Prints Now Available...

Well, I finally photographed a bunch of my original whimsically weird art and had prints made, which are now available in a special section of my Etsy Shop! Seeing them all together was quite exciting and I plan to be painting more and more as the Fall season turns to Winter. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed painting them. Happy browsing!

Airplane Doodles

My vacation to the Rockies was so restful and rejuvenating and relaxing that I had enough enthusiasm to doodle my way home on the airplane. Although reality quickly set in and I am still busy catching up, so I'll tell you all about my trip next week when I'm more grounded. In the meantime, thinks of sweet things....

Thoughtful Thursdays: Playing With Symbols!

I've been playing around with symbols and mark-making in a primitive, childlike way lately — thanks to my online workshop with Mindy Lacefield. It's interesting when you're actually given the assignment to find out what kinds of symbols you like and what kind of marks you are drawn to! (hee-hee.... get it? drawn to)

So I finally signed up for a Pinterest account and I looked for various examples that sparked something in my brain. I realized that I like stars... scribbly springy marks, houses, flowers, and the use of text as a design element.

I like rainbows and clouds and hearts... as well as childlike scrawlings of letters and numbers.

And swirls. Boy do I love swirls! Especially with my non-dominant hand.

Oh, and raindrops. I'm having way too much fun with raindrops.

Oh, and... well... I'm not sure if food is considered a symbol... but you know me! There's bound to be some sweet treats in my art.

I have to admit that although it is fun to uncover where my tastes lie when it comes to symbols and mark-making... it's a little tough figuring out how to incorporate them into a piece of art and make it cohesive. I'll let you know how that goes!

In the meantime... what are some of your favorite symbols?

Starting From Scratch...

And then the right brain said to the left hand... I love you more!

Who knew that what started as an artistic exercise in letting go and getting in touch with my childlike self... would lead me to realize so much about what's going on in my subconscious! In practicing mark-making, scribbling and symbol drawing for Mindy Lacefield's Paint Your Story workshop, she encouraged us to use our non-dominant hand (mine's the left) for some of the time. And when I did... oh boy... I fell in love! In fact, I loved my drawings so much more that I did with my left hand that I found myself saying...

...don't practice too much Lefty, we don't want you to start drawing like Righty!

And then I had an epiphany. Why was I being so nice to my left hand who was drawing all crooked and off kilter like a child? And the things I was saying to my left hand kind of felt like I was talking to a child...

It's okay to make mistakes.... you're just starting out. Don't get all wrapped up in the outcome... just enjoy the process. Don't worry if you don't like what you make, we'll just make another one.

But on the other hand (literally!), what have I been saying to my right hand for all these years? Well, it turned out to be things like this...

You suck. You're not good enough. You'll never be good enough. You might as well give up now because you're not capable. You can keep trying, but you're not going to get it right... no matter how hard you try!

Well, how awful is that? I mean... you wouldn't talk to a child that way, would you? Of course not! So I decided to make some changes. I'm going to take a left-handed approach in the way I talk to myself. I'm going to be kinder to myself. I'm going to pretend I'm talking to that enthusiastic young girl in me who doesn't know how to give up yet. The one who might need a little gentle encouragement. And I'm going to be really nice to her. And if I forget... well... I'll just put that pencil in my left hand and start from scratch.