Me, Owww...

There are some times in your life where you just feel like being snarky.... but you still want to look cute doing it. Meow.

A Rainbow Touched My Heart...

One day I was driving around running errands and I saw... a rainbow. Only it wasn't a real, prism-in-the-sky kind of rainbow. It was a logo on a local park sign. But I thought it was cool. So I jotted it down in my notebook for future use, and let it go.

But when I was working on this piece recently, the space to the right of my little blond-headed girl needed something. I wasn't sure what. The elements at the top of the page were rather "heavy" which is why I made her dress black... to balance that all out. And i really liked the cloud, so I wanted to keep that element in there somehow. And then I thought of the line in that Andy Grammer song that goes...

"...only rainbows after rain..."

And bing! The multicolored image from my journal popped into my head. And although I was planning to use it with a shooting star... why not a rainbow straight to your heart?

It worked as the perfect element to fill up the space and I loved the story that went along with it...

"The storm passed and then a rainbow touched my heart."

That's kind of how I feel when life hands me something that I didn't think I could handle... and then I get through it and feel so much more empowered. And I thought this was a great visual reminder of that sentiment.

Let's Party!

So I was painting my little heart out these past few weeks... having been invited to be a featured artist at a local Asbury Park gallery next month! I was so ecstatic when a graphic design client of mine came over to pick up a job I did for her... and was enchanted by my most recent slew of paintings. She said, "these are awesome... now paint more!" And I did.

This week I'm busy getting all my art together, creating some marketing materials (that graphic design background really comes in handy!), and coming up with ways to promote the event. And I have to admit... I'm getting kind of excited! We're still working out the exact opening date, but I can tell you that it's right around the corner!

Patch It Up...

Not too long ago, I got Lilla Rogers' book I Just Like To Make Things. In it, she had a few creativity exercises, and I fell in love with this patchwork looking one! She had us pick several of our favorite colors and then fill in the squares with them. I was so ecstatic with the results, I wanted to use the idea in a real painting.

So I divided a 16"x20" wood panel into 4"x4" squares and went to town. I wanted to keep the colors a bit more muted, so that whatever (or whoever) I painted over top would stand out.

I used the same techniques from my last painting... only this time I used my dominant hand (Spoiler Alert! I actually liked the left handed one better!) But the very dry brush strokes and multiple layers still came through and I love all the scritchy-scratchy detail that produces.

I decided to make her dress black so that it would pop over the pastel background. It worked!

And I ended up giving her a black mouse-eared hat just to balance things out. Of course once I made the hat, it felt like too much black.... and so I emblazoned it with my own little pink mouseketeer logo to create some visual distraction.

Typically when I think I'm done, I'll prop my painting up on the living room couch — opposite where I sit to watch TV. I'll glance over at it every once in awhile to see what I like and what I don't. So after staring at it for hours, I went back and added some shadows, and lightened some areas too. It was still a little scary as the Recovering Perfectionist in me didn't want to mess it up.

But the longer I stared at it, the more I saw things I wanted to change. So if it's a choice between leaving it as is (and not being happy), or trying something else to improve it (even if I don't like it)... why not just continue to improve it? And even though she's done... I still see things I'm going to change... and I'm not scared to do it!

Talk about patching things up!

Taking Time to Play...

If we think about the last time we actually played with paint and pencils and crayons and stamps — with no expectations and no judgements about our work — it was probably like... when we were 7 or so? I know for myself... I can't even remember what it was like to not make an icky face at my first attempt at anything!

Which is why I felt it was so absolutely necessary to take Mindy Lacefield's Play Journal workshop at the Art & Soul Retreat recently. She teaches... nay... preaches... living from your authentic childlike self and her fun and whimsical attitude is contagious!

Her work is so playful and visually stimulating in a witty, lighthearted way... that I just needed to be a part of that type of creation face-to-face...

That's why even though I've taken her classes online for almost a year now, I still felt compelled to learn with her in-person in a 2-day workshop. And I am so very happy that I did!

We started off with some warm-up exercises... drawing on deli paper with our non-dominant hand (we'd use that later in our journals). Once we crafted our journals (it was easy peasy!), we jumped right in to putting paint on paper, which is still always exciting and scary for me each time I do it!

Painting. Stamping. Mark-making. Drawing. Gluing. Lettering. These are things that just bring pure joy when there is no end result in mind. And it was fun! I gave myself permission to let go.

And it was so cool to watch my pages as they progressed. I ended up disassembling my journal because I wanted to add elements to multiple pages and my 7 year old self couldn't wait for them to dry (who am I kidding, that's the impatient me today!). I was so overcome with excitement and the desire to add more and more (and more!) that I found myself shoving lunch into my mouth faster than I could chew it... just so I could get back to the classroom more quickly. Come on! Hurry up! So you can have more fun!!

We had a fabulous group dynamic in our class and we all fed off of each other's energy. We journaled and shared stories, got a little teary-eyed, laughed a lot, shared some more, got ideas from each other and evolved as a group. At the end of day two we had a little show-and-tell. Everyone did such a great job and each person's creations were uniquely their own. It was a blast!

And after I returned home, the party didn't stop! I was obsessed with mark-making and doodling and painting and finding just the right piece of epemera to complete an empty space. I was kind of cracking myself up over cracking up. Is my therapist on call, I wondered?

But I finally came down a bit, off of the major adrenaline high I was on, and just enjoyed the whole process. I found that after Mindy's workshop, I was more free to make marks, really letting go of the fact that they might get covered up. I had more confidence that I could make those marks again if need be, or take the technique and use it as a new tool in another way on another page. And yes, I will be making like a gazillion more of these journals!

In fact, this mermaid is the result of what I created over that background above. I covered up a lot of marks and painting and drawing and little bits of ephemera. But I love this page oh so much. And I made sure to document it before I covered it. So anything I had, I'll know exactly how to re-create it again for another page.

To be honest,  I wasn't sure how much I'd learn from an in-person class from a teacher I had studied with online. But to my surprise, the person that signed up for that workshop and the person who came home from it ... well, they're two different people. And it's hard to find words that express what a wonderous time I had, and how much my art has changed as a result of it. I am over-the-moon excited every day knowing that all I had to do to move forward, was move backwards... and revisit my childhood self.

I'm so happy I remembered how to play. Makes life (and art) a lot more fun. Wheeeeeee!

Brown Baggin' It!

Over the past few years, I've been learning to paint faces. There is so much inspiration out there in the way of online classes and a whole lot of artists that provide additional inspirational styles... and that's where my problem lies! I love them all. I've tried on a few styles by taking workshops with Suzi Blu and Mindy Lacefield, and I've been very happy with the results. But it's not me... totally. When I try to paint faces, sometimes I don't like the eyes, or the nose, or the lips, or the shape of the face. I get frustrated with the shading, the hair, hands, clothes.... and well.... just most of it! So I had an idea.

Sometimes I'll sketch something out on a piece of copy paper and I'll love it. Perhaps it was the feeling that I wasn't ruining my journal or a good piece of canvas with a painting I didn't like. Hmmmm.... what's something cheap I can paint on? Hey! How about brown paper lunch bags!!! Yesssssssss! That's it! I'll practice my faces on lunch bags. Perfect!

And what started as a side project when I had the time, has turned into an all-out obsession! I absolutely love painting on these lunch bags. The ease of the paint onto the surface. The base of kraft brown beneath my art. The crinkly look and feel of the paper. It's just begging to be messed with! And I've got a pack of 40! Can you tell I'm excited?

These bags handle layers and layers of paint and washes. I really don't feel bad about messing up anymore. Okay, so... maybe I do. A little.

In fact, I loved where this face was going so much that I was afraid to add hair for fear of messing it up. But alas... I turned to another one of my brilliant ideas and made photocopies of it... and then painted on those first!

But when I added it to the original it was even more exciting because I have gotten to the point in my sketching and painting where I can duplicate something I've already done! And the most important part... I'm not afraid to try! Practice really does help. Who knew (maybe someone at Carnegie Hall)?

I even had this idea to paint a portrait inspired by Charlie the Clown — a modern vintage rag doll I recently made. I applied the same rules of layering and shading that I had learned for people faces and it came out great! Just like I had pictured it in my mind. This is way too much fun!

So... what started as an exercise in practice painting, became a lesson in fearlessness. I have learned so much about how I approach art and what I do once I get there. I've learned to stop, look, and spend time in the details. And then stop again. I've learned to step back... and wait. Not to rush. To take my time. To make deliberate marks. And then do it all over again.... on the next one! I can't wait.

Facing A Blank Canvas...

After last week's confession, I feel like I'm beginning a new chapter in my life. Starting fresh. Like a blank canvas. Now, I must admit that a clean slate used to intimidate me to no end. But over the years, I've learned to just do something! Anything! Make a mark. draw a line. Paint on some color. I've learned that I don't need to know what direction I'm going... or where I might end up. As long as I keep moving forward. Painting has taught me a lot about life!

Now that school is in, it's the perfect time to "study up" on what it is that I want out of life. And as luck would have it... I stumbled across the perfect workshop to entertain my curiosity! Having admired Flora Bowley's work for some time now, I saw that she was having an e-course entitled Bloom True. Her 5-week workshop takes a "transformational approach to painting (and living) that celebrates intuition, connects body, mind and spirit and allows unique and expressive paintings to emerge naturally and authentically." So I've set my intentions for this class... and I know that I'm in the right place at just the right time.

Courage, Grow, Discover...

In the months before my recent vacation, I spent most of my time preparing for an art show... so I didn't have a lot of time left over for fun painting play. Arriving home from Colorado... I needed to paint and this is what came out of me.

The lion originally was just a simple flower, but it told me it wanted to be a lion... so I complied.

The details are the fun part. Now that I've learned to play when I paint, I just paint what feels right in the moment, and worry about the composition as it creates itself.

I find that I am drawn to symbols like circles, swirls, stars, dots, clouds and raindrops.

And I'm still working on my faces while at the same time trying to find the perfect set of eyes. There are just so many ways to illustrate them in acrylic. Perhaps I'll make a whole painting of eyes to see what I like!