The other day I was struggling to be loose with my art. I just couldn’t get any of my paintings to fall into place (not even an owl). It wasn’t until I got out a few unfinished pieces that were all stuck at an ugly stage that I finally started to let go. I wasn’t afraid to ruin my ugly paintings, so I didn’t care... Continue reading
As I’ve been painting my heart out these last few weeks, I’ve realized that whenever I’m about to reach a really incredible breakthrough, there’s always many ugly stages (just before). Oftentimes, I nearly give up. But I’ve learned to allow the weird and wonky bits of me, the imperfections, mistakes and color experiments to stand out. I’ve learned to be okay with being unique. So... Continue reading
I used to find it hard to part with my artwork. Now I’ve come to love that the story behind every painting doesn’t end when I finish it. The story continues outside of my studio – inside schools, libraries, hospitals, offices and homes around the world. I love knowing that as others view my paintings, day to day, the story continues and constantly evolves, growing... Continue reading
If I’m feeling really stuck with a painting, I’ll layer at least three new colors or different supplies. This is one of the easiest ways to give depth to a painting as I cover up the parts I don’t like. I start in the background, mixing a little acrylic paint with acrylic ink, then scribble some water-soluble oil pastels on top. As I play, I... Continue reading
Whenever I’m stuck with my art, I look back at my progress photos. I take photos of every painting as I create. That way, I’m reminded that each painting has an ugly stage. Otherwise it’s too easy to fool myself into thinking a painting should fall right into place. That never happens. It takes a lot of mistakes, happy accidents and SO many layers to... Continue reading
Sometimes my paintings happen intuitively. I might see an eye or a spot that looks like a nose in my first layers. When that happens, I go with those instincts. But most of the time, I don’t see anything in the paint. That’s when I return to my simple shape template (the one I share in my free workshop… click here to get instant access... Continue reading
When I’m stuck on a face, I often set aside my brushes and fingerpaint. This keeps me unattached to my character rather than getting into my head and “thinking” the eyes and features should look a certain way or be a certain shape. Yet even after lots of layers, the eyes can still look too perfect and painted on. That’s when I make a mess.... Continue reading
When I’m at a creative block, there’s no way I can be loose in my art. A few days ago I was painting and I started to feel like I’d never get my painting right. I just couldn’t loosen up and let go. Everything looked too rigid and tight. Everything felt like a struggle. That’s when I take a step away and start to play.... Continue reading
Whenever I’m struggling to be loose in my art, I have to take a step away. I often look back at my past paintings and discover little things I love: a stripe of fluorescent pink oil paintstick beside a fingerprint of pyrrole red, a splash of pink ink in the corner, or a rainbow of water soluble oil pastels. Then I repeat those elements in... Continue reading
I’ve always loved art and have been creative. But I stopped painting and creating for years after college. I didn’t want to do anything creative if I couldn’t do it for a living. It was just too painful. So I hopped from job to job to job until I was fired from my favorite job as a landscaper in 2008. I started painting again to... Continue reading
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