finding joy

I've been in the process with this newest painting on paper for a bit, now.  her name is "Finding Joy", and she's been hiding from me.  today I finished her, go me!  *edit- now that I've brought her upstairs, I see more that needs to be done

I'm very proud of a lot of parts of her.  her eyes pop.  her lips were a struggle, but I came out victorious.  her hair is fun.  and the bubbles... well, I didn't think they'd come out nearly as well as they did.  I love the bright pink I added in other places to tie in her hair color.  it really livens up the piece.

until later,

Jenny

another painting on paper

last year on mothers day I was down and created flowers.  this year I was too weepy to move off the couch.  today I pulled myself up enough to go to the studio to work on my feelings.  I had a reference photo I wanted to work with, but the feeling wasn't right, so I chose a moodier pose and started.

 two hours in and letting her dry

"she came from the fire"
still in progress

she wears her heart on her sleeve; has walked thru hell, been tampered with, and still cares deeply for others.  but now she tries to protect her tender soul.  the cracks in her heart are mended with gold and make her who she is.  and she is more beautiful because she has loved and been hurt deeply.

working with her has made my heart a little lighter.  she is dark and moody, and thats what needed to be let out of my soul, even for a little while.

until later,

Jenny

some more work

I've been enjoying painting large on paper since my class last week.  I've worked on 3 more gals, to create a bit of a collection.

my class project

"The Dancer"

sold

"Her Strength" 

"An Inner Thunder"

"Looking Deeper"

you can tell these women all have their stories to bear.  you can ask for them to tell you of their life;  witness them, fully.  the depth and layering you can see in person is a joyous thing for me!  you just cant see it all in a photo, on a screen.

I plan on making more.  so many more.

until later,

Jenny

this and that

still working on my 21emBODY challenge where we celebrate our body with a painting for 21 days.

i left you with the unfinished back from march 8th;

i've since called it done;

march 9th was bones;

this one fought me till i called quits

march 10th was hands;

march 11th was feet.  i was gone most of the day, so did a quick sketch the night before thinking i'd paint the next day.  turns out the next day was just as full, so i let myself off the hook as far as painting.

march 12th was arms;

and yesterday was eyes.  i did it today.  i don't know what i was doing, i just went with it.  turned out kind of creepy, but thats ok.  i'm thinking dots are in order.

over the weekend my brother came to me with a commission on his mind!  he wants me to paint our childhood barn for his house, and i'm happy to oblige, as it's one of my favorite subjects.  i think i will be painting versions of our barn for years to come!  some of you might remember the mini i put onto my shop a bit ago. 

that was my first go at the barn on canvas, and it was credit card sized.  this one is going to be H.U.G.E and i can't wait to get my hands painty with it!  i'm waiting for the delivery of the canvas, but in the meantime i will hunt for more photos of the barn.  it had pine trees in front, in different states of maturity thru the years.  i also want the background in this painting to be more like our little valley, and might have to paint some of our beloved critters frolicking in the pasture.

i'm also getting more involved in sketching the face in preparation for doing more portraits.  the many classes i'm taking this year are so inspiring and i'm learning so much.  i've got a way to go, but i've come so far in the 2 years that i've been seriously painting.

here is the sketch i did yesterday of my granddaughter, serenity;

and with the photo reference;

it's off, but i can live with it for a first attempt

today's another big storm day.  supposed to get hammered by the snow gods with 12-24 inches!  the man is home from work and doing his snow-blowing duties today.   i've made some banana bread and will be making some spaghetti squash casserole.  i may paint, i may sketch, i may plan, or i may just watch movies all day.  who knows what a snow-day holds!

until later,

jenny

painted pony

yesterday i started a painting of a colorful pony, inspired by the art and this weeks "let's face it" class taught by jennifer bonneteau.  her style is one i admire and speaks to me as close to my own.

this pony has many layers of color and refinement of areas.  i started with a sketch i had in my sketchbook, and went with the flow.  this sketch had no real value contrast to it, so i had to wing it until i came close to the ending layers, when i went to find some photos on the internet just to see basic anatomy where the horse would have shadows and light.

heres work from yesterday;

he came upstairs with me and i sat with him, stewing over the parts of him i wasn't pleased with.  the pushes and pulls of this type of artwork is what makes it fun, but also frustrating at times.

today i fixed those problem areas, and he sits with me again, waiting to see if he is complete or if i will decide to push him further.

fixed his mane, added glazing for more shadowed areas

adding, taking away...

fixed his eye, fixed a neck area i wasn't happy with

more color shaping for his nose

highlights

i'm enjoying working with this lil guy, and am happy he came into my life!

until later,

jenny

progress, setback, progress

life is a dance, and i'm doing the cha-cha.

i did a few more layers on my dream board before succumbing to a cold virus that hubby shared with me.  he works in the computer field, and goes to schools.  lots of schools.  he then brings back "gifts".  lots of gifts.

we also had a big storm and fared pretty well with about 17 inches of snow dumped in our yard.  no power outage;  we just hunkered down and shoveled out.

i started working on my dream board life book lesson again this morning, feeling more like myself and less like death.  here is where i left you.

an image transfer of my face, 

some collage including some text from my daddy poetry book, 

and pretty, drippy colors

there were more layers since that photo was taken, and then todays progress got us to this point;

some close-ups of this work in progress;

i wanted the 10 of cups to represent abundance coming my way

a bubble of protection blankets me

the intention is to negate any anxiety that appears 

will be fixing problem areas in my next layers, 

but happy so far

cuckoo bird on my shoulder (lots of symbolism i need)

desert mountains

and a tent representing travel

my tribe behind me all the way

seeds i have planted reaching fruition

and a promise

keeping hydrated and warm in my funky owl hat

by hooks and hands

until later,

jenny

plugging away

i've pretty much fallen off of facebook, which isn't a bad thing for my mental health these days, but i'm still plugging away at this thing called life.  some days i have better luck than others with the getting off of the couch routine, but lately i've done some colorful work.

the state of my studio these days;

a complete wreck

but being used!

and what i've been working on the last few days;

a personal project is this mini journal, 

(follow effy wilds minimoleydaily on youtube) 

each quick page with a quote to inspire me.

page in progress

life book 2017

class with wendy brightbill

and current weeks class is a 'dream board' with tam laporte.  a couple progress shots;

my first ever image transfer went well.

painting and adjusting my features

after layers of 'stuff', including some text

from my daddys' poetry book.

sacred stuff, indeed.

i have big ideas for this dream board, have imagery and phrases i want to include further down the line.  this is where the magic happens, and we can't rush the magic.

in other news, little lucy chihuahua pup is doing a good job with making sure i know i'm loved.  i can tell she is adjusting to being an only pup after pitas death 4 weeks ago.  she was always a lap dog, staying warm top priority of hers, but now she is starting to come see where i am if i have wandered from her side.  pita was always the shadow, and he did a fabulous job of it, but i'm pretty sure she will be taking up that role very soon.  we bought her a new bed to go by the heater down in the studio, and while she doesn't love being down there, she is content to lay in it as long as she is with me.  i'm so happy she is in my life, for i would be lost right now if it wasn't for her warm body, her soft little head, and her silly antics.

until later,

jenny

happy christmas, 2016!

my big craft for christmas gifts this year was bookmarks tailored to the recipient.  i chose affirmations that i wished my people would know or had more of in their life.

i started with sheets of watercolor paper and had fun with inks, acrylics and stamping a texture.  lots of layers, as thats how i like my art.

pretty!

i cut them into random sized bookmarks, cause thats how i roll.  i don't need no stinking measuring device!  organic, baby.

i knew i wanted to use book pages in the bookmarks, so tried different ideas for the affirmation phrases.  i wasn't happy until i stamped the words onto the blank areas of the book pages.  it

took a little time for me to find the look i wanted, but i am pleased with the clean look it created.

after stamping, i went over with pen to darken the ink

i added several layers of gloss medium to seal and protect the bookmarks, learning as i went along.

some in the drying phase

i added ribbon to the bookmarks, and pixel kitty helped

my book loving friends and family loved their affirmation bookmarks, and i enjoyed sending them loving energies!

from my home to yours, heres to a happy, healthy, prosperous and blessed 2017

until later,

jenny