Summer and Dreams

This week I started to work on my 'Angels in the Garden' oil painting and got stuck. I have a problem. When I am painting half of me wants to be bold and abstract and the other half wants to be detailed and lifelike. You might say why not do some paintings abstract and some detailed and lifelike. That is what I have done in the past. But with 'Angels in the Garden' I want to have cake and eat it too! But how to do that? That is where I was stuck. So I decided to work on another oil painting as I was all set up and ready to go

.

I have been working on this painting, 'Summer' for quite a while, it was mostly blues and yellows. When I pulled it out, “Magenta!” I thought. So in a flurry of 2 delightful hours, voila, it is finished. Yea! It is a memory painting of the summer of 1979. South of France, being in love, sunburn, sea, sand, boats and giant ice creams in cafes!

 Wonder of wonders, I was on a roll, I started a journal page and while doing it I realised I had the answer to my problem with 'Angels in the Garden'. If you know my journal pages you might guess. I do faces etc with abstract textured background, “just do that in your painting, silly!” I said to myself. Yeah, now I got to figure how to do that in oil as my journal pages are in acrylic etc. So guess what, I am going to have lots of fun next week.

Here is a thought:

'Do not fear to open

the doors that lie between

what is known

and what is unknown.'

Quite thought provoking, I will have to ponder that. Might turn into a journal page.

Happy Paint Party Friday everyone and happy dreams!

Linking to Paint Party Friday

Fall, Fearless and Fly and WIP

I have decided to enter the challenge Fall Fearless and Fly at Artist in Blogland, even though it is spring here. I am at a point in my life where I am reevaluating my goals and my life in general. I am shedding my old leaves and hoping to grow new ones. Yes reinventing my future. The best thing is I don't have to do it all at once, as Abe Lincoln says take it one day at a time.

For this journal page I used gouache, stamps and pencils.

WORK IN PROGRESS

As part of the shedding of my old self, I discovered that I can't carry on with my painting Up the Creek, I found myself putting off getting on with it, and it was only when I was doing this piece and wondering why I was itching to get to work on another large painting that I realized that I had indeed moved on, and I was not that person any more. I think having a large painting on a depressing period of my life would only make me dwell on the past and not concentrate on the future.

So, I have decided to do the series as a series of journal pages. I will post them as I do them.

Angels in the Garden

Now to the painting I am working on and am quite excited about. It is quite a different way of working for me as usually I have everything worked out before I paint. This is more intuitive. I have had the canvas below for ages, it was an attempt last year to paint flowers in my garden. I got struck and it has been sitting face against the wall until 2 weeks ago. I was changing the room around and left it face out. As I was sitting there and I could see faces, maybe because I was doing the 29 faces challenge I was seeing faces everywhere!

Here is a photo of it can you see faces?

 

This week I started to paint the faces I saw and as I was painting I realized that I was painting a childhood experience! I used to love lying on the grass and staring at the flowers I was convinced that I could see angels amongst the flowers. My grandmother had told me that fairies lived in the Buddleia Tree in the hen pen, so, why I thought, there couldn't be angels in the flower garden?

I think that I have too many faces, so might take one or two out, I also haven't decided how realistic to make the flowers and leaves, I will have to wait and see what develops.

 

Linking to Paint Party Friday

Fall, Fearless and Fly

White Flowers and Angels

29 Faces – Face 8

This last week has been about people , their faces, as I am taking part in the 29 faces in September Challenge at Ayala's. I have been painting with acrylics and gouache. Only one face on the computer! The face for today is a quick sketch in oil. She is Julie a very determined friend. I now know what I am/have! While posting my post at Paint Party Friday, I read an interesting interview about Martha the lady behind Ayala. She said that she had suffered from “Too many tools” syndrome. That's me! Click on the label 29faces below if you would like to see the other 7 faces. 

 White Flowers and Angels

For some reason over the last few days I have wanted to experiment with white. Thus these anemones above using the pastel tools in Corel Painter. The white magnolia, I drew with coloured pencils.(I think I got the centre slightly wrong, a bit off centre?)

I have been thinking about angels lately and am convinced that I have angels looking over me. When I found this scripture it was like a light going on! God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go. Psa 91:11 GNB

This scripture inspired this work, it was done from a drawing and painted in Photoshop.

Have a great week creating lovely work.

Linked with Sunday Sketches