Tag Archives: inspiration

Oct21

What’s An Artist To Do?

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Abstract Tiger Lilly

 

Lately I’ve been working with watercolor, and acrylics, and my subject is usually abstract.  This time I decided to dig through all my supplies and find a small sample kit of Aqua-Oils to try.  I’ve had them for a few years, and never even opened the box to look.  This time it seemed appropriate to try a new medium.  So off came their lids, out came the brushes, and the only thing that came to mind were more abstract flowers!

After painting with these oils for a while, I realized that I had a learning curve.  The paints didn’t seem creamy like oils, and not as workable as acrylics, I felt like I needed to build the color to get the results I was looking for.  Maybe they were a slight bit dried out, although they didn’t seem that way.  but hey they were inexpensive and I’m trying something new.

When the whole thing was said and done, I think I just like  plain old oils better.  Many artists love Aqua-Oils, and don’t have any trouble with them.  For some reason I didn’t find them as forgiving as oils, or acrylics.  My purchase was small, and I certainly haven’t lost anything, so I’m happy I had the opportunity to use them.  That being said, I still have quite a lot of those little tubes left, some of them without ever having  had their tops off!   So I will use them until they are finished, and keep trying to get  them working for me.

After all….what is an artist  to do?

Oct7

Back to Work….

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Mermaid

Mermaid

My studio is humming, and I am working until I start to think about what I’m doing…..Then I STOP!  I stop because I start to second guess myself, and slip out of my right brain.  It works for me to think of myself as playing like a three-year old, and the minute I grow up,  it’s death to my creativity!

The Mermaid painting is a perfect example of me as a three-year old, spreading molding paste, gesso, and paint all around.  Pushing, and pulling, adding and subtracting, until it is just right.  I decided to stop before she started going in another direction.

Sep20

Abstract Faces

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As most of you know from watching my blog, Bob Burridge is one of my favorite artists!  He is loose, and fun to take a class from.  But, most of all his method really works.  I have taken many classes from Bob, and have never been disappointed…not even once.  I have however, left his class dragging, unable to do much else for the remainder of the day.  If the class is a week long class, be prepared to take a week to recuperate.  He has that much energy, and isn’t afraid to share it with all the students!

For me, it isn’t as easy as it looks, or maybe I’m trying too hard, regardless of the reason, I keep trying.  While I finish up the last two abstracts, I thought you might like to watch this video.  Even Bob doesn’t get it right the first time!  By the way, he had a great website with all kinds of information.  Check it out, and sign up for his newsletters…it’s free!

 

 

Sep13

Experiments

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Sunset in the Mountains 6"X 6" on wood.

Sunset in the Mountains
6″X 6″ on wood.

Over the holiday weekend I decided to experiment a little.  I grabbed a small 6″X 6″ art board, and covered it with a weathered, crumpled brown bag.  As I continued, tearing up painted brown bags, and cardboard seemed the right direction.  After struggling for it seemed like hours, I dragged out the copper……copper sheets, coper bebes,  copper paint.  The list went on.

Why is something so small such a big deal.  Keeping busy is not easy!

Finally….it came to me!   The coffee pot just sat there, coffee grounds drying out, coffee getting stale, and too weak to call out to me.

Sooooo, what would happen if I mixed coffee grounds with acrylic medium?  Would it just be another big mess? a mistake I would regret? or, would I like the results vowing to try that again?  On the way to the trash, I just hd to drop off a small pile of grounds, and the medium just happened to tip over onto the plate of grounds.   I really had no choice than to mix them up.  I thought it would be really a mess, but it stuck together about like sour cream with dip mix.

Now what?

As I began sliding this coffee smelling mixture off my pallet knife, it just seemed to go in the way of a landscape.  Not my intention, but I love being intuitive and not knowing where the piece will take me.

One thing led to another, and before I knew it, everything was sitting there drying on this little piece of my wood.  It takes with it a piece of my heart and soul.  Hours have gone by just watching it, talking to it, hoping it would let me know what I need to do, and the last thing it said was, “I need a blue bird in my sky, and so it is!”

Sep5

Taking a Breather…

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Bits & Pieces 2 - Mixed Media

Bits & Pieces 2 – Mixed Media

After creating several pieces for the last month or so, today I find myself with a lack of inspiration.  I’d love to be cutting, ripping, glueing, and piecing things together, but for now I’m out of inspiration.  It won’t take long I’m sure, but I feel lazy.  This must be a day for replenishing inspiration, and the energy for creation.

Monday is a free day for me.  Nothing goes on the first day of the week, except…..art!  So, I’m thinking of looking through the YouTube videos for ideas and inspiration  in hopes of finding something that will trigger my imagination.

The piece above is one of the last few things to be created.  I have to chuckle at how I start something with the intention of going in a certain direction, and before I realize it, I’ve made a turn, and the direction has changed 360 degrees.  This is one of those pieces.  After dragging out all the “stuff” for the intended piece, I now have to put it all away.  The only thing that was intended was the color.  Yay for me!

If you get a chance check out Zebra Designs & Destinations…  see what they have been up to in Equador.

Aug9

The Watercolors Are Finished!

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Fall is on it's Way Abstract

“Fall is on it’s Way”   –   Abstract  2 of 2

After months of agonizing, awake off and on all night, and thinking about them all day, I finally finished.  Once I got my right brain working, and started seeing how the acrylic colors looked over the water colors, I began to really get into it.  The first one I have posted, but the last one is the one above and is now finished.

I know my friend will love them.  They are very colorful and happy.  That is really the only way I could work on them.

They had to let me know it was ok to color them happy!

Are they happy to you, or do you prefer something more subdued?  I always love color, color to me is joyous and happy.  It helps ground me, and energizes me.   We are all so different.  Many of you would prefer softer colors, calming colors, colors that help you relax, & possibly help get you in a meditative state.  I understand that also.

Garden Fantisy 1 of 2

Garden Fantisy
1 of 2

Let me know what you think, what you prefer, and even let me see the kind of art you love.   All art is from the heart,  that must be why we are so darn sensitive about showing it.  No judgement here!  I’m struggling just like everyone else, and the more I do the better I get at it.

My son Chris tells me that,  “it’s the journey, not the finished product. ” 

Art is healing, it’s a process, and we always have it when we most need an outlet.