an art journal of an expressionistic spirit
it's me, it's you in creative fun
Hello, my blooming beauties! Every week there are more of you! Thank you for being a fan. I appreciate your support. If you enjoy my posts then maybe you’d like to see my art shop? Or buy a book? I have stickers and totes here.
I’ve been painting roses and looking at these blue flowers makes me want to paint many more flowers. Spring is coming! I have a lot of cool content.
Have a good weekend!
Siempre,
Mireya
Let me begin with how fun and motivational my paper collage wildflowers are! I’ve been creating and collecting them in a folder. I took out the folder and began reading them not knowing what to expect. My wildflower thoughts made me laugh and smile. I now have an introduction letter for the book. And just like that, my wildflowers collage book is coming together! I love when this happens. That brings me to the white vase flower arrangement I painted. Like my wildflowers, this arrangement is fun inte,resting and I painted it! How about a little poem?
Let go of all that is no good.
By the almighty, you are understood
The trees
the breeze
with every dance
they love your stance
Pick up the brush
make a mess
don’t settle for anything less
Have fun!
You’ve only just begun.
The YOUs that make you interesting
That’s the biggest bling
Never hide your face
Because you are the difference that makes this word a wonderful place!
…just a quick poem. Sometimes I realize, I’m good at poetry. Would you like to see more poetry? Let me know in the comments below. This poem and this painting will go into the book. What a beautiful start!
Oh, if you’re curious I will be creating a video of all of my wildflowers. I’ll let you know when I post it on Pinterest.
Siempre,
Mireya
Your mind is the most important, most powerful tool we have. Going for walks and seeing the beautiful flowers and everything in nature invigorates my mind with the words of a Super Bowl athlete about to embark on the game of his life.
We have everything we need to win. We can win. All we need is to have the right mindset. If we didn’t win, it’s because we didn’t have the right mindset.
By the way the quote isn’t word for word but I get the love! I worry sometimes but it’s like live in the moment! Just paint. You got this! I do! And I have one more blooming thought for a wild spirit.
Siempre,
Mireya
I was going to look for the flower shapes and doodle the details but cutting heart shapes was lovely! Thank you EttaVee! I can glue the hearts onto paper and turn them into art prints! I’m still going to do the flower shapes doodle. Tuesday I’ll get back to my roses project. Well, I did paint roses yesterday. I want to paint pink roses. I have been sketching roses. Oh, I have an idea for a wildflower thought. Yes, I’m still working on that project.
Do you have palette paper? I’ve just been using the back of mixed media paper or copy paper. Copy paper works ok. The creamy acrylic gets lost in copy paper and dries quickly. Let me know what kind of paper you use?
Siempre,
Mireya
My earliest memory is finger painting and making a mess! I’ve loved art every day of my life.
I still like to make a mess!
Here I am stamping with an eraser. It’s Corita Kent, James Victore, EttaVee, Shantell Martin…who opened my spirit to an art that has me understanding, this has always be me. I am an artist!
I’ve been going through all of my art and penciling in projects. Beginning next week I will start using these prompts to share my roses project. Is it next week?
Siempre,
Mireya
I was working on this post yesterday and accidentally hit publish before I was done. Now that I’ve cleared that up let’s get into the last thoughts of 2022.
Oh right, I’ve been sketching floral arrangements!
I went through all of my art files and read all of my book projects. It was nice to be inspired by my own work! It’s good to review your work and see how you’ve grown. Sometimes I lose sight of what I’m doing and then I read one of my books and go oh, that’s why. On the days when I can’t paint or feel like I’m an imposter, I look at old work and surprise myself with an awesome piece.
This is not all in one year but I have written 1000 posts and over 36,000 words. I want to write more stories. Writing is one of my favorite hobbies. My first story was about Ana & George. Three stories later I wrote Different Is Beautiful. This year I wrote For a Colorful Life. I recently read Live Your Love Story. It’s a fun quick inspirational read. I’m working on a new book. Do I know what I’m doing? My work makes my spirit dance. That means I’m doing something right. Oh, I started writing poetry this year!
It’s been a wonderful year! I thank all of you who reach out to me with your comments. Here’s to all that’s to come! That’s tomorrow’s post.
Siempre,
Mireya
Practice isn’t about getting good or great. Practice is about letting go. At some point, there’s this voice and you realize it’s there, always has been. I have sat and sat for hours trying to paint something. Nothing happened. On this occasion, I had one color, one damaged brush, and five minutes.
I’m putting together a creative exploration course with a paper collage. Sometimes I go into the process knowing that I’ll be creating flowers but it’s nice to just use random tools to stamp and blend colors. Then I’ll get an idea and start cutting and arranging. The idea blooms right before my eyes. That’s what happened with the letters M and L.
I like to experiment and paint. I occasionally post on Pinterest. When I do the results are awesome. At one point I had 80k monthly views. I had no plan but to share my work. It worked. I am still learning about SEO. I have ideas. Here’s to more traffic.
I know I’m the artist and I get attached to my work but I shouldn’t. I should only be that spiritual connection that comes as I create. I’m not the end result of my work. Nor am I entitled to the fruits of my labor. My best ideas come when I focus on the moment. For example, I many times have the opportunity to paint with my students. I set up the paint and brushes and wonder what will come of the dried-up dollar store palettes and beyond-bent shapeless brushes. These thoughts have nothing to do with me, my spirit. What is me is curiosity? I’m always curious about what everyone will paint? And every time before my eyes, the children mix up interesting colors, and awesome textures and they are artists. No one gives them permission. They just pick up the brush and go for it.
One of my techniques is texture. I love the surprise of trying a random tool to see what happens. These are the ideas that satisfy my curiosity.
Stamping with a candle lid is one of the best texture ideas I’ve ever had. I don’t want to say best because there are many more textures to come.
The textures that come from stamping with a paper roll are random and beautiful. Oh, this makes me think of the ceramic pitcher at Anthropologie. I’ve got to work more with this kind of texture.
Creating writing paper by stamping with ribbon? What an idea!
Stamping with a facial sponge creates a rough vintage texture. It’s fun to do this and then paint over it.
This was absolutely random. I used a semi-dry flat brush. I love it!
There are many textures that I painted for paper collage purposes.
What gives me a breeze? Painting is my breeze. Life is a breeze when I paint. I can walk among the trees, be cold in thought and suddenly the warmth of the sun makes my spirit dance. In that moment I am complete. I am free. Then there’s the times when I see the petals of a rose breezing in the sun. It’s these little details that make life a breeze, a breathe of fresh air.
This is the rhythm that reminds you that we are truly one.
Siempre,
Mireya
Who would have thought that using scrap paper could create lovely texture? Morgan did and I thank her. I have a collection of objects but paper isn’t one of them. Using paper to create texture, is as much fun as stamping with a candle lid. You stamp, mix and blend. You don’t know what will happen until the paint dries. Oh, that reminds me, I want to paint more ornament flowers.
I can’t get over the texture and color. Art and nature always help me navigate through negative thoughts. Art satisfies my curiosity. To paint this flower I applied color. I did a few sprays with a water bottle. I added more color. I flickered drops of blue and green. I used the piece of paper to stamp over the wet paint. And I painted on thin mixed-media paper. The more I experiment the better my art gets.
Siempre,
Mireya
an art journal of an expressionistic spirit 