Day 6. I have been doing some art journaling lately, experimenting with a lot of background techniques, which is fun. It’s an adventure since you don’t know how it will turn out. Art is very forgiving so usually everything turns out okay in the end.
In the two pictures below, I wet my heavy duty journal paper thoroughly with water. Then I used very diluted acrylic paints and dripped them on the water-logged paper. The paints spread in a nice, sometimes subtle way. You can use any craft paints or finer art paints as long as they can be diluted with water. Watercolor paints would work well if you want a more soft and subtle background.
Star angel
This is another version on my freebie art tutorial Star Angel. You can get that video tutorial HERE.
Splatter background detail
In the picture above, you can really see the background variations. Lots of fun. 🙂
Leather effect with tissue paper.
The one above is a faux crinkled leather background. I used medium spread liberally across the paper, and then I glued tissue paper over it. It’s important to crinkle the tissue paper into a ball in your hand, and then spread out the wrinkled paper on the medium. Let dry thoroughly, and paint whatever colors you like. I used some raw umber on my fingertip to brush over the ridges as a last coat to make the creasing more dramatic.
Art journal page with glued paper background.
Fantasy flowers painted on top of decorative paper, which was glued down in my journal.
art journal page
Just for fun! Grow wild and free. Hell yeah!!!
What are you working on today?
Please share in the comments.
…because Life happens NOW!
xo
Maria
PS. If you’re interested in a fun self-study art journaling ecourse, please check out my e-course site HERE.
The muse never was very trustworthy in my opinion. None of them. No wonder they are mythical (as if we can trust anything the ancients dreamed up, archetypes or not.) Some might argue they exist on another plane of energy, but for the most part they are not for hire.
In the past I paid homage to the Literary Muse, and she would strike inconsistently and then crack the whip until you stayed up all night to write and your fingers bled. Then she would be suspiciously absent for loooong periods of time. But no matter what, I wrote.
Nowadays if she shows up I give her a token eye roll and say I AM not for hire any longer, so there. Go find another victim.
However, sometimes I think I have to pay homage to my art muse who is more often than not totally absent, day or night.
the bored uppity muse b*itch
I also have to pay a price for her to show up.
*I have to dance naked at midnight in my backyard first Sunday of the month and sing off-tune songs until my neighbor calls the police.
* I have to offer up my first child as a sacrifice. It’s lucky I don’t have any kids, but then again, my muse gives me the cold shoulder because of this.
*I have to eat raw kale for breakfast every morning (not a problem since I often put that in my green smoothie, na-na-na-nana.
*I have to spend $$$$$$$ on all the latest art tools and pay homage to all of the art teachers out there who offer torturous lengthy courses that make you feel like crap if you don’t finish all the assignments. And you never do.
*The muse always reminds me that I’m never “deep” enough in my art. In fact, I skim the surface of drek and I’m too happy about it. 🙂
So, what do you do when the muse is absent? Tell her to never show up because you don’t need her sorry ass.
You go in to your studio every day even if your body sends out the “fight or flight” signal.
You wrangle that art journal that can never lie quite flat and slam your fist into the page just to show who is the boss.
The unseen barrier of resistance that the evil studio fairies wove while you slept last night is thick over the empty pages. Is that a spiderweb over there in the corner? And who glued the pages together?
Ah yes, I did.
You look over the paints and with a sigh you decide, “what the heck, I might as well slap on some purple and green paint down and go from there.”
Every brush stroke is a pain. The paint decides to spurt out in a great big glob or even leak from the bottom. So you smear that sh*t all over the page. Now that page looks like a Rothko painting… Maybe you could sell it as such on eBay, you think for $$$$. Con-woman thoughts aside, why did Rothko always paint the same thing??
His muse must have been nuts or she avoided him altogether with the excuse that she doesn’t do horizontal lines.
Anyway, you sit with your Rothko art journal page and decide it’s not interesting enough so you start doodling in pink neon color or slap some brightly colored washi tape down. Much better already. Things are still similar to slogging through mud, but you persist.
And then suddenly you see a face in the mess on the paper, and find joy in adding some features.
fickle muse
After that some more doodling commences and all is well. In the end, you created a piece of art and all is good. All in the face of the muse who tried to actually distract you with everything else except art. (Yes, I totally blame the muse.)
Art without the muse becomes an exploration to see what you’re made of. Either you give in to the resistance and go clean the kitchen, or you slog through the barrier and find what is on the other side.
It’s the only way to approach art and get something done. (For me anyway.) Otherwise, I suspect the kitchen would be spotless and the studio full of dust.
Do you have balls enough to push through?
Only by doing will you find out. Make it a habit and give the muse the boot if she dares to show up (late.) You don’t need her because you already had the commitment down.
No muse here.
You don’t need the muse because you have your own voice and inner wisdom. That is enough!
Lots of daring and determination to ya!
xo
Maria
P.S. if you want to spend some hard earned cash on art, please visit my etsy shop HERE.
Hell yea, do what you enjoy first. I have lived by that motto for good and bad during my life, but I KNOW that it is the right way to live.
Most people are not able to let go of the fear, which is dug deep into our psyche to prevent any “black sheep” activity. Be a good robot and waste your precious life on stuff that you hate. Does that make sense?
good robot
No.
I realize the bills have to be paid and the dust bunnies have to be swept up and killed, but will the world end if you do that later? No.
We set up our own prisons and stay inside them even though the door is open and the key got lost a long time ago. (Probably hanging out with the dust bunnies.)
The only way I can explore the journey of my art is to practice it daily, and do it while I still have some energy. The boring stuff I can do with one eye closed, or hire someone else to do it.
To work against the programming that has been imprinted since birth, we have to take steps, even if they are mini steps, and no matter how old you are, to change and find something more soul nourishing. Excuses begone! (By the way, there is an excellent audio book by that title by Wayne Dyer.)
Give yourself PERMISSION to start doing what you’re passionate about. Take a long hard look at life and see where the hang ups stop you in your tracks. Are you willing to part with your hang-ups and quirks and phobias? You can, you know. It’s a choice.
Yes, that’s right. It’s a frigging choice. You are not really ruled by your inner hang-ups, but it might seem that way because that’s how we are used to living life. No wonder the whole society is neurotic.
You can choose right now to change your life, one baby step at a time. You will gain confidence, experience, new ways of seeing things, inspiration to move forward even if the road seems dim at times.
If we all did this we would live in a happier place and inspire others to be happy, and before you know it, more and more people would be infected by the happy bug.
Let’s be explorers of our own capabilities and see where they might lead. Never a boring moment for sure. Happy new year, all year long.
So whatever argument you have to what I stated above is an EXCUSE.
Let’s be happy!
I did some art in the last couple of days and had lots of fun, art journaling mostly.
listen
Free to fly.
On that note, have a fabulous week, doing what you love FIRST.
I have some items on sale in my etsy shop. I made three handmade journals that are ready to be embellished. CLICK HERE.
First snow is not really relevant since we’re coming up on Memorial Day weekend, but First Snow is what happened when I created this grunge art journal spread. I made a video of it that you can watch. I added so many layers that it got really interesting, (almost a page ready to be cut up for some other project.) But I think I saved it. Judge for yourself.
I already posted back in the fall of ’15 about painting ugly. Here are some more thoughts about that.
If you’re like me, art holds certain standards for us. We try so many methods and techniques; we compare ourselves to others. Some styles we like some we don’t. It’s hard to know which style suits you the best.
Have you ever tried just being yourself as you approach art? Forget about the rules and be free, like kids fearlessly showing up at the empty page. Paint outside the box! To reach the true core of who we are involves a lot of unlearning or ignoring what we know. Unlearning is deeply satisfying, yet it can be hard to let go and allow the art to be what it wants to be.
Like you I make a decent painting and art journal spreads, and I’m proud and happy about the results. When it comes to spontaneity however, it can be very frustrating since we’re always striving for results.
My aim for this FREE micro workshop is to give you space to be yourself, to wait and see what will come onto the page without you pushing anything.
What I get from this kind of art is a sense of Self. I can actually recognize my own energy in the art. It has a very intimate feel to it, and I find it addictive to paint in this way. I also receive sudden insights and messages about the state I’m in at the time of painting. This particular spread in the video turned out happy, and it’s a state I’m in a lot, but others that I’ve done are dark and dreary. The tendency is to rip out those kinds of pages, but to honor myself, I also have to honor my darker, more destructive side. Usually, I don’t like showing those pages to people. They are basic and pretty ugly. It’s like trying anything new and unknown, you just have to immerse yourself in it to find out the truth about it.
in the shadows “Uglee”
I invite you to explore.
I invite you to leave all your knowledge at the door and explore you inner self.
I invite you to paint “ugly,” unfettered like a child.
I invite you to meet your inner self without fear.
I invite you to sit through the discomfort.
I invite you to break through to the “fire.”
Are you willing to take this trip with me?
All you need is an art journal page, or a watercolor sheet, or even a canvas. Whatever you have on hand, and you need some paint, brushes, and markers. That is all. You can even use colored pencils, pencils, ballpoint pens, and oil pastels. There are no rules.
If you want to share your work, please join my Facebook group. HERE.
I need to point out that your art will be completely different from mine! The video will show the process I go through and you’ll get an idea how to go about it. And then you can make your own art spread. YES!
Creativity on fire, do you feel it, or do you feel stuck most of the time?
Creativity has become a big deal these days. The word is thrown around all over Facebook and other social media. What is creativity? I like how Wiki defines creativity:
Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention a literary work or a painting).
In other words, it’s not just artsy stuff. I’m into artsy stuff and self development. Creative ideas can be very helpful in both.
The problem with art is that we tend to copy each other, or paint in the style that is popular now. The artists we admire have forged their own path of creativity and that’s why they are leaders.
Forging your own path can be quite difficult and challenging, especially if you’re prone to criticize yourself and your work. It is always easier to copy others.
However, all the art looks the same, and part of us approve that we follow the trend, but another part says “wait a minute” that painting is not ME.
The only way to keep creativity on fire is to explore your inner landscape, to discover more and more of who you are and how you express. That means to listen to your intuition and step lightly and slowly in a world that runs at warp speed. Are you willing to truly go deep an explore or are you just having fun copying others or the teacher of the moment?
Every moment that feels authentic has another moment following, and to keep authentic we have to listen for that moment and what it presents. It might not present anything, and then we get frustrated.
I do this all the time. I override my better deeper judgment and paint something I already know, usually something cute. As you know, cute is IN, so you can’t go wrong with cute and whimsical.
However, the practice makes me frustrated and I get stopped in my tracks. That’s no way to feel around creativity. I want to feel fresh and inspired, “on fire.”
Maybe the hardest thing is to stay present and listening, and not bulling through to the finished product.
I have a FREE mini ecourse where art-ing in the moment can be explored. Check this out: Ugly Is Ok!
In the shadow
Join my Facebook group and share your work if you like. HERE.
Cheerio, and happy creating. Find the fire within!
xo
Maria
Artist and writer
FREE art e-course!
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