A Couple of Finished Projects

 This week has felt pretty productive. I started and finished a painting. It's not amazing by any means, but it taught me a lot about using acrylics that you can't really learn without actually sitting down to paint. The more I try, the more I learn (sometimes just subconsciously) how to control the viscosity and color of the paint and how to get closer to having an end result that approaches what I imagined when I started setting paint to canvas. In other words, the more I do it, the more I know how to make the paint do what I want it to do.

This painting is very much inspired by the mini embroidery I also finished this week.

I wanted to finish two things this week and I figured the best way to do that would be to not overthink things. Plus I really liked the combination of colors on the swirl on this sun, so I wanted to use similar ones with paint.

Also, here are two Ordinary Beauty photos to catch me up in sharing them.

butterflies

KEA

I know the IKEA one is very corporate, but I enjoyed the colors and the framing.

A Slow Week

 I've had a lull in creativity since I last posted. It's important to me to work at being at peace with my creative rhythms, so I'm not going to get down on myself for it. I did finish the embellished embroidery mini that I showed in my last post and I got started on the next one. 

I'm going to just go ahead and cover the entire face on that sun because... I don't know, I just don't like it.

Back to Embroidery (but just for myself)

 A few years ago I made a little 3-inch embroidery that was just some pretty fabric that I embellished with stitching and beads. I made it for myself, not to sell. Now there's a space on my wall that needs... something, and I think three hoops of that size will fill it very well. So, I need two more. I didn't have any 3-inch hoops, so I deconstructed a couple of hoop art pieces I had made long, long ago (it's fine, they weren't very good), wrapped them in ribbon, and picked out a couple of pieces of fabric with interesting designs in the right size. 

The one on top is the one I made a few years ago. The raccoon is from a piece of fabric my oldest gifted me and has lots of other cute animals with flower crowns, but the raccoon is the only one that would fit neatly in a 3-inch hoop. Here's a couple closer-up progress photos.

Embroidery art through embellishment is very relaxing. A lot of the hardest decision-making is taken care of, because the image already exists. But there's still plenty to think about. Which stitch to use, whether to use the color that's been printed or choose something else, whether to cover the whole area or just part of it, deciding where a little bit of bead/sequin bling might look good.

My hiatus from making embroidery art for the purpose of selling it continues as these ones are for me.

Trying to be smart by slowing down

 So, after my initial difficulties with my early attempts at acrylic painting, I decided to try to be smarter. I know I have a real problem with impatience and expecting any new endeavor to go smoothly right from the start. I can't help it! It always comes out great in my imagination! Somehow I never can get reality to match and that's when the paints and brushes go back on the shelf and gather dust for a few more months. Or years.

So that was when I came up with the brilliant idea that surely no one has ever thought of before to make a test/swatch card. 

I tested each color straight from the tube, with a little water, with a little white, then that with a little water, a little more white, then that also with water. I didn't try to do any mixing between the colors; just with white so far. This has helped me (and hopefully will continue to be a good reference) to better understand not just how the colors work in each of these configurations, but how they look when they are dry. This swatch card is still missing the browns though. Also, with some of these colors there is more variation in the irl view than my camera's phone could capture (especially with yellow).

I did watch a video that talked about color mixing and I learned a few things. There were a lot of concepts that I think I knew on an intellectual level, but had never really used in a practical way. But, that felt a bit too much like a higher level than I'm ready for. I want to put what I've learned from doing these particular swatches into practice before I try that. I really shouldn't have gone bananas with that previous painting.

Ugly Bananas

 I tried out my new paints. I took a reference pic of some just-purchased bananas. I sketched out the shapes with a Posca marker and then started laying down areas of color. It's pretty bad.

But! It's not terrible-horrible-awful bad. You can tell what it's supposed to be. If you look at it kind of sideways or through squinty eyes it almost looks good!

Notes: Yes, you can see the marks from the previous painting showing through. I'm re-using old canvases because it helps me be less precious about things. Yes, the pink background is very patchy. I was running out of paint and didn't want to mix any more pink at that point. I figure I can return to this and add another layer later if I feel like it.

Learning Notes: I need to learn how to mix colors better. I need to learn what the colors are going to look like next to each other. I need to learn what they'll look like when they dry. 

Also, I hate to say it, but I think I'm going to need more paint. The set I got has 12 colors, but the tubes are pretty small. And it goes so fast. It seems so expensive though.

Anyway, may or may not try to improve this later. 

Here's a couple of Ordinary Beauty photos, both taken in fast food restaurants.

Open

Crazy Chicken

How the butterflies turned out

   

I finished up those butterflies. They were fun and I thought, hey, maybe I could cut them out and use them for something else in the future, like a garland or... something. And a new set of acrylic paint arrived today, so that's exciting.

I've been trying to think, how can I best organize this self-teaching experience? Because I want to learn techniques and practice them, but I also want to be thinking about style, and about what direction I want to be ultimately moving in. I feel like there are so many different paths I could choose from. So many appealing and inspiring art styles and applications. 

And maybe this is what had me stalled out so many times in the past. It feels like too big of a risk that I will waste time of pathways that are ultimately not right for me. I do recognize this as being unhelpful, but my impatient mind wants quick results and certainty. Not trying and failing, and trying and failing, and trying and maybe learning a little something, and trying and maybe, kind of, sort of, creating something I might actually like, and then starting that cycle all over again. Not trying something out, realizing I don't like it much, and then moving on to the next endeavor. But that's all there is. The sooner I can get my brain to accept that, the better.

How to be a Painter

 Yeah, I don't know. You just paint, I guess. And I guess that makes me a painter because that's what I've been doing. Badly, but what are you gonna do?

This is a page full of butterflies I've been working on today. They're not finished, but they're mostly experimental anyway. A lot of water added, a little water added, no water added. Using this brush, using this other brush, or how about this one?

I pulled out my watercolors yesterday too. I won't show you the results because I just how it turned out that much. I can't make the pigment do what I want it to do. But I'll try again. The thing about watercolors is that I actually have a nice little quality set--Windsor and Newton--but it doesn't seem to make a difference with how things are turning out. 

The acrylics, though...I still need to purchase myself some quality supplies, but even so, using them feels easier at this point, and I'm getting better results than I am with the watercolors. 

Just keep going. Try this, try that. I painted, so I'm a painter. I made art, so I'm an artist. 

If you say so, lady.