Lately, I haven't had the time to use my acrylic paints much. It used to be my favourite
medium to work with but now that I have a 6 month old baby the prepartion and clean-up has
just been too much. My husband bought me a beautiful set of watercolour paints for
Christmas and those have been getting some heavy use lately. I love that the only prep I need
to do is get a clean dish of water and some paper towels. The clean-up is practically
non-existent. Just let the paint dry in the pallette for next time and dump the dirty paint
water...or not!
So the other day when I was rummaging through my art supplies and found my Gelli Plate, I
knew I had to give it a try with watercolour instead of my usual acrylic. At first I tried
picking up some paint from the palette and painting it onto the plate. In retrospect, it
probably still would have produced a nice effect, but it looked like it wasn't working.
Then I decided to squeeze out a bit of paint straight from the tube. This might sound like
a waste of paint, but I'm telling you it was the teeny tiniest amount. Just a thin little
smear. I swished that around with some water, pressed the plate to my paper and was very
surprised at the results. It looked great! I was skeptical because it didn't look like the
paint was spreading very well but once the plate was pressed to the page it spread across
the paper.
Next I added some more paint to create a little depth and more texture. Then once it was all
dry I drew some easy circle designs using Sharpie paint pens.
In total, it probably took me about 20 minutes to create this little page. It was a fun and
easy exercise and I'll definitely be experimenting with watercolour and Gelli Plates again.
You might remember that late last year I started a 100 days project
that I never ended up finishing! Long story short, terrible early pregnancy
symptoms got in the way. Well, when I heard about
Elle Luna's 100 Days Project starting April 19th
I just couldn't help myself. Even though I never got close to 100 days last time, I felt like
the project really challenged me and brought out some cool news ideas.
Overall it was a really great experience, but I wanted to make sure I simplified things this
time around. Even on a good day, I often found it hard to come up with a whole new painting
every single day. Restricting myself to paint made it so I couldn't really work on my daily
painting while making dinner or in front of the tv at night. So this time I knew I needed to
pick something that I could do with whatever art supplies I had lying around - even a ball
point pen from the bottom of my purse. I also wanted it to be portable and small. And to
further complicate things my due date is day 98 of this project! So I chose a tiny little
Moleskine watercolour sketchbook (I think it's about 5" x 3") and committed to making 100
tiny patterns with whatever art supplies I felt like using that day.
Only 10 days in now and I love it already! I'm so glad I decided to give it another try. I'm
really surprising myself by coming up with unique ideas everyday. Not every page turns out
amazing, but that's the way it goes with a daily practice. And I love patterns. I mean, I love
painting but patterns are what I really started out on. It never gets old how you can start with
one seemingly boring shape and once you repeat it across the page it turns into something
completely different!
So here are my first 10 days of tiny patterns. You can still join in too! There's still a long
way to go until 100 so don't worry about missing the first few days. Post your progress on
Instagram and be sure to follow me too!
I've been wanting to make a video like this for a while now, but always got hung up on the
talking part! The last 2 videos I made ended up having music in the background because I just
felt weird about speaking into a microphone. But I really want to get better
at this, so I just had to dive in!
This video shows my abstract painting process from start to finish for two small paintings. I
talk a bit about my line of thought while I'm painting, the supplies I used and show you exactly
how each layer comes together. It's a little long, but I really hope you like it and will
enjoy seeing how I work.
Did you like the paintings I made? Sign up for my newsletter and I'll send you both as digital
files you can use for device wallpaper. They should fit almost any size phone or tablet.
I am the absolute queen of overworking a painting. I get the first layer down, really
loving it, then I start adding some more and before I know it the painting
is a busy mess and that beautiful first layer is completely lost. When you add too much to
an abstract, the painting ends up losing focus. When a painting really stands out, it's
usually because the artist has focused on one special feature. It could be a stroke of
constrasting colour, a bold shape, a few marks that stand out, or showcasing a simple
colour palette.
But why is it so hard to know when to stop? Why is keeping it simple one of the hardest
things to do? During my 100 Days Project (which really turned into more of a 50 days project)
one of the things I started to focus on was making simple paintings. The paper was only about
7 x 10 inches, so there really wasn't room to go crazy. And when I did get carried away, it
always looked overworked and boring.
If this is something you struggle with too, I've put together a few tips to help you
slow down, know when to stop and keep it simple.
Work on mulitple pieces at once
This is the best advice I ever got. If you're working on many pieces at once (I sometimes
work on 4 or 5 at the same time) you're less likely to get too obsessed with one painting.
Taking some time away, even if it's just a few minutes, can help you gain a new perspective.
Pick your colour palette first
Decide on a colour palette before you start painting and you'll be less likely to throw in
colours on a whim that don't work. Some people have a great instict for colour and
can work intuitively. But if you're like me and you sometimes toss a 'what-was-i-thinking'
colour into the mix, planning your colour scheme first can be really beneficial.
Look for special moments
While you're working, be on the lookout for special moments in your painting. If something
catches your eye and you love it, work on preserving that spot. Make the rest of the painting
more subdued to help the eye focus on the interesting stuff.
Take some time off
This helps me especially if I'm working on a big canvas. If I find myself standing there not
sure what to do next, I step away for a couple days. Keep the painting where you can see it
everyday and eventually you'll figure out what needs to be done.
It can always be saved
If you try your best and you still end up taking it too far, rest assured that it can always
be saved. Everything can be painted over and mistakes can be covered up. If it's
already too late, let everything dry and then go back in with some big swatches of a single
colour to simplify. When all else fails, grab some gesso and start with a clean slate!
If you've been following me on Instagram
or Twitter, it probably seemed like I
just dropped off the face of the earth in the middle of my 100 Days project. Do you
remember me? I'm Sara! Hello!
I did end up taking an huge unintended break from social
media but I'm still alive! Yay! (I hope you're yay-ing too!) So what have I been up
to? I've been growing a person! That's right, I'm pregnant. The first trimester was
really rough for me. I was constantly sick and couldn't even think about picking up
a paint brush or sitting at my desk. But I'm into my 5th month now and I'm
definitely feeling more like myself. I'm trying to get back into some art making and
I wanted to share a few pictures with you of some sketchbook patterns and a couple
WIP paintings that I've been working on.
If you're still sticking around, I just want to stay thank you so so much for following
my paint-splattery-messiness! I really appreciate that you're here and reading this.
Now I want to really focus on putting out some great content on my blog here and in my
newsletter. But I'd loooove to hear what you want! Fill out this tiny, micro survey
(one question, multiple choice) and let me know what kinds of stuff you want to see
here. I will love you forever. Answer the question!
I'm a quarter of the way done! Well techinically I was at envelope 25 over a week ago.
I had a rough week of being sick and turning 30. I don't know which was worse, feeling
like crap or having that scary milestone birthday. Birthdays always kind of bum me out
because I guess I feel like time is going by really quickly and I'm not getting enough
done or something. But I actually feel okay about turning 30. My life is for the most part
on track and I have a lot of things to be happy about. Ok, enough about birthdays and
thoughts of my mortality! Here are a few things I've learned so far in my first 25 days
of this challenge.
I'm learning to really look for inspiration everywhere. It's a little hard sometimes
to come up with a new idea everyday. So I always have my daily painting in the back
of my mind while browsing internet. I save images I like for when I need a little boost.
One thing I'm struggling with is making lots of paintings that I don't really like. The
worst part is sharing the crappy ones on Instagram. It helps to look at a painting
I hate and pick out one thing I actually like about it. If I can find a colour combo or
a tiny corner that I like, then I know I learned something new.
I thought doing a daily painting wouldn't leave much time for other things. But I was
surprised to find out it's the complete opposite. The daily envelope helps me to warm up
and experiment so after I'm done I often feel energized and ready for more.
I'm also very slowly discovering my style. When I look at all my favourite paintings lined
up, I start to see similarities. I like bright colours, patterns, messy brush strokes,
contrasting colours and a sense of motion.
If you want to follow along with me, definitely check out my
Instagram account!
I'm a blogger, designer, wannabe artist, plant eater, kitty scritcher
and maker of things. I like to mess paint around, draw patterns and glue
stuff to other stuff.