30 days of Mandalas births........'The Mandala Orb'

April 2016 I set myself the project of creating 30 mandalas as a way of making sure I made art everyday.

Not only did it get the creative juices flowing but it also developed as I combined my love of colour with hand drawn mandalas and so the mandala orb was born.

I absolutely love creating these gorgeous little gems. Colour plays a big part in my life and artwork so to be able to find a way of incorporating it into my detailed drawings has been really fun!

My next project is to paint BIG mandala orbs! .....I can't wait to get started!!!

Traveling through a painting

Here's a quick look at my latest painting. I've only just started it and after a couple of layers some really interesting things are happening. Already there are gorgeous patterns, marks and real depth thats appearing.

Sometimes I love to get up close and personal to a painting to really see the textures and each little part on its own, all the parts that sometimes get lost when you look at a painting as a whole.

I also do this in art galleries, I like to get as close to a painting as possible (without touching it) to really admire each brush stroke or mark in its own glory. All these small elements are little gems that really add the beautiful depth, detail and soul to the whole painting!

I can't wait to see where this one goes!
Zoe :)

Watch me painting....

I love to paint abstract pieces, this one from last year show my process of building up layers. I love to see a painting appearing as if by magic on the page!

Its scary to start

Love this video from Andrea at the Creative Dream Incubator. The honesty of actually how scary it is to put yourself out there and it not working.

It is really hard to get started as an artist or a creative but you need to start, and do it one step at a time to make it work in the long run. This beginning period needs to be seen as a learning curve. There is no right and wrong here so try not to let your inner critic judge what you are doing and where you are going. It is a scary time but if you see each step as a lesson then you will start to learn how to do this and carve your own path.

Gorgeous greens as winter creeps in #5daysoflayers

I really enjoyed this week's project.  I still find it so strange that sometimes the commitment to creating another layer can be too much, like I don't want to move forward into this next phase, the next evolution  of the painting. My resistance always shows up at some point, questioning what I'm doing and if it's right to push forward. I find so many analogies to life in this process. I think that's part of why it's so addictive!  Anyway here are the layers for this week!

Layer 1= inky splodges

Layer 2 = doodles and details

Layer 3 = acrylic finger painting

Layer 4 = white gesso brayer

Layer 5 = oil pastel drawn highlights

Experimenting with expressive colour

I love to paint

One of my favourite things it just just let loose and spread loads of acrylic paint all over the page.

I get my hands dirty by using my fingers to spread the paint which really helps me connect and get a really fluid finish.

Even adding some white gesso can help lighten things up and I sometimes create a quick texture at the end by using the wrong end of a paintbrush to draw lines in the wet paint.....why not have a go?! :)

Zoe xx

 

New Project #5daysoflayers

So after a break from painting this summer (Ive been busy on my jewellery stall!) I have felt the pull back to painting and what better way to start than with a new project!

5 days of layers is really a quick daily exercise. By doing 10 minutes of painting each day it's a great daily practice to help get my creative muscles moving!  Each day I work on the same page spread in my journal just adding more depth and detail each day.

This is also a great practice for being brave and taking risks. Covering up bits that you like and seeing what unravels in return. It's also great to experiment   with colour combinations and pushing myself out of my comfort zone.

What not give it a try yourself?  After all, it's just a page of your journal so if you don't like the outcome, it doesn't matter. And I promise you will learn lots along the way!

Happy painting!
Zoe xx