i haven’t taken a painting class in a long time and i was kind of amazed to see just how much i learned and grew from misty mawn’s stretching within e-course!
i have never art journaled before! and what a fun experience! i hardly ever work on paper, so that was a nice switch, especially since paint and charcoal and so many of the supplies i love to use work so much differently on paper that wood or canvas!
the blank page can be a bit daunting, but being a journal with so many pages was super freeing because if you don’t like what you’ve created you just turn the page and try again (it’s funny how my mind works sometimes!).
i’d been paging through some anthropologie catalogs (one of my favorite places to find images for collage), and i came across some really pretty blue backgrounds, so i started with that. then as i flipped through the catalog, i tore any image i was drawn to, without thinking (oh, what would i ever do with that?) and i just immediately glued it where i felt it belonged on the page (i love letting intuition guide me as part of my painting process!).
i also had a vintage valentine and placed one of the girls inside, glued on a background i liked, then added a shape like a windowsill and some cut out flowers inside. the column came last, and that ended up being what i was most drawn to.
i was so into it all that i stopped documenting the process! somewhere i had been trying to paint over the original girl’s face, despised it even after a few tries, and pasted another girl right on top to cover up that goofy valentine heart too. and from there, this piece flowed!
i painted over the new girl’s face with black and white, added her hair, shoulders and tree branches! then i noticed one of the images in the catalog had this amazing angle to the floor, so i used that shape as sort of the triangular horizon line here.
the owl came in as sort of a totem, which i’m loving paired with the butterfly over her opposite shoulder! more things that just sort of happened!
and at the end of the day, my kitchen table looked like this!
i’ve realized that on sunny days (which is when i most want to paint) i simply do not want to be in my studio where the windows and light are beautiful, but the sun only in for a bit in the morning. in our kitchen, it stays all day!
so i’ve reenlisted my painting cart that i fill with supplies and take out into the backyard in the summertime. now, i’m wheeling it out into the kitchen for painting days! why didn’t i think of this sooner?
Related posts
A few years ago, I wrote a novel about a magical world. I was one of 14 writers accepted into a 6 week writing workshop on the east coast. And when I finished my novel, I flew out to Washington DC to meet with my ideal literary agent. But then I got super scared and burned out. Because of that burn-out, I needed to heal... Continue reading
I used to be afraid to raise my hand in class. I’d learned that my ways of thinking and seeing were different from everyone else. When I shared an idea, I was often laughed at or told it was impossible. So I learned to stay quiet and be shy. When I was in the third grade we had an art project where we were supposed... Continue reading
Lately I’ve been going back to painting owls. For awhile I had been creating these very renaissance-style portraits with soft, realistic faces and incredible hair. I enjoyed that I could make them look very human, but still full of magic and color. While I still adore creating these flower girls, I found that these paintings were missing something. After countless attempts in the studio, many... Continue reading
6 comments on “the girl with a tree on her head”
This Moment
It sounds fun and so freeing!
faerwillow
~a beautiful page that unfolded…our table looks like yours most of the time…hehehe…except for when we know company is coming…enjoy this new process…much love light and blessings be with you and yours~
valeriaporopat
And I thought I was the only one drawing girls with strange things coming out of their heads:D
Msartist
I can relate to moving around and the aftermath, but when beauty unfolds like your painting it is well worth it~ Happy creative weekend to you.
~Theresa
PaperPumpkin
I love messy desks filled with journaling play! Isn't it fun?
Eva
very interesting to glimpse the process!
http://bottleblack.blogspot.com