Large Abstract Landscape Scripture Painting - Jeremiah 33:3

I recently shipped a very large scale commissioned artwork to a church in Louisiana. They wanted a special abstract landscape featuring the scripture, Jeremiah 33:3 for their new prayer room. It needed to be a substantial piece so we made it six feet wide by three feet tall with 1.5" thick finished sides. My husband does an amazing job building the sturdy hardboard canvases like this for me. I love creating thick layers of texture over the surface and then continuing with multiple translucent layers of paints and glazes and special textured media like the gold mica flakes I used in the land formations on either side of this composition.

It's such a blessing to get to do artworks like this. I pray my work inspires those who see it to contemplate the beauty and majesty and mystery of God's creation.

No artwork could ever compare to His glorious designs, but each time I get to create I feel such appreciation and awe for God's creativity.  I am flooded with thankfulness that I get to experience such joy in working with colors and textures and patterns and in the activity of transforming a thing from a blank surface to an intriguing image.

Images of Cambodia

So, it's been a while since my last post.

Well, many of you know that I recently returned from an incredible journey to Cambodia.
It was an experience unlike any other and one I will never forget.

In the days and weeks since our team has been home I have looked back over the experiences and the things I learned. I know that the impact on all of us was profound and I am excited to see the things that may come from it all.

Here is some of my work so far.

 

 

 

Sunflowers - A Bridal Shower Painting Party

I love doing Artful Gatherings and this one was no exception. In fact, it was a really special gathering because it was a bridal shower party. The bride-to-be loves sunflowers and since she would be using them in her summer wedding the hostess of the shower asked if I could lead them in painting sunflowers with the idea that the canvases could be hung as part of the decor in the wedding reception area! What a brilliant idea! I was thrilled to get to lead this party with such a fun group. They did an amazing job!

 

So, here we go.

 

I started with a blank canvas just like they did, with only an outline of our image sketched on in pencil. We began with the background color and then worked our way through the stems, petals and centers of the flowers before finally putting in final details and extra shading.

 Here are their gorgeous finished paintings!

 

 

 

 



Thick, Textured Abstract Painting of Flowers

Calling all painters!
Beginners to experienced artists, if you have never cranked up your favorite music and completely let go with your artwork here is something you've got to try!

It is exhilirating to abandon all "careful attention to detail" to squeeze thick paint directly on the canvas, swirl and slash it loosly around with a palette knife or rough brush to create an abstract image with tons of movement and texture!

Tip: No overmixing or overblending allowed! It may take some practice to learn when to stop. But I encourage you to approach it like a child getting to do something for the very first time - with excitement and abandon and not intimidation. Have FUN!!!

Here is my example. A painting I created for a friend. Her Requirements: match these rich bold accent colors (red/orange, navy/blues, cream) to tie in with living room decor, and make it abstract - loosly resemble flowers.
 I was so happy with the finished piece and so happy that she loved it too.
I will paint like this more often.

Once your artwork is complete it may take several days to dry since the paint is so thick.

Finish by painting the edges of the canvas or framing it.
ex: Mine has 1.5" thick edges that I painted black and there is no need for a frame, this gives a more modern feel.

A protective clear sealer can also be painted over the finished work when it is completely dry. Make sure you use something designed for artworks. Liquitex makes some great options matte or gloss.

A "Re-Painting" for my Mom

So my mom and I were hanging out at her house one afternoon a couple of weeks ago.

Yes, I know, big surprise, right! Ha, ha! I can't help it, I love spending time with my mom!

And if you knew my mom you would want to hang out with her too, she's just that awesome.

Anyway, we started talking about a painting that she had above her fireplace. It was a piece of art that you might see in a waiting room somewhere. (lol) The previous owner left it behind, with some of the nice leather furniture that mom bought from them. And since it was already filling the space and the colors went with the decor.... well, it worked just fine.

 

However, mom had mentioned that it would be nice to maybe have one of my artworks instead, so........

I thought why not paint over it!

 

Here's how it turned out.

 

 

                   Before.....                                                                            ......and after!

 

I love you mom!

 

See the step-by-step in this tutorial.

A Handcrafted Christmas.....

Now that all of these gifts have reached their beloved recipients I would like to share with you some of my favorite art and craft gift creations from the 2012 Christmas season.

 

 

An Inspired Work of Art

The weather here has been so incredibly inspiring. Cool, crisp mornings that gradually become warm and sunny afternoons. The kind of days that make you yearn to be outside breathing in the fresh air and listening to the sounds of nature.

And following all of the spring cleaning we did this past weekend I felt the urge to leave my usual studio space and take my new easel, canvases and brushes to a space where I could work with the walls literally opened up to the outdoors.... our garage!

(Side Note: I am so grateful to my husband's sweet Aunt Marsha for sharing these treasures with me. Her mother Betty, was a talented artist, but is no longer able to paint. And on a recent visit I was offered the great privilege of aquiring many of her treasured art supplies for my own projects. Thank you Marsha and thank you Betty.)

With my husband off to work and my oldest daughter off to school, I put my paint clothes on, filled my coffee mug and went to set up my easel. When my little one woke up I dressed her in play clothes headed to the garage with her sippy cup and cheerios and turned on the music.

We danced to the sounds of our favorite 80's music and contemporary christian songs, enjoyed the fresh air and let the creative juices flow.

Our precious little old dog Abby, thoroughly enjoyed the experience too. She may be completely blind and almost deaf but she can certainly still enjoy lounging in the green grass and soaking up the sunshine.

Believe it or not, I actually began priming my canvas today with every intention of creating a realistic serene looking landscape scene. However, once I let it all go and abandoned the idea of pre-determining the outcome things changed a bit. ;)

I let my feelings guide my color choices, the music inspire my brush strokes and let the artwork take me where it wanted to go.

My little one says it's either bubbles or lolly pops and that makes me happy. My girls love both of those things and when I look at this painting I smile and think of them. I think of their joyful childhood abandon, their love, thier complete trust and lack of worry, their laughter. It makes me happy.

A Sophisticated Little Girl's Bedroom.... With Horses!

I worked this week on painting lovely custom silhouettes of horses.

I designed the silhouettes of the little girl to resemble the sweet girl who calls this room her own, and I'm very pleased with the way it all came together.

Thank you Tenneil for inviting me to be a part of this special room design.

To begin, I worked a few drawings of what the client wanted. Once they were ready and approved I projected the finished artworks on the wall to get the perfect size and position and sketched them with a white pencil.

Then I began painting. I used two coats of a water borne alkline interior paint. 

The end result is a beautiful statement piece for a lovely growing young girl's room.

I love the way it looks with the other colors and patterns in the room.

Remember this bedding set I created back in December. ;)

New Art on My Daughter's Wall

I've had this mixed media portrait of my daughter sitting in my art studio for at least a couple of years now and I'm happy to say I finally got it framed and hung in her room thanks to the help of my sweet & talented handy-man husband.

Check out the tutorial on how we made the frame here:

 http://theartgirljackie-tutorials.blogspot.com/2012/03/create-your-own-unique-frames-for-your.html



Making a Mess

...is sooooo much fun!

Yay for art, any time any day.

5 Days of Art - Part 3, 4 & 5: Painting, Painting & Painting

I also got to spend a lot of time working on some paintings. I've listed several new ones in my Etsy shop. Here are a few that I worked on during my 5 Days of Art.

Very large 24"x48" textured canvas, acrylics and gold mica flakes with the scripture Psalm 90:2.

Smaller canvas 16"x20" abstract acrylic, 2Samuel 23:4

24"x24" Misty blue sky abstract landscape

These two were commissioned pieces for one of the coaches at school. Pictures of his boys playing baseball. I used some baseball digest pages to cover the canvas and created the look of a baseball field in the background and gave it an aged look, except on the boys themsselves... to create a nice contrast.

Check out my listings on http://artfultrinkets.etsy.com/ to see some of my other paintings.

Another Fabulous Vintage Silhouette Portrait

I seem to have a trend starting with vintage portraits these days and I have to say I really love it.

My neighbor recently asked me to create a portrait from an old photograph she had of herself and her three brothers. It is such an adorable photo but I was a bit apprehensive because of the shadows and blurryness of the original. I wasn't sure that I would be able to show the characteristics of their faces in a silhouette well enough, but I gave it my best.

 And here is the result:

I learned something wonderful from this experience. As I was sketching and painting and seeing all of the abstract shapes take form up close I was having trouble grasping the idea that it would be recognizable as people; but when I stepped back from my work and looked again it was incredible how it came to life.

Reminded me of my life: being too close to the messy details I can often feel confused and lost; but if I just have faith and step back to look at the big picture it's incredible the beauty that is being formed.

Love, Decoupage & Paint with Carley

One day this week Carley and I got to hang out together in the art studio and get messy creating stuff together.

We started by getting a canvas and a whole bunch of decorative papers, paints, mod podge and brushes. Carley selected the papers she liked and tore out pieces to decoupage. I showed her the steps and we worked together to cover the canvas. Then I showed her how to dry brush a little bit of color over the papers. Everything dried quickly so she was able to go from one step right into the other very quickly. Her final touch was adding a giant "I love U" in copper metallic paint. She painted the inside of the heart metallic pink and added a string to make it like a balloon. Then she outlined her letters in metallic blue paint and put her artist signature and date in the corner with a metallic blue sharpie.

*She was really liking those metallics today. :)

 I LOVE this painting and have it prominently displayed on the wall in my Art Studio so it's the first thing I see when I walk in the doors. I love you Carley! I have so much fun creating with you! You inspire me every day with your genuine, unconditional love. xoxo - mom

A Very Special Portrait

I recently received a special commission for a portrait on my Etsy shop that I was so excited to create.

A very nice young lady in Pennsylvania wanted to do something unique for her grandfather's 90th Birthday party.

She sent me a beautiful black and white photo from the 1940's to work from. It was an image of her grandfather and grandmother when they were first married and he was in the Navy. My job was to create this beautiful silhouette painting with a background that had a vintage nostalgic feel and incorporated an oceanshore / patriotic theme in a subtle, classic way. I was definitely ready for the challenge.

I am so pleased with the results and I hope they will be too.
It was such a wonderful project to work on and I especially loved the story behind this one.

Here is a picture of the project "in progress" just after I finished sketching the image onto the canvas.

And here is the final portrait.