I was listening to a recording of Wayne Dyer today and thought I’d share this wonderful quote with you on one of my abstract watercolor paintings:
“With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.”
Last week I participated in Amy Maricle’s Simplest Things Challenge. On day 5 I created a few simple circles with different designs. I thought they looked pretty cool and wanted to make them much BIGGER! So I did full sized drawings of these two. What do you think?
I love watching the watercolor paints mingle and mix. You never know what they’re going to do and that’s the fun part 😊
Hope this inspires you to create this weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Share the Happy💖
“We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.” ~Bob Ross quote on creating art
This was my inspiration for the the 2 paintings above 😊
Amy Maricle @amymaricle at Mindful Art Studio hosted a challenge this week called The Simplest Things which I participated in. The idea was to create art everyday, from the simplest things. It was a 5 day challenge which started Monday and ended yesterday.
Originally I wanted to create a handmade journal for this challenge but it’s been a busy week so I ended up using a 6×6 inch mixed media spiral journal instead. I normally like heavier paper for journaling but the 90 lb mixed media paper worked well for this challenge.
Day 1 Prompt: Cursive Letter L
The photo above is for Day 1 and since I’m in mega love mode painting my hearts for the Expressions of Love Collection I couldn’t resist painting a few watercolor hearts that I cut out and glued into the journal.
Day 2 Prompt: Thread
Now this one was pretty funny because I started with threads which turned into seaweed which turned into an underwater world 😂 You never know where your imagination will lead you!
Day 3 Prompt: Leaf
I painted watercolor leaves which I cut out and glued into the journal. Technically the prompt is leaf, meaning only one but it depends on how you look at it. Plus I was having so much fun playing with my gold pen I had to make some extras.
Day 4 Prompt: Write then Cover with Watercolor
I’m not the type to put all my thoughts and feelings onto paper for the everyone to see. So I poured my heart out into the journal with a watercolor pencil and then did a very colorful watercolor wash for the background. Since I did actually pour my heart out into the journal I thought it was only fitting to add the heart inchies I previously made to these two pages.
Day 5 Prompt: Watercolor Wash and Marks in Pen
I decided to keep this one simple with painted watercolor circles and patterns using a Sakura Micron 05 pen. But the white space was just too plain for me so I added some glitter and now it feels finished!
This challenge was lots of fun and Amy was wonderful in teaching new tips, techniques and different ways of thinking about art! If you’re interested in learning more, please visit Amy Maricle’s site at MindfulArtStudio.com. She created a new online course, The Simplest Thing Journal which is based on some of the practices used in this challenge. It’s currently on sale sale through 2/13 so don’t miss out!!
I hope you enjoyed today’s post. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!!
Share the Happy 💖
“Art is not what you see but what you make others see.” ~Edgar Degas
A quick shop update. I always felt that we should express our love and appreciation to those we care about every day and not limit it to one day a year. And that was my motivation in creating this new line, Expressions of Love.
These 5×5 inch paintings were created on a thick 1.5 inch canvas so have the choice on how to display them. You can hang them in a small area or you could buy several and hang them as a nice grouping on your wall. The other option which I love with this thick canvas is that you can easily stand it on it’s side making it perfect decor for a desk, shelf or counter.
They are happy and fun paintings that will brighten up any space. They’ll come packaged in a pretty cellophane bag and tied with ribbon. These are the first two paintings I have available in my Etsy Shop and I’ll be adding more this week.
I love Valentine’s Day but it’s sad that it’s only celebrated one day out of the year. Our love for others should be celebrated everyday and not limited to a single day. So I decided to fix that and came up with the idea to start the Expressions of Love Collection.
I thought it would be a great way to tell some one how much you care and appreciate them. They could be perfect gifts for weddings, anniversaries, or a simple I love you! You could even gift one to show your appreciation to a special some one for all that they do.
The four paintings shown here are a work in progress so stay tuned. They’ll be available in different sizes and styles to fit your specific needs. Best of all, they will available all year.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for stopping by!!
Share the Happy 💖
“Forever and always, from me to you. My love is pure, my love is true. It is gifted to none other than you.” ~Truth Devour
I received some great news, Stampington Art Journaling is going to publish my angel journal. So I’ve been busy writing and rewriting the article trying to get the words just right. I’m uber excited but also a bit nervous. But I know it will all work out perfectly fine.
I’m keeping it simple today with so much on my plate. I came across this quote by Brendon Burchard that I thought was really good and put it on my Imagination Abstract Painting:
“Amplifying what is great within you will accelerate your life faster than fixing what you think ‘limits’ you.”
This was a fun Valentine’s Day card that’s fun and super easy to make. You can make it fit any size card. All you need is a cut out of a heart from heavy cardstock that fits on the front of your card and some ribbon.
What you do is glue the ribbon to the heart cut out, letting the ends of the ribbon extend past the heart. Make sure to use enough glue because you want the ribbon to be firmly attached. Once the glue has dried, turn the heart over and trim the excess ribbon with a good pair of scissors. Then glue the beautiful heart to the front of your card. Add embellishments and stamped images or hand write your own. And that’s it!
Another idea is use strips of fabric and follow the same steps as for the ribbon. There are lots of possibilities, just use your creativity 😊
Hope this inspires you in some way!
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Share the Happy💖
“I do love nothing in the world so much as you.” ~William Shakespeare
Last year I had the pleasure of participating in Amy Maricle’s Inchie Challenge which was a lots of fun. I had so much fun that I bought her book, “Draw Yourself Calm.”
It’s a wonderful book that is well written and teaches you to simply slow down. The best part is you only need minimal supplies to get started. I find the practice of creating these mini works of art very calming and relaxing, a good way to destress. It’s also a good warm up for me to get the creative energy flowing.
In this video you an see the inchies I made for Amy’s 2022 Challenge that I put into a handmade book I created. I hope you’ll hop over to her site, Mindfulartstudio.com and learn more about Amy and her work. Highly recommended!
Stay inspired and create some art!
Thanks for stopping by!!
Share the Happy 💖
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” ~Edgar Degas
With the New Year fast approaching I wanted to share a motivational quote with you by Zig Ziglar on my Determination Painting, it reads:
“Time can be an ally or an enemy. What it becomes depends entirely upon you, your goals and your determination to use every available minute.”
Time seems to fly by faster and faster. But for me, the worst feeling is to have time fly by and feel that I made no progress and spun my wheels in the mud. Time is always moving so we need to move right along with it so it doesn’t pass us by.
Are you ready to grab time and make it your ally this coming year?
Hope this inspires you in some way. Thanks for stopping by!!!
Many of you followed me on my art adventure as I filled this journal with angel paintings. I love painting them because they give me a sense of peace, an inner harmony. With as crazy as the world has become, when I sit down to paint one of these angels, my outer world simply disappears and I drift into a place of complete joy.
I was happy and sad when I filled the journal because I knew it was time to start something new. I wanted the covers to reflect the love and magic these paintings exude. It took a little bit of time but I was finally able to create some pretty cool covers for the journal.
Now for the hard part of sending this journal off to Stampington in the hopes that it will be published in their Art Journaling Magazine, wish me luck 🤞
I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!!!
Share the Happy 💖
“Every great move forward in your life begins with a leap of faith, a step into the unknown.” ~Brian Tracy