The Joy of Painting

Lately, I've been painting again. It feels like going back to childhood every time I return. I don't paint with an end in mind; I just play! It's so fun choosing my favorite colors, fun shapes and doodling patterns.

Seeing yourself as an artist is often a stumbling block to actually creating art ~ at least it was for me. As an young adult, I never imagined I could paint because couldn't see myself having any skill. You have to be able to draw realistically to be a painter, right? Wrong!

Scrolling the web one day, I happened upon a group of fabulous artists who encouraged me (via the internet) to embrace creativity and just go for it. For the past ten years I've listened to them and embraced the fun of painting without worrying about the title of artist. If life gets busy and I'm away for awhile, I'm always drawn back by the thought of color and swirling thick layers across a canvas.

One of the artists who inspired me is the free spirit, Flora Bowley. Her book Brave Intuitive Painting gives wings to my tentative attempts! Not only does she dispel what an artist looks like, but she addresses the thoughts we grab onto that keep us from exploring our creativity.

Maybe not everyone will want to attempt to paint, but reading Flora might convince you to try! We all have the ability within us, we may just need some gentle encouragement. Play and willingness are the only requirements.

In this book, Flora's lessons remind me of what it was like to paint as a child with finger-paints, stamps, dancing and scribbles. It's all about fun and letting your inner child explore! Flora makes painting easy and accessible. If you're worried about knowing how to start on an empty canvas, she's got loads of tips to get you started!

Check her out, I think you'll love her style!

i love books

It's no secret, I LOOOVE books. They're the pumpkin to my pie. I keep a book with me at all times ~ which transforms any place I have to wait into a new adventure, university or craft class.

Right now I'm reading: Rising Strong and Creativity Inc. I'm due for a really good fiction book though, any suggestions? (Just not horror ~ I don't do horror; I'm jumpy enough as it is!)

For the Love of Color

Color is something that often takes my breath away. I saw a video the other day for glasses that allow color-blind people to see colors they've never experienced before. I teared up watching their responses upon seeing green and red for the first time. The privilege of seeing color is something I often take for granted. But when I come across something beautiful, like artistic walls on a random building, I'm reminded what a pleasure it is. Something so simple and yet so moving.

Wishing you a color filled day today!

What I'm Working On...

It's been rainy and cool here which always seems to help my creative process. I'm not sure of why that is, but it just does. I create better/more often in the winter months.

This girl is a little something I've been working on lately. There is definitely some fall inspiration here, but since it's not quite a full-fledged fall, she's still in shorts.

Wishing you a great start to your Monday!

Lately...

I've been painting...these girls.

I've been eating...pineapple fried rice.

I've been watching...Emma Approved on YouTube

What've you been up to lately?

Paint + Words

I have a passion for both art and words. But I've hesitated about putting words on my paintings because I felt it was too childish or that maybe people might not get it or think it was silly or maybe just not artsy enough.

But the truth is, I adore children's art; people don't always "get" me; I am silly and I can be the one to determine artsy-enough. Why shouldn't my art reflect these parts of me? So I'm letting it. And you know what? I love it. I love putting little thoughts on my paintings. I love handwriting them. Even as a little girl, I enjoyed hours of handwriting. (Doesn't everyone?)

So now my art and words are colliding into something that feels very vulnerably me, although it looks very playful. I think it feels vulnerable because I'm opening my heart in a new way.

It feels good ~ it feels right; so I'm sticking with it. I'm also working hard to have a pre-opening of my shop by the end of this month for blog readers and Facebook fans. I know it's taken awhile, but I've had a big learning curve. I'll let you in on my struggles later. For now, I'm just painting as often as I can so I'll have my shop full by launch!

Hope you enjoyed these peeks!

Chalk Art: Porch

I wanted to try a chalk art design and thought a welcome sign would be perfect for our porch.

I started by creating a small space for the message in the middle with dark gray. The design was inspired by a mirror I saw hanging at one of our favorite restaurants. But instead of a mirror, I made a box to put the word "welcome" in and instead of neutral shades, I added brighter colors to the surrounding area.

It definitely cheered up our entryway. I think I'm going to enjoy this little sign for as long as it lasts.

What do you think I should chalk art next? Maybe a porch "rug"?

Lately...

Last week my kids were with Grandparents for their yearly "cousin camp"; so my brother, sister and I got together for "sibling camp". We had a lot of fun catching up and hanging out! I came back rejuvenated and inspired to paint ~ these girls are the result.

She was in the business of capturing stories. 

She was about to discover how courageous she could be.

She was finally at peace with herself.

I hope you enjoyed a few glimpses into my studio. What've you been up to lately?

Canvas Quilt

I absolutely love quilts. I have some of my grandmother's that our whole family fights to cuddle in. I've been wanting to try a quilt-like painting for awhile, and since we had a quiet Saturday, I made my first attempt.

I started out by penciling in a grid with sizes I'd like to work in. This may sound tedious but I enjoy graphing things.

I decided on a few colors (some of my favorites) and spotlighted them for the background of my boxes.

I pulled out my sketchbook for inspiration and began playing at it. This is as far as I got. I may leave it with some blank boxes, but I'm still thinking about it. I may want to add a few more items to it. I'm letting it sit for a few days to help me decide.

What do you think, more items or blank?

How I Painted an Abstract Piece

I've been wanting a large, abstract art piece to hang above our couch. Unfortunately the paintings I loved were far out of my price range. Luckily, I found a large canvas marked way down at Micheals, and decided to attempt my own version of abstract art (albeit waaay out of my comfort zone).

Anytime I've tried this before, it's come out looking like a big jumbled color mess without any form to it. It didn't look like the paintings I loved. So this time I wanted to try a few different techniques:

1. I painted with a palette knife instead of brushes. This was a little awkward at first, but I really loved slapping paint around with these tools once I began!

2. I covered the canvas. I put down the first layer of paint trying to place all the colors I wanted in each quadrant of the canvas without overwhelming it. Not sure I succeeded because it sort of looked like the jumbled mess paintings from before, but I still had a few other steps to try.

3. I wanted thicker layers, so after the paint dried, I slathered molding paste onto the canvas. I just happened to have an almost full jar on hand from a previous project ~ whoo-hoo!

4. When the paste dried, I spotlighted my feature colors and made them the focus of the painting. I'll admit it was difficult trying to keep the focal colors as the focus without making them stark against the rest of the painting. The only advice I have is to add lot and lots of layers.

5. I added cascading colors. The painting still didn't look right to me, or at least not how I wanted it to look. I noticed that the art pieces I loved so much had a cascading flow to them. When I finally realized that, I began working to make my colors "waterfall" from top to bottom. 

6. I loved seeing movement with the brush strokes, so I added more of that. I wanted lots of layers and lots of texture. 

7. I added white space. I noticed I wasn't happy unless there was a large amount of white space, so I indulged myself. 

Here is the final result:

It was a fun challenge, but painting an abstract piece is much harder than it looks!

Have you ever tried a project out of your comfort zone?

I Dream of Mountains

My paintings lately have drawn more inspiration from the people around me and the ones, I assume, are around you. We all have friends with big dreams and secret passions. This painting was inspired by my good friend, Adrienne, who feels most at home in nature, especially among the mountains. I love watching her face light up when she talks about them.

I understand why she loves them; my husband and I lived in Colorado during our first years of marriage and those mountains just draw you in. They're royal and empowering. Not to mention they helped this directionally-impaired woman find her way in a new city. I knew where I was as long as I could see the mountains.

What is your secret passion? What is the thing that even the thought of it brings a happy sigh from your lips?

P.S. The reason the words look slanted in that last photo is because I was leaning the painting back to avoid a glare. They really are aligned, I promise.

Storybook Paintings

Stories...oh those dreamy woven tales. I love them in songs, poems, movies, books, or articles. I love imagining them. I love stories almost any way they can be dished up. 

But I never thought of painting as a way to tell a story.

Painting stories happened secretly; at least it was secret from me. I didn't realize that's what I was doing. Although there is always a back-story in my mind about the painting and the people in it, I never thought that was seeping into my art.

I picked up a group of my paintings from a local coffee shop recently to get new photos of them for my online shop (coming soon). 

When I brought them home and set them around my studio, it felt as if I'd brought home old friends. 

It dawned on me as I looked at each of them that they had a story, one I'd given them; and those stories were peeking out from each canvas. I'd been sad to put aside writing for awhile due to unforeseen circumstances, but picked up painting in it's place. Now it dawned on me that:

My stories had not stopped being written, I'd just chosen a different tool.

I can't express how happy that made me. I hadn't suppressed those dear stories, I'd painted them!

I hope the stories sing through to others when they look at my art. I hope they hear the tales hidden in the brush strokes.

Music Tells a Story and this Song is Telling Mine

My twin sister and I used to practice singing for hours. We'd pick our favorite records (yes, I'm that old) then continue putting the needle back to the beginning of our favorite songs until we knew it like the inside of our skin. We formed harmonies (she was the soprano and I the alto) and read each other's voices as if they were our own. 

Mom arranged our first gig in a small church. We were only eleven at the time, but we embraced the chance. From that time on, we took every opportunity offered us, to sing for others. It connected our music world to the real world.

Looking back, I'm shocked an introvert like me would venture singing to a crowd, but I didn't feel alone. I felt hidden behind the bravery of my sister and comfortable in the familiarity of our voices.

My children whine when I put my favorite music on. They unwillingly know every word to all my dearest songs, since they've been subjected to listening to them since entering this world.

The irony is that they're consumed with music as much as me; only, a different variety. I knew they understood when I caught my eldest with her hands up, completely lost in song. I had to capture that moment on canvas because when you love music  so much, you know:

Music tells a story, and this song is telling mine.

Have you ever listened to a song and felt it was telling your story?