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…
okay, so i’m not great at this blogging thing – yet. i just realized that it’s been over a month since i’ve posted here. i’ll try to do better! i won’t bore you with the details of internet problems and a non-working camera. i’ve gotten accustomed to taking all my photos on my iPhone, and it’s really convenient – i just need to work on taking and editing better photos…
just wanted to share some of what i’ve been up to. i HAVE been painting A LOT lately – finally! i’m getting back into the groove and loving it. the top photo shows a stack of canvases with finished backgrounds (most from my gelli printing sessions) that were just waiting to be finished. i’m working my way through the stack one by one…
this 8″ X 10″ mixed media original is one of my new favorites! titled “forever”, it’s a gelli printed canvas with acrylic paints, recycled papers (love to reuse and recycle!), and hand drawn touches. it will be available in my Etsy shop later today!
“Love knows no boundaries”, another 8″ X 10″ mixed media original, started with a map of the Pismo beach (California) as the background, then layers of texture with acrylic paints, Sharpies, and recycled papers (hearts are cut out from gelli prints). (this one is available in my Etsy shop now.)
stay tuned for more new artwork! 🙂
i’ve also been destashing supplies i’m no longer using (again!). i’ve been giving a lot of thought to this art business i think i’m in, and i’m come to the realization that i need to FOCUS. i want to try SO many creative things, i want to do it ALL – painting, drawing, beading, hand stitching, collaging – you name it, i wanna do it. which is fine, but if i want to sell my work successfully i think i need to focus on my strengths.
so – my Etsy supply shop is getting filled with items i’m no longer using: stamps, ribbons, paintable items, miniatures…you need to see for yourself!
newest items added to my Etsy supply shop…
Etsy supply shop collage (from Instagram)
that’s all for now…hope your May is off to a great start!
’til next time…
my husband and i took advantage of the beautiful sunny weather a few weeks ago and set up a painting area outside. we set up our canopy and our 6-foot table underneath and carried LOTS of art supplies outside.
i love when lawrence and i get to do artwork together; he works a ‘regular’ job during the week, so these times are rare…
i was excited to use my ROUND (!) gelli plate for the first time! i told myself today was just about playing, so i wasn’t worried about finished products, just going with the flow.
lawrence worked on creating mosaic crosses…
(sorry for the inconsistency in the photos – some were from our digital camera, some from my iPhone.)
i had to get a picture with my new round gelli plate BEFORE i covered it in paint!
my first print with the round gelli plate! remember, i was just playing with it, so i of course started with my favorite color (Americana’s Calypso Blue from DecoArt), then added a darker blue and got a cool, water-looking print.
i used one of my favorite stencils, the random text box stencil from Retro Cafe Gallery on the round gelli plate. i made some prints on white cardstock, some on old (rectangular) gelli prints. i was pretty happy with the results…
i’m thinking i’ll use these in future mixed media projects (stay tuned!)…
i also made some prints with my rectangular gelli print, this time using blues and orange (i LOVE this color combo!).
i’ve been wanting to make prints with large doilies, and today was the day…
next time i’ll use brighter colors for more vivid prints. i do love how i ended up with a half-painted doily – that will definitely be used in a future project too!
i tried out my set of alphabet metal stamping set on a piece of wood, just to see how it looked –
but i had to stop and take photos of my paper mache skulls while the natural light was still right.
(these are all available at our website www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com, at $18 each.)
(my mom checking out what lawrence is doing)
it was a good day. it was a beautiful day to be outside, i got lots of gelli prints ready for future pieces, lawrence created two beautiful mosaic crosses – all in all, a good day.
til next time…
susie carranza studio 