Having a Blast (Off)!

So, I'm having a blast with the lastest online workshop I'm taking! Appropriately named Paint Happy, Micki Wilde's tutorials have helped me fine tune my girls' faces, as well as think up new story lines and fun things to paint.

I started an idea journal as suggested and I just loving having all my thoughts in one place. If you are anything like me, prior to this you may have had 3 or 4 different journals, notebooks and pads with innumerable ideas written in them... and located in random spots around the house and studio!

One of the very first ideas I came up with was a Rocket Girl who had just landed on the Moon. I wrote it in my journal, but that simply wasn't enough. She kept tugging at me to bring her to life. And so, in-between housework, cooking, and errands, she appeared practically out of nowhere! I was so obsessed that I didn't even take the time to photograph my progress! More like possessed!

And I was very pleased with the results! After months of going crazy with colors and mark-making for my backgrounds — and the exciting anticipation of not knowing how my girls would end up — it was nice to actually think out a story line and a color palette ahead of time. I love that I enjoy both methods, and know which one suits my ever-changing moods. For now, I'm going minimal. And loving it!

Rocket Girl... over and out... (for now).

A See of Color...

I recently started Micki Wilde's online class Paint Happy  and was inspired to create swatches of every single acrylic paint that I owned! In her first lesson she has an assignment where we create color palettes we like in our journals. Being the recovering perfectionist that I am, I really wanted to "see the colors all together" before committing them to paper.

I have.... umm... well... a LOT of paints! I even have them categorized by color. But still, when I'm painting, the ones in the drawers are out-of-sight-out-of-mind and the ones on my work table are... over crowded! So my idea solved two problems... Yay! I'll be able to see them all at-a-glance.

With my new swatches, I can create the perfect color combinations and play with subtle differences in certain colors until I get them just right! The top swatch is my favorite 70's junk jewelry combo... and right beneath it is the ultimate Sweet Tart palette!

Oh, and never fear, dear readers... I put the paint color and brand name on the back of every single swatch. Woot!

Heck, even the remnants from my project are juicy fodder for some other project... or they'd even make a great stencil!

I started a list in my journal of all the different places I can look for color palette ideas. The only problem is... that the possibilities are endless. Now where are my paint brushes? Wheeeeee!