Palette Knife Experiment

This little painting (10" x 10") started out with some papers, paint and doodles...and then it just sat there, with all the other unfinished paintings. I guess I got stuck and didn't know what direction to go once I got to that point. Then, of course I wanted to try another new technique so I took the doodling that was already there and turned it into this single flower palette knife painting. It's a very fun and free way to paint and keeps me from trying to be too precise and perfect. I hope to can work more palette knife work into my paintings.

Life Book Week 25 :: Expressing the True You

Wow!...is this the true me? That's puzzling, or maybe a bit disturbing...doesn't matter. I had loads of fun working on this lesson from the amazing Mitsi B. I guess the fact that this was an overly large journal page somehow took the pressure off to create a masterpiece and allowed me to just play and experiment like I haven't done before. It didn't have to make sense or mean anything, I just painted whatever I felt like painting and didn't care if I MESSED IT UP! It was kind of a challenge for myself to see if I could let go enough to just paint without over thinking. I purposely chose colors out of my comfort zone, even colors I dislike and I'm still happy with the outcome.

Above is the front. Below is what I've started for the back. We're suppose to paint faces with emotion...Yikes...another challenge.

Art, Art, Art on the Brain...

Art journal page started quite some time ago. After penciling in the face,
it just sat there unfinished. Got brave and just did it. Now that I've done a few faces,
they are starting to become less scary (to paint, that is). 

I think about art all the time. I can't seem to get enough. I wake up thinking about it, everything I read is art related, I watch art tutorials on my computer and my phone and I'm always thinking about getting into the studio to create more art. It's with me 24/7.

If I only spent as much time creating art as I do thinking about creating art I'd be well on my way to fulfilling my art dreams. I put so much pressure on myself to create something beautiful and perfect every time, that it keeps me from creating anything at all. I've never really embraced the process of making art. I've always been more interested in the end result, which completely stops the flow of creativity. My brain takes over and I start questioning every brush stroke, every color choice, every shape, just everything. Then I stand there, staring at my work, frozen, not being able to do anything for fear of ruining what I've created so far.

This is a problem...I know! Honestly I love messy, imperfect art -- I just have a hard time creating that way. However, with the help of the great instructors in the Life Book 2013 online class, I feel myself starting to let go just a little bit. When I tell myself I don't care about the results, I feel myself taking risks and experimenting -- seeing how certain colors mix together, trying colors I normally wouldn't use, and...GASP!...painting faces, super scary! 

So, let go Denise. Don't be concerned about creating art other people will like or buy. Be free and create whatever you want. Have fun, experiment, explore! 

Let go of PERFECTION :: Embrace IMPERFECTION.