Creative Every Day

Entries Tagged as: creative every day 08

Moon Walk

November 28th, 2008, Comments (15)

I painted this today after a nice, long nap. We spent the night at my mom's and I didn't sleep well, so when we got home I was so pooped that changed into jammies and went straight to bed. Heh. When I woke up, I went straight to my studio and painted this. I started by putting down some directly on the paper and then responding to it, bit by bit. And this is what came out, a girl taking the moon for a walk. I'm calling it "Moon Walk." And it's about 9"x12". Last night before I went to bed, I drew loads of ideas I had for art involving the moon. This one above wasn't one of the ideas, but I see a theme coming on! As a Cancer, I am a moon girl after all.

I hope those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving had a lovely holiday and aren't feeling too stuffed!

Moon Visit

November 27th, 2008, Comments (17)

My art for today. I had an image of the moon coming through the window for a visit. "Moon visit" is 6"x6" with acrylic on canvas. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bird 17

November 26th, 2008, Comments (14)

I had fun with this one. I decided to do something a little different today, simply playing with layers. I put down collage first (although it is completely painted over now, it started a nice base for me. And then I layered and let dry many layers of paint, building until I had this image. I started another small one (because I sometimes would get impatient waiting for things to dry before I pulled out a hot air gun to speed things along), but that one isn't done yet. This one, which I'm calling "Bird 17" is 6"x6" on wood panel.

So, I apologize for not posting about the calendars today. I was totally bummed out about them. The proof was o.k., but not up to the standards I would want to sell (the colors were good, but the paper was too thin for my taste), so I'm working on another and I'll let you know when it's ready to go!

I've been off in art land all day, sending out some artwork at the post office, but other than that, I've mainly been arting away while listening to the final Harry Potter audio book. I'm going to go do the level one exercise in Soul Coaching and visualize myself in nature for 15 minutes. I think it'll be relaxing.

Cat Stackers

November 25th, 2008, Comments (19)

Tonight I decided to do a fun drawing. I used a nib pen and brown ink to bring to life a little sketch I had in my sketchbook. I had called them "Cat Stackers" when I showed the original sketch to the hubster, but he said it was more like a stack of pancats. Either way.

It was so dark and gloomy all day, so I felt the need for my art to be fun and light. I ran a bunch of errands in the rain and it was pleasant to be in the cozy car, listening to an audiobook on cd, warming my bum on the butt-warmer seats, feeling cozy and dry while stuck in traffic. I didn't mind going slow or waiting. Running from car to store with packages and umbrella and purse was a little less fun and little more comical, especially when a big box I bought to ship art in, nearly flew away from me in the wind.

Today in Soul Coaching, the focus was partly on how you carry yourself. I know that making a decision to carry yourself a certain way can make a huge difference. There was also an exercise about taking some time to truly relax and even though I didn't do it multiple times during the day, I did take a nice long rest after a yoga session with a purring cat on my chest, just breathing and melting into the floor. And that felt fabulous.

Some of the AEDM-ers are eager to continue with the project. And although I can't commit to posting art every day beyond this month, I will still have the Creative Every Day 2008 project going. And I think I'll start using the linking widget for the weekly CED posts too. I'm loving that widget. Widget is also a fun word to say. Widget, widget, widget. O.k., I'm tuckered out. Sweet dreams, you creative geniuses!

Which Way the Wind Blows

November 24th, 2008, Comments (23)

Today's artwork is, "Which Way the Wind Blows." I'd created the collage part earlier and put it under some books to dry where I totally forgot about it until I rediscovered it last night. The design in her dress is a print from a stamp I carved earlier this year and then incorporated into this collage. I went over it today with acrylic paint and ink to created this wintry scene. Again, there are lots of repeating circles, in her dress, in the bicycle and in the moon. Even the woman's face is a bit round. I think I'm drawn to circles because they are a feminine shape to me and they represent the cycles that are everywhere, in our bodies, in nature, etc...

I've got a new piece up in my art shop today, the "Lollipop Trees" is now available as an original or print. And don't forget the free shipping offer I've got going on through December 15th! You just need to type holiday08 in the coupon section during checkout.

Creative Every Day: November 24th – November 30th, 2008

November 24th, 2008, Comments (4)

Lantern

November 23rd, 2008, Comments (22)

Here's the Lantern painting finished. Much of the collaged background has been covered, but bits of it still show through. This is a picture, taken in the evening, so the colors are a bit more rich in person. I'll scan it later to make prints from.

I'm hoping to get the calendar proof tomorrow and then if all goes well, I'll be able to start taking orders on Tuesday. I'll let you know as soon as they're ready to go.

The Soul Coaching exercises today were about your physical being. I noticed I felt resistant to doing the exercises. I don't feel like I've been taking the best care of myself lately. I could give reasons, but it doesn't matter much. The simple fact is that I need to do a better job of taking care of myself. A couple people have asked about this book group and whether it would be happening again. I believe Jamie is planning to run another group through this book in January, which is right around the corner! 

I'm feeling totally blah this evening. Working on the painting was good, but my energy is low. So, I'm off to spend the remainder of the evening on some soothing self care: relaxing, reading, and drinking something warm...perhaps tea with honey! I hope your weekend was a lovely one!

Soul Coaching Art

November 22nd, 2008, Comments (9)

Today's Soul Coaching exercises were so up my alley! I only had time to do the first level of exercises, which involved doing 3 drawings. For the first drawing, author, Denise Linn asks that you close your eyes, get a sense of the what you are feeling in that moment, reach for the color or colors that express that emotion, and then draw it out. I used caran d'ache, water soluble crayons to do these drawings. And the drawing above is what came out. I was feeling mainly soft blue mellowness with bits of a light green anxiety. The images developed as I drew. For the second drawing, we were asked to close our eyes, imagine the way we'd like to be feeling, and then draw that. What came from that is below. I was wishing for a bit more fire as perhaps you can gather. I'd like a bit more energy that's rooted in that blues I have much of already. But perhaps the it's like that expression, the grass is always greener. I just don't seem to be the high energy type and I am o.k. with that. I think I'm capable of more energy though and I'd like to work on that.

Then in the last drawing, we closed our eyes again, asked if our soul had a message for us, and then drew that. For this image, I saw in my mind a purple lotus flower and what I drew is below. I got the sense that my soul was saying, be still, be at peace. Everything is o.k. And it is!

It was fun to do these drawings and just play intuitively. I think I'll do the other exercises another time. I've done something very similar to the other exercises Denise Linn shares, such as drawing with the non-dominant hand and drawing with both hands at once, last year during a class at Artfest. I loved the drawings that came from those experiences and highly recommend trying it out. You can read more about my experiences in that class and see what I drew here.

I went to a craft fair with my bff today and got totally wiped out. It was fun and inspirational (so much color! so many ideas!), but I tend to get overwhelmed in spaces like that and didn't buy anything. My bff bought the cutest hat for her lil girl and a couple other gifts.

I hope you're all enjoying the weekend and staying warm (it's freezing cold here in New England!)

Lantern, Still in Progress

November 21st, 2008, Comments (13)

This is the Lantern piece in it's current state. Not done yet, but coming along nicely so far. I'm letting the work just flow at this point, things are developing that I wasn't quite expecting, so I'm still not sure exactly how it will end up. It might not be very different from how it is now or it could change dramatically. Even thought I'm doing AEDM, I don't want to rush it, so I'm letting it develop at it's own pace.

I'm planning a fun and creative weekend, a craft fair with my bff, and maybe a movie and a trip to the art store too while the hubster watches football. Hehe. I hope everyone has a wonderful one!

A Work in Progress – Lantern

November 20th, 2008, Comments (23)

I've been drawing an image in my sketchbook of a woman in the woods, a couple different versions this month. Today I was thinking maybe I'd use a 14"x14" wood panel that I'd prepared, but wasn't sure. I still get this moment of hesitation when working with materials that I might find precious, a larger canvas or panel, or an expensive art supply. I was thinking that doing art every day helps lessen that feeling and then I had a funny bit of synchronicity. I had brought in the mail and saw a new Anthropologie catalog. On the last page was a picture of a woman standing in the woods holding a lantern, much like the images I'd been sketching. And the dress she wore was called the Lantern's Glow dress. Well, that does it, I thought! I set to work collaging the panel, here you can see the panel at that stage.

In the afternoon, I began to paint in the image. I'm not done yet, but here it is so far.

I'll work on it more tomorrow. I'll write more about my Soul Coaching journey tomorrow as that's all the energy I've got for computer time at the moment. Toodaloo for now!

 

© 2024 Creative Every Day by Leah Piken Kolidas – Contact Leah
Design by Foliovision

Boston Web Design