Author Archives: Maria - FlowingWatersArt

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About Maria - FlowingWatersArt

I'm a self-taught mixed media artist and have been creating art and a positive atmosphere in my life for as long as I can remember. I live in sunny South Florida, which serves as my inspiration for my use of bright fun colors with a whimsical flair. My goal is to inspire and empower you to find your inner happiness through creativity, as I have in my life. This website includes different tips and techniques that will hopefully inspire your inner muse to create. Welcome and join me on a wonderful journey in creating art!

Wild Roses Mixed Media

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Growing up, dad kept the most beautiful rose garden. I used love to walk through and look at all the different colors and varieties of roses. Each one was unique and absolutely lovely.

Laly Mille is a very talented mixed media artist in France and has a romantic style of painting. When I saw she offered a course on roses I couldn’t resist. So this past weekend I immersed myself in her online course, “Wild Roses.”

It was a well taught class where you create this beautiful mixed media canvas. Laly did an excellent job teaching how to paint the roses plus color mixing, composition, tips and techniques. She also explained about adding light and shading to the painting.

I learned new things that I’ll be using in my paintings including new supplies that I hadn’t thought to use before. So I’m looking forward to creating art with these new techniques.

I need to work on my composition a little more because my painting is a bit busy and should’ve left more to the imagination. But after painting the roses, I fell in love with them and didn’t have the heart to cover them up. So I decided to leave them as they were. I plan on doing a few more practice runs on paper before doing a large canvas to see what speaks to my heart more.

If you’re interested, I highly recommend Laly Mille’s online course, “Wild Roses.” It was an absolute delight!

Hope this inspires you to create, thanks for stopping by!!

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“The rose speaks of love, silently in a language known only to the heart.” ~Unknown

Photo by Valeria Boltneva on Pexels.com

Inchie Challenge 2023

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Amy Maricle at Mindful Art Studio is hosting another Inchie Challenge. I participated last year and had so much fun I couldn’t resist joining again.

The idea is to create a small piece of art based on a prompt provided by Amy, every day, for 12 days. You should use 2×2 inch squares of paper but I already have varying sizes cut so I’m using what I have in my stash.

These are my creations for the first five days:

  • Day 1 – Frothy
  • Day 2 – Woven
  • Day 3 – Bark
  • Day 4 – Magnolia
  • Day 5 – Spill
  • Day 1 – Frothy
  • Day 2 – Woven
  • Day 3 – Bark
  • Day 4 Magnolia
  • Day 5 – Spill

You can still join in on the fun. Visit Amy’s website at Mindful Art Studio and click the link to join the Inchie Challenge.

You can also find Amy on Facebook and Instagram at @amymaricle

Thanks for stopping by!!!

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“Imagination is the most marvelous, miraculous, inconceivably powerful force the world has ever known.” ~Napoleon Hill

Thoughtful Thursday Words of Wisdom by Gandhi

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We all face challenges and struggles. At times you may want to give up and call it quits. But when you dig deep, you’ll find that all of the challenges you’ve faced in your life have made you stronger and wiser. So as unpleasant as they may seem, keep going and get through it. You’ve got this!!

These words of encouragement are by Mohandas Gandhi and are featured on my abstract art:

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggle develops your strength. Whe you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”

Really love this quote. I hope you’re having a great week so far!

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Mountains Art Journal

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I was clipping images and words from a magazine to add to my journaling stash and came across an image with a lady in a black dress and large hat. I really liked it and thought it would make a nice journal layout.

I needed her to be looking at something beautiful, something that could take your breath away. What kept coming to mind was my dad’s love for the mountains. I remember gazing at them on our trips in awe, they were absolutely serene and majestic. So that’s what I went with. It’s a simple journal layout but I love the color combination on this one.

I finished it off with a quote by Helen Keller that reads:

“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”

I hope this inspires you to create, thanks for stopping by!!

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Botanicals Handmade Art Journal

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I created a few more pages in my handmade botanicals journal and thought I’d share them with you. These latest ones are flowers. I’ve been practicing painting loosely which can be quite a challenge for me at times. But I must say it’s been pretty fun!

What do you do to loosen up so you can create?

Have a wonderful weekend, thanks for stopping by!!

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“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” ~Carl Sagan

Thoughtful Thursday Framing Your Art

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You’ve seen art that you fell in love with but didn’t buy it because where would you hang it? Do you need a frame or no frame? What style of frame? Should it be a frame with glass or without?

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with all these questions? I know I have. Buying art to decorate and hang in your home can be a daunting task but it doesn’t have to be. So here are a few things to consider:

  1. When buying a work of art, photo or print think about where you’d like to hang it in your home and make sure the size you pick will fit in your space. If it’s a small piece you may want to group several together, otherwise your are will be lost on the overwhelming wall..
  2. Choose a frame style that goes with your decor. Whether it’s modern, traditional, gallery, floating or anything in between pick a frame that fits your taste. Most artists however, will create paintings on canvases that don’t require a frame. But if you want to make more of a statement or increase the size of the art, then a frame (without glass) is recommended plus it’s a nice finishing touch.
  3. Photos and Giclee prints or paintings created on paper will need a frame with glass. You may want to consider getting a frame with UV glass to protect your art from fading and becoming discolored over time.
  4. The depth of your frame will depend on your art. Canvas paintings will need a deeper frame to hang flush on the wall so make sure you measure the depth and buy the frame that will properly fit. A print or painting on paper won’t need anything that deep since it’s flat.
  5. Matting is another option which will increase the size of your finished piece. In general, canvases should not be matted. But prints and paintings on paper can be matted. When selecting a mat choose a color, texture and thickness that complements your art.

You want to create an eye catching display with your art that enhances the harmony of your home. Remember, if you change the style of your living space nothing is set in stone. You can easily change the style of the frame and give an old painting a new look.

One last thing, Jane Seymour wrote in one of her books that she changes the art in her home frequently depending time of the year and her taste. The extra paintings are simply stored until she’s ready to switch them out. I like this idea because you can buy several paintings for one room and change them whenever you feel like a refresh!

Hope you found these tips useful, thanks for stopping by!!

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“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.” ~Oscar Wilde

Dick Blick Watercolor Contest

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Happy August!! I can’t believe that more than half the year has already flown by. With all of this summer heat, I’m definitely ready for the cooler weather this year.

Dick Blick Art Supplies was hosting a watercolor contest so I thought it was a good opportunity to practice my portrait painting skills. I worked on her for some time and this was my entry into the contest. I named her “Crystal” because of her crystal blue eyes.

I feel I’m getting better but the eyes are still a bit wonky. However, I recently found a better technique to get them more even so I’m working on that at the moment. I love how her hair turned out, it took lots of layers. Overall I was happy with the painting I entered into the contest. There are so many talented artists who entered and inspired me to keep going!

Hope this inspires you to create today, thanks for stopping by!!

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“If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed.” ~Unknown

Botanicals Handmade Art Journal

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I’ve been having some fun creating loose paintings in my handmade botanicals journal. I love being able to create in this journal when I need a break or if I don’t have a lot of time.

The pages are fairly small (4.5 x 5 inches) and fill up pretty quickly. So you don’t have to overthink anything, it’s pretty intuitive and spontaneous. Just go with whatever comes to mind. Plus it’s satisfying to be able to finish something in a small amount of time.

There’s quite a few slides but my favorite is #10 with the blue and green leaves and red berries. My next favorite is #13 which is the one above and then of course all the flower ones. Some I’m not that crazy about but it was a learning experience trying new brushes and paints. Which one is your favorite?

✨Also, don’t forget the 50% Off, Christmas in July Sale going on in my Etsy Shop ends Sunday night at midnight. So make sure you don’t miss out✨

Hope you have a wonderful weekend planned, thanks for stopping by!!

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“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” ~George Bernard Shaw

Thoughtful Thursday Orcas spotted in Florida Keys

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Photo by Felix Rottmann on Pexels.com

I just heard about this on the news and it took me by complete surprise so I had to share it with you. As most of you know I’m a native Floridian and have spent much of my life in and near the ocean. But I’ve never seen or even heard of Orcas in our waters. But this past weekend, Orcas were been spotted in South Florida.

Florida waters are normally warm and this year the oceans are extremely warm. But Orcas usually prefer cooler waters so it’s surprising to see them here. Typically you’d find them in the Arctic, Pacific Northwest and the Northern Atlantic oceans. Although they do travel in all of the oceans around the globe, including South Florida seeing them this far south is definitely a rarity.

Apparently, last Saturday a group of fisherman were fishing 20 miles off the coast of Key Largo, located in the Upper Keys, when a group of orcas came up to their boat. It’s one thing to see one of these large whales in captivity, but it’s a bit unnerving to have a group of them get this close to you in open waters when your in a boat.

Marine biologists are stumped as to why they came to South Florida. But the group hung around the boat for a few minutes and then went off into the ocean. One of them even had a fish in his mouth. Luckily the fisherman were all fine.

Orcas are family oriented and live in groups or pods of up to 40 members. They can live anywhere from 50-80 years in the wild. An adult male can grow up to 26 feet in length and weigh up to 13,200 pounds. A baby orca, or calf is born weighing around 350 pounds. They’re very smart and are considered to be one of the most intelligent marine mammals.

We may never know why they were here, but I like to see it as a blessing 😊

Hope you enjoyed this post today, thanks for stopping by!!

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Flower Abstract Painting

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This is the finished 18×24″ flower abstract painting that I’ve been working on. It was painted with radiant colors to brighten the decor in any room. The background has lots of texture and I added splashes of white pearl paint for more interest.

I love the dreaminess of this painting. It reminds me of the aurora borealis lights. What do you think?

Hope this inspires you to create today, thanks for stopping by!!!

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“Let the magic of life remind you of your own miracles.” Shaa Zainol