I’m happy to say that I’m still going strong with HeARTspace’s 30 paintings in 30 days challenge! Here’s what I’ve been up to…
Day 5: “For Patty”, mixed media on 7″ X 9″ hardboard.
Day 6: “Unknown”, mixed media on 8″ X 10″ canvas board.
Day 7: “It Never Stops”, acrylic paints on 5 1/2″ X 7″ canvas.
Day 8: “Dream”, mixed media on 11″ X 14″ canvas.
Day 9: “Still Together”, mixed media on 5″ X 7″ wood plaque.
Day 10: “Two”, mixed media on 6″ X 9″ canvas.
I’m still going…!
’til next time…
It’s been a month since I’ve blogged…I know, I’m ashamed to even call myself a blogger. but I swear I have the BEST intentions: I will blog regularly, I will create/paint/draw/etc. regularly…then stuff (life!) happens.
right now, Lawrence and I are in the process of fixing up his childhood home, (renovating, updating, cleaning) in preparation for the two of us to move in and care for his mom. once we hired contractors for a complete reno of the kitchen (last month), things started moving forward really fast!
so – besides painting rooms in his childhood home, I’ve been feeling sorely lacking in the field of ‘artist’, until I was faced with a painting challenge…
on Facebook, I’m a member of an artist group, HeARTspace, overseen by artist Jeanne Bessette. I must admit, up ’til now, I haven’t been very active in the group. I do check in daily and read others’ posts, but other than sharing my work twice in pop-up galleries, I’ve been pretty quiet. when Jeanne posted over the weekend that she wanted to challenge anyone interested in a 30 day, 30 paintings challenge, I thought “how cool!” then came up with lots of reasons why I couldn’t do it.
the success other artists spoke about already having was intimidating
i can’t create 1 painting a day – I’ve got tooooo much going on!
my work won’t be good enough
etc. etc. etc.
well, I did some soul searching Sunday night – about lots of stuff in my life right now. a conversation with a good friend last week got me thinking about where my life was headed. (you know one of those friends you’ve had FOREVER, you fall in and out of touch, but when you talk again you realize how much he really knows you? yeah, one of those friends…) he questioned if I was okay with all the changes happening in my life right now. he left me with “it’s never too late. never.”
never too late to make changes. to speak up. to move forward in the direction I want to end up.
I sometimes feel like parts of my life are out of my control, especially now. and I’m not sure what to do about it. but I realized that the one thing I can control is my art.
if I create. when I create. how I create. what I create.
so – I can continue blaming what’s happening in other parts of my life for what’s happening in my art life, or I get off my creative ass, step up, and just CREATE.
i can move towards my art.
monday when I saw the post asking for the first painting of the 30 day challenge, I ignored my inner critic and stepped up. and I painted. and drew. and I shared my first painting in the challenge, thus signing up for the 30 days.
and felt happy and in control. yes…
“Sunflower in the Rain” by Susie Carranza
my first painting: “Sunflowers in the Rain”. I used an 8′ by 10′ canvas, with a gelli printed background. I also challenged myself NOT to use my beloved Sharpies or PITT artist pens, instead using my new white uni- ball Signo pens. (which, by the way, I LOVED! all my blacks pens and markers have some serious competition now!)
this challenge will also help my blogging, since I plan to share my 30 paintings here.
stay tuned…
papel picado
i’m so excited that i can FINALLY share my news! remember this post from May: “opportunity knocked – we answered!“?! well, i can now tell you that this coming Monday – August 11, 2014 – you can see our artwork (‘our’ being my husband Lawrence and me) on an all new episode of “The Fosters”, on ABC Family!
i’m very grateful we had the opportunity to do this. as i wrote in the previously mentioned blog post, Lawrence was very surprised that i applied for this. to be honest, i had initially thought about NOT mentioning it to him, and not doing anything about it. i’m so glad i didn’t go with my gut reaction this time!
set life was like nothing i’ve ever experienced: it’s hurryhurryhurry, set up your space (we were to set up a 10′ X 10′ booth as we would for an art show), then wait until we were needed. one day they didn’t film near our booth at all, so we got to roam the set location (out of the way of the cameras, of course!) and watch all the action strictly as spectators. luckily, we were allowed to leave our setup for the whole week, as opposed to taking down and setting up again each day. it was really interesting to watch filming, see how the cast and crew worked together (they all seemed to get along great), chat with all the extras and hear about their experiences on different jobs – AND we got to enjoy some of the most delicious food too! the catering company for this job was awesome – we couldn’t wait to see what we were being offered each day!
i got to personally meet artists whose work i’d admired for quite some time, hang out with them a bit – even discussed the world of art and blogging.
i heard that the episode would air August 11th, but August kind of snuck up on me. it wasn’t until earlier this week when our niece texted Lawrence a picture of the preview for next Monday’s episode of “The Fosters” that we realized ‘our’ episode was here! 🙂 we were so excited!!! i mean, we would have never thought that we’d have the chance to have our work exposed on television to so many people!
i’m sharing this photo from “The Fosters” facebook page. it’s actually a photo of the preview video for next week’s episode, showing our booth and some of our work in the background…
To learn more about “The Fosters”, check out their official page at ABC Family. and maybe you’ll check out the episode next Monday. if you do, let me know what you think!
’til next time…
my first ever Frida-inspired art piece
today Frida Kahlo would have celebrated her 107th birthday. although she passed away in 1954, she continues to be a huge source of artistic inspiration to many.
i love Frida’s art work. she portrayed beauty alongside tragedy, joy alongside sadness, and her pieces are full of raw emotion you can’t help but also feel if you really look at her work.
above is my newest art piece, simply titled “Frida”. it is my first ever Frida-inspired piece – but i really enjoyed making it so it definitely won’t be my last!
til next time…
susie carranza studio 