Inspiration Wednesday :: March 18, 2015

I'm not going to make excuses. 

I finally finished this Inspiration Wednesday project. 

I'm simply going to celebrate that I DID! 

I enjoyed the process and I'm pleased with the results. 

Goal Accomplished! 

I have three other small canvases started that I plan to use to 

create a small series exploring texture and collage elements. 

The tags I used in this piece are clothing tags 

I've been saving for the past several years. 

Visit Donna Downey here for more information on her Inspiration Wednesdays.

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I Am A Warrior...Work in Progress

It's been a slow road back to the easel...moving, divorce, a new life, lack of focus, expanding my comfort zone, and simply living for today, all factors in my creative departure. As I settle in and become comfortable with who I am and what lies ahead, the creative fire is being reignited. I've noticed my thoughts returning to art, creating and purposeful pursuits instead of the distracting, time-consuming, self-defeating thinking that consumed me when I started this new journey. 

I started the painting above several years ago in Flora Bowley's online "Bloom True"
e-course. Since then it has sat in the garage with all the other rejected, partially finished paintings, quietly waiting for me to give it new life, transforming it into something Great! Using the existing painting as an under painting, I began the process of laying down color, collage and simply playing. That's the fun part - no mistakes, anything goes. 

It's a Work in Progress, just like me! 

And I'm excited by the possibilities!  

Collaboration :: Part 1

This summer my daughter, Paige and I started a collaborative painting. We took an old canvas that had a poster glued onto it and ripped it off. Some of the poster was left behind for texture. Next we painted a layer of warm colors with acrylic craft paint and let it dry. Then a layer of cool colors. This step was really fun for both of us because it didn't matter what we did since we knew it would be covered up. We turned the canvas several times while painting to even out our unique painting styles throughout the canvas. After each layer we would photograph and hang the canvas back in its original location over the fireplace. Each time it would look like a new piece of beautiful abstract art.

Work In Progress



Here's the progression of my final assignment for Wyanne's Paint Free Class (named #8 in my 50 Painting Practice Series). I was starting to become way too attached to this concept and became afraid to do anything for fear I would ruin it. So I just stood there, staring at it, not knowing what to do next. I knew it wasn't finished and thought it was looking a little boring. I want my paintings to be interesting, and this just isn't.

So I got brave and just started making marks.

Again, I stood there gazing and staring, baffled at what to do next. I spent more time just standing there than painting.  I decided to just do something, whether it's right or wrong. So I took away the abstractness (which I love) and made it cute (which I'm not so fond of)! Unsure if I ruined it, decided to put it away and come back another day when I'm less judgemental about it and see the possibilities.

So I moved on to #4. The first layer of this collage was a piece I started last spring in Paul Gardner's Mixed Media Workshop. Didn't really like it (big surprise huh?) and it just sat there waiting for me to be brave and just do something with it. So a few weeks ago I painted some designs over the first layer. Being my critical self, didn't like it, so there it sat a while longer.



 So I messed around with it a little more.

Added some statements.

Then added some really watered down paint with drips and swirls to the top. This is on watercolor paper that doesn't lay very flat anymore because of all the collage materials in it, so the watery paint pooled in certain areas where it looks muddy. The brighter circles are where I applied masking fluid and have now removed it. So there's my under painting.

Yesterday I started to play with it adding some trees, flowery pods and color. I'd like it to have a landscapey feeling, but not in the traditional sense. I want it to be more fun and interesting and not really make sense. That's hard for the left brain person I truly am!

What I Want for 2012

Practice Painting #1

First, without sounding too negative, I want to state what I DON'T want for 2012. I don't want a bunch of expectations of myself that, when not met, leave me feeling like a failure, a loser, a procrastinator, or just plain pathetic.

What I DO want for 2012 is simple...to learn to paint for the process alone, to have fun, to paint what I want, not what will sell, to develop my style through my mistakes, not my masterpieces.  In this post, I asked myself "Why can't I just paint 50 paintings of nothing and not care? I'm not getting ANYTHING done anyway...what harm could it do?"  So now I'm taking the steps to embrace the process simply for the process and starting my 50 Practice Painting Series. I remember reading something from Claudine Hellmuth quite a while ago where she mentioned after about her 50th painting she started to see her style emerge.

So here I go, painting for the sake of painting, to see what unfolds when I'm consumed by the process instead of focused on the product. To see what discoveries I make along the way, hoping to turn frustration into fun! Painting #1 above started as a blind squiggle drawing as suggested in Wyanne's e-course "Paint Free."  These faceless beauties are what emerged from my squiggles. I think they're kinda cute in their own unique way!