TITLE: Strength in Curiosity. Prints available in my etsy shop.
Have you ever felt like exploring something new or visiting somewhere totally unimaginable? I painted this new mixed media painting to express the freedom I feel when I follow these little whispers. And lately there have been a lot. Maybe that’s because I’ve finally slowed down a bit to enjoy the summer, but all of my dreams are coming to the surface and I’ve been writing each one in my journal, so they don’t slip away.
Today it’s, “I feel like going to the book store and browsing for no reason.” I have no idea where this came from, but it’s definitely something I’m going to do today. When I lived in Chicago, the bookstore was right on the corner from my train transfer after work. I used to LOVE stopping into the store, just to look around. It was a moment I cherished, a moment just for myself, where I let my intuition guide me into the History or New Releases sections and allowed myself to pick up whatever book caught my eye. I know there is STRENGTH IN CURIOSITY. And when I listen to those little whispers they lead me to something, and usually it’s something my heart has really been dying for.
For this new painting, I played with lots and lots of stencils and filled them in with layers of spray paint and acrylics. I especially loved using my flower stencil and am delighted by the red flowers floating in and out of the background. For her dress, I cut out a wide rectangle from my new origami paper and painted in her neck and arms with acrylics, then wanted to give her a really brilliant lime green skirt and embellished it with black ink and cut octagons from the origami paper to repeat that pattern. At some point, this girl also had wings, which you can barely make out now, but I covered them up and made her a strong lioness. Then I added all sorts of pastels, charcoal, pencil and orange acrylics to add more detail and definition to her face and head. Because I wanted to express how this lioness was following her curiosity, I added the white, snowy polka dots and a final coat of my very favorite vintage decoupage, for added softness and magic.
Add comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
HELLO
I'M JULIETTE
A painter, writer, and creator of The School Of Happy Painting, online courses to help you loosen up, let go, and develop your own unique style.
Join me for a Free Workshop!
Want to know how I create my paintings? Join this free workshop to learn the fundamental principles I use to paint with style and whimsy, from covering up the white space to final artwork. Follow along to paint your own character in 30 minutes.
Related posts
A few years ago, I wrote a novel about a magical world. I was one of 14 writers accepted into a 6 week writing workshop on the east coast. And when I finished my novel, I flew out to Washington DC to meet with my ideal literary agent. But then I got super scared and burned out. Because of that burn-out, I needed to heal... Continue reading
I used to be afraid to raise my hand in class. I’d learned that my ways of thinking and seeing were different from everyone else. When I shared an idea, I was often laughed at or told it was impossible. So I learned to stay quiet and be shy. When I was in the third grade we had an art project where we were supposed... Continue reading
Lately I’ve been going back to painting owls. For awhile I had been creating these very renaissance-style portraits with soft, realistic faces and incredible hair. I enjoyed that I could make them look very human, but still full of magic and color. While I still adore creating these flower girls, I found that these paintings were missing something. After countless attempts in the studio, many... Continue reading
22 comments
Susan
Though I love technology, that's one of the things I will miss about tangible books if they ever become obsolete… being able to browse, talk to other readers, and pick up something unexpected.
Glossing Over It
Capricorn Soap Company
What a magical print! Beautiful work!
http://www.capricornsoapco.blogspot.com
-Christina
Kelly Lish
I love her and I love what she represents! It was so great reading this post. I think you really captured the look of curiosity in her face. I will let your post inspire me today-thank you 🙂
xo
Silver Strands
LOVELY new print!
oxox
Denalee
Jaime Haney aka ArtsyFartsy.Me
Writing your dreams and thoughts in a journal are so important especially for artists… I wish I did more of it. I find that I forget a lot of mine.
I love your lioness! Love the colors and depth.
cypress sun
i love that she has wings underneath it all~ and that you are listening to your creative muse. 🙂
jacqueline
I feel that all the time of wanting to explore something new and experiementing along the way! Loving your new print. Have a lovely merry happy day and love to you!
Wini
Dear Juliette, its so wonderful to read that you are following your intuition and that its leading you to your hearts desires! Thank you for sharing the process behind your new painting. I love the image of the lioness. I also love the colours, the textures and the rich layering! 🙂
Gloria
Dear Juliette,
I love the lioness painting. Her lime green skirt makes her look strong in her silence. She is beautiful. have a wonderful day.
Juliette Crane
thank you so much for all of your wonderful and supportive comments! they mean so much to me!
gustavo alonso piñeiro
woaw more magical character that I like her gown. You're an artist Juliette. A greeting.
Kerri
hope you had fun at the bookstore- always one of my favorite things to do. your painting is beautiful!
Dianne
This one is very thought provoking for me… Curiosity yes… but also strength and courage are 2 of the feelings that she conjures up for me…
Juliette Crane
found a ton of great and inspiring things at the bookstore, then headed to the library to check out back issues of some of my favorite magazines!
i agree, dianne. she definitely conjures up curiosity, strength and courage 🙂
Heather
Hello there! Nice to meet you! This looks great, its always a thrill to follow that little voice and see that its taken you somewhere wonderful. Thanks for stopping by!~
heather
Michele from Pipi La La
I love this and your desription of how she came about – I love how you just do what you feel and all this beauty and gorgeousness comes out!♥
Kim Henkel
Your painting is lovely! I too am trying to follow the whispers that are inside me…. although it is sometimes difficult to find the time (and the courage). Thank you for sharing.
Kim
Dee
I think I have told you before that I really like your use of color. I must follow your inspiration to explore. 🙂
google keyword tool
I used to be able to find good information from your content.
watch video
Amazing! Its in fact amazing article, I have got much
clear idea on the topic of from this piece of writing.
world of warriors
This web site really has all of the info I wanted concerning this subject and
didn’t know who to ask.
graal
Hello there I am so glad I found your blog page, I really found you by error, while I was browsing on Aol for something else, Anyways
I am here now and would just like to say many thanks for a incredible post and a all round interesting blog (I also love the
theme/design), I don’t have time to look over
it all at the minute but I have book-marked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep
up the excellent b.