Here’s what I’ve been doing:
- painting every day almost all day whether I feel like it or not
- forcing myself to use a new medium – acrylics
- painting realistically painting abstractly painting loosely
- watching painting videos
- surfing the net to get inspired
- just painting some more
- working on painting horses for a gallery (several paintovers and counting…)
- painting over everything i don’t like, stacks and stacks
- going out to my patio studio and working on a huge (30 x 40) abstract for my cousin
- figuring out how to keep acrylics wet without a stay-wet palette ( i hate those)* keep them in an enclosed container, like a flat cookie sheet with lid, and mist the paints of course, but spray a generous amount of water into the lid before closing. amazing, paints staying nicely moist for days and days with no skinning. no mucky moldy soppy mess like with wet palettes)
- discovering that glazing is awesome with acrylics – like every 5-10 minutes you can add a new glazing! I’m glazing crazed at moment.
- going back to limited palettes….just love them, they calm me down and stretch my SEEing. i am using two colors and white and black.
- my default is painting faces…so i’m practicing getting my chops back with a series of Colorful Characters. (posting soon!)
- meditation and prayer time! oh yeah, morning quiet time, still time, being alone more these days. (don’t worry, i still have wonderful friends I connect with)
AND, this was a BIG ONE . . .
I wrote down this morning in my sketchbook all the things i LOVE about painting, the real ME stuff, my authentic creative SOUL stuff. (This is why “style” is so individual, my list will never be all that another artist’s list is…so if you are feeling stuck, make a list of what you LOVE about painting)
Blessings and Paint On!
Joanie
