Finally getting to test out my new paints! Working on a few winter and Valentine's Day projects. I think my favorite part of this project are the hearts I put on the handle.

Starting new projects!  Just started my preliminary sketch for a new watercolor portrait.  I had forgotten how much I love painting portraits.  Working on ideas for a new acrylic landscape also.  Working on new ornament designs (with my new paints!) and crafty ideas.  Lots of updates (hopefully) very soon!

Here's the latest January painting. Its' theme is for those who are longing for Spring after so many cold days. It's still painted in a fairly limited color palette.

Here's the photo (hopefully it will work this time) of my new painting.

My latest painting is finally finished.  I'm enjoying the challenges of diving back into acrylics after spending many years painting mostly watercolors.  I've challenge myself to use a limited color palette to try to create a more uniform, serene feel to these paintings.




















That also presents challenges in finding the right composition, balance, etc. in the painting.  In this painting, I only used 4 colors to achieve the end result. 
























This was a fun, challenging painting to complete while testing out the acrylic waters.


I hope that you are trying something new and challenging too!












Unfortunately this site isn't letting me upload photos right now.  As soon as I can load it, I'll share the picture with you!

The first step is the hardest...

As we start a new year it seemed appropriate to discuss how hard it is to start something new.  Whether it's going for those first few runs, tackling a home improvement project, or staring at a blank canvas, starting something new can be daunting.  I had to force myself to put a little paint on this canvas.  I love to paint, but challenging myself to try new artistic endeavors makes it harder to get motivated.  We are afraid of starting anything new because we are afraid of failure. But trial and error is how we learn. So if you're wanting to make a positive change, remember to pat yourself on the back for taking that first step!

Today was an unexpected day out of school because of the extremely cold temperatures.  I am very thankful that my daughter and I could stay in today.  I had planned to paint a little today and start a new project, but there was much to do inside and I also wanted to just stop and take in the day and spend extra time with my daughter. 


So, while I debate my newest project in my head, I hope that all of you are staying warm and dry.  I hope that you have the chance to take advantage of the cold outside to stay in and be with those you love.  Each day has its' challenges and its' gifts....

I am continuing to work on smaller watercolor pieces in a lighter, more loose style. The change in size and shorter time period to paint have made these projects very enjoyable.  Here's the latest project:

One of my goals in 2014 is to expand the styles of art and materials I use. (I call them my goals because I don't like making resolutions).I also want to paint a lot more in the new year. I love painting large paintings, but I am going back to doing smaller studies too. The painting below is the first watercolor of the new year. It's a dusk scene using a limited group of colors. Very loose and fun painting to do. I hope you are using the new year as an excuse to take the time to create too!

First painting of 2014

I don't know how many of you have seen the "joy jar" project on Pinterest but it's a very neat idea. You take slips of paper and write down fun or exciting things that happen during the year and put them in the jar. On New Year's Eve we took all our papers out of the jar and read them. It was a great review for the year and set a positive tone for 2014.

Once we were finished, we realized that we wanted to do this project again for 2014; but what should we do with our 2013 papers? It didn't seem right to simply throw them out, but I didn't want more papers cluttering up our house (I have more than enough already). So, I decided to make a year in review painting. I drew out 2013 in the center and then divided up the canvas into sections that matched the number of papers we had. Then we picked out our colors and painted the sections. Once that was dry we took Sharpies and wrote in our information.  I thought the project turned out great and it didn't take long to do at all. I still threw away all those slips of paper but we have our memories of the year intact.