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| TITLE: Step Back. Have Patience. Prints available in my etsy shop. |
lately, i’ve been thinking a lot about the creative process and the journey it often takes to get to where you think you’d like to go.
there’s this wonderful interview with Sheryl Sandberg (facebook coo) and Oprah where someone from the audience asks Oprah how she reminds herself that anything is possible when things get really hard or when things go wrong. and Oprah says that she doesn’t get discouraged because she stays focused on the bigger picture and looks at failure as something moving her in another direction.
that’s a phrase i remind myself of often. especially while trying something new. since i created my first SNOOTER painting, i’ve been wanting to repeat it. i’ve tried keeping with the same long nose and high eyes, but in the process of this painting i was reminded of the importance and lack of fun in trying to recreate something.
instead, whenever i let go and enjoy the process, allowing something new to filter in, that’s wen the magic happens! i hope you enjoy the process of this painting from start to finish…
i’ve really been adoring neon pink and fingerprints…
but i just couldn’t get this girl’s face right.
i tried a new color scheme and gave the painting more ground, but i still didn’t like her face. she felt too realistic and not bold enough…
so i flipped my canvas around and tried again! i’d been having lots of fun with color and texture in faces and backgrounds from mindy lacefield’s paint your story e-course, so i started from there. now she had much more character! yet she was a bit too busy for me…
so i tried to find some definition, but then she lost all of her character and went back to being too human again.
so i went with it and just kept adding layers. then i tried to find more definition and bring out her character again, so i painted everything black.
i really didn’t like the black, but it helped me find more of her outline when i added blue. i still wasn’t happy with her face, so i completely repainted it…now she looked more like one of my snooters.
sometimes, i get to a point in a painting where i feel like i need to let it go. this one had so many layers, and i had tried so hard to get it to just where i wanted, but it still wasn’t feeling right.
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| TITLE: Step Back. Have Patience. Prints available in my etsy shop. |
and then a crazy thing happened…when i added my topcoat (mod podge), the bleeding art tissue paper i’d used in the first layer of background, despite loads and loads of layers of acrylic paint, oil pastels and india ink…the tissue paper seeped through! it gave her features so much more definition and drama! it was a beautiful surprise in the process!
now she’s really a Snooter, a whimsical creature from a book i’m writing. a character that only comes out at night and always has a lot to say. and this Snooter says so much without a word. it’s all in her one quick glance that tells you to stop doing so much and just be, knowing the wisdom that comes when you STEP BACK and HAVE PATIENCE
and i’m so thankful i photographed the evolution of this piece from start to finish. because as soon as i headed back into the studio, i felt like there was no way i could do it again…
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| TITLE: Dream. Prints available in my etsy shop. |
and then this painting just fell right into place!
this character is one that appears out of nowhere to tell you with one quick glance…stop dancing around. get to it and live your DREAM!
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| TITLE: Dream. Prints available in my etsy shop. |
i always feel like whatever i learn from one painting gets transferred into the next. and when i’m trying new things it can be difficult and frustrating, but it’s the beauty of it all fitting together afterward that always makes me smile.
i love it when things happen that i could never have better planned.
…………………..
ps. i’ve added a few new LARGE OWL PRINTS (12.5″ x 12.5″) to my art shop too. enjoy!
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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.
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15 comments on “Finding Beauty in the Process & New Paintings”
martinealison
Des couleurs vivifiantes… Une très jolie publication.
Gros bisous
Jess
Brilliant Juliette! I love to watch your painting process as it's the way I do mine, intuitive and evolving in layers. It's difficult sometimes to layer over parts that I'm happy with but you have to risk losing to get the huge gains don't you? You've certainly proved that here! Thankyou for sharing it with us. 🙂
Jess xx
Lynda M. Metcalf
These came out amazing! Thank you so much for sharing the process. I think I need to go play with some bleeding art tissue.
Juliette Crane
exactly. i have another piece i've been working on and it started as an easy piece, but when i added the top coat, the tissue paper bled through in ways i didn't like. so i painted over it. and now i'm thinking i liked the initial better…but i'm documenting it all, knowing that the end of this one will be really good 🙂 and its led to a few others paintings i'm adoring! xo
Juliette Crane
it's so fun to play with. it took a bit of using it for me to figure out a look i liked with it. now that i know what happens with it when i add the top coat, i can work with it…i love the sheer layer of color that appears! have fun! xo
Juliette Crane
thank you! have a lovely week! x
Dana L
Thank you Juliette for sharing the process – brave post -brave painting. I love ro get so into the process that I am unconcerned with the product. Long live Snooters. I love their 'prim' noses.
Kepi
I can't wait to start painting with you. July 13th can't come soon enough!
Kepi
Ann-Margaret {Ann-Margaret's Visions}
I love seeing your colorful process!! 🙂 It always makes me smile to see all the phases some of them go through and then, how they end up just perfect. And, the messages these convey…just the reminders we so often need to hear!! {Just “do it” already!!} 🙂 Hugs!!
Juliette Crane
can't wait 🙂
Juliette Crane
thank you! xo
Juliette Crane
thank you…i'm definitely now adoring their noses too 🙂 xo
Rebecca
It's marvelous seeing the evolution of your work! You are so generous to share your process with us; it really inspires me.
Your “Dream” figure looks very Native American (even more than “Step Back, Have Patience”).
Juliette Crane
thanks! happy to hear you're feeling inspired! i agree that dream looks very native american…the new pieces i've finished today are even more so…posting them soon 🙂
best wishes!
Jodene Shaw
Juliette, I always love to see your paintings emerge . . . I fall in love with each one of the characters in the process. Then it is like they are all “in there”. Your free use of color and art mediums calls to my artist's heart to let go a bit … not hang on so tightly to my first colors or collage bits. I am shocked at times at how radically you will change a painting without starting on a new canvas . . . yet it all adds to the texture and dimension of the finished work. Thank you for sharing! It makes me want to get my hands in some color!