February 30 in 30, Day #7

30 paintings in 30days.

I had a hard time with this one. I will admit it. It started out as a piece about recommitting to goals and not letting little stumbles get in the way of the directions you want to move in. I wrote myself a lovely little pep talk in silver across both pages knowing that enough of it would be covered up and that my private pep talk would stay just that. But then I lost the direction when I stenciled with molding paste. I like them very much but they are way too centered and there's four of them, an even number, I know better than that. Anyway, I was never able to get back to any kind of a focal point after that. I decided to stop trying so hard and doodle my way through the rest of it. So I let everything dry and plopped down in front of the TV and casually doodled. It still doesn't have a point of interest, but I'm okay with it.

Celebrate the Ordinary, See the Extraordinary

Mixed Media

February 30 in 30, Day #5

30 paintings in 30 days.

When I do journals I never know what's going to happen. I like it that way... I think it's good for me to be spontaneous and problem solve on the spot. Some of these journals seem to take time between the layers. Time, not just for the paint to dry, but to get away and see it with fresh eyes.

This page had a self portrait that I drew with Conte' crayons several years ago. It wasn't very good but my intentions were to keep it and have the eyes showing or some recognizable face part. I kinda lost it as the layers pilled up. I knew I wanted to use leaf cut outs but I wasn't sure where I was going. It became fitting to use the dragonfly, the symbol of change, metamorphosis, as my face morphed into something else totally different and unrecognizable. I liked the poem. It's from an unknown author. I'm liking using words as an added texture on the paper. I'm drawn to cursive handwriting - something that will be obsolete at some time, as school children are no longer taught it. I like the idea that if any of this survived 50 years or so the journal would have some secret long forgotten language on it. How cool would that be?

Metamorphasis

Mixed Media

February 30 in 30, Day #2

30 paintings in 30 days.

Continuing with the art journaling I now have found a home for all those cool incidental pieces of art that you can't quite throw away but you don't know what to do with them.
This was a quick demo on what alcohol inks can do. I saw a face in it, drew it out then thew it in a pile.( You know the pile... we all have them.)

On a side note, I have to say, I'm thrilled to see how great pan pastels are for journaling. It's so fun to be able to so many supplies at one time.

I wasn't happy with this piece. I wasn't sure how to finish it. Then the song "The Impossible Dream" popped in my head and I decided to write the lyrics on the page. I found a U Tube of Susan Boyle singing the song and proceeded to write the lyrics. As I did this,  I remembered why I loved this song so much. My mom loved music and had a lot of classical music but also some show tunes. When I was 6 my folks got a new cassette player and started collecting music. My favorite was Man of LaMancha. I spent hours dancing around the living room and singing the songs. "The Impossible Dream" was my favorite song. So I wrote the lyrics and all of a sudden the piece felt complete.. and I liked it. I was happy to have recaptured that memory.

Let Your Mind Wander

Mixed Media

(Sorry, I see that the large picture isn't so clear.)

Feb 30 in 30, Day 1

30 paintings in 30 day challenge.

This year the 30 in 30 is being held in February instead of January. There's good and bad to that. I wasn't quite ready to jump back into a 30 in 30 right after the holidays but probably should have. And, of course the Olympics are starting in 7 days and I love, love, love watching the Olympics. Painting??? Maybe, I don't know, as long as it doesn't interfere with my TV time.

So having said that, this 30 in 30 is important to me. This is the month that I devote to creating
Ugly Art! So before I offend everyone let define "ugly art". I've been creating art for what, 5 years now, and there is always that pressure to make the piece look good enough to sell.Commissions need to look good, there's always new shows to get ready for. There's a lot of pressure to produce and that's okay. But sometimes the creativity gets a bit lost. And let's remember, it's in the creativity where we get swept away in a wonderful bliss... the high. Anyway, I'm feeling like it's time to try new things, to explore without worrying about the consequences. 

So I'm telling you now, this may get ugly! And I kinda, hope it does. I hope I can explore a few things fearlessly.
Let's make some mistakes!

So here's the deal; I still have commissions to do this month and shows to get ready for. I will still do those and I'll be happy to crawl back to my comfort zone from time to time. But I'm hoping that at least half the time I can do some exploring without concern if it will "work out" or not.

I've decided to start an art journal. After resisting for a long time I feel this will be a great introduction into mixed media for me. I grabbed one  of my many half used sketch books and started gessoing the pages. Some of the drawings I'll keep and incorporate into the journal, some I won't. I'm pretty pleased about repurposing this old boring sketch book.
 
I should let you know that when I was eight I experimented with mixed media in my sketchbook.... it was a disaster! I always thought it the ugliest page in the book. It has taken all these years to recover from it.(lol) I'll post it if I can find it. And YES I still have my sketch book from 1968. Don't you have your old sketch books?

So this is my first journal page. I have to thank Laura for coming to paint with me at the studio and spilling the yellow alcohol ink. In the process of cleaning up, she created the most beautiful paper towel. It became my inspiration. I think I used just about every journaling technique I found on U Tube.

 A Little High A Little Low

Mixed Media 

 

September 20, 30 on 30

Day 20, 30 paintings in 30 days
hosted by Leslie Saeta.

I've been wanting to learn some mixed media techniques for awhile now. My home studio has bags of broken jewelry and wooden boxes that I've collected for the day that I do college. So when it took almost the entire day to get the gallery back together after tearing it apart for the show at Greenwich, it was a treat to end the day across the street in a mixed media class with friends. It was interesting, I choose some paper and colors that I liked bu,t soon got into painting too heavy and not really liking my project. The instructor kept on telling us to trust the process. I liked the way you're never "stuck " with anything, the painting can always change. Layers are good.

I also enjoyed watching how another instructor worked. What do I steal for my own classes? Well, the little boxes which held the brushes, pencils and pens were wonderful... gotta get some of those. They  kept all the supplies in order so we weren't loosing things as we worked. I loved the way Tabitha had the paintings organized, easy to see, easy to grab, and easy to store. She also gave out a lot of information about the supplies and what you could do with them as we worked. I walked away happy. Not only did I get to spend some time with friends and learn a few things, I got a painting for the 30 in 30.

My theme? Halloween of course.

8" x 8"
Mixed Media on Wood Pannel

Day 4, Mixed Medium, Doodle 1 and 2

30 in 30 hosted by Leslie Saeta.

One of my favorite things about doing a 30 in 30 is it's a great time to experiment. I see so many great ideas to try on Pinterest and save them all on a board, "Interesting Art Ideas" for a time such as this.  Today's work came from a U - Tube video. The artist used molding paste and acrylics to add layers of texture. Something I have wanted to try for a long time. So.... seeing that Michael's had 50% off paints this week I purchased 8 new acrylics and paste. I love oils but they are difficult when one is trying to do a painting in one day. It's time to give acrylics a chance again.

Doodle 1

Mixed Medium on Canvas Panel

9" x 12"

$40

Doodle 2

Mixed Medium on Canvas Panel

9" x 12"

$40

I am constantly doing something with my hands, painting, writing, typing or doodling. I use sticky notes all the time to write notes to myself or doodle. There was a time that I thought some of them might make interesting abstracts so I started saving them. Imagine my office with several sticky notes pasted to my computer screen, now add  a pile of sticky notes and odd paper scrapes all over. It wasn't pretty, They had to go. The molding paste gave me the opportunity to doodle as an art form. This isn't quite the direction I want to move in but I think I learned enough to continue on with different shapes.

To purchase this painting go to http://www.jillraefinallyart.com/30-in-30.php  Or just hit the "Visit My Web Site" button on the right of this blog. When you get there go to "My Art"  then "30 in 30 in the pull down menu. 

Win a Custom Ink Drawing. 

I will create an Ink Drawing from a photo that you email me. It could be a favorite vacation place, your house, or anything - just not portraits (they aren't really very distinguishable.) The art work will be between 8x10 and 11x14, depending on the photo and will take about one week to complete.

 

All this is to introduce my new Monthly Newsletter coming out at the end of this month. It will include what's currently happening at JR Finally Art along with some deals exclusively for my newsletter readers. Each month this free newsletter will be emailed to you so you won't miss a thing.

All you have to do to enter the Custom Ink Drawing Giveaway is to subscribe at

http://eepurl.com/SHx-f  or just hit the subscribe button to the right of my blog. I will draw a name from all new subscribers on January 9th. You will be contacted by email and asked to send a clear photo via email within 5 days of winning. After about a week I will sent it out in the mail to you, no shipping charges, no taxes. It's free!

This has a $65 value.

Good Luck and thanks for subscribing.

Day 4, Mixed Media, Childhood Dreams

30 in 30 hosted by Leslie Saeta.

Childhood Dreams

Mixed media on Yupo paper

11" x 14"

$35

I love Pinterest. I love collecting all sorts of art related boards. Under watercolor tips, I have a board that demonstrates using watercolors on Yupo paper and lifting the paint in areas so that it is white again. Who knew? I see all these great ideas that I want to try but I have other works that I must finish and usually don't have the time. 

To me, that's what this 30 in 30 is for, to try new things, to paint those pictures that have been begging to be painted and to push myself out of my comfort zone. That's what abstracts do. I love them. When I see one I like I think, "Boy that looks so fun and free." When I try to do an abstract it is anything but free. They just look that way, they are actually very difficult. But I did have fun with this one, even though the voice in the back of my head kept saying, "Don't mess this up, it's getting late."

To purchase this painting go to http://www.jillraefinallyart.com/30-in-30.php  Or just hit the "Visit My Web Site" button on the right of this blog. When you get there go to "My Art"  then "30 in 30 in the pull down menu.