Transformation

Through my grieving healing proccess using my sketchbook I tried out another face and was thinking about how I would find a hairstlye for her. Now I was thinking to myself what should I do with her hair. When the very next thing that happened to me was the voice of a very close friend came to me and said use butterflies. (the muse doess find us) Now I said to lynns voice yeah I love that idea because its kinda how Im feeling at the moment, all my negative thinking is positively transforming into well being and good thoughs. Each butterfly represents each negative thought transforming so beautifully. Now I though about how much Willowing healing courses are doing for me and wrote Art Saves on the left-side of the page.
And thought about how much it does as I drew more butterflies around the lettering and then crystalised my feelings of feeling "lifted from the shadows" the music by the lighthouse family that I was listening to at that moment too. The other little messages I put around the piece of art was "grief can transform" and "Loving yourself heals" and "fly little caged bird"

Artist of the Week - Adriana Almanza

Ive just watched this video of Ady Almanza tangling one of her doll paintings. Its using tombow markers I really love Ady's work and hope you will too.



Once you have enjoyed this dont forget to head over to her website and give her some love. Find Ady at Dolls Dreams

Artist of the Week - Peggy En Couleur

Im starting a new feature on my blog, every sunday I will share with you an artist that I really enjoy.

Ive just watched this Peggy En Couleur make her love fairy in mixed media and want to share her with you all.



Once you have enjoyed this dont forget to head over to her website and give her some love. Find Peggy at the Bliss Factory Blogspot

Healing Exercise for WOW week 1

We had to write a love letter to ourselves as a healing exercise for World of Whimsy week one.
I found this made me think a lot about more than just our art critic!  Anyways here is mine and I want to share it with you all, its especially for those of you who are finding it difficult too.  I hope it helps you to discover your own love letters.

Pencil Sketching

Last night I was sketching more and developed a sad girl with her head on a pillow from my imagination.  I am trying to explore more story telling and get more in touch with my own feelings. 

I also worked on another little whimsy face in my sketchbook.  I was practising my shading and a windswept hairstyle.

Sorrowful

This is a sketch Im playing with and developing, hopefully into a painting. I was connecting to my feelings of loneliness in this sketch.  I am beginning to explore my deeper feelings and starting to express them in my art in a healing way.   I did this in pencil and ink.  I kept her arms/hands deformed deliberately to symbolise my own emotional state, and that we are all universally imperfect.

Week 1 of WOW

Yesterday I started to go through the videos and pdfs for week one of the world of whimsy on Willowing.  I thought about what Tam says about other elements and telling a story. I did her in pen and ink. Im so enjoying working totally out of my imagination and feeling my way around drawings now. I feel like a kid again, playing, which is wonderful.  I did week one in my sketchbook.  I still have to do the healing exercise about writing a letter to myself, this part I find hardest. 

Enter the Dragon

I took part in the monthly Art Challenge - January  at Willowing yesterday.  Its all about dragons this month.  Ive never drawn a dragon before so I went to Dragoart to find some basic kiddies dragons to follow step by step.  Then once I had the basic baby dragon I added my whimsy girl holding him and decided to celebrate  chinese new year for 2012 as it is the year of the dragon. I also found a chinese new year blessing /lettering and put that on too.  I had tons of fun playing with this one.

Its got a kinda East meets West feel to as Ive mashed up styles in it lol

Tangling & Whimsy

Yesterday my friends little girl, Naimh came over to learn how to draw some tangles and a whimsy girl.  We had such fun together.  When she went home I played some more myself and came up with this tangle and whimsy girl in my A5 sketchbook.  Such fun!

Trying an Elf Painting

Yesterday I worked on an Elf painting in my sketchbook.  I wanted to do something with a quote from "game of thrones" by George Martin.  The quote is "Fear cuts deeper than swords".  I thought how apt that quote is and when we try something new the fear of the unknown can hold us back or even paralyse us sometimes.  

Anyway  I finished the Elf and worked on the lettering but it wasnt going as well as I was hoping, so I took the Elf into paintshop pro and doctored the lettering there till I was happier.  It is just a sketch to hold my ideas. I might do something with this later on, but I will need to work on ears lol

Life Book has begun

Woohoo Lifebook at Willowing is up and running.   I am so looking forward to this course and  have just completed my first journal spread.  Tam's teaching is excellent, so well explained.  I stuck closely to the videos as I havent done much journalling before.  I hope I can spread my wings a little more next time.  I was just so excited to get started on my goddess.  We had to connect to all the positive inner qualities we have and see them as our goddess superpowers.  We had to integrate our portrait into our backgrounds with the lettering. It was such fun to play with.  I know Im going to have a great time on LB this coming year.  Here she is....

She was produced on 15 x 11 hot pressed watercolour paper.  We had to add a half page fold to the edge of the paper and use scrapping paper to hold the fold in place.  We had to use stamps and brayering in the background.  Her face and hair is done using watercolour pencils, graphite and acrylic.  The lettering is applied using a blue sharpie pen.