No Rules Painting

I have always been a rule-follower. I don't like breaking the rules, I like knowing where I stand, and I don't like upsetting people.

But somewhere along the line, I came across art journaling, mixed media, Tangie Baxter, Christy Tomlinson, Donna Downey, and so many more, who threw the rulebooks out the window, and encouraged me to do the same. [In fact, I read an interview with Teesha Moore that said that very thing--she actually hates rules]. I learned that this was one "safe" realm where I didn't have to follow any rule I wanted, and it was so freeing!


So the irony is, by creating that "safe zone" for myself, I actually gave myself my own rules. I never tried to paint or draw anything that looked remotely real. I was afraid that the "true" artists would come and yell at me for not having proper technique, for not using the right paint/paper/etc. They all know color theory, anatomy, perspective, etc, and I have never taken a true art class, so I know very little.

There are a lot of things artists will say not to do/to do. I know there may be a right/wrong way to do some things, but what's going to happen if I don't follow the rules? What if I use cheap craft paint?
What if I use the wrong type of paper or brush? What if I do my shadows the wrong way?

The worst that can happen is I end up with a big mess that looks like crap, I suppose. I will have "wasted" time and materials. But oh well! At this point in my life, art is a hobby, something I enjoy. And if I enjoy it and I don't know the real rules, OH WELL! Maybe later I will take more time to learn them, but for not, I am having more fun not worrying about fancy rules and just doing whatever I want.

All that being said, the other reason that I've never tried fine art is that I was afraid I would suck at it. I'm the type of person who hates failing at something, and pathetically gives up when I don't get it fast enough. I know that that's an awful way to be, so I have been trying to overcome it.

So, when I saw a newsletter from Craftsy recently that advertised a free acrylic painting course, I jumped on it. I watched the first few videos, and the teacher made it look so easy, I thought that I really might have a shot at doing this!  (I have also attended a couple of those "wine and canvas" events that seem to be everywhere these days...you follow instructions to make a painting while relaxing with your girlfriends and sometimes drinking wine) So I have been trying my hand at painting lately. I read somewhere that it takes drawing/painting about 100 faces to start being very good at it. I don't know what number I'm at by now, but I can see a true progression at this point.

You can judge me for not following the "art rules" if you want, I don't really care. I just want to show others out there that it is worth giving it a shot. If I never tried, I wouldn't get any better.

Ok, rambling over. I want to show you what I've been working on!

 First, let me remind you of some previous painting attempts I have posted on here before (notice they are all firmly in the "mixed media" realm due to the really crazy backgrounds they have)

They're not horrible, but the first two especially lack any depth at all. The last two, I made more recently and they are starting to look a bit better.

So here's what I have done in the past few weeks...

Flowers...

And faces....

 Something's off about this last one, but I'm not sure what. Her eyes are too far apart maybe? She looks a bit manly for some reason. The shadow on the side of her face is definitely off, but after messing with it for quite awhile, I decided to just let it be.

If it helps put it in perspective, here's the magazine photo I was basing her off of:

I will keep trying and post updates in the coming months!

Disney Album!

I have taken a number of vacations in the past, and each time I planned to create some sort of travel album....and have never done so :( I have scrapped individual pages, but I have never created a memento album like I have seen so many examples of from other people.

So, for the trip to Walt Disney World we have coming up, I am determined to make this trip the first one that I actually create an album for! I debated on how to create my album. Then I decided to jump on the "Smash book" train (I know I am really late on this, these days everything is all about Project Life instead of Smash but that's ok.)  I created a base album, so that hopefully I can just stick in the photos and journaling.

I first thought that I would bring my album with me and work on it on the trip, but after spending hours on the cover, I really don't see myself now stuffing it in a suitcase or backpack where it could get messed up (especially considering that I already lost a star embellishment off the front). Instead, I will bring a plastic envelope/pouch to collect any ephemera, and a little notebook to take notes. When I get home, I will put it all together!

I started with this base binder:

I chose this one because it was 3-hole (instead of a Smash one, which is spiral bound). I wanted to make sure I could add in my own pages and pockets, and change around the order if needed.

Notes about this binder: I actually felt like it came with too many inside pages for the ring size. I knew that I would be adding a fair amount of bulk to some pages, and adding some pockets, so I took out probably around 1/3 of the pages or more. Unfortunately, this meant breaking up coordinated "spreads." Along similar lines, when I flipped through the pages, the insides of each page kept getting caught by the rings. To remedy that, I sliced off a tiny bit of each page to the left of the hole punches. I feel like had the rings just been a bit bigger, I could have avoided a lot of hassle!

Also, I didn't particularly like the pattern on the cover. You can see that I put my own paper over the whole thing.


Here's a look at my finished cover (minus one star!) and a few inside pages:

I will share the rest once our trip (and then the album itself) is completed!

Oh, and one more Disney-related creation....here's a little canvas I made for a friend (sorry about the picture quality, I forgot to take a photo of it myself before I gave it to her, so this is a pic from her phone)

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Art Journaling in 3 styles

Here are a few pages I've made recently. I have been trying to emulate some of my favorite artists, in hopes that I can become a better artist myself!


This one is a lift of a page by Georgia Heald. Here's my take:

This next one is a lift of a page by Kasia, though I don't think it turned out exactly how I wanted. I am just in awe of her ability to create such gorgeous pages, and have it be all random and messy but still look so amazing. She makes it look really easy, but it is a true talent!

 

And finally, here is a page in the style of Dina Wakely. She is another one who makes it look so easy...but after trying this style, I have learned that I still need some practice! This page might not be finished yet, but I am taking a break on it for now.

I am linking this up to this week's Art Journal Everyday post at Balzer Designs...my friend from my digi days, Melita Bloomer, is a guest blogger there this week!