Yesterday, I got really, REALLY pumped up to do art, and was bouncing around the studio with a paintbrush in my hand. I then spied a brown paper bag I'd gotten from a store when getting scrapbooking paper, and thought, "Hey, that'd be fun to paint on!"
The bag's something like 22" by 14" or something....MUCH bigger than anything I've painted on before....well, FINISHED (there is a background and inked canvas sitting next to me!). Because it absorbs ink and water so well, I had to dip my brush in the ink and just slather it on....really, it only would spread maybe three inches before it ran out! So I drew and played and warmed up my art muscles.
Making a mess is SO MUCH FUN! I even dumped the extra ink out on the side of the canvas, and spread leftover white paint on places. Make a mess! It was amazing.
I then went on to do two journal page backgounds, one of which I'll share with you tomorrow. Or I should wait, because I haven't finished the posts and pages from journal #10, and I kind of want to finish up that series because I'm going to publish a 'zine of the journal!
Yes! The entire journal! I really love it and want to make a 'zine. Even if no one buys it....I want to play and publish it because it's fun and something I can give to friends interested in making a visual journal. "Here's mine. Take a look." How cool would that be?
Try doing something in the moment today. Just grab a large piece of paper, a page in your journal, a grocery bag....go crazy on it! Do whatever comes to you...it's just a "throw away" ... weren't you going to get rid of it anyway? Why not play on it for a bit before you do? I'm seeing that warming up before journaling or painting really helps build creative energy.
Thanks for all your comments and emails. I'm feeling much better -- and different than I did before. I feel more secure in my faith in the Creative Divine, and am going for the stars.
Just think -- I was once a beginning journaler, a beginning painter. We all start somewhere. Keep with it and you can achieve anything you dream of.