There’s yesterday’s quote. There’s the words from the Aaliyah movie. There’s the verse I read this morning. And I’ve been learning lessons as I work on my roses project. All that matters is what you think of yourself. When I say you I mean your spirit. That’s the light that’s always shining. In the words of Tabitha Brown, believe in yourself because that’s your business.
Ok so today I didn’t paint roses but I worked on color. I need to work on art for the shop. Do you have a print on demand shop? Etsy? Society 6? Redbubble? How’s it working for you? Comment below.
My three colors are red, white, and green. I added a little turquoise for the leaves. I had nowhere to go and nothing to do. Made pink my hero and it was beautiful! I guess taking the pressure off of painting something grand helps.
I began painting and this voice was like,” take it easy.” You were all upset this morning. Loosen up those strokes. Paint. Paint I did! Painting helps me in so many ways. Wait, till you see the flowers I painted for the shop.
observe nature (I’d love to go for a walk but I’ve got bread in the oven. Pinterest it is.)
practice warm and cool tones in my art journal
I planned on painting a beautiful butterfly. That didn’t happen. The color palette was good! But, I was too busy thinking of what my butterfly should look like. Let this collage butterfly remind me to paint in the moment. Yes, keep learning color but paint in the moment. Let each stroke represent your emotions.
Yes, it works! What are your thoughts? Comment below.
Today’s bloganuary question is how do you show love? I think this is my favorite question! I show love with words and paint. Painting helps me relax. Painting helps me express how nature makes me feel. I want to paint all day! My annual physical included a wellness checkup. Am I happy? Do I have hobbies? I am happy! That’s when I realized my nature walks and painting projects give me mindfulness and help me be a better person. Because of my art, I’m patient, optimistic, kind, and loving. I know what you’re thinking, hold on. Art also helps me reflect on the times I’m impatient and egotistical. I’m a loving spirit who happens to be living a human experience. Painting is my freedom of expression. Right now my roses project is helping me learn how to use color and texture to express how nature makes me feel.
So today I’m sharing the above sketch. The rose is below the words there’s room. I sketched this lovely message in the last five minutes of my lunch break. The petals resemble a big smile. Sure I took out my crayons and colored a few sketches. I drew two flower vase arrangements but I didn’t feel like sharing them. Tomorrow I’ll paint blue roses.
Thank you for reading and subscribing because I love that I can share what I do with you.
I found this incredible quote. It’s part of my momentum right now.
What every artist must learn is that even the failed pieces are essential.
Rob Bell
I mixed up blues and pinks. Did this yesterday. The strokes went from hard to soft. The petal shapes were looking good. My pinks were bright but when I layered over the warm blue…I almost gave up. Instead I took a break and painted these. Good idea!
During the creative process, there will be ugly or doubtful work. The beauty of acrylic is you can layer. You can try to make it work. Many times it will. I think I made these magenta roses work. Other times it’s just good practice. Now I know I need a detailed acrylic brush. Wait, I think I can use all these lessons I’ve learned to paint full-page roses arrangements. Sounds like an expressive abstract roses book of friendship for the spirit. I like it!
Today I thought I’d get out my sketching tools and draw roses. If I’m going to paint beautiful roses, I should learn how to draw them first. Right? The pink rose I drew with closed eyes surprised me the most. I marked my favorite sketches with a blue dot. Soft pink petals with dark green leaves? Color tips were on my mind. It was fun to sketch with crayons but a voice reminded me that it’s time to paint. It’s time to paint roses, in a vase, arrangement, and with a background. I will in a week or two. I am enjoying this creative exploration phase.
Today’s #bloganuary question is who is my favorite author? All of them. Can I include myself? Sure. Every book I’ve read has taken me to places I’ve never been. Feck Perfuction is a good read! I mention Learning By Heart all the time. I appreciate Phillipa Gregory’s books. It’s empowering to read how a princess or queen thinks like a king.
How about applying the color tips I read about yesterday? Yes! I referenced a few photos of, you guessed it, my favorite expressive abstract floral artist, Carrie Schmitt. Instead of painting today, I will observe the tips I’ve learned.
You can download your copy at the link above. Or, I’ll share the tips with you.
Color Tips
Group your colors
How about a field of pink flowers surrounded by a turquoise background? Turquoise will make my vibrant pinks stand out.
Enhance color by adding it’s opposite
Use a dark saturated color surrounded by an unsaturated very light and slightly warm tone. How about Magenta flowers with pistachio leaves.
Make one color the hero
Use one color and make it pop! How about one orange fish surrounded by blue ocean waves? Orange roses with mint green leaves. Ooh, I like it! What color would the background be?
Use color to move the eye
Have a beautiful red rose somewhere on the page. Then add a few small red flowers here and there to bring the work together.
These are simply my notes from Nicolas Wilton’s Free PDF. I’m so glad I found it. Oh, I almost forgot the tip I’ve used. Choose a main color. Mix a little of that color with the rest of your colors to create unity. I have been looking for the missing puzzle piece. I may have found it! Tomorrow, I’ll sketch and build a color palette. I’ll be painting for my shop. Well, see how it goes. I haven’t forgotten about the turquoise roses.
What is my happiest moment? Well, it certainly isn’t the meatloaf I cooked for dinner. Ha. My happiest moment is when I can see the idea form before my eyes. When I’m painting I can visualize the bigger picture. I see how all the details work together. I don’t care about the outcome because I’m busy loving the moment.
I admire the artists who can have a beautiful photo on an iPad right next to their paper. And they paint as they see all the details. It’s the focus of being in that moment. Art takes time. It takes time to build flow. There’s this artist who paints a realistic pear. It takes her three hours. I can paint for three hours. I have. And painting these roses confirms that I’m better at painting how I feel. I can look at a flower on my walk. Then come home and paint. Every artist has their technique. That’s the beauty of art. There’s room for all! Time to listen to a podcast and observe flowers.
I was going to map out the activities for my roses project. Roses plan has been on my to-do list for days. Then I realized, ideas come as I’m researching and painting roses. They have been. I believe in my work. It’s going to be good!
What I did first was layer on soft strokes of pink watercolor. I did it in a circular motion. Next, I added red to the pink paint and painted red strokes for the petals. For watercolor, you paint light to dark. For acrylic paint, it’s dark to light. I used my finger to define the petal shapes. Yes, I believe this may be my style! The center of this beautiful rose is a mess. I’m working on that. I’m working on myself. Paint a rose every night. Studio work on the weekends? As I paint the rose, relax, and put fear in the back seat. Paint soft easy strokes. Let go. See and smell the rose as I blend. You can see the texture of the paper. That’s where I was thinking too much, trying hard. Just paint roses right? Maybe I’ll use dots to create the center?
My roses project is a book of friendship and love for the spirit. I’m off to a good start.
Oh, by the way, today’s #bloganuary is about a memorable smell? I don’t have a memorable smell. It’s been raining for days. Since I’m writing about flowers, I long for the smell of grass, roses, wildflowers, soil…the smell of spring.
an art journal of an expressionistic spirit 