Cardboard Inspiration

One of my favorite artists, Mindy Lacefield, posted this video, "Little Cardboard Paintings", on YouTube. I found it very inspiring so, I did a few of my own. Now, after you watch the video you'll see that I didn't do them quite like Mindy did. I tried, but got stuck. So, I decided to experiment and just create whatever the heck I wanted to. They're only cardboard. If I hate them I can toss them out if I want. No harm done. It is a completely freeing way to paint.

Here is how the backgrounds started on each board.

And here are the finished boards.

 

 

 

 

 

I used acrylic paints, Stabilo Marks All Pencil for sketching, acrylic inks for glazing and oil pastels. These were soooooo fun to make! I'll be exchanging these with some art friends of mine who are also making sets. If you are an artist and you are feeling stuck, try painting on small pieces of cardboard. I think when the material is disposable, it gives you a freedom in your creativity. You don't mind messing up. You don't mind painting over things. Watch the video and give it a go. You won't regret it.

 

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Mermaid Painting from Start to Finish

Here is the completed painting I gave a sneak peek of in my last post.

First is the background with the beginnings of a face. I did this on a textured gesso board with paper, inks and paints. Funny thing is, I originally messed up on the background. I adhered some beautiful papers with gesso instead of glue. It made everything milky white and I lost all my colors. Oops. Well, I think I got my color back.

This is the face. It's still in the early stages but its going in the direction I want it to. I drew the outline with acrylic ink its dropper.

She has become a mermaid. I'm not happy with the tail. I need to tweak that.

I fixed the tail. I added some coral and shells and more blue to the background. I like the translucency and seeing the layers underneath. I feel like she's in a coral reef. I think she is done at this point and then I noticed the left eye. It looks like she got a black eye swimming under the sea. I felt the need to fix that.

She is finally finished. My three year old daughter (soon to be 4 this spring) insisted on some shimmer. She said it would be the "perfect finishing touch". So I added some shimmery inks to her hair and body. My daughter was right!

I really love how this painting turned out.

This is the second one I did based on the techniques I learned from Mindy Lacefield's True Free Spirit e-course. It's only the first month of twelve months of lessons and it is so much fun. We have a very active and supportive Facebook group and the work being produced is amazing. Mindy also created this video here that was an inspiration for my painting. It gives you a good idea of Mindy's style. I'm finding this class has given me a kick in the creative butt! I'm so excited with what I'm creating!

 

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Following my "True Free Spirit"

One of my favorite artists, Mindy Lacefield, has a brand new e-course for 2013, True Free Spirit. I'm reducing the number of classes I'm signing up for, but I had to do this one. It's a year long course with a different project each month. Mindy is trying not to plan too far in advance so each project is a surprise. Our first project is based on Mindy's new series of True Free Spirit Girls. You can see examples of them in her Etsy shop.

 

I started with sketching faces. So much fun!

 

 

Then I felt ready to move to canvas.

 

 

 

I love the look of these girls. Mine look so serene and peaceful.

I am finding creating these girls quite exciting.

Here is a sneak peek at my next painting.

 

I can't wait to see what Mindy has in store for next month either!

 

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My "One Little Word" for 2013

The New Year has arrived and its time to make resolutions! I'm not a fan of resolutions. I think few people succeed. The resolution is either too broad or too difficult. I like the "One Little Word" concept. You choose a word and you let that be your guide/focus for the year.

Last year was about "creating" and developing my artistic voice. This year I want it to be about my business. One thing I'm terrible with is being disciplined. I know that in order to build my business I have to be disciplined and focused. I don't have a manager giving me deadlines and goals. I am the manager. But "discipline" is such an unromantic word. My artistic friends are choosing word like "soar" and "bliss". So, I turned to the Internet and a synonym finder, plugged in "discipline" and found "to grow".

The lightbulb went off and I thought "grow"! That's perfect!

 

"Grow" is the perfect word for me because I can apply it to all the aspects of my life I want to improve in 2013.

Grow my business.

Grow artistically.

Grow healthy.

Help my children grow.

Grow organized.

How will I apply this word into my daily life? I believe it's about choices and asking myself the question,

"If I choose this will it help me grow?"

What's your word?

 

In 2011 I took Kelly Rae Roberts' Flying Lessons and made lasting friendships with many creative women. We refer to ourselves as "The Fly Tribe". We continue to inspire and support each other every day even though the e-course ended long ago. Want to see what words my artist friends have chosen? Just click the link below and explore their blogs.

 

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Welcome 2013!

This is going to be an interesting year. My son, Evan, is turning 5 this week. Five! When did this happen? It seems like yesterday I was begging him to want to be born (he was a week late). And now I have to register him for kindergarten this month. I just can't believe it.

Christmas was loads of fun here as well. The kids met Santa for the first time and he was very good to them Christmas morning. Check out the haul! I have no idea why Evan looks bored. He probably wants more!

I also got some art supplies for Christmas. I've spent this vacation playing a bit with Derwent Artbars. They are similar to Caran D'ache Neocolor II as they are water soluble wax crayons. The main difference is their shape. They are triangle sticks that enable you to make interesting marks. They also lay down thicker than the Neocolors. Here is a sampling of my playtime in my art journal.

 

 

I love the texture I get from these. I also received some Bombay India Inks but haven't had a chance to play with those yet. Soon my precious inks, soon!

In my next post I'll share my "word" for 2013. This word is meant to represent the goals I hope to achieve for the New Year without it being a list of resolutions I will quit pursuing on January 5th. I am hoping 2013 will be a big year for my art. I don't know if it will be as monumental as starting kindergarten but I hope it's eventful!

 

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