A Sad State of Affairs...

Yes, my artistic life is a sad state of affairs. My last post here was on the 24th of April, and the last time I played with my paints was about 3 months ago. I've lost my zing, my mojo, my energy for art.

But I do feel it returning and have decided that I'm going to redo the Bloom True course with Flora Bowley while I have the chance (access to the online classes ends at the end of the first week of January).

I struggled with the course. The main reason for that, I feel, was that I had not done a lot of painting in the first half of this year (not have I done any since, mind you!) so I didn't have the usual excitement and anticipation that I would normally have had when learning something new.

The second reason was, and still is, that I kept going back to the style that I used after doing the Paint Mojo course with Tracy Verdugo last year. Not that that is a bad thing, but I felt it inhibited me.

But then again, I think it is a good thing because that is how I LOVE to paint. I need to embrace that and go with the flow. So, I shall start Bloom True again after gessoing over some of the canvasses that I loathe!

One of the positives that came out of the course is meeting a lot of new artist friends from both here in Australia and overseas. And while I have been quiet on the Bloom True Facebook Page front, I hope to catch up with the ladies and see how they have progressed.

Next year I am doing Tracy Verdugo's Sacred Marks workshop in June. I'm really looking forward to this as Tracy has expanded her reportaire since Paint Mojo and I know that I am going to learn some really, really valuable things!

Adios for now,

Art Every Day Month: Days 3, 4 & 5...

I had a full weekend of painting, intermingled only by doing some laundry, cooking, attending an art demo, entertaining and sleeping! I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent painting, although I have to admit that my fingers and hands did not! The joys of finger painting and lots of hand washing!

In addition to painting, I also spent some time sketching, which was a lovely way to relax and end the weekend, and the end of Day 5. I will post some photos of my sketches another time. But here is my painting. The first photo shows what it looked like at the beginning of the weekend, and the second at the end after many hours of work.

The inspiration for this painting comes from what I learnt at Tracy Verdugo's Paint Mojo workshop that I attended back in June. I'm very, very pleased with how it's looking. I have a few tweaks to add and then it will be varnished and hung up in my loungeroom. I'm looking forward to doing another one soon too!

Getting My Mojo Back...

Well, it sure has been a long while since I posted here. A lot has been happening: illness, work, being a full-time single mum and more. And yes, I did start to love my painting mojo. However, I attended a two day workshop with the wonderful Tracy Verdugo last weekend and I got my painting mojo back while I got my Paint Mojo on!

The workshop was held at the Buderim Craft Cottage, which was a delightful location. And the group of 18 ladies I attended with were so lovely. We had such a wonderful time, and some of us have hooked up as Facebook friends, so it will be nice to see how we're all travelling in our art journey.

Below is my where I'm at with the large canvas that we started at the workshop. This is a large 90cm x 90cm (36" x 36") canvas. Tracey showed us through each stage of painting the canvas by creating a masterpiece of her own. She is a true talent and I had to pinch myself a few times when I was watching her work.

I will post progress photos, and also some more from the workshop. I'm looking forward to seeing where this painting goes!