new items in the shop

we finally got the last of my september challenge photos off the camera and into the shop, including the final painting.

i present to you, "lady of the lilies, unfolding"

find her print, here

her tote

makes a beautiful throw pillow

and a pretty appropriate shower curtain

more items with this print are in the shop as well

here is "challenge 6"

the print

tote

all over print shirt

and more!

and finally, "challenge 7"

print

travel mug

and duvet cover

find these and much more in my shop!

until later,

jenny

the end is near!

i can see the finish line to this painting, and it's coming in exciting ways.  today i was inspired to cover a lot of the background with a transparent yellow.  that was scary, but i knew if i didn't like the result i could spray it with water and wipe it away.

i also worked her hair again, making this girl one of the most changed paintings, hair-wise, as i am!

here she was yesterday...

and after some good changes...

i have included a large drop at the top, symbolizing many things in my life.   i knew this symbol would be included somewhere in this painting, but had no clue it would be so prominent.  i like how it helps move the eye around the canvas.

i can see where i will work tomorrow, a small change, and i will soon bring her upstairs to sit with me a while.  she may give me more whispers, or she may silently speak of her completion.

i'm so happy with her!  hopefully i can get a bright, calm day to get good photos of her to put her in the shop in the near future.

until later,
jenny

a slowing down

fall is underway.

we've had a few days of indian summer and a few biting chills that foretell the coming bitter months.  but it is here, and with it comes a slowing of my creative blood.

i ask to play with my muse daily, i wish to dabble and throw glitter in the air so to speak.  and i'm so close to finishing my latest painting i can taste it.  but my muse apparently has attention deficit disorder and doesn't want to linger in the details of finish work.  she wants to splash and drip again.  we have too many unfinished paintings to complete, can't we just finish this one?  just the one, and then we can go play with a new canvas as a reward...

so, today i begged again, and she said if i make it another challenge to the end of the month she may play a bit more with this canvas.  i won't bore you daily with this small challenge, because the tiny differences won't be apparent to anyone but myself.

except today.  i'm gonna bore you with the minute details today.

here she was last time i blogged about her;

i have dabbled here and there on the girl and the focal flower without blogging for the same reason. small changes are boring.  i'm trying to get more depth to the girls features and make the lily sparkle a bit more.  i've changed her hair and eye color a couple of times and have been working on both again today.  the eyes still need more for me to be happy with them.

i think i'm finally happy with the depth of her hair color.  several layers of several colors and a glaze over it all.

the main focal point

before;

after;

a few days ago i added an iridescent pearl over each petal to see if i liked the sparkle.  i did, but it wasn't what i had expected of the color, so i added a glaze of the quinacridone magenta i used to begin with, and that did the trick.  this lily is a beautiful rich sparkling color that i am thrilled with!


i know that getting to the finish line with this painting is going to take some work.  i'm not only battling my own 'junk' getting to the studio, i have my almost 16 year old pup, pita, who must be by my side but hates being in the studio for some reason.  when i bring him down, he runs around, trying to get my attention, tap dancing like he has to go outside.  we have done this routine so many times.  he goes crazy, i bring him upstairs in order to go thru the house to the dog area outside, only to have him run to the living room instead.  as soon as i let my guard down and ignore his tap dancing, he will go pee on my studio floor.  i am always on edge with him, and he refuses to settle down.  if i leave him in the living area of the house he will run around barking and i worry about his heart issues.  it's just a frustrating situation right now with him in his old age.

i have been very busy while the pups and i form a cuddle-puddle on the couch.  it's getting close to the end of the year for my yearlong Life Book workshop, and i need to make sure all video content and pdf's are downloaded before the beginning of next years workshop!

i have a couple of other art workshops i'm taking, and each class has it's own download page to make sure i'm up to date.  it's good to be organized, and it's something i can do while pita stays happily by my side on the couch.

until later,

jenny

day 30, challenge complete!

i'm so proud of myself for finishing this 30 day challenge with only 5 days of rest!  not only that, but this painting is going to be one i will cherish forever.  the skills i am using in this canvas are new and i'm just thrilled that i am achieving a level i never thought i'd get to.  onward and upward for me, as long as i keep the practice up, taking classes to gain new knowledge and opening my heart to the worlds wonders.


in the beginning of this challenge, day one, we saw me bringing words to the canvas.  words that i hoped to achieve or that i already am.  these were only positive words, as i open myself to all the good that is coming to me.

remembering day 1

and here we are at day 30

not done with her, yet

love!

she's getting there...

until later,

jenny

i bit the bullet, day 28

i'm so proud of myself today!

my main subject in this painting will be a girl inside the largest lily and i have been having some anxiety over painting her.  today i found a pose i liked in croquis cafe and did a quick sketch in my sketchbook, then threw caution to the wind and started painting right on the canvas.  i knew that any wrong turns with the brush can easily be painted over or wiped away with a spritz of water and paper towel, so i just did it.  it took a little bit of time to get the position right with legs and arms, and i'm letting her rest while i rest myself.

 getting the pose

she's just a thought and a brushstroke away from what she will become, i have things to fix and fill in, but i'm already thrilled with her!

until later,
jenny

day 27

i did actually "do a mark" on the canvas yesterday, but didn't get a photo before todays slight mark-making.  still feeling run down and not too creative, so i did something just to do something both days.

yesterday i used the neat trivet i found at the store sunday

i tapped my pallet knife into lime green paint and smoothed it over the honeycomb lines, and i'm happy with how easy and smooth the pallet knife worked.  it didn't get globs of paint inside the pattern like i thought it would.  i put my new stamp to the canvas in different places, dripped some orange india ink, and called it a day.

today i was just as lethargic, so i thought about how to rectify the orange india ink issue i made yesterday.  it had taken a muddy turn that isn't too noticeable for others, but it bothered me.  i decided to take out my yellow india ink today.  i'm still loving the way the ink rivets down the canvas.  then i mist it with my moon water and enjoy watching it play in all the texture as it meanders.

 honeycomb texture and drips

i'm loving the busy-ness of the background and i will keep playing with the lilys to make sure they stand out more when i am closer to finishing the piece.

i can't believe i'm almost finished with my canvas challenge of making a mark a day on this mighty canvas!  i've only missed a handful of days, which i'm so proud of.  i seem to be slacking on getting my main subject into the painting, but i'm having fun with the background and lilies right now, and thats the point.  i'll know when it's time to concentrate on finishing.

until later,

jenny

day 21

i'm feeling in a great place emotionally, like the universe and i are acting as a team these days and all good things are coming to me.

this morning i got word that i would be able to take part in an art and yoga day that is being hosted nearby in a few short days.  i hadn't thought i would be able to work it out but things are falling into place and it's a go!

i took my happiness to the studio early in the day and some happy colors, textures and combinations exploded on the canvas that will need to be photographed with my good camera in hopes for a spot in the store.

i was still not digging the bright copper, so i dripped purple india ink over the areas, letting it drip for a while and then setting it flat to settle into other areas.  i also added the purple to the white areas.  then i concentrated on the lilies, adding another layer of color to them.

heres where it stopped yesterday;

and todays progress;

"i am a child of the universe

i shine and sparkle 

wherever i go

i am important in someones life

i attract abundant good

and my dreams are coming true"

until later,
jenny

day 20

since i haven't blogged in a while i had almost forgotten what i'd done the last few days.  i usually photograph my progress right after completing my task and immediately email the photos to myself with the days' number so i know which day had which details, but i had no emails with the missing days.  i looked back in my camera to see if i could recognize any photos, and i did!  yay me!

day 16 i did a quick couple of things, one of which was put some metallic copper paint thru a stencil and, while i wasn't thrilled with the effect i left it, knowing it's only a layer.  i didn't get a photo of the detail that day.

day 17 i just did some drips of a bold blue

that seemed to help take my mind off the copper i wasn't thrilled about.


sunday, day 18 and monday, day 19 were pretty bad on my pain and exhaustion scale so i took a break from all activity, but today i am back to it!

i started blocking in my focal lily down in the right bottom corner and i etched an intention into white gesso;

the intention area is very stark white and will be toned down at a later date, i just wanted to use the thickness of the gesso to etch into.  i suppose i could have tinted it with another color, but i think i'll like adding a color on top better than how it would have been had i mixed it.

i didn't like the above photo, so i wiped away what i could of the offending petal and created a dark blue 'lake' area around the whole lily and lower part of the painting.

much better

hopefully i'm feeling better tomorrow... i'm ready to get things going!

until later,

jenny

day 15, halfway there!

i'm halfway to the goal with this challenge and feeling great about it.  i finally received a vision last night of where it may lead to, so today added some background elements of the final piece, knowing that they will probably get lost in upcoming layers.  it's ok, because i know i can just add them back.  it's only paint.

more lilies, 

and there will be even more before i'm done

 love!

i've been trying to get photos on my good camera in order to put into my store.  i cannot bring this huge canvas outside to photograph by myself, so must rely on the lighting i have in the studio.  we will see what i have captured this weekend when mark is around.  once a day is done, the previous canvas is lost, so i hope i have some worthwhile shots.

until later,

jenny

days 13 and 14

i'm still plugging away at this challenge!  i think this is the first challenge of any sort that i've been consistent with and i actually feel guilty about if i don't go into the studio in a timely fashion.  yay me!

yesterday, tuesday, day 13, i used my fluid acrylics to glaze the inner part of the canvas, keeping the circles, the 'frame' and the outside frame area free of glaze.  the texture is still under there, you can still see it, and in certain small areas i chose to not glaze.

painted on the table so used a chair to photograph

today i wanted some more hot pink!  i painted some branch and round 'leaf' shapes, keeping the centers free for the pink.  i think i'm into circles with this canvas.

then i knew i needed more drips.  this time i wanted white and i got out my india ink.  letting it drip and spraying with water as it dripped so it would get into the texture of the previous layers.

letting it dry

until later,

jenny