Why not?..... change if you want to....New Art

What do you do when something is just not working?  I had been working on a piece of art in the studio and for some reason it just wasn't coming together, I tried to push in a variety of directions with my head and not my heart and this is what I came up with...

Starting out in one direction

I was feeling the sentiment, but wasn't really feeling the image, not at that time anyway and I wanted to do something that was different.

Normally I have tried to stick with it and make it work, but I wondered to myself 'what if I just started again?'  Why be so afraid of starting over.  We can get so stuck at times feeling that change is somehow bad, or that we will never make what we started work out.  

We have to learn from each and every step, fall, or turnaround and not look at anything as a failure but as a learning experience.

Taking a step towards change

Hesitantly I started to gesso over what I had done and add a little bit of color, not sure of what I had actually wanted to do but knowing that I was going in the right direction, why not try something different?  When coming up with a new painting I don't plan in the outset what I want to paint, but allow the colors I put down and shapes to reveal and visit the page.

Patience and a bit of prodding

Still undecided about the direction I decide to flip the page 180 degrees, to see what would present itself, and then I know that this is the direction that the paper should be and as I lay down some marks I begin to see a figure emerging, coming to join me in my creative journey.

A new image appears

There is no reason why you can't change your mind and see things in a different light, your still telling your story, stepping out into what could be your unknown and sitting in the uncomfortable-ness of it all.  I used to think that if I changed my mind I would never be able to create another thing that was as good, but I know that sometimes changing our mind is stepping out into better, and not settling for what we feel that we want or should have in our lives, but really going for what we dream.

Anyway, I stuck with this painting and the new direction, and much prefer how it turned out, there is a sense of peace about it, and I have a sense of achievement that tells me I can change my mind, or start over and it will be alright.  When we look back at our lives we can if we dare to look see the transformations that have taken place, they were not always easy, but when we keep going, acknowledge the fear but keep move on, we can often be surprised by the finished results.

Why Not?  Mixed Media art by Amanda Trought

If you would like to buy a print of this piece I will be putting it up in my Society 6 store

Material Mondays - Painted fabric

Material Mondays - Painted Fabric

Welcome back to Monday Makes, it has been a while since I have posted what I have made either from fabric or crochet.  I have been busy in the background and will be sharing with you over the next few weeks, getting back on track

You can do many things with fabric, it is so versatile.  I decided to experiment, and took sari fabric which was quite sheer and sandwiched a piece of paper between two pieces of the material.

This meant that I was able to stiffen it up prior to working on it.  After letting it dry I painted with gesso and was then able to add an image.

I also added some journaling and beading on the body of the image and also as earrings

 It was great to experiment by adding the beads, and being fabric made it easy to sew.  I found that because the material was so sheer you needed to take extra care to add enough glue to the surfaces, which resulted in areas where it didn't stick properly.

A remedy would be to use these areas as a part of the decoration and sew additional beads to these parts, try to flatten by ironing them out or cut and reseal, which will probably be the most effective remedy.  I haven't quite decided what I will be using the decorated fabric painting for, and this will inform to a certain extent how prominent the areas look.

Painted and decorated fabric

Why not see what you can do with the fabric that you have and do something different with it.  Do let me know how you get on.

If you are considering learning how to crochet, or any other creative activity check out Craftsy online courses, at the moment they are doing a special offer on some of their classes, and they are offering some free mini courses. Click here. 

Have a blessed day, see you tomorrow for Tutorial Tuesday.

Creating....the process

I love looking at the process photos of how a painting comes into being, and every now and then share with you here.  I wanted to show you this particular painting that I had done recently and how it started out and what the finished result looked like.

I have over the past few months been attempting to paint a few more male portraits, it was something I was quite used to doing with graphite, but never attempted many paintings

After using my gelli plate to create a background this young man came to visit and I was able to capture him in charcoal.

Starting out using gelli print and charcoal to sketch the image

with each application of paint, he reveals a bit more of himself..

Image continues to emerge

he shares his dreams of travelling, and I wondered if they would remain just dreams or if he would be able to have some adventures of his own.

It had taken quite a bit of thought, planning and convincing that he was able too venture forth

He had already begun, he was living his adventure, travelling around the world, meeting new people and finding himself..

He knew who he was, where his talents and opportunities lay and he set out to share them with the world.

Valiant - Mixed Media Art on Watercolour 

Recycled Projects - 'John Lewis' art Journal

How many times have you come across a catalogue that you were not really interested in the products, but the paper that it was made from?  Not to say that I don't like John Lewis products, but when I came across this catalogue I thought that I would put it to use.

You can make a journal out of anything, putting the pages together for yourself and creating to your hearts content.  The fun lays in taking something made for one use and totally changing it, and seeing what each page will eventually become.

My use for this journal is as a jump start to get my creative juices flowing using some of the pictures as inspiration and for when I have a limited supply.

I first set out to decorate the front using paints, stamps, modelling paste, and markers to remind myself that its purpose was to inspire, not get overwhelmed with what I wanted to create, but just play.  

On the back cover I wanted to create a painting but it also had to be durable as it would be taken around, thrown into bags and experience rough and tumble.

Using tissue paper glued randomly to the back, applying paint and then sealing it all in means that it is a journal that will stand the tests of time, or there about.

I proceeded to stick several of the pages together to create a strong surface that would take paint well, and then I see what images inspire.  Each page has a selection of beds, bedding and household furniture and I either use the room settings as the basis for the page, or draw something totally unrelated. 

Here is a page that I chose to do create a scene with, after it is chosen and I start to draw round the items I want to keep in charcoal. 

I get a sense after a while of the characters that may be present in the room, and this young man found his way in the room, and decided to jump all over the bed.

Using gesso I block out those areas that I don't want to keep and think about either adding additional characters or thinking about paint.

This little girl couldn't resist joining the little boy to jump all over his parents bed, and so that's how I have been using the journal to think about ideas and stories about the lives of the people that join me on the pages of the journal.

I have yet to finish this page, but finishing is not the main objective or motivation, it is to continue to take the time to be creative if possible every day.

Here are a few other pages that I have started, and work on bits when the mood takes, and I look forward to working on them.

On some of the pages I have been working on, stories waiting to be told.

Some stories tell of hope and looking to the future.....

thinking about the past, and being present.......

But most of all working in this journal has been a fresh way of looking at things, often those things that we see day after day and making something new.  I really do encourage you to look at some of the things that you can recycle and use for creative purposes.  Check out some of the other Recycled projects that I have made.  Over the next few weeks I am looking forward sharing other recycled art journals, and ones that you can also make and bind yourself.  Until then stay blessed!