© Katie Jeanne Wood
Figure painting
Skirt of Many Colors
Prints are available here
daily painting: 365 day art project
Day 319
I uploaded a video of me painting this one a couple weeks ago. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s here.
Mixed Media Artist - daily painter of portraits, flowers, abstracts and birds
I Remember Your Small Room
12×12 acrylic mixed media portrait painting on canvas
Was $300
Now $180
Shh! Don’t tell my husband..he loves this painting, and would kill me if he knew I marked it down. 🙂
The 40% off portraits sale continues in my Etsy shop. I can’t remember the exact date I set as a cutoff, but I can tell you, the sale will be ending soon. I don’t know when I’ll be featuring a sale like this again, so this is basically your last chance to get a great deal while you still can.
© Katie Jeanne Wood
Art journal page
daily painting: 365 day art project
Day 316
Empowerment
Prints are available here
Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.
Pele
Make no mistake, being an artist takes great sacrifice. There always is, and always will be, something standing in the way between me, and my studio. There are a million other things to do, and a trillion excuses I make daily to try to weasel out of putting in the hard work.
“I don’t feel like painting” being at the top of my list most every day. If I told you that 9.9 times out of 10, I never feel like painting, would you be surprised? I paint anyway because I refuse to let how I feel physically or emotionally stand in the way of what I know I need to accomplish each day. If I did, I’d probably never get out of bed in the morning.
Oh, you’re tired?
Not in the mood?
You don’t feel well?
There, there.
Poor baby.
Now, go paint!!
The voice in my head isn’t always kind to me. What can I say? It knows me well, and doesn’t fall for my BS excuses. It knows how to get me up off the couch, and painting.
Looking back on the past 316 days, some haven’t been easy. The resistance to paint daily has been strongly felt, and I’ve wanted to quit too often to count. Underneath it all, I’m tenacious (INTJ to the core, what can I say?), and when I commit to do something, I follow through to the end.
The boldness of endurance is
the underline to almost every success.
– Mary Anne Radmacher
I know the disappointment of letting myself down, letting other people down (not that anyone cares if I paint daily or finish this 365 day project, but still..I pretend, and tell myself they do), and feeling like a failure/loser will be far worse than feeling a little too tired, sick or moody to paint at the moment.
Are you making the right choice today, and every day? If you really want to do something in life, no matter what it is, let nothing stand in your way.
© Katie Jeanne Wood
WIP art journal page
daily painting: 365 day art project
Day 314
The ugly stage is the most fun for me to paint. This is where I don’t care about the outcome, and I’m just getting in there, and making marks. Getting a layer down, not making any hard decisions, just playing around like a kid.
I ask myself a lot of “what ifs” at this point in the game. One of the questions I asked myself was what if I left it at the ugly stage forever? So, I did. For about a week (which seemed like forever because it was pretty ugly, imo) it stayed this way in my art journal, and then I couldn’t take it anymore, and this happened..
© Katie Jeanne Wood
finished portrait art journal page
daily painting: 365 day art project
Day 315
I’m probably going back in at some point, and fix her mouth a bit. I didn’t notice until seeing the photo, but she looks a bit disgusted or bitchy to me. I’m not sure what her problem is..but I don’t appreciate the attitude she’s giving me. haha!
PS: I woke up with this song in my head about two weeks ago. No, I’m not kidding (I wish!), and ever since, I can’t stop the earworm from playing non-stop in my brain. Why, brain, why??
Please send help soon, I beg you. 😀
Watching: Peggi Kroll-Roberts High Key Painting Demo
Reading: Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions by Russell Brand
© Katie Jeanne Wood
Blue floral painting
daily painting: 365 day art project
Day 312
Gifted – nfs
Prints are available here
Every time I walk past this old abandoned building downtown, I always think what a lovely studio/gallery it would make with its huge glass front. It kills me that so many lovely old buildings sit vacant like this. There is so much beauty in the decay. Unfortunately, it will probably be torn down soon, like the other old buildings in the area. Have to make room for things like the new dollar store that’s being built on my street, I guess. :/
Girl portrait painting
WIP
© Katie Jeanne Wood
daily painting: 365 day art project
Day 288
I apologize that this is blurry. I didn’t realize it at the time, and only shot one photo. I’ve since added more layers, so the painting has changed. This is all I got done on that day.
#WayBackWednesday
Painted in 2012, it’s titled This is What Sweet Pea Looks Like When She’s Mad at Me. haha hm..let’s see if that still holds true today, shall we?
Yesterday Sweet Pea was sprawled across the kitchen doorway, so I had to squeeze by her. This, of course, was all a ploy, a setup, a spider web dangling there waiting for a fly to come along. As soon as I thought I had made it through the small opening, she lashed out, and sliced my ankle open. Ow!
Would this cute, innocent girl do that?
No, right?
WRONG!!!
So how did I react? Why, I walked up closer to her, and tried to pat the back of her head. Yes, of course I did. My thinking was my poor little baby..she’s upset about something. I will sooth her, make her purr, and everything will be fine. Ahem..cats are NOT children. Duh.
She, always much quicker at thinking than me, whipped around fast, and bit my hand.
😀 😀 😀
My husband went hysterical laughing. hahahahahaha It never ceases to amaze him just how stupid I can be. I fall for this old trick of hers time after time, daily almost. I admit, it’s pretty pathetic what a sucker I am for that little girl.
So yup, I’d say the painting is still accurate today. This IS what Sweet Pea looks like when she’s mad at me with all her big bad teefies snarling at me.
Ooooh, how I love my little naughty princess. lol
BEFORE
Girl and bird figure painting
© Katie Jeanne Wood
daily painting: 365 day art project
Day 286
I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.
Charlotte Brontë
I hesitate slightly to show the before photo above because people often get upset with me for revising my work. I have no idea why. It strikes me as so odd, but then again, I’ve never thought of my work as being precious. I guess other artists feel differently about their work, so they get offended by my actions.
I’ve contemplated doing away with the before photos altogether, but I like showing the improvements I make, even if it doesn’t seem like an improvement to some people. haha
I made up my mind a looong time ago, I’m not going to keep paintings around that I don’t like, which means I have two options. I can take a painting out back, chop it into tiny bits with an axe, and throw it in a bonfire or I can revise it. I prefer the upcycling option because I’m hippy dippy in my way of thinking. Why rip a page out of my book or ruin a perfectly good canvas when I can paint something I like better over the top?
It’s just my way of thinking. Thanks for understanding.
Girl and bird figure art journal painting
© Katie Jeanne Wood
daily painting: 365 day art project
Day 287
And now, I’m just going to leave this bit of humor..
right
here…
© Katie Jeanne Wood
Art journal portrait painting
daily painting: 365 day art project
Day 285
Along with several art journals, electronic, and paper journals, I also keep a daily gratitude journal. I list anywhere from 3 to 100 things I’m grateful for each day. It’s really not that hard to do, doesn’t take a lot of time, and it helps me keep everything in perspective. Like everyone, I start to take things for granted, if I’m not careful. I never want to be that careless, so I try to write it all down.
Chewybacca says, “Neener, neener. I’m using your journals for a pillow, and you can’t stop me.”
Always topping the list are my family members, especially my husband, my son, daughter-in-law, 3 precious grand-babies, 2 step-kids, friends, kitties, and of course, my lil dog, Chewy. Without them, and all the love they freely, and selflessly give me, I would be nothing.
Next comes my health, even though it’s not the easiest some days, living with 3 autoimmune diseases, I’m thankful every day to still be alive.
From there I branch out a bit by writing whatever comes to mind.. blue sky, yesterday’s rain, fluffy clouds, flowers, butterflies, fresh air to breathe, the ability to take deep breaths (someone is taking their last right now), fresh organic food from the market, Greg’s vegetable garden, the cucumber salad I ate for dinner, the bowl & the fork I used to eat it, the bottled water I drank, the dishwasher that keeps our dishes clean, the lovely warm weather, the 10 minute shower I took to cool off, central ac & heat, my car, and the freedom I have to go wherever I please, the city I live in, the safe streets I walk my dog, the mace I carry in my pocket – just in case, seeing my husband’s birthday gift sitting on the front porch after the tracking number said it went missing, electricity, running water, a toilet that flushes (because it didn’t this morning, and I almost panicked..until I threw on my plumbers hat and fixed it. whew!), comfort, lack of drama in my life, quiet, time spent alone, and with those I love, my art supplies, the books I’m reading, my back porch where I enjoy reading the most, my house and studio, the chair I’m sitting on, the internet, email that keeps me in touch with those far away, the 3 electronic devices I’m so addicted to, the clothes on my back, money in my pocket, incoming custom work, paintings & prints being purchased from my online shops, the sweet emails I receive about my work, my blog readers who take time out of their day to read my drivel..I could seriously go on and on. I’m so appreciative of it all.
FACT: If Sweet Pea can be happy, and make the most of every day given the shitty hand she was dealt in life – she was born without eyes, for goodness sake, then I certainly can find happiness with all the riches I’ve been given, and so can you.
If you don’t keep a gratitude journal, I urge you to try it every day for a week. See if it doesn’t start to positively change your life, and the way you look at everything. You’ll start to appreciate little moments you probably would have taken for granted before, and you’ll think, I’ve got to remember this, and write it down later. You will naturally start focusing on all the good stuff happening, and realize how the good in life definitely outweighs the bad. You just have to look for the good, and appreciate when it happens.
Does keeping this type of journal make life perfect? Oh, heck no..I’ve still got 99 problems, just like Jay Z, and everyone else, but it sure beats sitting around hating on everything/everyone, groaning about every little thing, and complaining. 🙂
Listening to Coffee Shop Blend.
I hope you had a great weekend, and are well rested. We have a new week stretched out in front of us. Let’s all be grateful for it, and paint like mad.