new journal page…

it’s been a very long while since i have visited my journal. not since finishing my 365 day art journal challenge have i even thought about working in my journal. i needed to get some other things out. painting on canvas. sewing. digital work.

but today i just felt the need to play and explore. i have been thinking about portraits. i really respect artists who can do portraits because they are not easy. and i know i can draw a person… but what about free style sketching? i haven’t ever felt free to just sketch people. so i think i would just like to explore this more. to have fun really. nothing serious.

and this is what came out. kind of fun…

something new

on growing pains…

after a huge creative burst last week, i hit a major creative wall on saturday. i sat. staring at my computer screen. frozen. nothing was coming out the way that i wanted it to. nothing. it felt so frustrating after so much was flowing for me. it was the crash after a major high.

but i suppose moments like those are just natural when you are going through major growing pains. i feel like i have been making huge leaps in my art lately. like creating this piece. it feels like everything i have ever learned or done in art is all coming together in a way that is just me. it feels so right.

but along with this huge growth, there are bound to be setbacks. moments where i must stop. regroup. rest.

so i took all of sunday to step away. do laundry. snuggle some babies. go grocery shopping. take care of family business.

i let go of trying too hard. waiting for my brain to get swept away on the next creative wave. such is the life of an artist. creativity ebbs and flows. and we have to be willing to wait for it to return.

here is a new piece that came out of waiting for it to return. i kind of love it.

wings

by the way, i hope it’s alright that i am mostly just sharing new pieces right now. i feel like i just have to go where my creativity is taking me. so i thought i would just share that with all of you.

i am beauty digital print

i am beauty

i am loving this new piece. again i used a pencil drawing that i made 20 years ago. then i layered digital elements over my drawing. i am having so much fun creating these!!! now i just wish that i had more pencil drawings to alter. i am beauty print is now available in my etsy store.

coming full circle…

brave

i feel like i am in the middle of one big huge growth spurt regarding my artwork. i have been stretching myself in the digital realm lately… because i really want to have my patterns and artwork licensed one day. hopefully sooner than later. i have been finding ways to take elements of my artwork  and use them in a digital way. i feel like i am learning so much!!!

this is my most recent piece that combines my original artwork with digital things. the indian child is a pencil drawing i did in high school… exactly 20 years ago!!! although it’s very well executed as a drawing, it’s kind of boring to me now. i am not saying it’s bad, i just don’t enjoy pencil drawings very much anymore. but this piece feels like it brings my art full circle. the fact that i can take my early art and find a way to incorporate it into what i am doing now makes me oh so happy!!!

this is totally different from anything i have ever done… but i am kind of loving it. if you are loving it too, it’s now available in my etsy store.

ranunculus collection

even though i was missing for most of last week, i still got a lot of pattern design done. it seems that my brain cannot handle very much multi-tasking at the moment… i can’t blog, design and paint all at the same time. i sometimes think what in the world is wrong with me, then i remember, oh yeah, you have a three month old… this is normal. it’s normal to have days where i barely make it out of my pajamas. it’s normal that on certain days, my most important battle is finding a way to take a nap. and it’s normal that i think it’s amazing if all i get done in a day is making dinner for my family!

so in all that craziness, i am amazed at myself that i was able to get some more pattern design work done this week. what do you think?

ranunculus collection

embracing the beauty in each day

dear ones… it’s been a week. a week of sleepless nights and days where i just feel like i am juggling. sometimes i drop a few balls. some times all of them. some days i have to ask for help… because after all, i am only one. and that’s ok really.

and in my brokenness, i find my way back to beauty. because it’s what stills the crazy swirling.

i don’t have to have it all together. after all, it’s the moments where i feel worn down and broken that make me real. like the velveteen mother.

we are all just broken. we all need to find more time to breathe. and that is sometimes the most important thing. to breathe. to lean into grace. and to embrace the beauty that is today.

i hope you find some time to breathe this weekend.

exploring pattern design

it’s one of my dreams to become a licensed artist… designing artwork for product. one of my goals this year is to really build up my portfolio so i can get an agent. so i am designing patterns to include with some of my artwork. i took the first part of the art and business of surface pattern design this last year and learned a ton. i would love to take the other portions of the class. one day, perhaps. anyways, this class really helped me see my art through a designer’s lens. i love that i can take elements of my artwork and incorporate it into a pattern. i have been taking one of my paintings and designing patterns around that painting. it’s kind of fun!!!

i already shared the beginning of this collection here. but i just felt like it was too much all over the place. so i streamlined it a bit… and this is what came out of that.

the eva collection

eva collection