Tag Archives: art

art, mixed media, painting, process

What Jane wanted.

What Jane (Austen) wanted might be a strange title, but that is what came to me as I pondered the finished art.  Who knows what yearnings she had, but she would not have showed up without a bonnet or a DRESS anywhere.  Those were the polite rules of the day.  Her hair would not have been as messy either, but in my heat of creative passion I took some artistic license.

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What Jane wanted.

I can tell you the process this art went through. I started out with a layer of various colorful papers all across the canvas.  I usually tear those and just put them down randomly with medium, making sure the edges are well glued down.  Then a painted a couple of layers, did some spatters and runny paint patterns.

I added the birds, and they are cut from paper that I painted turquoise and glued down on some black paper. The yellow legs are also glued down paper that I painted.

I added some more paper for texture and painted the face with charcoal and acrylic paints.

To be honest there was another portrait under all of this that I ended up hating so I painted over it with white paint–another layer.  I saved the areas that I liked, and embellished others.

This is usually how my art evolves but sometimes I paint straight without mixed media.  I still use many layers of paint to get the effect that I like. Layers will create the depth that I prefer.

This art is now for sale in my etsy shop HERE. Lots of other goodies there as well.

If you would like to check out some of my fun ecourses, go to this link HERE. 

I always like to try new things when it comes to art. I wish you a creative week. Time flies, so we might as well do something fun…

Happy creation,

Maria xo

art, creativity, inspirational, motivational, passion, process

Are you a quitter?

I’m not a quitter.

I could have begun something fabulous a long time ago, but I had zero belief that I could succeed.  My passion is art and I have created art since I was a kid (on and off.)  I always wanted to be an artist, but parents and society said, “artists starve.” That is a false statement but a common one.

You might not make much money on the art to begin with, and ingenuity is very important. When I haven’t made money on my art, I have found other ways to supplement my income without compromising my time to make art.

Sometimes the art making is hard. I feel all kinds of resistance, but I’ll tell you how I overcame that. I made the DECISION to create art, no matter what. Come hell or high water…

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your passion

Not quitting now.  It has become such a great part of my life that it would be inconceivable to quit.

I wish I had committed to it a long time ago by changing my belief system, but the hold of consensus beliefs can be very strong. Also, I didn’t have any tools to help me out like EFT, (tapping.) I have found tapping to be a great way to release old belief systems.

We are all mired in beliefs. What is your passion? Are you doing anything to manifest it? Taking steps every day is something that builds into a big accomplishment as long as we hold the course.

I love what I do so it’s not hard to commit to it. However, the art making in itself can be frustrating and confronting at times.  Instead of quitting, I stick with it through the uncomfortable feelings.  More often than not, something happens to take me beyond the frustration, and it’s almost a magical feeling when everything comes together.

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my passion

With any creative process that calls out to you, do this:

*Commit (make the decision) to take your passion seriously.

*Work on it every day even if it’s only baby steps.

* Don’t listen to naysayers, especially the one between your ears.

*When the going gets tough, stick to your passion like a burr.

*When no money is coming in from your passion, do it for the love of it.

*What you create is a gift to the world, so don’t waste any more time!

Easy enough points to follow and if you feel resistance from fear or you’re stuck in everyday rat racing, make a decision today to give your passion some feet. Eventually, you will grow some wings and fly!

I would love to hear what your passion is.

passion5xo

Maria

P.S. I’m selling my original art on etsy.  If you’re looking for a gift of art, check out my shop today. HERE. 🙂

art, art journaling, creativity, ecourse, free, intuitive, painting, process, tutorial, video

Ugly is ok! micro workshop

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.

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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!

Access the FREE micro workshop Ugly is Ok! HERE.

I also did an Ugly is Ok! 2 a month later.  To view, click HERE.

Now go and paint something ugly! 🙂

xo

Maria

art, creativity, ecourse, fear, intuitive, painting

Done or not done?

Done or not done, well, that’s the question that has been going through my mind for two days…

Hello there dear reader,
I’d like to share the intuitive painting I finished recently, or is it finished?

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“Dreaming” by Maria Greene 20×20″

Sometimes I struggle for days, but the best way to gauge whether it’s finished or not is to let it sit somewhere and stew. I force myself not to look at it until some time has passed.  By then I can usually see something that bugs me or not…

I have actually done some work on old paintings when I see a flaw I never noticed before. I could call that growth or maybe a keener eye. Not sure, and there is no need to label it. I have a finished painting that I will work on some more shortly. I worry that I will mess it up more, but something has to be done.  The good thing about acrylics you can always paint over them!

Have you tried intuitive painting? You just lay down some colors to cover the canvas and do this in many layers until you can see some rhythm or reason in the paint. Sometimes I see figures and I fill out the outline and refine from there.

It takes courage to paint without plans, but sometimes the raw art is the most powerful. Try it and you might get hooked.  I doubt that I will ever go back to traditional painting.

Speaking of intuition, I am very fond of combining art and intuition. I help people release fears and blocks around creating. I have a one-on-one coaching offer going right now, and various art tutorials /e-courses. I take a lot of art e-courses myself because they inspire me. I’m always looking to stretch my creative muscles.

If you’re interested in knowing more about my offers, check the menu  bar at the top of the website (under the header) and you can click on the links.

What are you working on this week? Spring is here and the trees are bursting with flowers. It’s wonderful.

xo

Maria

P.S. This painting is available in my etsy shop now.

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“Meditation” by Maria Greene 8×8″
art, fear, inspirational, motivational, resistance, writing

Resistance sucks donkey balls!

Hello gorgeous,

Resistance sucks donkey balls! (I got that expression from a friend in NZ haha.)

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Resistance sucks donkey balls

Have you noticed how you don’t feel any resistance when you go out partying or watching TV shows? But as soon as you decide to do something that you really WANT to do, something worthwhile, resistance sets in. You might be one of the lucky few who sails through without a blemish, but then you’re probably a saint.

I’m an artist and I suffer from resistance every day. When I was a full-time writer I suffered from resistance too, but I had an ironclad discipline that pulled me through. With art however, you usually don’t have a chapter outline to follow, and a word processing program that  keeps you within the parameters of the page. Writing itself can be a resistance, BUT if you show up at the computer and start with one sentence, things might start flowing.  No promise though, and that’s where discipline comes in.

It is sort of a military word, isn’t it?  It worked wonders in my writing career.

Discipline and art don’t get along well.  The only discipline I can tie myself to is to move my body and sit down at my art table or stand by the easel.  After that, the wild donkey comes along and everything flows or the blank page syndrome sets in with a vengeance. That opens the door to the inner Critic (who sounds like someone I knew.)   He says: get depressed now and go find something in the fridge, or better yet, the freezer….

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Mr. Critic on a rant

My Mr. Critic is very sneaky, comes in on soft-soled shoes and doesn’t exactly critique my art, but fans the flames of frustration until I feel disgusted with the project. I never hear the words “you are no good” or “your art sucks,” no, we are way beyond that point. My Critic knows that if he says that, I’ll laugh in his face because I trust my art. So, subtler methods are often used to get me to fold.

But, I have learned to push on. That’s the only thing you can do. Don’t give up, don’t get up and go to the freezer, and don’t pay any attention to the feelings of frustration or doubt trying to railroad you. Welcome them! By Mr. Critic showing up in such stealthy fashion and throwing a curve ball only means you’re really onto something good.  When you’ve got it going and the passion is burning, Mr. Critic will sneak in with curve balls or frustration tantrums. It is a test of sorts, a test to see if you’re ready for the next level of awesomeness.

When things turn to sh*t you might be on the threshold to something truly great. It could be a new level of expertise or a new way of unexpected expression.  Go with it, and kick Mr. Critic to the curb!

If you want to grow, face the Critic and move on.  Never stop creating, whatever your passion. Nothing can stop you then. There is only one simple remedy.

Show up every day…. Stay with it until it moves forward.

xo

Maria

P.S. There is still time to join my current art e-course, Art Journaling Journey.  You can read more about it HERE.

art, art journaling, creativity, ecourse, transformation, tutorial

It’s not too late to join.

Hello lovely reader,

It’s not too late to join my current mixed media / art journaling ecourse titled Art Journaling Journey. We are coming up on week three, but the course will be perennial so you can work at your own pace. I would love to see you there!

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Art journaling is a true of journey of exploration outside and inside. It never gets old, but it can get weird sometimes, but life is weird sometimes too. Here are a couple of recent art journal spreads.

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Here’s to having a fabulous creative week! Click on the link to check out the ecourse, ART JOURNALING JOURNEY.

I wish you a fabulous creative week!

xoxo

Maria