Doodle mania!

Hello oh gorgeous reader,

I had planned to make a cool "raw" video about an art journal spread made without any kind of plan. It's very freeing to make art that way. All pressure is off and I don't care how it turns out.

Anyway, I ended up doodling like I do when I talk on the phone, just at a larger scale. I find it meditative to doodle without a care in the world.

Can't say I was super thrilled with the end result but it turned out "happy." I always loved bright colors as you can see. I'm glad the vibe is happy because art makes me happy always. I do have expectations but I'm relying less and less on the outcome of my art these days.

I'm having more fun as a result. I made a video of the Doodle Mania art spread. You can watch it HERE.

 I hope you're making time for some art!
xo
Happy Thanksgiving!!

Maria

P.S. I wrote a blog post about gratitude on my motivational art blog. You can check it out HERE.

Envy and coming up against challenges.

Do you ever feel envy and come up against challenges? I do at times, or quite often when it comes to challenges. As far as envy goes, I envy those who can stick to one style of art and be successful at it. They just keep on going with the same flowers or faces or whatever the motifs are, and they are happy. Envy is a tough word, but how can they find so much pleasure in just one style?

I get bored easily, and I don't know how many styles I've gone through in my days as an artist. A lifetime full of styles. Every day I'm faced with the challenge of what to create. I look at my recent art and think I should do another like it, but I can't make myself do it. Some are similar of course, but when it comes to painting, it's an onward and upward kind of scenario.

When I make crafts I can repeat myself endlessly. It's soothing and grounding, whereas painting sometimes is a battle of what the painting wants to be and what I think it should look like. The Great Battle of wills! Not so fun, but when the painting wins, I feel a lot of satisfaction because I could not have planned the end result.

I never plan my art journal spreads, and sometimes they are easy, sometimes hard. They turn out really crappy or really good, no balance there. :) I guess life is an endless exploration; that's how it's working out for me anyway.

Today I made a "grunge" art journal spread video. I had no plan except for using an old family photo as a starting point. I made a photo copy of the picture and went from there. You can check out the video below.

I hope you're having a wonderful, creative day! And if not, it's never too late to start... Life is an exploration after all, and it happens NOW.

If you are not on my newsletter email list, you can sign up HERE.

xo,

Maria

Art journaling and some background techniques

Hello lovelies,

I have been doing some art journaling lately, experimenting with a lot of background techniques, which is fun. It's an adventure since you don't know how it will turn out. Art is very forgiving so usually everything turns out ok in the end.

In the two pictures below, I wet my heavy duty journal paper thoroughly with water. Then I used very diluted acrylic paints and dripped them on the water-logged paper. The paints spread in a nice, sometimes subtle way. You can use any craft paints or finer art paints as long as they can be diluted with water. Watercolor paints would work well if you want a more diluted and subtle background.

This is another version on my freebie art tutorial Star Angel. You can get that tutorial HERE.

In the one above, you can really see the background variations. Lots of fun. :)

The one above is a faux crinkled leather background. I used medium spread liberally across the paper, and then I glued tissue paper over it. It's important to crinkle the tissue paper into a ball in your hand, and then spread out the wrinkled paper on the medium. Let dry thoroughly, and paint whatever colors you like. I used some raw umber on my fingertip to brush over the ridges as a last coat to make the creasing more dramatic.

Fantasy flowers on top of decorative paper, which was glued down in my journal.

Just for fun!  Grow wild and free. Hell yeah!!!

What are you working on today?

Please share in the comments.

...because Life happens NOW!

xo

Maria

PS. If you're interested in an art journaling ecourse, please check out my Visionary Art Journaling with the six senses HERE.

For a free mixed media tutorial, sign up for my newsletter HERE. 

Download instantly!

Hello gorgeous,

I hope you're having an amazing, creative day!

I revamped my giveaway these last few days, yaaay.

Download instantly when you sign up for me newsletter.  It is a 37-page manual on getting started with art journaling. Some of you are seasoned artists, but if you're just starting out, art journaling is a great way to get your feet wet. It's like a journal where you record your life, but with added art. You can still write in it of course. I like to write what is going on and then I cover it with art (sometimes.)

The 37 pages also include the Stargirl mixed media tutorial I offered before, so it's not lost. There is just SO MUCH MORE, and lots of pictures. My aim is to inspire...

...because life happens NOW!

You can download your FREE copy by signing up on this link HERE.
You can also sign up in the side bar at the top. 

Until next time, keep making art.
xo
Maria

Discover something new today!

Hi lovelies,

Discover something new today, step out of the comfort zone and try something you haven't done before, like parachuting out of an airplane (only kidding.)  I'm afraid of heights, so that would be a very uncomfortable challenge for me, lol.  However, I have explored new horizons in my art, combining intuition with art journaling. How much fun is that!?

My e-course on the subject starts on Monday, June 15, so there is still time to join. You will get six meditations that tie into our six senses, and six art spreads as inspiration as you explore your own. Videos and bonuses. You can discover a new layer within yourself, and it's exciting. To sign up for my e-course, go HERE.

To whet your appetite, here's an art journal spread I made about "how an orange tastes."  It's not necessary to know how to paint faces in the course.  Anyone can join and your expression is as open as you like it to be! No rules, but I will inspire you.

 

If you haven't signed up for my newsletter you can do so HERE.

This is going to be fun!

Hope to see you in the course. 

xo

Maria

Fun and inspiring art journaling video...

I had this idea to make an art journaling video with a photocopy of my selfie and applying a whole page of positive affirmations.  As artists we are often way too hard on ourselves, so why not get in a really good mood via some affirmations to uplift us?!

Have fun creating today! :)  Let me know in the comments what you thought of the video, please.  If you'd like to join my newsletter, please click HERE.

Guest post by LisaDiana Delaney, No More Working 9-5...

There is more to life than working 9-5. I came to this realization when I was very unhappy and terribly exhausted. I had spent many years striving, working, and achieving a lot in my chosen career only to collapse on the couch at the end of the day and sleep all weekend. I was too tired for joy. 

“Find your passion,” everyone said. I had no idea how. I tried everything to remember what made me happy. I came up with nothing. Why? I had lost myself in the daily ins-and-outs of living. I had given to everyone else and lost ME. 

I had no idea how to unblock my memories of what made me happy. And, oh how I despised the people who said, “Live your passion and you’ll never work a day in your life.” So, I spent a lot of time and money spinning my wheels trying to make a life that was fulfilling. I couldn't because I was blocked. 

But, my choices were clear: stay miserable or get unstuck/unblocked! So, I read, surfed the Internet, cried, slept and wasted money trying to get unstuck. Since, I’m a problem solver, I kept looking for an answer. I tried: self help books, journaling, yoga, Reiki, EFT, jewelry making, dog grooming, vet tech school, make-up school, another masters degree, one on one counseling, gratitude journaling, spiritual counseling, direct sales, health counseling and career counseling. 

NOTHING made me happy. Finally, it hit. Something inside said, “Search all you want, but if you are blocked from remembering your joyful childhood moments or from experiencing joy in the present you’re going to stay tired, fat and broke.” 

I needed to get away and figure things out. I used my last dollar and took a trip to Puerto Rico. I stood in the warm water, buoyant in the waves and gazed at the majestic horizon. The final façade of inauthenticity fell away and dissolved in the baptizing Caribbean water.“There is so much more!” rang in my head. 

That vacation, I sat on the beach, floated in the water, zip lined, ate on the balcony and sat under a waterfall in the rain forest. “Why can’t life be like this?” I wondered. “Because, this is vacation and not real life!” I told myself. I shook my head and refused to accept that life was only meant to be enjoyed on vacation. We have it wrong! 

We are not  meant to live to work. Our precious time in this realm is finite. Why am I accepting fat, tired and broke? Because I was blocked from remembering what made me happy. 

I came back to NY and work wearing the fedora I had purchased in PR, a reminder to not lose what I had figured out, what had been my epiphany. It was a piece of armor against being sucked back into the inauthenticity of 9-5 or for me, 4-4. 

I surfed the Internet again and found people who use planners to stay organized. Oh, I used to do that! Then, I found others who decorated their planners. What fun! I started to remember. I sat in the backyard and gazed at nature’s colors. Oh! Those bold colors were beautiful! And, slowly, I remembered little by little what I used to enjoy. My grandfather’s very small art studio! I was always inspired by the space and just as dejected when my art never matched what was in my head. 

I looked at school supplies for work and remembered how inspired I was by a blank notebook. And, then how dejected I was when I had no “Othello” to write. Planners, decorating pages, art, bold colors and the blank page. How did any of this fit together? Then I found it---women who took the blank pages of their planners and used bold delicious colors to decorate the pages with art. ART JOURNALING!!! 

What have I learned? So many of us are stuck in the day-to-day details of life, job and family. We have forgotten we are creative beings who need to express ourselves. “There’s no time.” “I can’t even draw a stick figure!” “I have 4 kids.” I know. I worked until I collapsed. 

But, I believe in you. I believe you deserve to be happy and to do that you need to get back to your authentic creative self. Ten minutes a week. That’s all. We will start with that even if it’s in the car waiting for the kids’soccer practice to end. Give me ten minutes and I will help you art journal your way out of being stuck! You deserve to be happy.
Check out my website for more information:  www.lisadianadelaney.com 

Thank you Lisa Diana!  I loved the post and resonate with it completely. :)  I LOVE art journaling!

Art journaling with prompts

It has been so long since I posted.  I've been busy with everything but art.  This orchid flowered for the longest time by my gate.  Isn't it pretty?  I don't know what kind it is. Below those pictures is a lunch I made for myself... a yummy colorful salad.  Veggies make good pictures due to their vibrant colors.

Art-wise I've had some inspiration at times.  I did purchase the book The Art Journaling Workshop by Traci Bunkers, and I enjoy it a lot.  The book comes with a DVD. There are of course descriptions about materials and procedures.  I really like the prompts she uses.  I haven't gotten through them all, but here are some samples:

The prompt for this one was Get Out of Your Own Way.  I started on one side.  She suggests layers of paint and writing about the subject when needed, and then paint over that if you want it to stay private.  The opposite page I added on my own in response to the prompt. 

This prompt was Purging.  Well, there's a lot to purge.  I vented on the pages, and then I painted over them.  You can still see some writing peeking through.  I added more writing on top.  The peacock is from a greeting card, so the copyright belongs to someone else.  

This one is not from a prompt.  I just winged the sentiment of healthy eating here... :)

Gratitude was the prompt here.  I added all the people, pets, and things I'm grateful for and then added that gratitude is an inside job.  I used some old paperback pages that I glued on and distressed.  I added some old stamps and cutouts as embellishment.
I've been using Omni gel to get some transfers.  They come out ok but are pretty frail around the edges.

What have you been working on?  

Got me some journal pages to share...

The tiger is my favorite animal for sheer magnificence, and I looked at this beautiful photo and prayed that the tigers won't be gone because they add such beauty to this world. Caption: (from printed matter): One special reason to live green; to keep these cats with us! My little cat lives in the eyes of this magnificent beast. Any time is a good time to visit the land of the Tiger. But there's no time like now. India. (Would like to see that country some day.)

Buddha picture entry: Beloved Inspiration to go within. Always the same through the ages. Going within is the Only Truth! Breathe in stillness, LISTEN with the heart. The still voice is there and speaks MY language, the one I know, the one I used to know always. This is the red thread in all of my lives, and I heed it NOW.

Woman entry: Celebrate the feminine even if it won't take you anywhere that you envision. Celebrate ANYWAY! Girls rule!

Happy woman entry: If you don't live your passion every day, what kind of life do you have? Do you feel excited to get up every morning and face a day filled with passion? If not, what are you waiting for? Permission? Only you can permit yourself to be HAPPY!

Been in a funk lately...

Got a few more pictures of my art journal, but I haven't put any effort into canvases or other media lately. I've been in a funk, but on the good side I have to say I'm working on a book (I used to be a writer until I took a looong hiatus,) and that feels good. It's not as rewarding as seeing paint on paper, but you always wonder where the words come from that paint those pictures on the blank computer screen. The words come from the same place as the inspiration to my art pieces, just different media and more like "hard work."

Check out my picture of a Southern Magnolia blossom. Isn't that just the queen of flowers? They are gone now with the heat. The flowers last about a day on the tree. Then there's a picture of my neighbor Becki standing next to a nine foot thistle--the king of thistles. When the flowers came, it got so top heavy we thought it was going to fall over, but it didn't. Downy seeds flew everywhere.... Then the plant said sayonara; it was done with its mission here. :) We marveled at it for weeks, and it was right by their back door. A nice prickly guardian. Keep creating!
xo
Maria

Art Journaling...

Art journaling is a great way to spend time creating. Sometimes I don't want to face a blank canvas. My art journal doesn't demand much. There are no expectations of greatness, just a cluster of painted pages, some paint pens, some pretty pictures, some doodling, and voila, you have something out of nothing. New ideas pop up, things I might want to use in my more "serious" art, so in a way, art journaling is an idea factory. And you can be sure that the art is YOURS, not some lofty expectation of what art should be that I try to implement. I'm getting more and more hooked on art journaling!

Art Journaling...

When I'm stumped for inspiration to create pieces, I like to doodle in my art journal. The entries aren't fancy by any means, but they represent what I feel at the moment I write them. Some are mixed media, some are just outpourings, and some plain silly! It's a very personal way to show what you're thinking or feeling, sometimes more honest than the regular "art" I produce as that seems to travel along the same track pretty much, though I hope that I keep developing!