Painting to feel: A bold-colors, clean-studio kind of daydream.

Wednesday!

“A piece of art is never a finished work. It answers a question which has been asked, and asks a new question.” ~Robert Engman

Singing Flower - by me

In The Studio...

I really was not going to paint today.  I just came down to my art room to gather up the inchie pins I'll be selling...

Ready for business!

But when I saw the table actually clean...and some fresh new paints...(thank you bridal shower gifts!!!)

How could I not?

So I just wanted to play with some new paint - just one background...

 A thick coat of paint feels so wonderful to spread around with no idea how it'll end up.

 Then a bunch of dragging some napkins around in the thick little paint soup...

 My favorite part - banging the canvas around as hard as I can (I've gotta take a video of me doing that next time - I look pretty ridiculous.)

My expertise method of letting the paint drip some more while it dried - squishing it between some other canvases :)  Whatever fits.

Of course, as soon as I start on one, I figure, "Hey, my hands are already dirty.  I might as well..."

So...since it is getting to be that special time - I went through a wedding magazine for some inspiration...

I painted over the collage with some gesso and water...

And used some fun acrylic glazes over everything.

 When I was done, I dabbed a bit of the paint off to show some of the faces.

 Then I got to have some fun cutting apart an old sweatshirt.

Shredded up and painted some burlap material...

I really didn't know what I was going for - when I do this fabric work, like painting, I'm really just playing around.

(Usually, if I do have an idea in mind, it never ends up being that anyway.)

Then I started to get a bit day-dreamish - so I thought a lace little thought-bubble was quite appropriate.

Light bulb!  She's dreaming about her wedding dress!  Woohoo!

 And there ya go.  No title yet.  But something about love, wedding, dreaming, etc. - you get the idea.  (Can you tell I hate titling my art?)

That's the best part about art - I'm not thinking or planning (unlike the rest of my day) and I can actually figure out what I'm feeling.  I'm a born "do-er" (some might say over-do-er...) so when I spend my day going from thing to thing, it's easy to forget about tapping into what's actually going on where it matters.  

Trail of My Tears - by me

It's hard to make time to paint with so many tasks at hand waiting - especially when it's an ordeal of prepping paints, cleaning up, etc. - but I think everyone needs to have that one thing in their day that isjust "for them."  It might not get anything "accomplished", but it's their"me-time" - a useless little thing that makes them feel good, or feel at all.  

This is a lovely mixed media creation by Ann Bell

When I couldn't eat or drink and was just looking for a way to get through surgery after surgery, I journaled a lot - and this is a list I made of ways that I could try to feel "good" and have some "me-time" even though my situation was terribly painful.

When I first got into painting, I even made this chart - I assigned a feeling to each color, and this was my "secret language" with myself - some way I could prevent myself from going numb as I struggled through years of medical hurdles.

Before I go...

If you've got any leftover from your memorial day BBQ, here's some great ideas:

31 Creative Ways To Feast On Marshmallows

And here's a favorite thing of mine:  maximum creativity with minimal supplies:

34 Things you can make with a Sharpie

Ad last...who doesn't like fun things that light up?

28 Outdoor Lighting DIYs To Brighten Up Your Summer

"Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.” ~Alice Walker