Kekai's Rainbow Fish: Painting #3 & Pua's Little Birds: Painting #4

Kekai's Rainbow Fish 12"x18"

This little painting was a 3rd birthday present for my great grandson, Kekai. His name in Hawaiian means the sea, so I thought I'd paint something oceany.

Having 2 great grandchildren means when I do something for one it's usually good to do it for the other. Why? Well, I still remember when my sister and I were in school in California. It was the beginning of the school year, I was entering the second grade and Michele, my sister, was going into third. My grandma bought Michele a special present because she was now a third grader. I didn't get anything. I asked my grandma and she explained that when I was in third grade I would get a present, too. Okay, great, but then at the end of the school year we moved to Hawaii. I never got my special third grade present, a tube of Ipana toothpaste and a new toothbrush. Yes, I am that old. Is there anybody who even remembers Ipana toothpaste besides Norman my husband. How's about that catchy song "brush-a, brush-a, brush-a, with the new Ipana..." and that icon of good teeth their spokesperson(?) Bucky Beaver. Oh well, I got Hawaii!

Sorry, back to the point, I also painted a picture for Pua, Kekai's little sister.

Pua's Little Birds 12"x18"

I picked birds for Pua because she liked them and always pointed to them when they flew by. She was one year old at the time. It's been a few years since I painted these and the kids each have them hung in their rooms at their eye level. They love to touch them and show them off, which I think is so cool. Art should be accessible to kids.

I am going to visit them over Fall Break, in a few weeks, and am taking a bag of painting goodies so we can all paint together. Can't wait!

Lifebook 2015: A Left Turn Into Mixed-Media!

One of my quirky birds from a
 lesson with Tamara LaPorte 

This week, I take a left turn to talk about mixed-media art, how I discovered it and how valuable it has been for my confidence and progression as an artist. When I found Flora's website for the first time (September, 2014) I was ready to start painting right away, but had to wait to February. She had a link on her site to this year-long art event called Lifebook 2015, in which she was one of the guest artists. I checked it out, liked what I saw and signed up, and still had to wait until January, 2015, 4 long months away!
Lifebook is the brainchild of Tamara LaPorte from Willowing Arts, an artist from England with a fun, quirky style. Besides Lifebook, she offers lots of fun short classes, some for free. The little bird was from her "Quirky Birds" online class.
In Lifebook, you pay a one-time fee of around $125 for a year's worth of mixed-media art lessons from lots of cool artist and Tam, herself. There is a lesson a week and a monthly theme. I know it sounds like I am promoting Lifebook, and maybe I am because for me (who knew nothing about the magical Internet art community) it was a doorway into the wonderful world of mixed-media and lots of incredible artists of many diverse styles.

January finally rolled around and I got my first lesson. It was a piece that centered on New Year's resolutions and intentions for 2015. We were supposed to incorporate our ideas into our mixed media collage. I jumped right in and immediately sank! I tried to do my own thing, following directions but making my own color choices and such. I didn't have a lot of the supplies Tam used but carried on using what I had. My piece didn't look anything like Tam's, not that I expected it to be exact but OMG! It was so truly awful that I will spare all of you from having to look at it here. I do keep it though, just as a reminder that we all have to start somewhere. My ego definitely took a hit on this one, I mean, come on, I was always the artsy one in the family.

"Beacon of Light"

A week later, I was a bit recovered and ready for the next lesson. It was called "Beacon of Light" and I was shocked when I saw it. It was a big-headed, big-eyed, skinny armed, no legs girl. I was like, "I am not painting that!" I had thought I'd get more Flora type projects. I rebelled for 3 weeks until I relaxed and realized it was a learning experience and I really knew NOTHING about how to do mixed-media art (especially based on my New Year's piece) so I dove in. I decided to just copy exactly what Tam had done (she said that was okay to do that) and thought it went against my "I am an artist and create my own masterpieces" self-image, I did just that.
The following pictures are a few of my Tam pieces from Lifebook 2015. All credit for the ideas and images go to Tam. I take credit for being an amazing copycat! After finishing "Beacon of Light" I was quite pleased with myself and looked forward to each week's lessons.

"Courage dear Heart"

The tight-rope walker on the right was not a Tam lesson, but a project by Patti Ballard called "Courage Dear Heart. I added her because of my extreme left turn into liking painting skinny big-headed girls. Although it is a total copycat of Patti's picture I am still proud of it.

"Seeds of Love"

"Seeds of Love" was my second Tam lesson. I was starting to get a little more confident but not enough to do my own thing. I have a few of my own ideas in this piece but it is mostly Tam's work I copied.
And I have to say even though I was copying, it was valuable and I learned a lot about how to do mixed-media. I was always a collage person but never took it this far with all the paint, stamps, pens, ink sprays, little drawings and other cool embellishments.

"Layers of Your Heart"

This piece on the left, "Layers of Your Heart" sealed the deal for me and mixed-media. The greenish page in the background is a cool envelope for all the hearts. I did copy that but the hearts are my own, inspired by Tam's. Each heart has 2 sides of art and are about things I love and am grateful for. This was the first time I did a Lifebook project that was truly meaningful for me, based on my own process and internal knowing. I still get a thrill every time I look at these hearts. I have since started a mixed-media vision journal and my style there continues to follow this lead. It is very personal and very satisfying.

"It's the Little Things"

                                                                          Tam did several 2 page spreads in her lessons. I did learn more about doing faces, which she is very good at, also shading and embellishments. All of the lessons were done on heavy weight watercolor paper, rather than canvases. This style of picture and my end result are not one of my favorites and after doing the hearts I was really wanting more of that type of project.

"You are Wise"

When I did "You are Wise" I closely followed Tam's 

directions and style. I really love how it came out. 

I am very clear that this is not my style (though I am 

not sure yet what is!) or the direction I want to take 

with my art. However, what has served me in 

mimicking Tam so  closely is a steep learning curve 

into mixed-media. I find I love it as much as I love 

painting. I need to diverse and express myself in 

different ways and this is so very satisfying. 

Thanks, Tamara LaPorte for an incredible learning 

opportunity!

You can find Tam at: http://www.willowing.org

Palmz: Painting #2

Palmz 18"x 24"

Driving to the beach early one morning to go surfing, the sun was rising and the sky was an incredible palette of pale yellows and light blues. The scrub forest along the road obscured the view but occasionally opened up so we could see the sunrise over the ocean. One place in particular had a panoramic view of the sky that was fringed with palm trees. The silhouettes of the palm fronds against those subtle pale colors was the inspiration for Palmz.

I indulged my palm fantasy and created strange new species of palms for this piece. There are many varieties of palms in my neighborhood and I studied them a lot, but I didn't want realism, mainly because I couldn't pull it off. Underneath this mild mannered palm scene are layers of chaos, frustration and many, many smothered and smeared-in palms. I had painted palms of all sizes and shapes, color schemes and arrangements, most of which were a disaster. I painted one bad idea after another as I tried to make it look like the early morning palm-fringed sky. Each layer I covered over with new marks and tried again. This went on for about a month. I was definitely trying too hard. Still not quite getting the intuitive flow and trying to control the outcome.

One day, in a state of ease and letting go of any preconceived ideas about how this painting should turn out, I used a foam brush and happened to create what looked like cool trunks. Following the fun, I outlined those trunks with black wavy lines and things unfolded from there. Having the palm fronds attach to the tree in a natural way was a challenge and I don't think I  pulled it off. I would find and lose my flow a lot in this painting's process. I think that is pretty obvious just looking at the painting. However, there are enough cool things happening in Palmz and the eye does keep moving around the canvas so it's not a big deal.

I felt satisfied when I finished this painting. I usually hang my latest painting on my living room wall across from where I like to sit and read. So, it's only natural I stare at it a lot. Part of me is in awe that I did it at all, but the other part is picking it apart mentally re-doing all the things I don't like so much. Way too much staring. A good idea: finish a painting, let it go and move on to the next one.

Fernz Cont'd.

I was getting ready to write about my second painting when I found a series of photos that showed the progression of Fernz through the layers of mark making. I no longer take photos of the early stages of my paintings for obvious reasons. However, I thought it was interesting to see what I went through with that painting. I think there was a direct correlation with my level of confidence and how chaotic these are. I really didn't have a clue what I was doing save for a little sense of color and a big sense of adventure. I found that I felt really good painting despite my lack of knowing, and that was a breakthrough for me. I liked the good feelings more than I disliked feeling out of my element. 

Following the flow of the layers shows how hard I was trying to find something in my painting I could relate too. It takes courage to keep going with an open mind and heart when the immediate results are so ugly. But in this process it seems most paintings go through an ugly stage. The brave part is sticking with it despite how awful it looks! This being my first painting I really thought I was the exception to Flora's process and there

                 

       

                                   


was meaning somewhere in those smears of color. I really searched, I yearned for images to work with. I was sure this was an ocean scene (see the left one directly above). I added some dolphin shapes,wave-ish lines and some nautilus swirls and lost my flow completely. The canvas sat in a corner for months. One day I picked it up added some color and found a fern. It progressed from there to Fernz and a gigantic feeling of accomplishment and a little more trust in the process of intuitive painting.

Fernz: Painting #1

Fernz 18" x 24"

For a long time I was a photographer. Mostly, I took pictures of nature, lots of plants and the volcano which is about 15 miles down the road and was very active at the time. I used to drive to the end of the road at 4am, park the car and hike a mile or so in the dark over fields of pahoehoe lava. Just me with my trusty little flashlight and several cameras. I went out for months and got miles of film and thousands of pictures. I would set up my tripod with the camcorder, planting it in a prime spot to capture the best footage, and then wander around with my Olympus digital and get up close and personal. I used to take my images and make posters and postcards to sell.

Waikupanaaha Eruption, 7/22/2008

Plants was my other photographic passion. Now, you're probably thinking, "Passionate about plants, hmmm. Volcanoes, yes! But plants?" I used to go on a 3 mile walk everyday in my neighborhood and always took my camera. I never got tired of photographing the plants. In a weeks time I probably shot all the different plants on the street but never tired of taking more pictures. Why? The light and shadow at different times of day, the patterns and textures, the combinations of plants, how the weather effected all of it, and on and on. The plants always had something new, beautiful and awe-inspiring to show me each time I went. Different from volcano action certainly but just as profound in a humble plant sort of way. I used to take my photos and morph them into mandalas and other healing images. I had this idea that just looking at these images was as healing as taking flower essences or using essential oils. My business at that time was called Images That Heal. I talked to plants and they started talking back. They gave me little tips about how to combine my pictures of different plants to create a healing image, and how those images affected whoever looked at them. It was very woowoo, very magical and lots of fun.

Blue Flowers Mandala

So, why am I rattling on about photography and talking to plants in a painting blog? Because my obsession with trying to capture the essence and simplistic beauty of plants has never left me. Photography opened up for me new ways of seeing and communicating with the world around me and I find I am now trying to do that with my paints. It is definitely different but also very much the same. My eyes are still searching for that elusive something I am trying to capture in my work, only now I am searching for it within.

Orange Flowers Mandala

Fernz was the first painting I completed when I took Flora Bowley's Bloom True E-course (can't recommend that enough! Go to florabowley.com for more information and great painting experiences.) It took me a long time to finish my painting. I had 4 canvases I was working on simultaneously, but really didn't know how to get out of the mark-making and layering loops I was stuck in. These are techniques of Flora's and they are profound and extremely helpful to beginning painters. It's the finishing that can be more of a challenge, at least for me! Anyway, at the time I was painting in an open area under the house and there were lots of ferns growing around. Once I noticed them I was on my way back to re-discovering why I loved ferns so much as a photographer and how I could now express that with paint.

Fernz was my first brave, bold attempt to do that, moving beyond all the nagging doubts: I don't know how to paint; I have no idea what I am doing; everyone will laugh at this, at me; who am I trying to kid; and on and on. Finishing Fernz shut those voices down for a few precious moments and gave me a dazzling glimpse into who I was beyond fear--as an artist! At least for long enough to begin again. And so the cycle goes and each time it completes I am a little more confident that I can express myself a bit more eloquently or outrageously or  however it is I want to paint. Painting is so cool!

I've taken Fernz off the wall a couple of times since I've finished it and have made adjustments, fixing this thing or that thing that bugged me. No matter, it is one of my favorites and will always be special to me because it was the beginning of this wild and crazy painting adventure.

100 paintings

Aloha and welcome to my blog, 100 Paintings! I am a beginning painter and I thought it would be cool to document my first 100 paintings.

It seems to be a common sentiment among successful painters that you have to paint at least 100 paintings to develop a style. Some painters say more, I've heard up to 1,000. Well, I am on #16, and that's taken me 2 years. Though, I did most of those, 13, in the last 9 months. 

I first heard about the 100 paintings thing at Flora Bowley's Bloom True Workshop in Portland in November, 2015. It was such a fabulous experience and in those four days so many things clicked for me in my heart and mind around expressing myself with paint. I came home fired up to paint, and do several times a week. I work full time as a teacher so I paint after school and weekends or occasionally, if the surf is blown out, I paint before work. Sometimes, 10 minutes is all I have but I've learned to center in quickly and do what I can when I can.

Flora & me at the Bloom True Workshop, Portland, Nov 2015

I always wanted to paint but for some strange reason I had this idea in my head (for most of my life) I would paint when I retire. I've been creative and making stuff in all kinds of art forms since I was a kid but for some odd reason painting got stuck on the retirement pedestal. Two years ago I was at the Hilo library and found this wonderful brand new book called "Brave Intuitive Painting". I devoured it in one sitting and went online to find Flora. It was late August and her September Bloom True online class was full. I put my name on the waiting list for the next one in February, 2014. I took the 5 week class stretched out over 6 months and began learning how to paint. I loved Flora's style and techniques. I loved most of all that painting was so satisfying and I could paint anything I wanted and it didn't have to look at all like 'real life'! Thanks, Flora for being such a catalyst for me. 

I don't know what's going to happen down the line once I finish the first 100 paintings, but I am committed to completing them and then we'll see. So far I haven't discovered any obvious style but I am discovering my likes, dislikes and tendencies that are interesting to me.

Because this is my blog I am going to start with my first painting and tell all about it. Each week, or maybe sooner because I am so excited about doing this bog, I will spin the stories of each of the paintings I've done, in chronological order, until I am caught up to the present. Hang in there with me, my paintings are evolving and so am I, and it's a fun ride!