It's Hard To Be Fabulous

George Was Simply Too Fabulous To Fit In.  16x20 Acrylic on Canvas.

Wow!  This piece must be fabulous because I swear it has gotten the most likes ever on Facebook than any of my paintings!  I mean 87 people total on the 3 pages it was posted on have liked this painting!  That's huge for me.  In fact that never happens.   20 something likes yes.  But almost 100?  Crazy!

I'm not sure if that is because it's just that awesome (lol!), or because I got really lucky time wise when I posted it, and a bunch of people just happened to see it.  I guess I will never know, and I'm certainly NOT complaining.  Just a bit surprised is all. 

 I mean don't get me wrong, I like this piece, (actually I like it much better now that I'm done with it),  but to be honest it isn't my favorite. But, it is pretty and it has a giraffe which is always cool. 

Unfortunately, It gave me a bunch of trouble in the beginning, and I think I got tired of it.

 I had to let it sit for a long time before I felt ready to tackle it again, and when I did, It was more just to be done with it, then any real major inspiration. 

Here is how it started....

And here is where things go wrong... lol!  Just kidding.

Now that I look at it again, it really wasn't that bad, but it was way too busy.  As you can see I erased the bead things in the middle and some on the sides, and put the stem of the hanging pod on the bottom  so it is growing up rather than down.  It's a lot cleaner now, and I'm really glad I changed it. 

 I think it's much much better now.  Well it must be, because it's Fabulous right?  

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Sometimes I feel my art is so sporadic.  In way I guess It is.  I worry that I don't have a brand/style that people can identify me with. Except for lots of color!  lol! 

I just have such a hard time sticking with one thing for so long.  Try as I might, I can't help but branch out into new areas sometimes.  Just when I think I have a style nailed down that I like, it changes again!  And that's what happened with this piece. 

It all started with a canvas full of leftover paint from my last painting.  I got tired of wasting the last bit of paint on my palette everyday, and finally got smart and put it on canvas.  Instant background people!  Why didn't I think of that before? 

Then I started making a bunch of nonsense marks and designs thinking I was still adding to the background.  Ha!  Most of it ended up staying.  That's the bits you see on the sides.  I like how it kind of frames the painting. 

So, during the creation of this piece I listened exclusively to my Monty Python Sings CD.  Which is why I named it "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".  That's the first song on the CD, and as I was putting paint down I thought how fitting it was. This piece couldn't get any brighter!  

There are little Monty Python influences through out the painting actually.  A little boat appeared on the bottom, which can also be a foot if you are of the lucky few who see an elephant in the piece like I do.  Anyway I was listening to the  Accountancy Song when that boat appeared so of course I kept it.  You know the song right?  Sailing on the Wide Accountant Seas... Needless to say things got a bit goofy, and this painting emerged. 

I really had a lot of fun with it, and now I'm working on a "Cougar" in the same fashion.  Wait til you see him, another Monty Python inspired painting.  Oy Vey!

A New Way, A New Life, A New Begininng

A New Beginning.  Acrylic on Canvas 48x36

So if you have been following my art for any length of time, you will notice that I have been gravitating more towards the abstract movement.   I've always admired that genre, and have tried and tried to do paintings but unlike how it looks, it isn't easy!   I lot of time you see abstract work and go that looks easy, I can do that.  But it really isn't!  Trust me.

So, after having Emily last June, there hasn't been any time to paint.  For the longest time she didn't even take real naps, so I REALLY had no time.

I was starting to get the creative itch, but I had no way to use it.  I was getting a tad resentful too because I could find time to paint.   So a couple months ago out of the blue my husband took Em, and told me to paint.  Of course I wasn't in the mood, but how could I pass up an opportunity like that?

So I sat down on the floor and started working on a piece that had been sitting for a long time. This is what I started with...

It was very hard to start but, I had to be brave and put paint down, so I did.  As you can see it turned out quite differently!

That night I struggled and struggled trying to find my groove.  I could not relax because I felt so guilty having my husband watch Em while I was doing something baby free.  It took over an hour before I finally got into it. Finally, I told myself to be bold, and not care what I did, so I grabbed the black paint and made those circles on the bottom left.  That was my turning point. After that, it was like I was free.  The painting just took off, and in a few days I had it finished.  Thanks entirely to my husband who was on baby duty so I could do so!  Not long after that she started taking naps thank goodness!

Now it needed a name, so I posted it on  Facebook asking for ideas, and I got a lot of great ones!  There were many I wanted to use, and almost did, but then my husband suggested A New Beginning.

And that just totally clicked with me, because you know what?  It is exactly that.  Not only is it a new way of painting, but it's also me starting to paint again, after almost of year of not being able to. And, It is teaching me to be free with how I paint, and worry less about what I put down and how the outcome will be.  Though I still have to work on this last part every day!

Hope you all are having a good weekend!  

The Trials and Tribulations of Making Another World

Another World 18x24  Acrylic On Canvas

Oh my gosh I made it back for another post!  I hope I still have a couple of readers for this dusty ol' blog.  Sometimes it is really hard to keep with all the social media, and I think blogging is especially hard for me.

 I really enjoy it, but it is terribly time consuming.  Not only to write it, but to visit all the awesome blogs that I know are out there.  I wish I had more time!

Now that Emily is here my time is even more limited.  I generally don't have much time to myself.  Computer time is during dinner and nursing sessions, which now that she is 14 months old have become rather infrequent.  Even now, I'm stealing a bit of time, and yet feeling guilty as my husband watches the little nugget.  So I will be brief.  If that is even possible.

This painting you see is already sold.  It is titled Another World and it went to one of my awesome sister in laws (I have 3).

  I had a VERY hard time with this one.  Mainly because she essentially bought it in the very beginning stages, and then I go all weird about how to finish it.  I was terrified that if I changed too much from what she originally saw, she wouldn't like it anymore.  Which is actually fine, as not everyone will like my art of course.  But the main thing was, I would have felt like I ruined it.  Crazy huh?

So I let it sit.  And sit and sit.  In fact months went by before I even attempted to paint it again.   I just could not work on it, and every time I tried I messed it up.  I could not for the life of my get a good background color.  I'm not kidding when I say this paining was every color of the rainbow!

I finally, oddly enough ended up with the original blue background and adding the orange in the middle to break it up a bit.  I ended up covering a lot of what she originally saw, but the main points are still there.  I couldn't help it.  That is just how the piece wanted to be.  And I honestly think it's the best it could be.

Here is what it looked like when she bought it....

A little bit different huh?  Can you see why I was nervous?  So much changed! 

Boy what a relief it is to have it done though!  So glad I finally got the guts to tackle it again.  Once I got that background squared away, the rest just seemed to flow together.  Now she wants me to do another one.  I have the canvas already, but guess what?  I'm afraid to start it.  lol!  Oh well, it will come.  All in good time I suppose. 

Footloose and Fancy Free. A new way to paint for me!

So in case you haven't noticed, I've been playing around with some new styles.   My work is starting to become  more abstract-y.  A style I've always admired.  I also signed up for Flora Bowley's online class in September, and have been oogling her work for about a year now.  I love love love the freedom with which she paints!  And of course the paintings themselves!  I cannot wait for that class to begin.

 In the meantime though, I thought I'd play around with trying to be free and loose with the paints just for giggles.  It ain't easy let me tell you.  At least not for someone like me, who is always afraid of making the wrong decision or messing up.

When I paint I really really have to try hard to let those inhibitions go.  And this particular painting which still has no name btw, was a very new way to work for me.  I tried some of Flora's techniques.  (I have her book too of course),  and I really tried to let the paint flow and the designs appear.  Just making random marks here and there even if I didn't want to or know what to make.  Well, it worked!  And I have to say I'm a bit proud of this piece because of how It got to where it is now.  It started out soooo different as you can see....

Here it is in the first stage.  Right away two birds appeared which I decided to try to keep.

Phase two.  Lots more going on here, starting to like where things are headed.

Phase Three.  Getting busier!  Just kept adding more and more marks and color. This is where I really started liking it.  And in fact I almost wanted to leave it this way.  lol!

Phase 4.  A lot more defined now. 

Phase 5.  Almost done!  And I found a cat!  had no idea he was there until this stage.  So fun! Just needing some last minute details, and deciding whether or not to keep the bird on the left.  Which I didn't.  :)

Phase 6.  All done!  And what do you know, a giraffe appeared!

 Such a fun painting to do!  I'm trying it again on a larger canvas this time.  I really like this technique even though it is hard for me to do.  It amazes me what the final product turns out to be from when you first start. 

Hope you enjoyed my progress shots.  I love seeing the process other artists go through with their art.  It's so much fun to watch a painting develop!

If you are interested in this piece, hop on over to my Etsy shop and check it out. 

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Would you believe me if I said I'm back?

Ready and waiting...

Well here I am again, after disappearing for many many moons.  Emily is here as you all know, and life has been extremely busy!    It's just too darn hard these days to find time to sit and write a blog post it seems.  Facebook. Twitter, Pinterest, Wanelo, etc. I can do.  That only takes a couple minutes.  But blogging?  That takes time, and thought, so I haven't been keeping up on it like I should. lol!   I have decided to give it another shot though, as Em is now a year old and sleeps slightly better.  I figure I can try blogging when she goes to bed at night. 

If anyone has been following me on Facebook you will have noticed that I've been painting a lot lately.  That's because Em is now taking naps, thank god!  So nap time is sacred in this house.  For that 1-2 stretch you better not bother me because, I'm busy painting!  I've got lots to show and talk about, so hopefully I can get this blog thing going again. 

Ok that's all for now, but do check back later, hopefully tonight I will have written a new post about one of my newest paintings.  Have a great Friday everyone!!