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| ABUNDANCE. Prints available in my etsy shop |
whenever i finish a painting, i set it out on this shelf in my kitchen so i can step back and walk past it a few times before deciding if it needs anything more.
this winter owl had been sitting on my shelf for a few weeks. i’d painted him because i felt i needed to have paintings for the holidays (something new for a holiday card, and the december image of my calendar), so that’s the energy that went into it. as a result, i didn’t want to look at it anymore.
to me, i was trying to painting this cute little owl enjoying the winter, but all i’d see when i’d walk by is an owl on his way to a holiday party and wearing a mask. really, that was quite appropriate, since i was trying to paint something i didn’t feel and really hiding those emotions behind the image.
if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know i don’t ever plan my paintings. the discovery and evolution of letting the painting emerge is something i adore about the entire process, so pushing a painting to be something i don’t feel seems completely out of alignment with myself.
the only thing i did love about the owl was his eyes and those stars in the sky. so, i covered everything else up with colors i adored – a poppy red and ocean blue. i was still really into my van gogh inspiration and wanted to try a high horizon line.
but soon i realized i couldn’t just leave the owl’s eyes and fill in the rest. if i ever leave a painting too long without finishing it, it just stops resonating with me and i have to paint over it all again. that’s what happened here too…that while i love the eyes, they didn’t fit with the rest of my feeling behind this new painting as i filled in and found this new girl’s body and scene. so, i got rid of those original owl’s eyes and painted something totally new.
i really started playing with color in the background and different textures and forms moving into and around my character. i loved challenging myself to keep the parts i liked and get rid of what i didn’t, which forced me to make things fit together…
and to keep pushing and going with the teal and dots i liked. and then those polka dots inspired me to add to her hair and really make this girl grow. i cut circles from my favorite origami paper and added those too, then repeated the shapes and paper throughout the rest of the piece to make it all fit together.
when i’d finished, i just adored this girl! she was stuck in the muck of the deepest ocean. and soon she started to grow into her own and flow with everything else in the sea. In stillness, she’s found that ABUNDANCE comes in surprising and miraculously wonderful ways every day (an affirmation i’m loving from author and life coach cheryl richardson).
That being stuck in the muck only helped this girl to appreciate where she’d been and to be delighted by the surprises that would reveal themselves as she moved forward.
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LOCKETS FOR THE HOLIDAYS!
so many of you have been asking for another locket collection for the holidays! and i am so excited to be able to offer a NEW Limited Edition Locket Collection just in time!
i cannot even begin to say how excited i am about these! and i’m happy to be featuring a few new paintings in this collection too!
when i saw the way the last collection turned out i just absolutely fell in love! they look just gorgeous!
i will be taking preorders for these lockets until monday, october 31, 2011 11PM EST.
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my How To Paint An Owl: e-course starts today! click here for details!
see you in class!
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Abstract and Figurative Painter
Juliette Crane creates luminous, dreamlike paintings shaped by memory, imagination and nature. She builds translucent layers of color until something familiar begins to emerge. Based in Wisconsin’s scenic Driftless Region, her work is represented by select galleries across the United States.
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13 comments
rachel awes
i lovelovelove your abundant girl
(& that kiss on her forehead is
just right!) & your lockets are
TREASURE. xox
donna!ee
beautiful fabulous creations juliette! it's always inspiring to witness you challenge yourself to explore & develope…blest be! 🙂
Dianne
Love the new girl! And the lockets too!
Jenelle
I love your painting! Also love the title. Beautiful work 🙂
Erika
I “heart” this painting! I love that she's finding the flow after being stuck in the muck in the depths of the ocean. I love the dots that look like bubbles coming out of the living sea floor, which gives the painting movement, going along perfectly with the theme.
martinealison
De très jolis médaillons… Des oeuvres sublimes…
gros bisous
Art By JoJo
Gorgeous painting, the colours are fab and her face, oh she's beautiful x
Purpletreebird
Love the Abundance! You really do have to follow your heart with these things and look where it's got you! Fantastic work!
Jess x
This Moment
Beautiful painting! I love all the layers! Your lockets are also so charming and lovely!
Jill
Juliette Crane
thank you so much 🙂
creatingme
goodness I think you're so fab!
Michele
Awww…so lovely! All of them!
Michele
Lisa Klow
I am always in awe of your ability to just paint over something you have created. I struggle with that.
She's lovely.