Shaking Off a Demon

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This painting had a life of its own.

And I knew right away this would be my entry to this week’s Paint Party Friday.

Without any type of plan I ended up with 5 stacks of circles. And there is sat, waiting. Up to this point it happened as I turned off my mind and just got paint on the canvas. No worries, no plan, just freedom to paint.

Then it sat- frozen. I decided not to fight it and just let it sit on the easel for days. I thought about adding a bit here and there but it never felt right. And then a few more days. Finally, I decided it was either going to be finished or it was going to move to the stack of works in progress.

I stared, I glared, I almost gave up. Then it hit me- try drawing some loose figures in it. What could it hurt? My trepidation about drawing people, since “I can’t draw people” has been a frequent phrase in my head in recent years, almost stopped me. I was using a water soluble pencil so I could wash it off if it was horrible so nothing to lose and it turned out lots to gain.

I started sheepishly in one corner and then it just took over- that same freedom I feel when I have paint or ink in my hand reappeared. As I drew the figures the story the painting had locked inside it revealed itself to me.

While traveling I have been blessed to see some amazing sites. One thing that seems to take my breath away is the scale of places such as Karnak in Egypt, Stonehenge, the Parthenon…These people are dwarfed by the stacked circles just like I feel when looking at the treasures of the past.

As I finished this piece I realized at long last I’d shaken off a demon- the demon of “I can’t draw people”. What a rush!

Linking up with Show and Tell Saturday.

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A Trifecta of Indecision

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First I had artist’s block. So I decided I would do a challenge to overcome the block. Then I couldn’t decide which challenge. Then I had writer’s block while putting this post together. A trifecta of indecision!

While enjoying the art at Marjie Kemper’s blog I found out she was the guest artist at The Art Journal Cafe! It had a 30 minute art journal page challenge. A challenge would get me out of my indecision and creating. Then I found the challenge over at Anything But a Card which was for anything but a card. It’s their first one and I love supporting new challenges. I couldn’t decide which one to so I hope no one minds if I combined 2 into 1. If I hadn’t, I think I would have spent an entire week trying to make a decision as to which one to do…

Here’s the fast forward video of my 30 minute journal page- I had 9 seconds left at the end but the pesky video camera died in the last minute. ..

I must confess the adrenaline rush from trying to get it done in 30 minutes (which went a lot faster than I anticipated) was the just the jolt I needed. After I was finished, I realized there were some other things I would have done if I didn’t have a time limit so I decided, yes I decided, to keep playing. Below are some of the journal pages I’ve stared using spray ink and Julie Balzer’s Chevron Arrow stencil. I’m off to add more to these journal pages…

Linking up with Art Journal Every Day, Creative Every Day and Inspire Me Monday.

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Paint Lids Sparked This Canvas

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Pure precision work-that’s what is NOT on this canvas. There are no scientific formulas here. But there is fun. I had my spark of inspiration which took me out of my head and into my art- Dina Wakley’s new paint lids stencil and a canvas. The circle theme made me happy so I grabbed old poker chips and jumped right in…

Do you have a moment to play? Stop on by Dina Wakley’s Out of the Journal Challenge, Paint Party Friday, and Creative Every Day.

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Shaking Off a Demon

A Trifecta of Indecision

Paint Lids Sparked This Canvas