Rainy Weekend = Art

This has been a rather chilly and rainy weekend. Though I miss the sun, this weather is very condusive to hiding away in my art room and not feeling guilty.

I have created two new pieces this weekend and though they are very different, I enjoyed the process of each one equally.

Needing a little break from my 'mantra' painting practice, I just wanted to draw and paint what is easy for me.

Usually, I color faces with my Copics, but about half way through, two of my necessary skin tones ran out. I didn't have refills, so I had to use acrylics. I have never 'painted' a face, with paint, EVER, so this was a real challenge. 

She is a lady of color and I wanted her hair to reflect the same; her confidence, beauty, and a little 'disco'. This sooooo brought back my 80's ... Gloria Gaynor, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, and so many more... I danced my little heart out to these icons... memories.

This next painting many of you have already seen as I have posted it on fb, instagram and twitter. It is another canvas inspired by the ecourse workshop by Kelly Rae Roberts (my introduction to mixed media was through a purchase of her art as a gift for my sister).  

I thought you may want to see my how it progressed.

How it all started - A hot mess!

Needed to cover it all, so I picked a
favorite stencil - Liking this!

Added a layer of flowers -
Really liking this!

Decided it was very busy, so grabbed
that stencil again -
Starting to fall in love with it!

Added the gold trim -
This is sooooo me, LOVE!

Finished piece - Dream (and I do)

Thank you for letting me share my art life with you.

Hugs,

    T

Artist in Attendance

I signed up for an e-course and have been consumed with it since I started. It is hosted by one of my favorite artists and I am learning so much more about mixed media than I ever thought I could have.

It's a very basic workshop teaching me how to build layers on my canvas. Paint, paper, textures, more paint, and more paper to cover up what you just painted. More paint to cover up the paper that just covered up all the effort you made in the previous painted layer. I know, right? Seems like a lot of repetition and senseless work, eh?

Well, I can only say that my thoughts have changed. I am learning that all the layering is what adds interest to your painting. If you skip them, you lose the dimension that draws your audience's eye to the piece.

That said, I am struggling. First, it seems like such a waste (time and money) to keep covering everything up. Second, what makes it all work is the chaos that is created in the first few layers. I am a CONTROL freak. We don't do chaos!!!! Ha, tis true, I am doing it. I create chaos and then unknowingly tie it all together.

It's actually therapeutic for me. I have to trust the process and learn that it is ok to be spontaneous. There are no mistakes, our teacher says, just happy accidents.

I tried to capture the steps. I need to be reminded of what the paintings look like early in the process:

 

Can you see why I was so stressed out? But, I love it, so I will continue to be an artist in attendance and learn all I can from this class.

Hugs,

   T

Mixing It Up Loves Cottonwood Arts - It's a Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Mixing it Up loves Cottonwood Arts blog hop!

This is a closed blog hop just for the members of the Mixing it Up Every Day facebook group, so that we can get to know each other better.
Having said that, if you are not in our group, please feel free to leave a comment then come join us over on Face Book. We would love to get to know you better, too.

Question: Are you a Journal Hoarder?

This is really quite funny since until perhaps 6 months ago I had no idea what an art journal even was. However, I now have 4 journals.

Journal #1 was created when I wanted to have what everyone else had. A beautiful book filled with fabulous artwork. I wasn't sure what that was all about, but I HAD TO HAVE ONE!
So, I gathered up scrap paper at work and coil bound it together and VOILA, I had a journal. It was pretty cool and I looked at my new journal for over a week admiring those clean blank pages that would soon showcase my art. 

I looked at it for another few days... and ... watched you tube videos on art journaling. I found out that it is more like a practice book. A way to express yourself (like a diary, sort of) and also a way to try different art techniques and mediums. 

HUNH? 

I am not going to dirty up these beautiful pristene pages with  practice stuff!!!!

My refusal kept my journal a virgin for about another week. I wasn't happy, though.
I watched others post pages of their journals and knew I wanted mine to be just as beautiful. 

My first page was remarkable. I loved it. But, it should have been a painting, not a coiled page in a practice book. 

This is when I found that I was not meant to be a regular art journaler. If a page was not up to painting standards, then I felt it was an eyesore in my journal. If it  turned out fabulous, I hated that it was coil bound in that book and not out for others to see as my art.

Once I accepted that journaling was not really for me, I became a journaler!!! Ha!
I only used my journal to try things. I accepted that it would not represent my feelings as that is what my paintings do everyday. So, that's journal #1.                 

 Journal #2 is  a coverless spiral notebook that I found in the trash. One of my grandkids threw it away at the end of the school year. I saw it in the recycle bin just after I bought Joanne's "The Art of Whimsical Lettering" book and joined her facebook page. It was perfect to use in lieu of a composition notebook and because it was picked out of the trash and was battered already, I had no qualms about seeing less than perfect work in it. I use it just for practicing my lettering. 

I think I am getting the hang of this journaling thingy ::wink::







Journal #3 came about after I signed up for class with an artist I truly admire. I wanted a book that was devoted to what I learned from her and she asked that we make a journal for the class. Again, I found a throw away. It was a blank journal book that had been in my garage for ages. I was so excited about this journal that I actually spent time painting  the perfect cover.

In the end, I didn't really need many pages to complete my 'homework' assignments, so I have since used it for many other things.

Journal #4... yes , there is a journal #4... I have been following a You Tube card maker who often times does journal pages. Her pages are absolutely phenominal and I was convinced that I, too, could create beautiful journal pages if I had a book like hers. A Mole Skin! I had to have one because I just knew that my art would get better if I did. 

Are you all smirking?  Rightfully so, you should be. I learned the hard way that the quality of the paper definitely makes a difference in a journal page in how the paper accepts the medium, but..... it, in no way changes the quality of my art.... duh. 

Journal # 5 Cottonwood Arts ... coming soon :)

So there you go.... journal hoarder? I don't think so. Each of mine still have a lot of empty pages that I hope to fill. I love being able to pick one of them up and sketch or practice my lettering, but I am too new to this art journey to be a hoarder. Instead, I am an 'accumulator'. 

Project:

We were asked to feature a piece of art that represents our 'style'. I have been told my whole life that I have no rythym and definitely no style... haha

I wracked my brains trying to come up with something unique. Not just a unique idea for  a painting, but a small project. Something that is creative.... by Sunday night I was becoming more and more stressed that this artist couldn't muster up just a little creativeness for this blog hop. I was almost in tears as the crunch line was nearing. 

Does it really take a good cry and a total sense of defeat to push me to create????

Well, evidently, yes... yes, it does. It was right in front of my face .... so here's my project in pictures:

Tissue box

Gesso (took 2 coats)

Base Color

Work area getting messier

Added MY GIRL (with tears, of course)

Glued one end, but added velcro to this end

and... Voila!!!!  a refillable tissue box :)

It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To

I needed a little encouragement to post this project, but I am glad I did. I love WHIMSY and this is soooooooo ME! You can find more of my whimsy in my Etsy shop. I just 'recently' put up a web page . Its pretty bare, but hopefully not for long :)

Every artist develops a style of their own and I can't tell you how happy it makes me to create whimsical and inspiring girls.  And, though I love creating MY art, there are many who create different art that I love just as much. 

If you're still here reading, please visit the blogs below and see some of the AWESOME art that our group creates. Consider leaving comments as they really mean alot to us as artists. 

Thank you always for your support and encouragement.
Hugs,
   T

Sandee Setliff http://inthehillsofnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/
Tiare Smith Woods http://www.tiaresmith.com
Martice Smith II http://www.uneekart.blogspot.com
Tiffany Goff Smith http://southerngalsdesign.blogspot.com
Anna Turner Ely www.foronemoment.blogspot.com
Cat von Hassel-Davieshttp://www.catseyestudio.us/
Terri Sproul http://www.terrisproul.blogspot.com
Sharon D. Estes http://grannyskornerstudio.blogspot.com
Betty Guffey Richardson http://artyauntie.blogspot.com/
Tommy Jo Vilello Anderson http://www.tommyjovilello.blogspot.com
Melissa Willard Edwards www.melissaedwards.org
Donna Simmons Lueders http://www.damseldesignsbydonna.blogspot.com/
Tamiko McCurry http://mikosspot.blogspot.com

Original Listings Go Live

In just an hour, I will be activating listings for a few of my original paintings. It is scary and wonderful at the same time.

My art journey has picked up it's pace and I couldn't be more excited. Still finding my style, the process is so awesome for me.

The "Whimsical Girl Series" were the first mixed media paintings I ever did. They are my pride and joy (even though a little amateurish) as they represent my desire to inspire young girls to be confident in their self image, to be prideful of their heartlight, and to celebrate their individuality.  Truly, they are the hardest to part with.

As my journey has been one of learning and giving myself permission to experience joy, my paintings have evolved. I am in love with my growth as an artist.

Through my art, the process, I have been able to shed some regrets, work through the sadness that sometimes overwhelms me, to experience friendships AND be present in them and to actually feel the belief that others have in me as a person as well as an artist.

Please join me in my Etsy Shop and click on the "Originals" section today to see some of my original art pieces. 

Hopefully, I will be adding more whenever my heart is ready to let go. Not sure everyone will understand this, but I pour a lot of myself into each piece, so letting go is difficult.

Thank you everyone for your support. Without the encouragement of my sister, Tracy, my friends (online and offline) and fellow artisans, I would not be traveling and loving this art filled journey.

Love you all,

   T