Blink

Yes, I know you've seen this before. A couple of versions, even... I'm taking another painting class from Wyanne called Tough Love. It's challenging (that's the tough part) and she is really a very patient teacher (that's the love).

One of the first things she did was have us look at a painting we had done and ask us what we would change about it if we could. I had done a different version of this one for a good friend in an art trade. I was going to paint a version for myself but hadn't started it yet.  My plan was just to do a painting similar to his but she suggested I look at it differently.

So I thought about it and had absolutely no ideas...lol! She gave me a few and I liked her idea of a pop art look. Then she told me about a technique that she had learned and showed the class how to do it so I tried that too. Of course she did it much better but I did give it a go. ;) Anyway, I'm pretty happy with it. At least the assignment is over and I have my painting. The deal with this class is the painting isn't finished until she says it is. I haven't heard back from her yet so I think it's finished. We shall see...

Rebel Spirit

When I sketched this gal I noticed right away that she had an attitude. I liked the rebel spirit I saw in her so I placed her in an appropriate atmosphere. Btw, part of the background is from the mega-talented Christine Honsinger (Fidlette Designs) at ScrapArtist.com. This is from her black and white collage series. I added a bunch of brushes and lots of color, a cool font, etc. but the background was a great starting point!

So it's with this attitude that I'll start my painting with Jared Knight's videos today (see previous post). I've done a couple of preliminary warm-ups while following along on his videos. Now I'm ready to try one "for real". I finally have all the supplies I need (can you believe I was out of black paint!) and I'm ready to go. I don't have any preconceived expectations, I just want to experience the freedom of the abstract design. I acknowledge to myself that I'm a beginner and I will only learn by doing. So I'm off to do just that.

Oh, I wanted to say THANK YOU to Michele for her comment. Check out her awesome artwork on her blog, "The Cat's Pajamas (see sidebar for link). I'm glad to hear that others are "struggling" with some of the indecision issues I mentioned in the last post. Your comments were most welcome and I absolutely love your collages!

OK, off to paint...