I’ve been finding so much peace and calming in painting this new collection of whimsical animals and female portraits – I hope you enjoy them!

Shop the New Collection Here.

As I’ve been putting the finishing touches on work for this latest collection, I had to take steps away before I overworked my characters.

At one point, I was in the middle of this cat, wolf, coyote painting (I’m still not sure what animal it is).

It was reminding me of the coyote in The Simpsons Chili Cook Off episode (I don’t know if you remember that one, but it’s one of my favorites: Season 8, Episode 9).

I was afraid of making the colors muddy, but the face just seemed to be floating in space.

I knew I couldn’t leave it, but I wasn’t sure what to add.

So, I took a step away and went to watch The Simpsons.

That chili cook off episode was even more colorful than I’d remembered, so I left all of the color in my painting.

But Homer always has smoke coming out of his ears from the spicy food, so I thought I’d give it a go and try adding titanium white oil paintstick around my animal to help define the body.

Soon the ears really stood out like a powerful animal walking out of a sunset rainbow.

The next night I heard a coyote in the woods behind our house last night, and, I knew then, this new painting had to be called “Spirit Guide.”

Shop the New Collection Here.

It always takes trying, again and again, to get to a place where I can finally let go and allow a painting to come together.

Whenever I take a step back to accept the imperfections, then a whole new world opens up. It all reminds me to be a little kinder to myself and have more fun with my art.

Happy Painting!

xo Juliette Crane

P.S. If you’ve been wanting to paint together, but don’t have a lot of time, I’ve put together my Happy Painting Mini Course, which has five-instant-access projects to get you started.

Click here to Learn More About My Happy Painting Mini Course.