Lately I’ve been especially drawn to creating characters with soft eyes and faces.

But before I can even begin to paint a face, I have to loosen up and play.

That way I feel more free once I add my character ❤️

The other day when this happened, I was in the middle of this new big owl painting (it’s called ‘Guardian of Dreams’ 30” x 30”’). The Original Painting is Available in my Shop.

I’ve always loved painting owls ever since I first saw one in my initial layers in 2009.

I share one of my favorite owl painting projects from start to finish in my Free Painting Workshop (you can get instant-access and join my Free Painting Workshop right here).

But painting these larger owls is my absolute favorite and really allows me to give so much more detail and compassion to their eyes and features.

Yet as I was painting these eyes, I got really attached once I liked them. I froze and didn’t want to make a mistake.

That’s when I had to take a step away to loosen up.

I grabbed my sketchbook and started to play. I doodled. I dripped watercolors. Then I added a few faces on top.

At first it looked like a mess, but I was having fun and slowly some paper paintings started to come together.

Then I went back to my owl with a brush I created (I extended the handle with a few extra brushes and tape).

It was unwieldy, but fun. It allowed me to smudge out the eyes with freedom. It created a softness that reminded me of a dream.

Whenever I reach a creative block, I return to whatever it is that makes me feel joy. This reignites my passion, so I can be brave and let go. I do whatever it takes to have fun so I can loosen up, follow my intuition and feel free again.

In this 19 minute video I share some of my favorite mixed media techniques for creating a lusciously layered background (it’s all about color and play, which always helps me loosen up in my art, especially once I paint my eyes and faces).

This is a project from my Serendipity 1 – Develop Your Style online class. You can get more details and register here.

With every project in Serendipity 1 – Develop Your Style, I show you what inspired my painting and how I add those inspirations into each new piece. I also share my frustrations, mistakes and the tricks I use to move out of my comfort zone and strengthen my own artistic voice.

It melts my heart to hear what past students have said about their experiences in Serendipity, like this inspiring note from Abi Bell…

“This course was the in depth instruction that I was really looking for to take some of the quick pieces I’d done and really develop them further. Watching Juliette work through a piece until she really felt the character develop was so helpful. Knowing that I wasn’t making any mistakes and that if something wasn’t working – just changing my tool or supply could get me right through that tough spot was so useful.”

Happy Painting!

xo Juliette Crane

P.S. Want to watch an owl painting from start to finish? I’ve posted a fun owl painting project from my Whimsical Animals class here on my blog.

To get started, you can also try this quick owl drawing project in your sketchbook.

P.P.S There’s also more details about how I paint my eyes and faces in this blog post.

I hope it all is useful for you and keeps you inspired!