The Magicians
from last Monday got some help from three Queen of Wands yesterday to persuade me
to finish my artjournal page. I was inspired to create this page by a free workshop,“Art Journal Wisdom” from Connie Solera over at Dirty Footprints studio
On day
three, “ Get It Out, Get It Down” she
invites you to write down everything what prevents you to create; your fears,
your not being good enough and not having time enough; just write it down anything
that comes to mind.
Then tear it up in little unreadable pieces and paste it on
the page and paint over it. Use it as an extra layer in your art work. And so I
did. I hid my fears under thick layers of earthy colors: good riddance! But to
my surprise they’ve found a way out. In the distance a Vulcano is erupting fire and brimstone. Apparently Fear
of Failure can’t be suppressed and neither can any other emotion. So the woman
is sitting there quietly and watching everything the volcano spits out, acknowledging
every piece of fire and lava as parts of herself.
After the layers
of paint I stopped working on it, not knowing what to do next but I was certain
it wasn’t finished yet. Today I created
a final layer of oil pastel to enhance the shapes and colors of the painting.
And now it is done!
That is awesome Ellen - well done! I'm going to check that workshop out ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol! I am sure you'll love it. She is such an inspiring teacher
Deletewell done. I used to like to do things like this in old books. I forget what it was called now, but when you could no longer shut the book it was near finished :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! Old book are great for this kind of art. It is fun to use the text and pictures as elements for a background!
DeleteMy book is getting pretty bulky too> :)
Wowzza! What a gift in your expressionist painting. Be bold and go throw those doubts and fears in that volcano.
ReplyDeleteThanks Carolyn. It was a very freeing and healing experience
DeleteSometimes I wonder how great it would be if I could transform all that negative fearful energy in fuel for making art. Now that would be a miracle too :)
Love all your layers and the finished painting! That first one, when I look at it with soft eyes, makes me think the woman is part of a seashell (hiding inside maybe?). But then she comes out to courageously witness the volcano in the last one. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Bev!Now that would magical transformation indeed. It is remarkable how many stories one painitng can tell. :)
DeleteThe second piece is great Ellen! It's so good for us to do creative exercises, get out of our comfort zones and throw caution to the wind! Wonderful work!
ReplyDeleteYou might try drawing with your eyes closed that's a very freeing exercise. The subject matter isn't so important but the process is.
Thanks Catherine!! I love letting all my preconceived notions on how to paint properly go and just paint and paste and draw a bit. I might try your suggestion to draw with my eyes closed. I've done this years ago and I still remember how scary it was. Maybe this time I might experience it as fun??
DeleteI remember my great drawing Professor getting us to do this. She was a wonderful teacher and got us to do a lot of very helpful exercises. The one with our eyes closed, she'd get us to do fairly often as a warm up, before the 'serious' drawing started :). We'd try to remember a room in our home. Also a portrait contour drawing of each other without looking at our paper, but staring and looking at the person in front of us. This could be done by yourself alone as a self-portrait.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of ripping up your initial painting up and then putting it back together. Helps with that feeling of being 'precious' about our work. Oh...my precious! LOL
Wow! Love the results.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cher! ☺
DeleteThis is stunning! What a great idea for releasing your fears. And I love what you say about not repressing those feelings, but allowing yourself to acknowledge them, even as they burn... :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Chloe! Over the years I've learned that even the most difficult or painful feelings are more manageable after acknowledgment
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