Get up. Get dressed. Paint! Thinking outside the box

Paint Mojo Exercise: Outside the square!

Step 1: Draw a grid on the paper.  Sketch an image that speaks to you on a piece of torn out book paper. Trying hard not to put too much thought into it, I drew a tree.

Step 2:  Paint a wash of white paint around your design paying attentions to any words that pop out. 

Step 3:  Gather collage elements. I went through my folder pulling out more that I knew I would use, selecting patterns and colors that spoke to me.  Moving them around, noticing some pieces that simply didn’t feel right while others had patterns which connected to the tree.   When done a color scheme for the collage emerged.  Then I spotted an envie from a swap I saved with leave postage stamps in copper and green.  My mind latched onto them and a different color appeared.  I changed some of my collage elements, adding a new polka dot paper I love.  Using my favorite leaf stamps and copper embossing powder I created several leaves to tie in with those postage stamps.  Satisfied with the layout I used matte Mod Podge to glue down the collage elements.

Step 4: Paint in the visible grid lines with Raw Umber.

Step 5: Begin filling in your areas with paint “loosely and intuitively”.   I struggled with this; where to put the colors, how to paint them in.  Finally I started adding white and allowed it to mix in with the other wet paint and I could feel myself loosen up.  Then I hit a roadblock; I had to paint around the tree and branches.  Had I sketched an image that was solid like a bird as she did, this would not have been a problem.  Frustrated, I began thinking of a way I could sketch something else and cover up the tree.  Overwhelmed, I cleaned up and walked away.

A week later…

With fresh eyes and more patience, I painstakingly began painting around the tree and its branches.  Using Raw Umber, I painted the tree.

Step 6:  Add a stenciled design and choose a foam stamp to add texture and surprise.  I chose this leaf stencil, tying in with the postage stamps and tree.

Step 7:    Start connecting the areas of the collage with color.   Realizing I still had a ways to go in covering the collage, I grabbed two Tim Holtz stencils, doily and gothic.  Once I started using these two stencils I could feel myself letting go and having fun, intuitively sponging on colors in various places, allowing the stencils overlap and even cover up images.

Step 8: Refine the color placement and add cohesion to the collage.   I wasn’t sure if at this step I was done adding color so I walked away, eating breakfast and doing some chores to clear my head.  Upon returning I spotted a few small areas of solid color which needed more stenciling.

Circling the words to draw them out

Adding circle stamp in magenta to tie in with the polka dot collage paper

Step 9:  Add some metallic for highlights.  Painted in some copper metallic dots, pushed Ferro Special Effects Paste in graphite through a stencil then added touches of Inka Gold Metallic Rub in Green/Yellow.  Done!

 

The completed exercise

What I learned

·         To work on a piece over a period of time rather than getting a it done in an hour or so.  This is a new experience for me and challenging. Such a different experience from completing a spread in an hour or so.

·         Walking away when I don’t know what to do next works!  Clearing my mind opens it to elements I wasn’t able to see.  And I remember supplies I forgot about using  such as the Inka Gold Metallic Rub.

 Joining Paint Party Friday where having paint under the fingernails is the norm.  What colors are under yours?

Get up. Get dressed. Paint. Sacred transformation painting

Painting the exercises in Paint Mojo is quite different than painting along with Rae Missigman’s 15 Minutes of Mixed Media.  I did not anticipate the time investment involved in each piece.  I had gotten used to completing a paining in an hour or two each Saturday morning.  This new journey takes over a week because of the various layers.  I find myself getting impatient, anxious to get it done, frustrated because I have to wait for the layer to dry before I can continue. 

Spirit is imparting a lesson and I am protesting!  

Step 1: paint your thoughts.  This took me almost an hour.  It was liberating, and frustrating at the same time as I would get a burst of thoughts then nothing.  I would sit looking at the rest of the blank page knowing I had to fill it before I could continue but my mind was having none of it.

Steps 2 & 3: wipe your words with a paper towel then cover them with a coat of thinned down gesso.  Because I took so long to get the words down, the paint had mostly dried and there was little paint to smear.

Step 4: Using an oil pastel, draw a spiral and create a design inside the spiral.

Step 5: Using harmonious colors and white, use your fingers to apply the paint in your spiral.

I know nothing about the color wheel so I had to do some investigating to figure out what harmonious colors were.  She used reds, oranges, and yellows.  Not wanting to imitate her totally I went with the cool colors.

Steps 6 & 7: I inadvertently skipped step 6 which was to spray water on the wet paint then let it run down the page. The next step was to paint a symbol; I chose to paint the butterfly like she did thinking I would repeat this lesson again using something different.

Step 8: paint in the area around the butterfly using bold strokes and allowing your paint to blend.  This was challenging for me and I ended up painting it twice. Once I got the hang of allow the paints to blend and mix I didn't want to stop!

Note:  I painted over the dark outline and antennas which meant having to repaint this.

This is the finished piece.  I was so engrossed I missed taking step photos here.

Step 9:  Introduce a new color and paint the tips of the wings.  Here I goofed up.  My lack of understanding the color wheel got me into trouble.  I followed her lead and painted them turquoise. I then realized she chose turquoise because it was a cool color, the opposite of the warm colors she used in here butterfly.  I needed to paint with a warm color.  Painting over the turquoise with yellow was hard, it took 3 coats of heavy body acrylic paint to cover it.  

 Step 10 Use the ink dropper to draw your main design then play with a bamboo skewer to pull the ink away to create a more intricate design.
Note:  I did purchase the Flame Orange and Sundown Magenta (pearlescent) but not the silver. I improvised and used silver metallic paint and a paint brush on the top wings.

I found when using the ink dropper that my line was too think in some spots while too thin in others.  And using the bamboo skewer to draw with...  I ended up tossing it aside and reaching for my brush.

I don't like how the orange line varies from thick to thin back to thick.  

Step 11 Add design using white paint and flame orange ink.  

What I learned

• These lessons are meant to be meditative, drawing slowly and deliberately, creating with intent.  I have a lot to learn painting in this manner.
• I need to continue practicing using the inks and learning to control the flow of ink from the dropper. I love the color of the sundown magenta and will be using it often.
• Using the color wheel; I got a glimpse of how to use it but I have so much more to learn!  But I don't want to find myself loosing my intuitiveness, and instead finding myself stopping to think about which color goes with which.  I need to learn to balance this, but how?

Joining Paint Party Friday where having paint under the fingernails is the norm.  What colors are under yours?