INTUITIVE PAINTING AND MIXED MEDIA ADVENTURES. Come and join the fun!
Today I've been experimenting with a new direction for my work. The main influence for my work is nature and I've recently had the urge to paint an owl. I love the beautiful big eyes and somehow delicate frame of the barn owl so here is my interpretation of this amazing creature!
I really love this process of painting which I seem to have developed for myself over the last few weeks.
Watch theentire painting process here; https://youtu.be/wte9uQcPo5s
I start with an expressive painted layer using acrylics with a brayer roller and smudging with my fingers. I then add in patterns using stencils.
Sometimes it's hard to take the next step with a painting. To be bold and throw yourself in headfirst with the next layer, moving the painting forward into unknown territory. But this is the learning curve. This is where the real magic happens, the surprises, the new direction. This is what helps build the story of the painting and create something special.
I love creating patterned pages to use as collage papers. I tear then up and use the pieces as added colour/texture/detail in the backgrounds of my paintings. A great way to start adding layers to create something totally unique to you! Love the process, that's where the magic happens!
As part of following my creative intuition I have found I am always drawn to expressive painting. I just love the freedom and spontaneity of it. Today's #dailycreate is more in the realms of painting than pattern making but they all seem to link together for me and flow into one. Here are today's pages;
I don't know why I love blue so much but I do.maybe it's because I live by the sea?! That might explain the urge I had to create a large blue arc, I suppose it's quite representative of a wave.
I love the combination of creating bold solid colour with acrylic paint and then adding water to areas which loosens up the paint creating more of a transparent wash. Adding gravity to the mix creates these gorgeous striking streaky watery drips that cut their way across the piece. Blue bold and beautiful!
So I have recently been feeling like my brain is getting in the way of my intuitive art making which is causing everything to feel like an uphill struggle.
In an attempt to face my fears head on and defeat this create hurdle I seem to be painting my way through it. Somewhere in my subconscious today I was drawn to painting mountains. Perhaps the lesson here is to visualise myself at the top, giving myself the pure freedom and liberation that I seek. Up until now I feel as though I have been stuck at the bottom staring upward without a rope in sight to help!
Time to breath deep and let the inner critic go.
Techniques used for this layer were my good friend the brayer with acrylic paint which has really helped to highlight the gorgeous array of textures created by previous layers. I also used a good old paint brush to apply some silver acrylic to the mountain tops. Nice to add abit of shimmer to brighten things up!
Creating deep textures by scratching into the fresh paint on the surface. Blending colours in interesting ways and creating gorgeous mark making.
I am so pleased with this layer. The textures coming through are gorgeous.
This is the magic and beauty of brayering, not only does it cover a large area in paint very quickly but it also gives an uneven finish and allows previous colours and textures to peak through.
The colours blend in beautiful ways which are related more to print making as opposed to the flow of colour created by using a paint brush.
Brayering is fast becoming one of my favourite techniques of applying colour, I love it!
So not really sure where to go after going deep and dark with lots of splurges of black....maybe the complete opposite. Why not counteract it with white, and lots of it, adding pattern and texture along the way? Time to get the stencils out!!!
Today's layer has been the most challenging yet. I already feel like I have been on a roller coaster of a journey just to get to this point and it's only January 13th!
Already my painting has become something beautiful that I could not have imagined before I started and I have been contemplating stopping and calling this piece finished......but that's not the aim of the game here. I remind myself that it's not about the end product, about making it look pretty. It's about the journey, about pushing myself out of my comfort zone and expanding my boundaries. This is a journey of discovery in which I need to press on to go deep and unearth more hidden treasures.
So after lots of photos of my painting I take a deep breath, grab a tube of paint and think bold. The only way to get past this hurdle is to be brave and do something transformative, something that will completely change the painting as a whole and set me in a whole new direction.....it's quite an exciting thought! Let's go!
