The "Zones" Of My Life

Creating art is an interesting thing for me. It is a process of sliding into the creative zone without planning it and finding yourself joyously creating. But if I have to do a commission work or I have to create on demand, I am sometimes dead in the water fairly quickly into the process and have to push myself to create...and usually this is in the dreaded twilight zone. I can still turn something out --- but with extreme difficulty. But if I slip into the creative zone the finished product might not be a masterpiece but the point is, how did I feel when I was creating it?? That's the creative question I ask myself. If it was fun and enjoyable and the outcome was pleasing then I have been in the creative zone--which is also outside of any time zone.
These two paintings above started off as just some calligraphy on 6x6 scrapbook pieces of paper that came in an order as a freebie. I was actually thinking about tossing them into the scrap bin (and the trash bin crossed my mind too) probably to be lost forever and never used since the paper was rather uninteresting. I wrote the calligraphy (again, no plan) and then started to do some doodle flowers around it and then ended with...having fun! Isn't that the goal of our art anyway...having fun...the journey is the destination...and all that rigamarole??? How many of us are making thousands with our wonderful art anyway (or hundreds...or even just a few dollars??)

Well, some of you are but for me...I might as well have some fun!

two more girls...

She is drawn in a journal without lines (I think it is a Molskine that has a paper craft looking cover that comes in a pack of 3). My son gave them to me for Christmas and it has wonderful smooth off white pages perfect for drawing and colored pencils. She is collaged into a larger journal. I painted her face with Caran de'ache and white and Buff acrylics and painted in the background with Nickel Quin gold and Aliz crim. The leaves are stamps.
She is drawn on composition notebook paper, collaged into the bigger journal, painted with shiva sticks (love them!) and the flowers painted with Caran d'ache crayons (love them too). One of the great things about taking all these workshops is that each teacher uses a different medium so you learn how to use these mediums. I guess this girl is a mixture of Suzi's class and Misty's class which makes me happy because I want to incorporate all I learn from all teachers. And they are all so uniquely wonderful in their own way. These are the mixed mediums that I used on this piece:

1. graphite to draw face

2. colored pencils to lay down a little color then cut out and collaged into journal

3. shiva oil sticks for face (colored pencils don't show through so why use them? You don't have to--I just like to do it)

4. watercolor background in journal with stamps, ink pads and punchanella

5. Caran de'ache mixed with Titanium white and gel medium for flowers

6. extra soft black charcoal pencil for shadowing flowers

That's it!

Melancholy

I was playing around with my water soluble Caran de'Ache neo colors(love 'em) after viewing a video of Willowing . She uses a combination of the Caran de'Ache and white acrylic for her faces. It was very informative and I will try it again but this is the girl I painted using this technique. I am always trying to find just the right "thing" for me. I guess the thrill is in the hunt!! She looks a bit melancholy so that's what I titled her. She is on a canvas panel and it probably would be better to add more gesso and sand with sand paper to make the face smoother as Paulette Insall teaches.