another in the 'happy place' series

I've decided to do another of my 'happy place' girls right away, since the first one helped get me out of my own headspace while painting her.  this girl is meditating on affirmations to get her through her 'stuff'.  I think a lot of us need minute-to-minute thinking these days, just to get by, and affirmations can help that process.

heres how she stands, unless I give her some last minute tending;

and heres how she got to that place

some color to start

I liked how the drips fell, and wanted to highlight them, so

turned the canvas

sketching in the pose

I had a couple of reference photos for this one

this sign is where I got my initial inspiration for the series

and I liked the cross legged pose

I liked the tilt of her head while looking at the viewer

and hoped to capture her slight smile

this is when I decided affirmations were in play here

and I liked the rainbow on her calf

getting color into her face, clothes and hair

getting the background ready for the affirmations

here she is again

I like her sweet face

"Affirmations as a Happy Place"

sending little love letters to the universe tells it where you want to go and is a great way to calm the mind.  it also reminds the energies around us what you wish to have happen.  saying "I am calm" is better than saying "I will not be anxious", because your brain gets confused with the "be anxious" part of the latter sentence.   be careful with the words you speak to yourself; the energies are there to meet you.

here is a good article about creating affirmations for yourself and why they are helpful.

sending you so much love!

until later,

Jenny

happy place

 well.  to be honest, I love this piece!  I love her beginning, middle and end of her.  I love the message most of all.  "find your happy place".  but, I dont think that I'm happy with having her in just one happy place, so I think this might have to be a 'happy place' series!  I'm happy at my easel, I'm happy reading, or having tea...  yeah, this may be a loose and free series of wonky but trying-to-be-happy girls!

I had 3 photo references I went by, creating a very loose pose.

basic pose

her cheeky smile

her hair

and heres her history on the canvas;

lots of happy color

the sketch

initial background color

needed more color, this time green-gold

and made pool tiles

back to blue background, water, and the words

working on skin tones

then worked on her playful face

here she is again

and some happy close-ups

she's smiling, but theres a questioning in her eyes

splashing of paint in the water,

I added words here and there.  "sing" on her knee, "splash" on a tile,

 "joyful", and "breathe" in other spots

color and texture make me happy!

look in the pink; you find the word "joy(ful)"hidden there!

the colorful drip down her throat made me happy and

reminded me of her windpipe, so added "breathe" to her chest

I think we all need the reminder to be in our own happy place in the world.  when times get tough, breathe it out, close your eyes and imagine your best place.  if only for a minute.

until later,

Jenny

class work

 ok, I lied in my last post about what was coming next.  I was inspired by this weeks and last weeks Let's Face It classes, taught by Jeanne-Marie Webb and Emma Petitt.  Jeanne-Marie's class had me bringing out a reference image I had wanted to try anyway, of two women together, but to paint it in a loose, non-realistic way, with lots of mark-making and layers.  and I wanted to incorporate Emmas large, figurative hands.

heres the initial reference photo that intrigued me;

I liked their stance and the hands.

and heres how my progress went;

getting ideas and blocking it in

have a harvest theme in mind with pumpkins and a bushel of hearts

the end result;

gave up on the left-side pumpkins, 

added lots of autumn leaves 

and the hearts became an inner-work symbol

some close up photos of spots I adore;

the hearts and texture of the bold underpainting (that I didn't photograph)

her eyes...  full of love and concern toward her tired sister

ugh, the moodiness of her!  she is beat.

love the necklace area, the hair, the leaves, her voluptuous lips...

just yes to all this!

they make a great team

"Sisters of the Autumn Wind"

Changes are happening.  They are ending the busy time of harvest and entering a time of well-deserved rest, when they will go inward with love and self-care to develop a plan for the next season.

and this is how I'll be treating myself these next few months of transformation.  I'm going from a full summer of growth; myself as well as my garden and the knowledge I obtained as my body grew stronger.  I'm tired and struggling with some new health challenges, and some old symptoms that have returned.  I'm turning inward again as I have almost reached the end of harvest season.  I'll be centering my focus back on the inner self.   I was neglecting some important things as I tended the gardens and canned the resulting fruits of my labor in order to nourish me over the cold months.  I hope I can learn to juggle these things a bit better in years to come, for next years garden is in planning stages, and it will be an exciting one to work on!  

but for now, I'm still tending the last few fruits to ripen in this years beautiful garden.

until later,

Jenny

whats next (AKA buried treasure)

as I worked on organizing my art studio yesterday I came across more works in progress I'd like to concentrate on after them waiting patiently for a year or two.

some of the works are just interesting backgrounds, but three are dear to my heart and I'd love to get them on the wall instead of being thought of as cluttering the studio.

a soon to be rendition of my childhood homestead

from a photo of my daddy as a child with my grandmother

a sketch from a very cropped, very fuzzy 

but cherished photo of my grandmother and me at the beach.

hopefully I can do the memory some justice!

then I have my newest from my free reference site that I'll be working on;

and thats a look into my painting future!  it's now September and I have lots of personal house-type things I have planned before Christmas rolls around, some of which involves bringing my painting area back down to my studio instead of where the Christmas tree will be in the heart of the home.  I might be kind of cutting the expectations close- especially since I'm dealing with more health concerns which may or may not involve knee surgery.  I figure I have a selection of paintings to choose from if I get overwhelmed with the other life-stuff and the muse comes calling.

until later, 

Jenny

procrastination in action

this is what happens when you start cleaning in the studio, I guess.  you came across some brilliantly colored and textured old backgrounds that have the beginnings of a sketch (this time of an elephant), and decide to play instead.

see the top portion of this painting?  thats how all of this was.  red/orange textured paint and a simple sketch that I needed to figure out.  I love his energy!

found a 'before the before' shot. close to how it started today

and I just looked up his meaning here and am floored again with how animal energy comes to me when I need it.  I was looking at the painting, searching for it's title.  and the words "at ease" came to me.  the background leaves nothing to be at ease about, but he is standing sure of himself, grazing on what is around him with his trunk at his mouth.  he does not seem troubled or tense about what is going on around him at all.

the article says ;

Do you have a long, hard journey in front of you and need strength to make it through? Are you taking care of friends or family during tough times and need support? Elephant, as a Spirit, Totem, and Power Animal, can help! Elephant teaches how to nourish the mind, body, and spirit, so you are strong during trying times.

just floored.

so, he will be titled "At Ease"

Elephant teaches how to use what is around to nourish us, to listen to the guidance of the Elders so we remain calm and sure footed when times are difficult.   this is the way to help our tribe.

time to meditate on this totem coming to me at this time.

until later,

Jenny