For years I stopped painting.

All of my early artwork ended up in the basement or trash, so I thought, “What good is it to paint?”

I never thought anyone would want to see my work.

I went to college to study biology, but I couldn’t stay away from the art room. I couldn’t help myself from painting on everything and anything.

I found a huge sheet of paper and taped it above my bed and whenever I could, I’d work on that drawing. When it was done, I started in on a white cabinet. I drew colorful abstract scenes with colored pencils, crayons and markers.

I’m sure that giant drawing and cabinet got thrown in the garbage as soon as I moved. But I learned I couldn’t not be an artist.

Now I’ve fallen in love with mixed media painting and out of all of the painting techniques I’ve ever tried, the one thing I always return to is remembering to have fun with whatever it is I’m creating. This brings joy into the process, which inevitably gets infused into your artwork and always makes anyone who sees it smile.

This new painting is called ‘Ghost Dance,’ 12” x 12” on stretched canvas. She’s here to inspire creativity and peace.

I’ve started a few more smaller paintings and can’t wait to share them with you soon!

If you’ve been wanting to paint together, but feel like you don’t have a lot of time, I’ve put together my self-paced, Happy Painting mini course, which has five instant-access projects. This online workshop is perfect for beginners or anyone looking to feel more connected and creative.

I love layering lots of mixed media supplies to achieve depth and dimension in my artwork.

In this video preview you’ll see how I’ve used origami papers, tissue papers, oil painsticks, pencil, pen, acrylics and inks to really make my character pop. This is a project you can do in just a few minutes, so you can still paint, even if you don’t have a lot of space or time.

Click here for more details about Happy Painting.

“I had always felt that need for perfection the first time around and it led to so much frustration and thrown away pieces that weren’t just right. Seeing your process of letting the piece become what it wants to become instead of trying to force it into what you want it to be was an epiphany to me! Thank you for teaching us your style and letting us see the mistakes along the way.” -Shannon Beesley

“You’ve really inspired me in the VERY FUN CLASS of Happy Painting. I’ve gone from cut and paste to fearless, throwing paint on paper and actually painting and trusting in the process. I’ve been actually creating little beings.” -Nancy Rose

Happy Painting!

xo Juliette Crane

P.S. I’ve also put together a Free Painting Workshop to share more of my favorite techniques – from covering up the white space to finished painting… click HERE to join my Free Painting Workshop and learn how I create a painting in 30 minutes.