Paintersgarden

A Refresher Course on Roses

2022-03-27T16:10:00.001-05:00

Hi There!

You don't need me to teach you this. There are lots of rose tutorals out there. Either in books or on the internet with your computer or TV.

I chose watching a variety of different videos on You Tube. There were so many teachers, styles, and techniques to choose from. I found that to be very helpful.

As I mentioned before. I am still working with a limited selection of paint's and making them work as well as I can.

This was the canvas panel that I chose to paint the roses on. It had been a collage and the start of a couple other paintings but nothing had really worked.

The round elements gave me a good base to place the roses on.

After that it was simply a matter of deciding where to put the light and dark areas for shading and shaping.

I'm pretty satisfied with the roses at this point and continue to work on the background and the leaves now.

It won't be long until I finish the painting and use the design on my products on Zazzle or submit it to other companies for a fabric. Wish me luck!

Sunflowers

2022-03-23T15:54:00.000-05:00

I Love Sunflowers. Growing them, cutting and arranging them as well as drawing and painting them.

These have been a real challenge because of the limited array of colors to work with.

Aside from the limited colors there were also poor quality and very thin so each color needed many coats of paint to make them cover properly.

At this point I'm sure you're wondering why I even bothered using them but the short answer was that I was out of everything else.

Before buying other paints I wanted to use up everything else I had on hand and see just what I could do with "junk". I'm not thrilled with the results but I give myself credit for trying.

I loved the loose and wild strokes on the panels as the idea started to take hold.

Sometimes I wish I would have stopped while there was still some of this raw energy to the painting.

My Favorite Projects Lately

2022-03-19T15:53:00.000-05:00

I'm still really enjoying trying different ways to combine water media of all sorts. I'm listing them here in the order of how much I like them or tend to use them. The fist choice for me is always acrylic paints, I use them most often. Next would be watercolor paints in tubes or trays and water color pencils. It wasn't until the last few years that I discovered gouache which I think is best at all for control and beautiful, crisp edges.

Each is wonderful in it's own way but my interest now is seeing what they can do when used together.

On this one the background was done in loose washes of watercolor applied wet into wet. The colors weren't very strong so I repeated that step a second time and let it dry before adding my lines in gouache with a water brush (the type that has a hollow handle and can be filled with water). I was quite pleased with the results and am looking forward to trying that again.

Making Progress

2022-03-16T18:52:00.000-05:00

Most progress is slow but I am trying to sort out projects and set my work area up so that I will be ready to move some of my art and craft projects to the yard or take them down the road to the park. If I time things right I may get a chance to enjoy some of the live music as well.

There were times over the winter that it seemed like it would end.

In the meantime I just kept working on these:

This was a small piece of watercolor paper that I had been using as a palette for some other paintings. the paint was starting to get a bit thick so I decided to make a painting out of it by adding neurographic lines and soft corners. I like the way it turned out so I dropped it into a letter to a friend

This is an acrylic on a small stretched canvas that I hope will make a nice background for a small floral this summer. I'm still not quite happy with the colors so I plan to continue working on it until i fially feel like it's ready to go.

After that I returned to an old favorite subject and began painting sunflowers. I m just not sure how far I want to develop it. Any ideas? Its so easy to overwork a piece so I want to be careful not to go too far. What are your thoughts on the subject?

I got the idea for this from a video that I saw on you tube and wanted to try out because I had some old metallic paints that I didn't know what to use them for.

Now that I see it a number of ideas have started to float to the surface, most of them being designs for kitchen items and anything else that has shiny elements too it. Wish me Luck!

Taking my imagination for a walk...

2022-03-11T18:03:00.002-06:00

...and yes, it's unleashed but paper trained. The first map project I did was pleasant enough but I thought I'd kick it up a notch and really make it fun.

I am amazed at how many different note cards and Mixed Media Art pieces that I got out of just one old map and a couple of pages from a travel brochure.

Here are a few more photos taken as the projects moved on.

I started out in soft colors like those on the map and found that to be boring so I began to burnish the colors and make them more lively.

I found it to be a huge improvement that I can go back to working on whenever I have the time or inclination to do so. It will be a great little project to take along with me whenever I know I'll have time to kill.

I never actually go anywhere so it amused me to make a travel brochure trippy. I just kept drawing around and over this one and really enjoyed it.

I've never seen anything quite like this before and I really enjoyed my non travel trip. It's fun to see things in another way.

I kind of like the dreamy and vintage turn that this painting seems to be taking. It reminds me of the roses we brought from Doug's parents farm 30 or so years ago so I looked up my favorite photo to keep the inspiration going and am happy with the results so far, what do you think?

Making a Mess

2022-03-08T13:30:00.001-06:00

I was getting a bit frustrated with where the canvas panels were going so I pulled out some mixed media paper, watercolor paints, gel medium and paper bits and threw this together. there's something that I Like about it but I'm not quite sure what. At least for now, It's a keeper.

I'm not quite sure where this is going. I started with some "mark making" on colored pencil which of course is just arts speak for I began to scribble on the paper in search of some sort of idea or inspiration.

I didn't find any so I grabbed the watercolor paints to see if I could match the surrounding paper to the collage bits already on the page.

It was interesting to note which of the pencil lines did or didn't show through depending on the sorts of pencils that they were. Perhaps I should choose my colors more carefully.

After that I went back to the canvas panels again which still proved to be uncooperative.

I had done some collage over this small panel with the dots and since there were already some round areas I decided to try to teach myself to paint mandalas over them. That seemed to work rather well.

I've really enjoyed my little map project. It's a lot like the neurographics except that a lot of the lines are already in place and you can choose which of the ones you want to use. This was the most relaxing project of them all so far and I highly recommend it if you want to unwind.

I'm really getting tired of the snow. It's just too hard to get through it with the wheelchair and I'm sooo bored being home. That's why I keep trying to run away into my.

I'm hoping to get there soon. Come and join me!

A Stack of Canvas Paintings on a Chilly Afternoon.

2022-02-28T18:16:00.006-06:00

They were all white at the beginning of the session but I rubbed them down with ends of paint tubes to give me some ideas of where to start.

I began a collage on the yellow one and then started to paint over it.

After that I added the neurographic lines and rounded corners.

I like the way that the collage shows through in places. the effect would have been nicer and more pronounced if I had covered the collage with gloss medium or clear gesso before painting.

Here's where I left the painting at the end of the day.

Come back tomorrow to see what happens next!

What a difference a day makes. this is brighter and more fun but I should have just stuck to making a nice collage instead of turning it into this mess. Don't you think so? I always get carried away and beat a painting to death.

Oh well I've gone this far, I might as well ride it out and see where it takes me.

Wish Me Luck!

I've been going around with those canvases for days and haven't really gotten anywhere with them and I've tried about everything I can think of.

I felt that the tiny painting had too much yellow in it. Before changing or adding colors, I decided to see what it looked like in black and white. I liked this version much better.

This painting has been painted over the orange and green one with an elderly woman. I did it last year as a greeting card illustration.

The Pointless Point

2022-02-26T11:10:00.002-06:00

Hi There,

I'm at that point in my creative cycle again where I need to clean up my workspace, get some rest and recharge my creative batteries before I decide what I want to try next.

Do you find this to be a regular routine for yourself as well? It has been a constant in my life since I was 2 or 3 years old.

I've had a nap and sucked up some media so I should be ready to go again...except for the cleaning up my workspace. How many of you guessed that I haven't done that yet? Yes, you're right and I am reluctantly starting to do that now.

I had put together a small, "how to paint a sailboat kit" for an acquaintance I never saw again. Maybe I should do that and sharpen my skills (I've been carrying it around in my tote bag since late last year).

It's probably about time that I did something with it. What do you think? If I get too bored with it I can always paint something else over the canvas panel.

Doing the painting was a good chance to practice painting with gouache and I was surprised to find them so much easier to control than painting with acrylic paints. I wish I had discovered that years ago.

Sounds like a win, win. to me.

Meanwhile my lunch is calling to me.

Have a Happy and Creative day,

Julia

Combining Different Drawing Techniques: Doodles, Neurographics, and Zentangle

2022-02-24T16:03:00.000-06:00

I haven't done any serious drawing since the early 1990's. What I mean is that it's the last time that I got serious about learning to draw, and draw well. I couldn't cross hatch or stipple properly because I couldn't place things evenly to create the right effect. Eventually I gave it up again and abandoned any attempt at it again. has that ever happened to you?

On the other hand my sister moves swift and surely through it with a machine like precision that amazes me.

Meanwhile I stumble along trying one thing after another hoping to discover why success has eluded me for so many years.

Well, enough of that, on to the drawings:

On this one I had started by doing neurographic art in blue marker and switching to a black pen to try some doodles. I loked some areas better than others.

This is just the star of a mandala that I planned to doodle on the corner of an envelope in my out going mail.

I kept adding bits too it and was wishing that I was a jewelry maker so that I could turn it into a nice broach or pin in enamelwork with some onyx beads. I'd love it!

I also think my friend will enjoy getting it in the mail.

What do you do with your practice drawings?

Doing it Again

2022-02-22T21:18:00.001-06:00

Here I am again building on a small painting. I enjoy it because you can never tell which way they'll go. It's a little adventure and a chance to try different materials and techniques.

It started like this and the first thing I did was put a coat of clear Gesso over it.

Doing that kept the watercolors from soaking through the paper layer and still allowed me to see the sheet music show through.

After that I got out some acrylic paints and added some flowers and vines to pull it together and lead your eye around it. I'm still not happy with it but will take a break for now. I'm wanting to sand it down in places but no one will get me any. It isn't that I want to destroy it. What I'm hoping to do is expose bits of the under layers to see what effect it would have, it's just that no one wants me to do it.

Building on a Small Painting

2022-02-16T14:42:00.000-06:00

This painting began with a 5 x7 inch canvas that I had worked on recently. I'd hung it on the wall and lived with it a while before I decided that it needed something else.

Here's Where I Started Today.

I start each day with a little neurogrphica. If you're not familiar with it yet you can find a lot of it on you tube these days.

Lately, instead of doing the exercises on paper, I work it in different colors. And also in layers with paint over other paintings.

It calms me and also seems to improve the paintings as well.

I continue to work in this way until I am satisfied with the results or until I get sleepy. It's been wonderful to enhance and improve my sleep.

I liked it very much at this point and put it back on my gallery wall so that I could enjoy it.

The Journey Continues

2022-02-09T16:14:00.004-06:00

Today I'm picking up where I left off on the canvas that used to be a teapot painting.

I didn't have a real plan in mind so I decided to do a neurographica exercise in paint on the canvas instead of in ink on paper like I did yesterday.

I enjoyed doing it a lot more like that and was fairly pleased with the results. I'm not sure where the painting will go from here but I think it's got a good base structure to work with now.

Who knows, I may do tomorrow's pages that way too. It may not improve my painting but it's doing wonders for my mood and my sleep.

It's Thursday now and as you may have guessed I just couldn't leave that painting alone.

I kind of fell into it. And the canvas reflected that.

I got a bit lost after that but enjoyed the wandering. I am indeed more of a "process person" when it comes to art and you'll never find a piece of awe inspiring beauty here but you will come across some fun ways of looking at things and processing the bits an pieces in life that come our way.

What a difference a day makes. I find myself hearing those words in a song Nat King Cole sang. I seem to have my own personal soundtrack in life. Nearly everything reminds me of a song lyric or a movie quote. Are any of the rest of you that way? It entertains me as I work.

I'm pretty happy with this so far and will go back to worrying about why more of you aren't at least following my zazzle stores if the blog doesn't interest you. I must be doing something wrong and have yet to figure it out. Any comments?

Well, I'm off to zazzle to see if I can figure things out there. I figure if my own family isn't interested enough to follow me there has to be something wrong with me or them. What do you think?

It's Saturday now and I'm still painting over and over this canvas. I may just have to set it aside and move on to something else.

It looks different here because I gessoed over it and tried painting with watercolor instead. That lead me in a whole different direction which I continue to pursue.

At this point we decided it was finished and hung it on the gallery wall.

Drawing Practice

2022-02-08T17:38:00.002-06:00

Welcome Fellow Free Spirits,

It's funny that those of us that are lucky enough to have homes often find ourselves complaining that we're feeling cooped up and wanting to get out. It's really silly when you think of it.

In spite of that I was really feeling restless and glad to see that the bright sun was melting enough of the snow and ice that it would be easier to ride my wheelchair around outdoors.

We also went to a favorite restaurant and split a sandwich even that has been a rare pleasure the last couple of years because the pandemic. It's nice to find places open again and be able to afford to go.

This one felt like a real vacation because it's in a log cabin with a stone fireplace like you'd find "up North". It's a nice contrast to everyplace around home.

It's amazing how much it helps to get out once in a while. Even if it's just to pick up your groceries at a different store than usual. I love the produce aisle best because of all of the shapes, smells and colors that can take your mind to faraway places.

For those of us who have been without food in the past, it's a real treat to be able to pick out what you want and get it.

I found my self feeling a lot better when I got home and started munching grapes before we even finished putting things away.

As you can imagine I don't have a lot of art to show you today. I just wanted to write anyway and share a bit if the happiness I'm feeling right now.

I've been working on this drawing the last couple of days to blow off steam and improve my sleep it seems to work just fine on the nights when I don't take a sleeping pill. One of my goals is to get to the point when I don't need or want sleeping pills, Wish Me Luck.

Drawing relaxes me as well or maybe better than writing.

Give it a try and see what you think.

Julia

I've done many more drawings since I started this post so I'll include those here.

One of the drawings is done with marker on an antique art book page that fell out last time I put the book away and the other was on a stained up page of watercolor paper that I decided to doodle on as well. Each effect was unique and gave me more ideas to work with.

The leaf and flower doodles were on a corner of an envelope in my outgoing mail. I usually put stickers om it but had run out for a while.

They're a few new styles I was trying to learn from a tutoral on you tube. I practice them anywhere when I've got some time to kill or a surface that I want to decorate.

2022-02-07T16:34:00.000-06:00

Hello Again,

Thanks for staying with me on the long journey that some of the last few projects have been.

Here's a bit of what's been going on around them and since I finished an hour ago.

When I began to regret putting the sunflower painting over the line painting I grabbed this smaller painting and started doing a line painting over that only to realize that I just wanted to paint, loose, free and not trying to ''make" it do anything.

It might have been interesting to follow this one through but I was just too tired to care anymore so I just grabbed paint, poured some and painted others directly from some of the tubes.

It's a real mess but it felt so good. Besides that, there's always tomorrow...and anything can happen.

The Amazing Journey on a Fresh Canvas

2022-02-03T14:55:00.002-06:00

Yes, this was a plain, white canvas some time ago. there just hasn't been much worth showing you yet.

Most of the changes have been minor as I try to decide which brushes and colors are going to be the best on it.

The liner brush and light blur seem to have made the most impact so far. Don't you think so? Do Keep those comments coming and follow this blog, I think it can help all of us.

Many things can change our minds and moods along the way and I think You'll find this one particularly surprising.

Each new color changed the look of the painting but none of them felt quite right. This was the third painting I'd done in this style and the fire and fun of it has gone by now. i could have put it away and maybe someone would have liked it but my house is small and there was no where to store it so I just painted over it.

This time in one of my old styles and themes. I'm not sure if I want to know what you think about the changes or not. Go ahead and let me have it. I'm pretty sure I can handle it.

It was about at this point I began to regret my decision to paint over it.

On the other hand I was glad to know I could still paint sunflowers even though I've had terrible luck trying to grow them. It made the house feel "right" again.

Neurographica's Impact on My Art and Life

2022-01-31T15:02:00.002-06:00

I've been kind of obsessed with neurographic drawing lately it has helped lower my pain level and my heart rate as well as nearly doubling my sleep. No wonder I don't want to stop.

I do it on my mail like this small doodle on the corner of an envelope and all over my other drawings and paintings.

I've been encouraging everyone I know to try it.

I've tried doing all sorts with the drawing it generates. Sometimes I cut them up and make notecards out of them. Other times I try making merchandise for my zazzle store.

I did this one with markers.

I did this one with watercolors and found they worked much better as long as you used a waterproof permanent marker to do the drawing with.

These were some of the first drawing s that I did. The kind of star shaped one was on the corner of another envelope Everyone comments on how much they enjoy the extra decorations and they tell me that it entertains their mail carrier as well.

This mixed media piece combines pencils, markers, collage ad watercolors. I'm not sure where it's going yet. So far it is just my morning workout to get those creative juices going. come back and see where it goes soon.

Here you see it with the neurographic lines completed and can see how much it unifies the design.

It wouldn't have done well as a stand alone art piece so I cut it up so that I can work on it further, add it to other art pieces in progress or simply make note cards out of them.

It was a fun and interesting process that taught me a lot about how different art materials work together.

Stop me before I wreck it. The journey of the square canvas

2022-01-31T14:28:00.005-06:00

This is the way the canvas looked after all of it's transitions and I am pleased to report that by Valentines Day It was working well on products in my zazzle store and you will find a whole collection of them called "Jenny's Choice".

This was where I left the painting at the end of the session. I'm planning to use it as the foundation to another painting at a later date.

I've been wrestling with this canvas for two years so far and it has yet to go in a direction that I'm really happy with.

I really enjoyed all of the bright colors weaving in and out of everything at this point in the process.

It's interesting creatively as I look at these photos in reverse and useful to get a handle on where I should have stopped and considered the painting finished.

Adding the sheet music was an effort to save the painting after I ruined it with the orange glaze. No effort went into the decision, I just had some pieces of it left on the work table so I grabbed it and threw it into the mix too.

Here's where the painting went seriously wrong. I had a small bit of orange paint on hand and decided to use it as a glaze to balance out all of the cool colors already on the canvas.

I got a bit carried away with the process and should have stopped here.

It's so easy to loose track of things and get lost in the flow state. It feels so good that you just want to stay there. If you are a fan or follower of my work you know that it happens often.

It has often spoiled possible sales but it helps deal with my many and varied health problems and reduces my need for medications so that alone makes it worthwhile.

Now that I have reviewed all if these photos I really wish I had stopped here. I'm liking this one the best. What do you think?

Monday on the New painting

2022-01-24T13:19:00.094-06:00

With the New Year well upon us I felt the urge to do an easel painting. The canvas I have had already been started but I did take photos each step of the way today.

Here we go!

My easel is on a wide shelf in front of a window so I started out by mixing a black gesso and painting over every area where the light shone through the canvas.

After that I applied some silver and a few other colors directly to the canvas and working them with brushes and palette knives.

At this point a large bird or something began to appear across the center of the canvas. I went back and forth between fighting it and helping it along. I'm still not sure what I want.

I finally decided to stop worrying about it and started to add neurographic lines and corner rounding as I was ready to relax and call it a day.

The problem with having to work in front of the window is that it looks so different at different times of the day. I'll have to remember that the next time that I work on it.

This painting took me on quite a ride before I finished with it and who knows, It may have more to come.

I kept adding more lines in different colors and was kind of pleased with this but felt it was too dark and felt that the wide red band threw the balance off.

As I kept adding lighter colors and crossing over that red band I liked it more and more but now it seemed too orange.

I worked on it a bit more seeking balance and this is where it ended up this session. Believe it or not, the canvas went through all of these changes in just 2 days.

What stage did you like best? I'd love to hear your feedback on it because I'm still afraid I tend to overwork things.

New Discoveries Revisit Old Themes

2022-01-21T15:09:00.000-06:00

Just as I was so excited about neurographic drawing and continuing to rearrange my work area I came across a photo of when we moved out of the old house in 2001 and I was surprised at how much one of the paintings on the front of the piles of drawings and paintings looked very much like this new method. And it had been done in the late 1990's.

I left the first house with over 100 paintings and moved into a downtown loft for nearly a year before moving to a 604 square foot house in Forest Lake with 95 paintings. All of these years later I couldn't begin to tell you how many I Have except to say that I got rid of a a lot of the large ones and stick to 8 x 10 inches most of the time that can be kept in a small box.

As you can see here a lot of these lines and color areas are very much like the drawing method I was telling you about earlier this week. No Wonder I was so excited about it!

I'm also doing more works on paper because they take up less space and the supplies are cheaper. As you may have guessed by now, after painting for over 50 years, compromises have to be be made. Age and financial insecurity take a toll but it doesn't mean that you have to give it up.

Keep on working to Paint Yourself Happy,

Julia

My husband remarked that I'd been using these sorts of design elements off and on for years without really thinking of it. He was right, now that I think of it, I have. The question is Where do I go from here?

Art in Mind, Exploring Neuoggraphics and neurographica

2022-01-19T15:04:00.002-06:00

The most exciting thing to me about neurographics is the way that they seamlessly connect art to the the way the neurons fire in our brains creating new pathways and having many mental and physical benefits.

I was very interested and just had to try it right away.

Here is the first drawing, both before and after I began to add color.

The first thing I noticed was that my pulse had slowed and my sleepless nights disappeared. I can't wait to see what happens next. The only down side I can see is that you can easily get obsessed by it because it feels so satisfying that you don't want to stop.

I added color to a lot of the main colors and then began using smaller marks to connect each of the color areas to themselves and I can still see a lot that can do with it so please come back and follow my progress.

This is the second drawing (still in progress) which I plan to keep working on in just neutral colors to see how it affects the drawing as well as how it affects me.

I wish you would join me so that you could experience for yourselves what this feels like.

The beginning and the end of drawing # 3.

Come back again soon and see where it takes me.

Julia

These drawings came next:

I thought I'd try some with different colored markers and did this one (#4) plus several around the edges of letters that I was writing other artists to tell them about the health benefits of working in this way.

This one was number 5 in the full drawing series. I find myself being drawn to doing them every day. As I said, the health benefits make them well worth the time you put into doing them.

After I did this one I decided to do some detail views to see what effect some of the different color areas has on it.

I had chosen these colors to represent a rocky shore and the grass beyond a winding stream.

The Road Ahead

2022-01-17T14:08:00.000-06:00

Before we can really move ahead we need to come to terms with what had been. I'm not the sort of person who likes loose ends.

I needed to work out something to do with the small works on paper from the mixed media project and the thought occurred to me "why not tear up the last of the paper projects and turn them into one larger and more complete work".

So I began by tearing and sometimes cutting them up and applying them to a mixed media sketchbook page that I had started a collage and some drawing on. The adhesive that I am using is is Acrylic Gel Medium.

I did stop to make notecards out of these last two before moving on as I was telling you about.

This is more or less how it all looked at the start of the day.

And this is how it looked when I took my first break the next day.

As you can see, a lot of things happened in between. Let me break it down for you.

1. Filling Holes: The thicknesses of the papers that I had used varied widely. That meant there were fairly deep holes and cracks between some of the pieces. My workaround for that was acrylic paints in several colors and a palette knife to spread them into and across the gaps.

2. Tone down the brightness of the sheet music to help it blend in and "play nice": This was accomplished by dipping a brush into water and turning some of the acrylic paint into light washes to lightly cover the sheet music.

3. Throw in a twist: I often listen to art videos and tutorials - face it kids, none of us know everything. What I learned today is about a type of painting called Neurogenic or Neurographic art that has the ability to create more neurogenic pathways in the brain and cause neurons to fire more often which is helpful for pain relief, emotional and physical healing.

Even though I'd found these on You tube the ideas behind is seemed sound and I said "that's for me!" Right away I grabbed a black permanent marker and a liner brush with white paint and worked in a lot of those lines over the piece I'd been working on and I think it improved thing quite a bit.

I'm very excited about the direction this piece is going it. I just haven't decided whether of not it's finished yet. What do you think?

I'd love it if you left a comment or followed the blog. It gives it more weight and meaning for all of us. Most of all KEEP CREATING, don't let anyone or anything stand between you and your quest for a better life.

Everyone has the right to " Paint Yourself Happy"

Come back and join me next time. Thanks!

Gallery in a Box

2022-01-14T16:32:00.000-06:00

I have a couple of special boxes at my house that I keep various sizes of paintings in. Each year I pull them out and decide what I want to do with them. Today it was for the smallest art pieces.

I started out by looking at the frames that I had on hand and putting the paintings in them that fit. They seemed to look pretty nice. Don't you think so?

Now it's just a matter of deciding what needs repair and what simply needs to be maintained. Others could be sanded off, painted over or simply added to and finished.

I think I'll be cutting up some of the paper ones and making them into note cards. It's just a matter of deciding which ones.

I got the photos in the wrong order here but I'm pretty sure you can tell which is the whole collage and which is the set of notecards. I liked the composition on the cards better. What did you think?

Be sure to leave your comments below, thanks.

And The Beat Goes On

2022-01-13T15:24:00.006-06:00

Hello Again,

Every time I planned to wrap up that last project I found myself grabbing more materials and continuing with the mixed media. I'm enjoying it so much I think

I'll just ride it out.

At this point they're just for my own pleasure as I enjoy watching them change step by step.

I thought you'd enjoy watching the process evolve. feel free to comment when you feel I've gone too far. I never know when to quit.

What's new on your creative journey? Have there been any surprises on the way? Feel free to comment and share.

This little canvas went through a few last changes before I considered it finished.

Actually I just looked at it from a different angle and considered it finished. Before I went back to the rest of them.

This one is my new favorite so I glued it onto a card and wrote to another artist friend of mine.

And even it went through some last minute changes on it's way out the door.

After that, I couldn't resist getting back to the rest of them.

I'm not sure which version of this one I like best. What do you think.

This small canvas panel was a nice opportunity to to use some of my smallest palette knives.

This one was kind of bright and fun and will probably be glued to a card to another painting friend. we love challenging each other on our way to either "real" art or commercial success and of course we're all aware that there comes a time to make a choice. I plan to have some fun before I get there. How about you?

It's so easy to get carried away on these. Luckily no one seems to mind.

Well, this has been fun and there's still a small stack of them for another time.

I'll save these three (or more) they're on paper so I may cut them into more to save for a rainy day. (or a snowstorm) you never know what to expect these days.

Keep on painting, it will make you feel better,

Julia

Here We Go Again

2022-01-11T22:47:00.001-06:00

Thanks for following me so far. This is my usual method of working until inspiration strikes. I hope you're not getting tired of reading about it. You never know when another project will pop up so keep checking to see when the next inspiration strikes.

Oh well, Here's where it went today.

One painting is on a small canvas. I'd added some collaged bits of sheet music to it. They were about painting, making things and blue sky. At that point I began to paint bits of blue sky and clouds on it.

This is the one I mentioned in the last post, mentioning that it probably should have been left alone because it was fine as it was.

It's an easy mistake to make. One of the hardest things as an artist is knowing where to stop.

This last piece is on a scrap of heavy duty watercolor paper. It looks interesting so I can't wait to see where it goes next.

Speaking of not knowing where to quit. I went back to work on that canvas again on Wednesday and am not sure what to think of it now so I've hung it over one of the desks so I can think it over a bit.

I've titled it "The Nature of Art and Music" Because the sheet music scraps have messages about blue skies, making things and painting. So I tried to include elements of each.

I hope you're curious too. Come back and see how the others go.

Don't Forget to Paint Yourself Happy,

Julia

More Projects

2022-01-11T11:47:00.001-06:00

As I finish each of the small paintings a toss a few things into the mix.

As you can see, at this point I added a large canvas and a couple works on paper.

I wasn't sure where to go with them all I added bits of collage and stencil.

I followed that with more paints and I'm beginning to like the look of one of them. I'm just not sure what to do with it.

What do you think of it? It took me until Tuesday to get back at it.

Now that I did get back to it I think I should have left it alone because now I feel that I've spoiled it. What do you think?

As long as you're here, feel free to pop into the next post and see where it goes next.

Thanks so much for joining me.

Julia