we're all works in progress

I went into the studio the other night to work on a commission and a few other paintings for people, and ended up letting loose on a couple vaguely in-progress canvases, AKA pieces where the first few layers didn't work out so I paint over them until I like them. 

I think there are lessons in every stroke of the brush or line of the pencil. I've always been aware of the difficult point in every page and painting - I compare it to growing out your hair; it's great short, and you can't wait until it's long, but there's a middle point where it looks all wrong and you can't put it up but it's in your face that makes you want to give up. But if you stick with it, and let it grow, there are so many beautiful things you can do with it. 

Every day I go into the studio and pour myself into the paint, I engage in deeper conversation, one that is conducted without words - instead, it is all color and movement. Think of that time in Ratatouille when food is compared to music and color; that is what paint and crayons and paper are to me. Translations of those raw, vulnerable thoughts and emotions that are as tangled as a headphone cord in your pocket.

I love the wild spontaneity, the thrill of colors brushing up against each other. There is so much magic in the wild, heart-opening bravery of truly letting loose. Letting go of good and bad and just letting things be. 

I thought I knew what all this meant, but as I continue to grow, and open, and find a me that God has always seen, deep inside, I learn how tightly my bravery was, and how very much longer and wider I have to bloom. 

PS. I think only the last one is near being finished. There's just a bit more to be done. But I want to show all my imperfections and things-at-work because we're never really finished, just hit save at different moments. 

Plus, I love seeing color and texture and paintings & journal pages in progress, so that's what I share!  

PPS. Art Journal Summer Camp is coming up! Grab the bundle pack so you can play now while you wait for the bus to come and bring us to the virtual shore. I'd really love it if you came. I'll be sharing this lesson, & many more! 

Going BIG

Some days, I go to the studio and have a plan in mind. There's something I want to try, or finish, or a combinations of colors I want to explore (lately, it's been color palettes from Doctor Who I found on Pinterest). 

Other days, I just go and doodle or mess around. Draw for a bit or clean my tools. I've been known to sit there and look at Instagram or read. Not all creative work is done on the surface; the atmosphere in the studio is so amazing, I like to soak it in and let it guide me. 

Recently, I noticed that I was liking the pages created in my journal better than the ones on canvas, where Wireframe Girlsw were concerned. I just liked the look, or the way the pencil and inks worked on paper rather than canvas. I adore my garden series on canvas, but these girls...they work on paper so much better.

So I thought I'd step up my game and pull out my GIANT pad of Strathmore mixed media paper (18"x24") and start exploring this new vein - if I like the a Wireframe Girls on paper, but only in my art journal, could I translate the experience to bigger pieces?

To answer: yes, so far. 

I did the top one last week, but went in and added subtle shading with a Conté crayon and a paper blending stump, which was a great way to warm up. 

The second is still a WIP - I had a bunch of paint left on my palette from some other work I did, so instead of collaging and stamping and grabbing a reference image, I just started doodling and throwing down paint. There wasn't a full range of colors, since I just wanted to use up what was left, but I think it came out kind of amazing. 

And I think it serves as a reminder to how I got into doing these abstract girls in the first place - as a way to use up paint, or make a mess. I think I've gotten so concerned with adding texture that I've gone a bit overboard...you can kinda see it in the first one...all that texture added with each layer. It's magic and practice that keeps it all from mixing together (I don't wait for layers to dry...I just keep working!). 

I want to know what these women are thinking. What's going on in their lives? What is surrounding them? Do they need to escape, or are they content where they are? I feel like there's so much emotion, despite being faceless. Someone asked me if I was going to be adding faces later, and I honestly don't know. I'm leaning towards not, and here's why: 

The less detailed a face/illustration, the easier it is for the reader/viewer to put themselves into the story. The more detailed, the more we see it as 'other.' I'm terribly paraphrasing a book on creating comics, but this is the general idea. I felt like we all got super obsessed with making face, we forgot about everything else. 

What do you think? 

Also, if you're local, I'll be teaching this method of brushless painting on May 17th! Link to info and to sign up on the sidebar.  

find flight!

I've been dealing with a flare up, and just wasn't able to really create yesterday. I have tons of older pics that have yet to be shared, but I feel like they're all for longer posts I'd like to write, and when you don't have much energy, the last thing you want to do is a long, complicated blog post! 

But I said I'm going to blog every day, and I'm gonna stick with it! I was feeling a little better today, so I ran off to the studio to finish up some paintings...and ended up staying for a few hours (and I'm glad I brought some projects home with me so I can take it easy tomorrow!). 

I'm totally in Writing a Class Mode - turning the magic I've been spinning in my journals lately into a class others can follow is a challenge, since I work intuitively, but I really know this class could be amazing. I did a little demo of it for an open studio a few weeks ago, and everyone had fun! And my studio mate has been dropping hints... 

(And if you're totally ready for it, plus the next Friendly Faces class, have you checked your email for the All Access Pass offer?) 

Also, I'm working on a post about using gouache since I've gotten so many comments on my gouache pages. Gail's given me a great email of questions, so please send along your own -- about gouache or anything else you've seen me use! -- and I'll do my best to answer! I've gotten some lovely messages about living with fibromyalgia and staying productive, and wow are you guys sweet! I'm always here to chat! 

Of course, the spread and little canvas aren't finished yet at all..I've been experimenting with Next Steps to see how far I can push myself and my art; I'll share it tomorrow, as there's never good light to take pics at night in here! 

Here's that bigger canvas finished, though. I adore it. It's available, BTW...I'll be listing it on Etsy this weekend, but you can drop me an email if you're interested! 

Find Flight - 12"x12" mixed media on canvas

showing my work + loving the process

I think seeing the finished product -- whether it's a journal page or painting -- is great and inspiring, I've been obsessed with documenting my process. 

Earlier this week, I picked up Austin Kleon's new book, Show Your Work. To think it took a book to help me figure out how to show my process seems a little silly, but Kleon's a master at distilling complex ideas into simple chapters that become a roadmap to invigorating creativity. 

By doing a little, every single day, your work quickly adds up. I draw and write every day in my Red Storybook, and have already filled an entire sketchbook with my quiet truths and vulnerability laid out on the page. The sketches may be complicated or terrible, but doing one every day has helped me nurture that side of me -- the side that wants to draw illustrations and paint with gouache. 

Anyway, in an effort to not only track my own progress and create a searchable diary as I grow as an artist, but to share the behind-the-scenes workings of an artist, I'll be blogging every day, except Sundays. Less tutorials, and more inspiration, influences, process, and techniques I've discovered or created. I don't want to show you how to copy what I do, rather, I want to inspire you to go out and do art that is true to your own heart. 

You can sign up to get my blog entries via email over on the sidebar. And I'll soon be linking up my Tumblr to use as a digital scrapbook of art and photography and comics and whatnot that I'm finding awesome at the moment (I know a lot of people use Pinterest, but I've found a great community on Tumblr, and cover the intersection of disability & art a bit more there). 

So here it goes! 

I recently stumbled upon the artwork & creations of Kimberly Hodges, aka Goldfish Marmalade. 

I love exploring new color palettes in my art journal as I work, and was captivated by her combinations of yellows, olives, and oranges, along with delicate pink flowers and aqua whales. I'd reblogged these placemats last week, and pulled them up yesterday when I went in to do a little painting. 

Delicious, right? 

I tried to follow her colors, but had to alter them a little bit, since I'm not a huge fan of yellow, in general. The dark green/teal, however, has been a new color to fall in love with, & I've been using it on a lot of journal pages lately. 

First, I had to prep my surfaces. 

I usually just put on some bouncy, upbeat music and start gluing down collage material, stamping with my hand-carved stamps, and randomly making marks with paint markers. 

I did something a little different this time, though. Instead of thinking up poses on my own, I grabbed a fashion magazine and flipped through until I found images I liked. I wanted to show you, also, that you don't have to perfectly copy a reference image....interpret them through YOUR style and allow them to influence shape and form. Are these amazing drawings? No. But they're how I like to draw, lately (with the thought that I'll fill in the facial features at some later point, except find that they're incredibly expressive as is). 

I also roughed in their hair with some Distress Stains. I've found that, with the backgrounds being random and the colors I add being SO fragmented, that the shapes of the girls can get lost. So I figured this may help them remain strong silhouettes. 

Of course, I work at the same time on canvases. The journal pages are supposed to catch extra paint, but end up being focused on just as much as the paintings! 

And there is before and after! A LOT of stuff gets covered up as I work. Sometimes, I let background elements show through, and sometimes, I keep adding layers until I fall in love with the canvas. I adore this little 8"x8" painting (which is available as part of my garden series!). 

And here's how the journal pages turned out! If you could see me, you'd see me swooning! I just...I can't believe how much I love what I'm painting lately....I've never been this in love & excited before!

...but not everything works out. I kept layering on this canvas and just couldn't get into the right flow. The colors weren't working, the shapes weren't helping, and I started getting frustrated. And that's okay! I know that I can come back later and start painting and still create something wonderful. Just scrape off any wet paint and leave it for another day....

Here's my worktop with drying paintings & a couple of finished ones. And of course, my giant journal catching leftover paint!

I don't do this much every day -- maybe twice or three times a week if I'm lucky, but it fuels everything else I do. This picture makes me happy....I finally am falling into my own style and colors and it's so effortless and hard to do at the same time. 

This post got a little long, but I hope it showed you something inspiring! It'll take me a couple of weeks of showing my work to get the hang of it...and I hope you stick with me!

Hearts are wild creatures...

This has to be one of my favorite pieces from the new work I've been creating. 

(The Etsy shop is re-open!)

Combining the new mess-making without a brush with brush script didn't come naturally; more, the union was born of my love of writing words with the quickly growing stack of canvases in my studio. You could say I've become obsessed, which has never really happened to me before. 

Sure, I love working in my art journals, and playing with new materials makes me cackle with glee like a mad scientist, but this ever-evolving body of work continues to thrill and excite me.  

Each batch of canvases come from limited runs - I am always altering my color palette, and never repeat one. So if you see colors you like, grab it, because the most I create at once is four...four canvases of wild expression and bright color before I move on.  

And to make life less stressful for me, I'll be adding several pieces a week as I catch up the backlog of canvases and papers I have. These two went up in the shop tonight. I've been selling things off Facebook when I previewed so e of the new stuff, so don't think things will be hanging around!

I am so super excited to finally be sharing all the new stuff I've been working on for the past month! It all makes me swoon like a teenager in love!

Check out my re-opened Etsy shop for yummy goodies! 

Experiments In Color & Magic

I find certain magic happens in those last minutes we're in our art spaces - when there's paint left on the palette that we just can't waste, paper we'd usually never use but have close by, when there isn't much time left and we want to squeeze out the most creative juice we can before playtime is over. 

If you follow my Instagram feed (or Facebook), you get a little peek into my process (and usually the mess I make while playing!); I take a LOT of pictures while working - to gain perspective on what I'm doing, to document the process so I can repeat it, and yes...to have blog photos!  

Anyway, over the next week, I'll be sharing the work I've been giddy over - stuff I look at when I'm done and can't help but smile. It's awesome when we create art journal pages we love, but it's brilliant when we can't stop making more!  

I decided to stick with a set color palette for two sessions. Why? To see all the different ways I could incorporate the colors! I wanted to see how they behave as part of my own little class on color theory and experimentation!  

Here are the colors I used:

neon red/teal green/bright aqua green/yellow ocher/dark titanium white/white

Oh, and to paint with? Catalyst tools! Just the small and medium of the grey tools, and the blue wedge. That's it!  

Here are some progress shots of my first experiments with this all! 

And here are two finished paintings! Final details were added with gouache & I pulled out the silver leaf! I was working on ledger paper and half-finished canvases in the studio...and don't be afraid to mess something up in order to keep playing! 

Both are available, and I'll be making prints soon! 

Friday, I'll have more eye candy for you all!  

One Little Word - Circle

It seems our little corner of the internet is abuzz with the One Little Words we've chosen for this year, a practice I wholeheartedly approve us, as it rquires us to sit back and figure out what, exactly, it is we'd like for this year. What question will we be asking ourselves when faced with decisions, and by what value or yearning will we examine our experiences? 

It took me awhile to come up with mine -- it's been a turbulant couple of months, and this week has been the first I've felt like I can see light at the end of the tunnel, even if it's cast by my own internal stubborness and need to pick myself up. I went through quite a few words, and had one in my mind - boundaries - when I sat down to write about it in the Red Storybook. 

But what came out of my pen was something different. 

(That's one of my favorite things about writing or painting - that ability to surprise myself with what comes out when I put my mind to creative action.)  

Granted, my word isn't a usual one -- you won't find necklaces or paintings depicting mine up on Etsy -- and when I posted my little canvas yesterday, Tam voiced her curosity as to why I chose it and what it means. I'll allow a bit of the Red Storybook to explain:  

"Like a witch's circle, I need to draw a safe space around myself, filled with love & faith. I can cut a door to let in people I trust & keep out negativity. I can take care of myself & find stillness. Wrap myself in it. And the people of my circle as well.  

Ask in 2014: Does this serve the circle?" 

Whenever a witch sits down to do serious work -- whether it's a ritual, spell, oracle reading, or internal soul*work -- he or she draws a circle around herself. This is a protective boundary that keeps out negative or bad influences, but allows positive energy to pass through. It's so the witch can practice what she needs without worrying about pulling in anything detrimental to himself while working, and thus can go deeper with a sense of safety and security.  

If the boundary is breached, it breaks, but a door can be cut to pass in and out, and to let others inside. The energy of the circle hums and grows and nurtures.  

But a circle is also what is around us, the people in our lives. Those you allow and those you don't. Those you can depend on to be there, the ones who make you strive for your best self when around them. A circle is an important thing, and I haven't been the best at creating a solid one (mine is a wonky oval at best).  

It referrs to the online circle of dear readers and friends and artists who encourage me to continue down the path of artwork. Of the importance of nuturing those new to our corner of the art world and acknowledging those who have been around for ages.  

It is returning to the beginning to see how far you've come.  

It is recognizing your boundaries and respecting them -- physically, with my FMS and other ailments; emotionally, with waining depression; and spiritual, as I continue to seek out the faith family I've missed.  

For me, circle encompases so much of what I need to focus on for 2014, it seemed the perfect word. It's meaning is deep and simple. And my hope is that, by asking if an action serves the circle, I can create a more balanced, fullfilling 2014 full of friendship, stillness, and abundance.  

What's your word for 2014? I'd love to hear about it in the comments! 

(Please leave your email when you comment so I can respond!)

Lessons From a Painting Day

​Oops! I definitely thought​ about blogging yesterday, and even did some art, but when the evening came, I ended up turning in early and falling asleep; I read perhaps a paragraph of my book before I was out! 

I'm finally falling into a steady rhythm after the whirlwind that has been April and May. I just wrapped up the last video for my online workshop Digital Adventures and while I'm glad to have that time freed up, I'm eager to fill it with a new project. My time can be so unpredictable; in caring for another, you come dangerously close to losing yourself. It's been hard to build boundaries, and my empathic nature has me rushing in to help all the time, but I'm figuring it out. 

Today was a fantastic day! I spent it painting​. 

When was the last time you painted all day?​

​For me, it's been awhile. I've done a couple of hours here and there, but no day-long adventures with paint and oil pastels and pencils. It truly is amazing and such​ a teaching kind of day. 

Teaching how? This morning, I texted Carissa a photo of a larger piece I'm working on and said, "This painting keeps getting layers as I battle fear. Any suggestions?" ​

She had a few. And one I already knew​ but didn't trust myself to listen. "Move onto another piece and look at that one from afar." She also helped me by just being a cheerleader and good friend, which I adore her for. The funny thing? I was already doing what she suggested when the message came through​. 

It turned out to work. I pulled my cart out into the living room so I could keep painting while keeping an eye on my mother, and started painting. And yes, I'd get interrupted, and I had a couple errands to run, but in the end, after hours of fun and the sun had set, I began to get that punch-drunk feeling that comes with so many hours of concentrated creativity. You know what I'm talking about; when you stop thinking and just have a good time​. ​​​

That is where this journal spread came from. I got out of my own way​. I stopped thinking about color theory or composition or balance and just had a bit of fun in my journal. This is why art journals are so indispensable. Have you been able to let loose lately? What is holding you back?

​Here are a couple of detail shots from the painting I finished today. I'll share the full thing with you soon...