Love the Layers

Image 1

Image 2

"Release" 16"x24" Acrylic on Canvas

Week four of Wyanne's Paint Free e-course (which I started this summer and can finally say I am half way through...yikes!) was an awesome lesson on layering. The assignment was to write a message then cover part or all of it with paint. We could either sketch in a subject or just paint abstractly. I chose to simply start adding paint to the canvas (I even limited my palette to only 5 colors). After several layers I chose an area I found interesting and used masking fluid in the shape of a heart to save the painting underneath. After adding a little more paint (image 1 above), I saw what looked to me like the shoulders and back of a woman in a low-backed gown gazing at the trees. Even though I have no interest in painting figures, I had to move forward with this vision (image 2 above). I am very pleased with results...I love the FREEdom of painting in this style, no expectations, less frustration, and just FUN!

A Recommended Read - The Alchemist

photo from Stillwater Free Library

Just finished reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I thoroughly enjoyed this book not only for its simplicity but also for its inspiring story. This book is a must read for anyone on a journey of their own to discover their path in life, to realize a dream or to better understand who they are as a person. It's filled with wisdom about discovering the treasures within ourselves and about listening and following our hearts. It encourages us "to realize one's Personal Legend" and that "when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it" if you can read the signs and open your heart to it. So many quotable and thought provoking passages...such as "Because I don't live in either my past or my future, I'm interested in only the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man." And "That's what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too." Definitely a book that will stay on my bookshelf forever.

Daisy Heart Revisited

A before shot (left) and after shot (right) of a painting I started almost a year ago for my 7 year old daughter's room. I wanted to bring in the colors of her room and I decided to go big (24"x30"). The before photo shows how far I got and then simply shut down. I learned that painting big is hard and time consuming and it wasn't turning out how I envisioned. That happens a lot with me...I'm too quick to judge and too impatient to wait until it's done before criticizing my work. Since I wasn't really liking it, other projects got my attention and this one got stuck in the corner. Over the summer I decided to finally finish up her room and finish this darn painting, good or bad! Originally I had planned on strictly painting with acrylics, but over the course of that year I have grown to love mixed media and all the different techniques and mediums you can apply to a single painting. So I played around by adding torn paper, sheet music, rubber stamps, oil pastels, chalk pastels, charcoal, and anything else I thought would make it more interesting. Interesting it is and I love it. A far cry from the original. Every night, when I lay down with Paige in her bed and she says she "hates" the torn paper on the petals and wants me to change it back the way it was, I just smile and maturely say "Too bad, it's my painting and I like it that way. You can't make me change it!"

The photo below shows the painting hanging in it's new home, Paige's room.