peacock feather canvas CPR

i've been in a funk lately with the change of seasons.  it always gets me around mid september.  and so i sat with this painting, waiting to love it, or for motivation or some kind of idea to hit me on what to do with it now.  i almost gave up on it, honestly.

i sat with this painting for almost a month!  and i started hating it.  with a passion.


today i decided to work with it a little and if i still hated it after this attempt at resuscitation, i would paint over it.

i chose some colors i love to tone down the background a little bit but still have some peaking out.  i didn't go with all the colors, just two, a teal and a bright green.

the two colors look good together, and eases the eye a little, instead of all the contrast competing for attention.  i kept going, and then decided a few spots wanted to stand out.

i'm loving this canvas now!  you still know the layers are there, can still see the drips and all the different colors, but it's not in your face.  except for those three spots i didn't cover with paint, which i LOVE.  i will need to re-paint the actual feather, to make it stand out again, cause i am not the most careful of painters...

but, i'm happier today.

until later,
jenny

peacock feather canvas

i started a large canvas several days ago.  i had no idea where it was going to go, as most paintings i do are based on what it feels like as i go.  i started with just colors and shapes, and then sprayed india inks on the still wet acrylics.  i love the look it gives.

then i started dripping watered down acrylics

and added more layers of drippage with india inks and then a white drippage layer with watered down acrylic

it then told me what it wanted to become, i did a quick sketch and it came to life this morning

not sure if this is the end result or not.  it may need a few more tweaks, but i will sit with it for a while.

update to add a small change to the canvas.  i surrounded the small circles with the dark blue

until later,

jenny

art journaling

i have this old lined journal that has been sitting since i bought it at the flea market this summer.

i don't know how old it is.  the writing inside looks old, but it has a magnetic enclosure hidden inside...

i thought it would make a very cute art journal for me.  the pages aren't so big that i could do spreads quickly even if i'm not feeling well, but there are many of them.

i decided to make it inspirational for me.  if i do any dark journaling, i hope it can be hidden within the layers.  sounds like me, actually.  i try to hide my darkness.  but i want this to be full of good quotes and such.

trust

it's a peaceful feeling to become unafraid of who you are

queen of my own story

not all who wander are lost

i find it interesting that i adore my first girl, and the rest just don't impress me.  there is something wonderful about girl number 1.  her expression and coloring are fantastic.  while i do not want to duplicate myself with the girls, i do want them to have the same wonderfulness.  why would my first, effortless attempt be the most perfect?  maybe to show me that i can do this, i do have talent?  and the next ones will make me understand that i still need to work?  not everything will be effortless?  i do like my other girls, but they don't have 'it' like girl number 1 does.

so, these girls are based on a class that i am SLOWLY working thru, by mindy lacefield, called "paint your story"  http://www.mindylacefieldart.com/ (i have yet to understand linking here, bare with me). i love her style of painting, but love other styles as well, so am trying it all until i find my own style.

until later,

jenny