Art Journaling In My New Art Space

I have my own art space in my own house! It's in my basement, so it's not the most beautiful or cozy place, but it will be all the more comfortable for throwing paint around and not worrying about making a mess or getting paint on anything, or everything. :-) I want better lighting, but I'll figure that out at some point.

Today I had stuff I "had" to do that I wasn't looking forward to. My plan was to spend the day ripping up carpets in the apartment I'll be renting out—I bought a duplex—and cleaning. Difficult and dirty work. I did get the carpets ripped up, but I sandwiched it with artwork. Part of the reason I got the sudden desire to do art was (one) to use my new space, but also to procrastinate. :-) 

I worked on a painting of a child before the dirty work, and then tonight (afterward) I made a collage in my art journal. I'm not happy with the painting, but it did get me working with art materials, after months of not doing much artwork at all. The last time I did a lot of art was for 29 Faces in May last year. This year, with the new house and other things taking a lot of energy, I didn't have the motivation, and I still don't. I'd like to focus on painting and creating more abstract works, and just playing with color and materials. I have a couple of classes with Julie Prichard that I paid for a long time ago and never completed, plus tons of Lifebook 2012 lessons that I never did. I'm going to work on those, but I think I'm more interested in Julie's lessons, creating some paintings to hang on my walls and color my rooms with my own artwork.

So tonight I played with scraps of paper, glue, and a little paint. It was quite relaxing, despite the fact that I thought being down in the basement might be dark, depressing, and cold. I listened to a podcast and just played (playing is usually difficult for me), without worrying too much about what I was doing, or how it would come out. I'd like to do more of this, and perhaps spend at least a few minutes every day working on something, until doing art comes as naturally as ... anything else I do every day.

 

I'm feeling very wordy tonight. It must be the relaxation of creation. Art as therapy!

Colorful Tiger

I think I've finally discovered the secret to painting without making mud: Use your fingers. Also use very little water. I normally wouldn't consider this "my style" (part of me dislikes cuteness), if I even have a style. I haven't figured out what that is yet. But I do know that I'm incredibly drawn to art with a lot of messy, accidental color. If what you're drawn to is any indication of what you're capable of, or what your style might be, then I want to figure out how to put a lot more messy, grungy color in my artwork. I had a lot of fun creating this, and very little self-criticism, which often comes up pretty strongly when I use paint.

Thanks to Juliette Crane, creator of this week's Life Book lesson.

(Can I use the ground for the summer of color challenge? Heh. It looks a little like mint chocolate chip.) 

29 Faces #25

Not real crazy about this one. Actually, I painted the face a few months ago (for Fabulous Faces) and added the background today (a day late). It looks more vibrant and interesting in life. 

I'm trying to achieve a particular grungy effect, but haven't found the right substrate to do so, except for on journal (composition book) covers, which of course are not archival. For some reason, I love painting on thin paper glued to thick cardboard. The cheap watercolor paper that I used for this portrait is too absorbent, but the good news is that I finally got a bunch of Arches hot press watercolor paper today, as well as oodles of graphite, both water soluable and none, as well as more watercolors—gouache and Neocolor IIs. 

I don't know what to play with first.

29 Faces #22

I actually didn't touch a pencil and only briefly touched a paintbrush today. I gave myself a day off, but I'm posting a face anyway, one I haven't posted. This is a painting I did for Life Book. 

I'm reaching the point in the challenge where I'm feeling creatively frustrated because I don't know how to do what I want to do, which is add color without making mud. 

12 Weeks to Self-Knowledge | Becoming Who You Are

12 Weeks to Self-Knowledge | Becoming Who You Are

Here's a course for journalers. I'm signing up as a birthday present to myself.

12 Weeks to Self-Knowledge is a sentence completion course that will help you deepen your awareness of your beliefs, thoughts and feelings. Looking at the past, present and future, you’ll explore the messages you received when you were younger and how they influence you now. Each week, we will explore a different topic that will help you expand your self-knowledge and kick-start your personal development journey.

Fabulous Faces Lesson One

"Fabulous Faces" Lesson One

Getting the pencil moving again -- Yeah!