Am I an Artist?

Yes. The answer is definitely YES! I have been creating artistically whether it be with a paintbrush and canvas, film and camera, or pencil and paper since I was a teen or earlier. At art? Not until I was able to claim and own that title last year. Did I sell art? NO. I taught as a docent for 5+years and cultivate my own creativity with a lens and a vision, or journal and new supplies. What does this mean for my future? This means I teach myself college algebra in a month and a half and pass the course with an 83% with the direction of completing a masters in Education to be a a K-8 teacher where I can infuse my curriculum with art and get paid.

In the mean time I glance over at the mantle above my fireplace. I am an artist. I knew this and have accepted it as truth, but the mantle of the art I have created in the last month speaks for itself. Always move forward.

Art from Scraps

I saw this idea recently and decided to walk myself upstairs to the art room and create from scraps.

I ripped pieces of painted on scrap paper or under paper. This was the ugliest of the ugly.  I ripped strips and layered them with a quick zig zag stick tack down.

I added pieces of galaxy painted paper from some gift tags. Easy quick fun with an effect of awesome!

"I See An"....intuitive Painting?

I jump back and forth between canvas work and journals or papers. I purchased a giant canvas for a good deal recently and decided that I would just listen to high energy music and paint what came up. While I can usually complete an idea in one sitting, I chose to do what I felt and stop. I would then turn the canvas and try a different color, and different mark, a different brush. This process occurred over the period of a week or so. I used a water bottle to drip color and acrylic paints.

Colors that called to me

It was finally time to let be what was, and decide what to make on top of my intuitively created background. At that point, my husband decides to enter the studio and says "That looks like a coffee cup".

Do YOU see it? Of course you do, and so do I.......
.......
Silence.
You could hear a pin drop, except probably not because I have carpet in there.

I tried to stay loose and intuitive, but what came out? A coffee cup. I wasn't trying to listen to the influence, it just got in there. The first night I was pretty upset about it because I had just ignored my intention for this painting which I had so carefully put in place a week before.

A big giant coffee cup.
In the pics below you will see the changes I went through to get what I wanted out of it. I was inspired by Van Gogh's Starry night as a design on the mug and ended up loving that part. The steam at the top took a few twists and eventually it all came together.

I really like this version and plan to make prints from it.

Van Gogh influence makes it's appearance

Playing with steam

The final piece with shadows and details. Intuitively a Coffee Cup.

While it wasn't a completely intuitive painting or free abstract, it did become what it wanted to by listening to the paint and feeling of it all. Surprisingly I love it. It's the process that counts and I went off of the normal playbook, so I'll take that as a creative win!

Color Inspired Intuitive Painting

A blank new canvas is getting a color treatment inspired by these items that caught my eye on pinterest. I like to get ideas from pinterest but I don't like copying anything. I was mainly inspired  by the color combination and collected things that matched. This is my first time doing this surprisingly, but I plan to do more in the future to really develop a project.

One thing you will notice, I don't typically paint on an easel. I paint on the canvas flat on the table or workspace. Weird? I'm not sure, but it works about I'm not about to break that after 20+ years. 

 This color combination is pure love.
 Lavender
Teal
Peach
Plum 
White
and complementary 
Blue

Base of intuitive random marks with inspired colors.

Giving some definition to the marks with white gesso.

In progress with swirls, navy dots, and teal scallops.

Gold gelato is added and smeared for a focal point. 

My finished color inspired intuitive painting masterpiece.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you enjoy this painting. 

How Do You Fill your Art Dresser?

Since I posted all this as an informative in a group chat on FB, I figured why not make a show at tell post here.  This is my dresser. They top two levels are smaller drawers but deep and the bottom two are actually one drawer.

The top drawers from left to right... I don't super organize. The are drawers I can grab what I need and shut them. No need to over organize. Left is all paint supplies, watercolors, tube watercolors, palettes, etc. Middle is my most used favorite supplies, neo colors, prismacolors, gelli plate, stuff like that. and the far right is my memory card, computer stuff spot

The second level is adhesives, tapes, glues, hot glue gun tape type stuff. The middle is art I rotate for decor from swaps and my own making, and the far is the "office" drawer: rubber bands, staples, pencils, school supplies.

 The bottom drawers are extra deep like a file cabinet. The left is ephemera organized in file folders, patterns, vintage clip art, book pages, rub ons,. The middle is my file drawer of page protectors, binders, altered composition notebooks, art projects. The last drawer is all my card stock. It all works since everything has its "spot". Hope this gives you insight. Side note I picked up this dresser from craigslist for $25! Already painted.

Star Girl

 I have been practicing some faces lately with the format that consists of draw an oval, line down the center, line across the center and divid the bottom half for all of the main features. Each one starts out with a grid face and gets turned into a unique individual. I always feel like I'm drawing the same way but each picture turns out very different. The left is a girl face with short hair and I know I'm going to give her black hair. That was all I had "planned".

 I decided I wanted a galaxy in her eyes, but I didn't think it would be as obvious enough by itself. I used masking fluid, which is essentially rubber cement like when you were a kid, that when it dries you can rub it off the paper. I haven't tried rubber cement so I can't suggest it as a reliable alternative. I covered all the places around the eye so I could give her a galaxy mask.

I made a galaxy mask as well as painted the background similarly to tie it together. I used Water color paints as well as neo color II water soluble crayons to hi light certain areas with darker or brighter colors. After adding the galaxy, and while I still had the mask on, I used a watered down gesso to add the "stars" with a splatter technique.   I let all of this dry completely and well. I have never tried to dry paint on top of the mask because I use my heat  gun as I am usually a go- go- go- creative type of artist. I was afraid to burn/melt the mask onto the page..So again, DON'T try that at home.
When it was completely dry, I have to admit this was super fun! I rubbed off the mask like a big gooey rubbery booger. A throwback to childhood for sure!
I used my Prismacolor Premier colored pencils to color in the hair and rest of the face. I used dark blue underneath the hair to give it dimension as I find just black ends up having little texture and a funny flat appearance.

Here is my finished Star Girl. All shading was completed with the Prismacolor Premier pencils. They are a dream to color with because they blend, color over each other and are so creamy smooth. This journal is a Canson Mixed Media (Light blue cover) Journal. One of my favorites because I can leave all the work inside and attached or detach and frame for the wall.  White water based Sharpie is my go to paint pen for eye hi lights and doesn't dry up after one use.

1970's Inspired ATC's

My online art swap group has hosted a monthly ATC decade swap over the year 2016. I jumped in at 1970 and these are my creations. My favorite part of these ATC's is that I created them both in 2 10 minute period to alleviate missed deadlines. Ok, so that wasn't my MOST favorite part, which was actually the use of some very vintage feel fabric I had from my mom's over flowing fabric closet before she moved out of state. Check out the cards below. One is inspired by fashion, and the other..I couldn't resist Twiggy. While I was only barely born in the mid 1970's, I've heard of and can recognize the icon that is Twiggy.