change is good

"Change is Good" - mixed media on canvas

At least that's what I keep telling myself. Next Thursday is my last day at my art therapy job after 9 years. I'm having such mixed emotions. I made this canvas as a "going away" gift for the program. That is a tradition when a clinician leaves. It was therapeutic for me to paint. I started with layering patterned paper on the canvas and then covering a lot of it with white gesso and then some dark brown acrylic. I painted the tree with acrylics. I did a similar tree a few years ago after watching the movie Avatar. I loved the colorful, odd, trees and flowers. I punched out several butterflies out of patterned paper and layered them so they appear 3-D. I also added a few rhinestones and calender washi tape to represent the years I spent there. The letters are basic black vinyl letters. I wanted them bold. The painting is purposely darker in the upper left and gradually gets lighter in the upper left. It represents my mixed feelings. I have been feeling very burnt out for a long time and this is a needed change though I wish it could have been under my terms. I feel a bit cheated and angry. I'm trying to let go of that and face this as an opportunity. I'm just really scared. Here are a few close ups...

closeup of butterflies and the brightness

tree and calendar that represents myself and my time

Thanks for looking. Happy Saturday!

Past Year's Projects: Part 4

I wasn't going to do a 4th post on my past year's projects but decided to show three paintings. I did these one night a few weeks ago. The only art I was regularly doing over the past few years was knitting. Mainly because it is easy to pull out wherever. In 2010 we had some serious medical issues with my dad and I just didn't feel like doing much of anything artwise. In 2011/2012 I got married and had a baby so life was so busy I didn't really have time. Also up until this past November, we were living in a 1 bedroom apartment and sharing a room with the baby. So when she was sleeping at night and I had quiet time, I couldn't use my art desk to scrap, paint, or whatever. It was just too much effort at the end of the day to pull out all my supplies and tote them to the kitchen table! So I didn't. I was an art major in college but didn't really paint. It just wasn't my thing. I loved to create realistic charcoal drawings. Most of my art was realistic. When I went to grad school for art therapy and started my career in the field 10 years ago I started doing more and more abstract stuff. It was kind of freeing. I am a perfectionist and it is quite time consuming to create something lifelike. I still love that kind of work deep down...but my work can be stressful. At the end of the day sometimes I just want to create for an hour or so and put down my feelings. Anyhow...here are three pieces I started a few weeks ago one night when I was super motivated to paint! They aren't the best...but it felt good to make them.

Abstract: This one reminds me of space. It was the first one I made that night. It is really different from what I usually do. I'm typically drawn to blues and greens...I don't even really like orange. And the dots...they were repetitive and relaxing!

Sunset: This one is unfinished.  I had been thinking of this image for awhile...

Little Red Bird: I had thought this one was unfinished...but looking at it now I think it might be done. I feel peaceful when I look at it and it was the last one I did that night. I think I felt peaceful after getting out all of the energy in the previous two. I need this peacefulness today. We received discouraging, scary news over the weekend and I need peacefulness.

That's all for today. I'm hoping to have some time to scrap this week. I'm also itching for a trip to my LSS for some new treats...its been so long! Thanks for looking!

it's a start

Art journaling. A few months ago I bought the book Journal Spilling and have been looking through it since. I tried to convince myself I didn't need another journal to start this. I tried using some I had already started. But as I mentioned in an early entry I love starting journals. Something about all the new pages. New possibilities. So in honor of the end of the academic year and a lighter work week during the summer, I picked up a few things at Blick yesterday. Mainly I went in for these...

I had a 30% off coupon and so I splurged on the set of 30. I LOVE them! I love trying new materials. My first art love was charcoal. Black and white landscapes. I did those in college and still enjoy them. But it has been awhile since I have done a lot of drawing from life - or realistic. Later in grad school I loved NuPastels. I still enjoy those...along with my Prismacolor pencils. But only when I'm journaling or doing abstract stuff. Recently I have been enjoying watercolor pencils, my little set of travel watercolors and my waterbrush. If you have never tried a waterbrush I highly recommend the Yasutomo brand. I started with the medium brush. They work great for doing art while traveling.They are easy to bring to work with me and in between group sessions I can do a little thinking and painting. But they are so neat. I'm a perfectionist. But I have always wanted to have a big, overgrown, messy journal. I am not sure I can do it but I will try. It is a goal in life too. To let myself just try things and not worry about how it will look, etc. I am always hesitant about making "mistakes", getting messy, looking stupid, etc. All those insecurities. And being that I'm an art therapist...I want a dose of my own medicine. So I'm going to try it. Here's what I worked on today...

Started with a page of journaling about all the things on my mind. Then I let myself play around with gesso over my words and then my new Neocolors. Still a little neat for what I am trying to do. But it's a start.

Note: after writing this entry I noticed that Donna Downey's blog for her Inspiration Wednesday this week shows how she uses these watercolor crayons and her waterbrush in her art journal.

Happy Saturday!