locked inside my heart. This is both a blessing and a grand adventure that I am on, and I hope this will be the beginning of many new adventures in illustrating! Next, I had my very first solo exhibition at the fantastic Sublimina Studio in the Cargo District in Wilmington. Now, THAT was a learning experience - both nerve-wracking, hard work, and buckets of fun! HUGE shout-outs and thanks to Bryan of Sublimina and two of my besties, Heather and Debbie - you guys are the real, behind-the-scenes MVPs!! After all that chaos, I have been in a couple of other shows, made new art, and connected with so many artists in our great Cape Fear arts community, which has been awesome-sauce. The latest news I have for you guys is that when I am not working on the book, I am now offering private watercolor lessons in my studio at TheArtworks! To be honest with you, I probably should have gone to school to be an art teacher - I just LOVE to teach others about the vibrant world of art! I am such a nerd when it comes to making out my lesson plans and even my take-home pdf's. What a dork! I cannot wait to teach my first student. If you are interested in taking one of my classes, hit me up at terryganeystudio@gmail.com! At least you know I will be annoyingly enthusiastic about it. Oh yes, don’t forget that Fourth Friday is coming up on 2.23, from 6pm - 9pm - I will be in my studio, serving up snacks, drinks, and hopefully some laughs ( awkward laughs at me, with me, who really knows?)! I will also be giving away some stuff and having a sale on some of my art. That's all folks, at least for now! Stay tuned for the next episode of the Terry G Studio Show! Peace and love, peeps.

Welcome all! I am your blog host and Wilmington artist, Terry Ganey, and on this crazy show, we are going to be taking a peek into my world – my world of soul-searching, pencil-smudging, paint-splattering, and canvas-ripping; my art and soul. Let me open up this show by telling you a bit about myself. I am a completely self-taught artist that has the pleasure of living on the east coast of NC, which basically means - I am lucky enough to enjoy the beauty of the ocean, a little city-life, and the peaceful country at the same time. All of these unending muses in the Carolinas influence my art – I love capturing the fierceness of the untamed ocean, the architecture of a lively city, and the quiet beauty of a backwoods (which is where I grew up). I have been drawing for as long as I remember, and apparently even longer still. My kindergarten teacher, sweet Mrs. Jacobs, who I have kept in contact with throughout the years, swears I drew some mittens and a chicken for class story time. (Now wondering, did she mean the chicken was wearing the mittens? On what? It’s feet?) I swear I do not remember either. Although I have always been drawing, painting, or doing something artsy - I did, for a time, get away from my one true love. I let life’s angry tides carry me far away from my safe haven of artistic dwelling. But yeah, you probably figured out the story; I got my art groove back. As I neared my 40’s, I panicked for some reason and decided I was going to have an early mid-life crisis. I chopped my hair all off, dyed it bright red (apparently with accidental pops of pink in it), and decided I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life working in a job that truly did not make me as happy as I am when making my art. I mean, what kind of legacy was I leaving for my children? As Confucius said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life’. Now, here I am, making a go of the old classic, ‘follow your heart’ deal. Its scary, its a bit overwhelming sometimes (I am definitely not a big crowds person), but it's liberating at the same time. All I know at this point is that I am overwhelmingly in love with art - I love creating it, talking about it, and I love it when people get that about me. Welp, that’s all folks for today! Just don’t forget to stay tuned and catch up with me on my next adventure! Questions? Comments? Hey, even concerns? Feel free to email me here at terryganeystudio@gmail.com or you can contact me via my website !

It’s been a while, I know! Let’s just start with what I HAVE been doing in my free time in the evenings….. The hubs just recently got me my first real Ipad; I know, I am a little behind in technology. I have always been a die-hard Android fan – until I met the Ipad and the program Procreate. Needless to say, with my handy dandy Apple Pencil, I have been doodling like crazy! I am wanting to get back to the basics – drawing – and right now, I am super obsessed with drawing people and their expressions. I want to develop a more looser style than my usually realistic style, so I have been doing what I call, “scribble drawing”. It is DEFINITELY a challenge, but I already am feeling some of the effects of this nightly exercise spilling over into my other artwork – which is one of my goals for this year. I also wanted to share a few of my late night musings or scribbles with you guys! The last image is the very first drawing I did on my tablet – in my usual style. The rest are as I began to draw nightly and adopt a more looser style with my scribbles. Hope you are all well, and I see you on my next adventure!

“I’ll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure”. Mae West Once upon a time, I decided I wanted to take my watercolors and inks off of paper, and figure out how the heck to add them to a canvas instead! Researching like crazy, I came across this acrylic medium called ‘watercolor ground’. What started out as an experiment has now become one of the main tools in my art arsenal! Let me share with you the process so you can try it out for yourself! Right now, I am working with Golden’s version of watercolor ground. It comes in a small tub, looks like white gesso, and does indeed dry white. Supplies I used Supplies needed : Golden Watercolor Ground (or a brand you prefer, Daniel Smith also makes a version) Flat Brush or Sponge Brush (I usually work with sponge brushes to lessen bristle marks) Stretched Canvas or Canvas Panel Steps I Used : I actually mixed in a bit of water with the ground to thin it out – thin layers are better than one thick layer! With brush, apply one thin layer of ground and water to canvas in steady strokes. Allow first layer to dry. Apply another thin layer, once again, allowing it to dry. Apply one final layer, allowing it to fully dry. Now, canvas is prepped to hold watercolors, gouache, pen, and of course acrylic paints. The pieces above were all worked onto a watercolor ground prepped canvas panel or stretched canvas. I used mixed media on all, including watercolors, pens, gouache, and some thinned out acrylics. SOME FYI! Once the watercolor is dry, there is no lifting – so if you need to lift for highlights like clouds, do so before it fully dries. It does take a little longer for the watercolors to dry than if you were painting on cotton paper, which I don’t mind. It is great, however if you are adding layers of color into your piece! If you are drawing in pen first, make sure it is fully dry before you add washes of watercolor – otherwise you will end up with ink bleeds into your color. I have even tried the ‘wet on wet’ technique that many watercolorists use, and aside from a bit longer drying time, I was able to achieve that style as well with the watercolor ground. And how do you protect the water media once it’s dry, you may ask? I actually have done a couple of things! I have used light sprays of golden uv varnish for a more glossy look, as well as the Krylon Clear UV spray – both worked well! Just remember to do those light bursts of spray 4 to 6 inches away from your artwork. Needless to say, I will be purchasing more watercolor ground and using it for my style of artwork! PS. There is also such a thing as designated/prepped ‘watercolor’ panels – but that will be a whole ‘nother post! If you have any questions for me about using the watercolor ground or anything else, reach out to me on my website @ www.terryganeyart.com! Hope this helps a fellow artist out, and hope ya’ll have a great weekend!

Wondering where I have been and what I have been up to? Here’s a bit of a run-down… 1 – Hosted my first urban sketcher’s event (our fearless leader was out of town) at Bitty and Beau’s Coffee. It was a bit nerve wracking for me at first, but I enjoyed hosting so much, I would love to do it again! Ps. Did I mention how great our Wilmington Chapter of Urban Sketchers is? 2 – Taught my 3rd art class at Seaglass Monthly Market – this one was basically an intro to mixed media – we did a cool mixed media piece in blues and greens with a butterfly as the focal point. Did I mention that this month happens to be Donate Life awareness month and their colors are blue and green? Head on over to Seaglass Monthly Market’s Facebook page to get raffle tickets to win my original mixed media demo piece! And this all leads into what I really wanna talk about – the pressures and unreal expectations we artists sometimes put on ourselves. Yep, a lot of artists are self-employed. We do get to make our schedules, be our own bosses. It may look amazing, laid back, and even glamorous to many people. What people do not see are the deadlines, shows we are trying to get into, pieces we hate – causing us to scrap the old and completely start over – the fact it takes us more than just a hour to make a piece – sometimes days, even months. They don’t see the unreasonable pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect, to paint the perfect piece. At the beginning of this year, I made a new business plan for TGA. I listed goals, ideas, and wants. I wanted to try to get into every show I could to really get my art out there. I literally laid in bed every night listing deadlines in my head, what I needed to paint for each thing, pricing, blah, blah, blah – you know, sending yourself down that rabbit hole. In spring, seems like it’s one show on top of another – its just the nature of the art beast. I wanted to do two pieces for the WAA Spring Art Show and Sale – didn’t happen like that. Life happens, and I was only able to paint one – so of course, I beat myself up about it, compared myself to others who had created two. Instead of celebrating that my piece actually got juried into the show, I berated myself. Then came another deadline I didn’t meet for a sunflower piece for a gallery – another self-beating cause I really wanted to get into that show. In between those, I was prepping for my 3rd art class, being a care giver, dealing with my depression and its side-kick, anxiety. Which brings me to today – the State of the Art deadline – and I am working on a piece up til the last minute. I had hoped to have had it done yesterday, but I had to leave the studio because I had a migraine come on – thanks to the storm system that rolled through. I am beating myself up now over the fact I had a migraine and couldn’t tough it out to get the piece done. I could have used an old piece, but I didn’t have one that represented me now really. I wanted a piece that meant something to me hanging for all to see. I share these things because typing it out and seeing it here makes me realize how much stress I place on myself to do all things, get in all the shows, to kick out the most perfect paintings everytime in a short amount of time. That is completely unrealistic, but here I am, expecting that of myself. I am want to teach myself that sometimes I am not going to be able to do all the things, and that is okay. It should be okay. But a lot of artists, especially myself, place very high expectations on ourselves. Most of us are perfectionists. I know I am. And it really causes me to stress tf out unnecessarily. I am trying to get out of that mindset, trying to let go of comparisons, as well! Right now, I am sipping my second cup of coffee cause I know it’s going to be a long day in the studio. Once I am done painting, I will be framing. Then comes standing in the line at the CAM to get my piece submitted. I really AM grateful I get to do this full time, I don’t want you to think otherwise. But, I wanted you to get a little glimpse behind the canvas into the world and sometimes crazy mind of the artist. (I always think of the meme of having a hundred tabs open in my mind 24/7) Quit putting such unrealistic expectations on yourself. Quit beating yourself up over a missed deadline. Quit comparing yourself to other artists. Your creative journey is your own, not theirs. And we are only human, not Superman or Wonder Woman. I hope someone else can relate to this, and take this to heart. Thanks for tuning into these crazy ramblings called Terry-toons! Ps. I need to practice what I preach, huh?

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step“…Martin Luther King Jr. I have been away for quite a while. So much has happened with me, my family, heck the world in general! I finally left my career at the hospital to become an official full time artist, the Covid panic hit the world, violent chaos, just generalized craziness, sadly. I kind of put my art career on the back burner for a bit. Honestly, with so much chaos and uncertainty in my life and the lives of some of the people closest to me, I had not choice but to step back. I had to take a bit of a break, because I myself, was at a breaking point. Around the holidays in 2021, I began to do a lot of thinking and evaluating – about me, my overall life, my career, my art. I began getting burned out and bored with the art I was making – the more realistic style, the commissions (which believe me, I am so grateful for!) I began feeling like I was working again at my previous job where my soul was being sucked out of me, and I was becoming numb; I was on auto-pilot, and my passion was slowly dying out. The only time those sparks, those embers, began flaming back up again was when I was working in a more loose, illustrative style; as in the style you relate to an ‘urban sketcher’. The more I thought on it, the more I realized that that was where my real passion was. I am now concentrating on creating art with a watercolor base/background, and layering on inks, gouache, oil pastels, and color pencils. This style lets my personality shine, it’s not as rigid as my realism pieces, and it lets me step into the role of a storyteller. After all, shouldn’t that be what a piece of art does? Tell a story? I have literally taken down all my older, previous art in my studio, so currently, my walls are bare; a clean slate waiting for a new, cohesive body of my new illustrative style of work. I felt like confirmation came in the form of my newest piece, “The Red Little Bridge”, being accepted into the 40th Annual Wilmington Art Association Spring Show and Sale, which is taking place in April. Did I happen to mention this is the official show of the NC Azalea Festival? I am truly grateful to have this piece hanging alongside some of the most talented artist’s artwork in the Cape Fear region. Not only am I currently working on creating a new body of work ( around 10 to 12 pieces), I am working on replenishing my wall in The Artwork’s beautiful Gallery Verrazzano. All but one piece has sold in this show! The kicker? All of those pieces were also in my more illustrative style of work with watercolors and inks. Today, I am feeling grateful, my passion for art has been reignited, and I am looking forward to sharing with you all my new illustrative artwork! Keep your eyes out for my new work! #wilmingtonnc #creative #urbansketch #Artist #artistcommunity #inspiration #watercolor #NC #drawing

This past week, I had the pleasure of experiencing both with the Cape Fear Urban Sketchers at the Bellamy Mansion. A little history on the Bellamy, which is in downtown Wilmington – It was built for Dr. John Bellamy in between 1859 and 1861, survived being taken over by Federal troops in the Civil War and a disastrous fire in 1972. It has gone through massive restoration to preserve it as the beautiful landmark it is today. And the gardens around it? Don’t get me started on those lovelies..(they were added in later for Mrs. Bellamy, around 1870 The day was bright and warm, and the garden starting to burst with life and color; the perfect place for art inspiration! I was particularly drawn to the brick foundation of the mansion, that in places was discolored, and chipped – which in my eyes was broken perfection. I was so caught up in the lovely day, I ended up staying after everyone left to continue photographing some of the glorious architecture and angles of the mansion. If you are ever in Wilmington, NC, I highly recommend visiting the Bellamy Mansion – and if you are an artist, most definitely do not forget your art supplies, for you will be sure to find some inspiration there!

Yup, it’s been a little bit of time since I’ve visited here – but I am back! 😊 To catch you up on the TGA times, I now have my own little spot (aka, the Hobbit House) at The Artworks, I was just juried into my first art show, and I got to paint downtown this weekend during the Azalea Festival! Last month, I took a chance and entered two works into the WAA Spring Art Show and Sale, and I was honestly surprised when they were accepted! I learned so much getting ready for this show – from how to properly hang my artwork to exactly what a prospectus was. I am such a newbie (😫) to the professional art world! I also got to paint outside the Hannah Block Historic HSO Community Arts Center during the Azalea Festival this weekend – and it was so great! The weather was beautiful, the people were super friendly and curious about the Wilmington Art scene – which was awesome! Let me be honest – it was super nerve-wracking getting my pieces ready for the show, and then being outside, talking and ‘people-ing’ – but it was such a great learning experience for me! It pushed me to interact with fellow artists, as well as the tourists and locals – which is hard for me because of my social anxiety. But I did it, and I’m killer proud! Now, I am looking forward to trying out for another art show, and trying to ‘people’ more in the art world. 😊 Til next time …I leave you with these!

Change is good, but it can also be very hard. Growth is wonderful, but growing pains can also be a bitch. And that is what I am experiencing now. Most of you know that I really just started sharing my art for the first time in my life at an awesome little place in Leland called Seaglass Salvage Market. I spent two wonderful years learning, growing, and forming some great friendships at this special place. It honestly jump-started my art career. I spent many markets yapping and laughing with these amazing people. At the market in June, I spent a lot of my time crying with these people. You see, June was my last market at Seaglass. I had arrived at a point in my life and art career that I needed to put on my big girl panties and venture outside of my safe, little cocoon. Just so happens that at this time, a little helping hand came by chance in the cheerful form of Victoria Zayas. You see, I met Miss ‘Vicki Luv’, as she is called, out on one of our sketcher crawls down at The Cotton Exchange in downtown Wilmington. We started talking about our mutual love of art, and she ran this idea by me. I honestly didn’t take it seriously at first, because, well I am a skeptic, ha. BUT, sure enough, not long after our initial meeting, Vicki Luv called me up, and asked me to join her and some other artists in a shared studio at The Art Village in The Artworks. We were moving in not longer after! Regretfully, at this time financially, I could not afford my spot at both Seaglass and The Artworks, so I had to make a tough decision. It has been bittersweet, as the next market at Seaglass is this weekend, and I won’t be participating in it. BUT, the following Friday evening is new and exciting for me because it will be Fourth Friday Gallery Night! “What is that exactly?”, you ask? Well, it is where you can participate in a self-guided tour of all involved downtown Wilmington art galleries, enjoy wine and food, talk with other art enthusiasts, and most of all, you get to actually meet many of the local artists. And even more exciting – you may actually get to see many of the artists working in their own element. So, you see change can be exciting, as well. I am once again, so grateful for the learning I did with my family at Seaglass. Kelli and all the vendors will always be my first family – but now, with Lotus Moon Artistry & Creations, our shared studio in The Art Village at The Artworks, I am in the process of gaining a new family.

Sometimes I just get stuck, cemented to one spot on my creative road, lost in the craziness of my mind, and I can’t pull one creative thought out of that hot mess of a scrambled brain to save my life. I can tell you that I am thinking about all the things I should be doing, what bill I got to pay, what money I don’t have to pay said bill, what the neighbors are doing, but I cannot lay down one creative stroke of a pencil on paper for a billion buckeroos. I just hit a huge, towering black block – my next creative expression is hiding on the other side of that fugly block, I just know it! .So, how the heck am I supposed to reach the other side and reunite with my creative ideas? I am still on that self-taught artist learning curve, but I have finally learned a few little tricks to help me master and annihilate that b%tch of a block. Basket of Pansies in My Yard Most recently, you know I recently joined a urban sketchers group (check out my last blog post for m ore info!). I basically had an epiphany my very first outing, sitting at our local arboretum, sketching what was directly in front of me – getting the heck out of my closed up studio, sitting in the sun with fellow creators, just loosely drawing what my eyes saw there, helped refill my artistic mojo tank. I was like, ‘Huh, so many ideas now!’ SO, if you are stuck on something in your studio, staring at a black canvas or sheet of paper, get out of your studio, and just draw bits of the world outside around you! It can be something bigger, such as your entire street, or just the hanging basket in your yard. Even more so fun, (and challenging, ha) if you have a pet, try to capture them in action and various poses. Doing all this will just help you get your mind off that road block, help you loosen up, and will help you get ready to jump into that bubble of creativity just beyond that block. Onto the next block killing move – I have recently begun reading an oldie, but goodie book – The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I am in the beginning stages of it, but one thing I have learned is that we have do have to keep our ‘creative wells’ full. When we have an empty well, we can come across problems birthing our creative ideas. So, how can we refill our creative wells? By engaging in a ‘regular, repetitive action’. “What is that”, you ask. Things like cooking, riding a bike, listening to the beats of music, driving down a long, country road. And for me – crocheting! My grandma taught me at around 11 years old how to crochet, its her legacy I proudly carry now, and it is something I mindlessly like to do while watching TV or listening to an audible book. I don’t know, there is something almost mesmerizing and comforting about that repetitive activity. So, my advice – walk away from your easel, and find your happy, repetitive activity that can refill your creative well. Next maneuver –  Visit the library. Seriously. Check out some books on art techniques, the art masters or even books on local art/artists. Which is exactly what I recently did – I checked out books on Claude Howell and Minnie Evans – two of Wilmington’s well-known artists. If Minnie can create these lively, colorful works of art in crayon, by God I can crawl over this road block and create some lovelies of my own! Finally –  Look at other artist’s work! Go to the local museum, and if you don’t wanna get out, look online! Get inspired by looking at sites like Fine Art America, Deviantart, or even, gasps – Pinterest. Get inspired by studying the works of the greats like Monet, Degas, or Cezanne. Zoom in, really look at what makes their work ‘masterpieces’. Breathe in the inspiration from Monet’s use of colors, and other characteristics of their pieces that make them special – their ‘signature’. Feel that inspiration pulsing in your veins and chop that block in half! Hiii-yahhh!!! On the real – sometimes, I have to just push through it. I am proud to say, I a full-time, working artist. I have deadlines, commissions, markets. There are days I don’t wanna ‘work’ – but I push through it because that’s what my life is. I am a creative being, and I must always keep reaching for those creative ideas, jumping over hurdles and blocks, struggling, finally reaching the mountain top, then pushing through this process all over again. Til next time. The Many Sides of The Duke, My Boston Terrier

So, there’s this new happening group of artsy peeps that are meeting up in local visually stimulating areas in our Port City here in NC – we are getting together periodically at local spots to do a little ‘plein air’ style of drawing, painting, sculpting, whatever medium floats your boat. No, you do not have to be on a Monet level ( I mean, who really is these days? He was beast-level) . We welcome all art skill levels – we just want you to have a desire to meet up with other art-interested people in the area, like to chill out with said people, express your creativity with said people, and have a passion for learning more about art. That is the greatest thing that we as an art community can do, right? Learn from each other. After all, as Erica Cook says, “I’m not interested in competing with everyone, I hope we all make it”. We are all here to help each other out as a community. https://www.facebook.com/groups/838711709646906/ . The lovely Maria Bessette is the coordinator, and the brains behind the organization of this group. The next meetup will be on Wed, Apr 11, 10 am – noon, between The George and Claude Howell Park on the Wilmington Riverwalk (Orange and Front Sts). Bring your supplies and a friend, and get ready to have some fun! #pleinair #wilmingtonnc #sketchers #urbansketchers #artistcommunity #inspiration #capefear #drawing