Girls Just Wanna Paint Monthly Challenge

"Standish Shore"

8x10 oil on panel
$250

I thank all of you for the emails and comments sharing your experience and advice on how you all stoke your creative muse and move through the normal ups and downs of being an artist.

The weather has been fantastic and I've been bringing my watercolor sketchbook out onto the deck with me while I have my tea each morning and doing contour drawings just to enjoy the process. All I really need to do when I feel like the well has run dry is to take a look at the work of the wonderful artists I have featured in my sidebar, and that is only the tip of the iceberg. 

I'm reaching into the archives for this painting of the local scenery for the Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge which is "Marsh".

Transitioning

Detail from mixed media WIP

watercolor, acrylic, ink on sketchbook 

Wow, where has this month gone?

We arrived home from Naples on May 10th and have been busy settling in and sprucing up our yard. 
It's great to be back in New England. The crisp ocean air and cool lilac scented breezes lift my spirits.

The Bird House

Speak of transitioning, I'm not particularly good at it.

I've long been itching to break out of my 'box' and do something very different. I love fiber and found objects and mixed media and pen and ink. So much stimulation, so little time.
I see wonderful art that speaks to me but when I think about doing something similar my inner critic nags at me about 'looking' like someone else, or copying other's ideas. It continues to hold me back and I know I have to wrestle it to the mat and just carry on.
I tell my students to be fearless and not to judge themselves. This is a case where I need to listen to my own advice without being concerned about the outcome of the piece. 

Here's a detail from something I'm working on involving herons and egrets using watercolor, ink pens and iridescent acrylic paint.  I love birds and am bursting to do abstract or mixed media with the bird theme. 
I'm not really sure where this piece is going so I'm trying to listen to the painting and let it tell me.

I'd love to hear how you all push past the blocks that derail your creative muse. Talk to me.

our beach 

GJWP Challenge "Bride"

"First Dance"

6x6 oil on panel

This month's Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge is Bride. Several of the 'Girls" have recent newlyweds in their families and one has an imminent wedding and another has a recent engagement. SO. We're celebrating Brides and Grooms and weddings and engagements.

Love is all around!