art journal – Katie Jeanne Wood

B&W gouache portrait painting in my art journal

I used a mixture of gouache & acrylics on most of the pages in my art journal so far. I mixed up a big jar of gray using acrylic paint, so I have plenty for at least a month or two.

I don’t mix acrylic in with the gouache paint. I have separate palettes for both, so I can keep reactivating the gouache when necessary. However, if the two blend together on the page as I’m painting, it’s fine.

This painting isn’t for sale, but I do have others available in my shop.

ChewyBarka Boo Boo
thanks you for stopping by.

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Geno – gouache portrait painting

Geno
Art journal
gouache portrait painting
WIP

I was thumbing through my art journal last night, and didn’t like the shadow on his nose. I thought it was too distracting, so I painted over it.

This painting isn’t for sale, but there are others available in my shop.

What I’ve been watching lately:

KOKKE House – THE ART OF SITTING – Ruud-Jan gained international recognition as a product designer with his designs of a museum stool and walking cane in the early 1990s.

What Happened To Etsy? – I could write about this for days. Instead, I’ll just say that my Etsy shop of 16+ years will be closing very soon. My last listing will expire in August. For now, there’s still time to take advantage of the 25% off sale I’m running there.

I apologize if you’ve stopped by, and the sale wasn’t running. US law only allows running a sale for 30 days. Since Etsy is no longer a priority on my daily to-do list, and I barely ever login these days, I forgot to start a new sale when the old one expired. The sale is back on now.

JENNY GIATIS | FISH KIDS

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Color can be too demanding

Black & white gouache portrait painting
art journal

Why black and white?
Because color can be too demanding.

Diane Keaton

I was going to leave her body unpainted because I like the unfinished, “who did it and ran” look of some paintings. When I tilted my art journal up to take a photo of it, her chin leaked, creating a “make lemonade from lemons” situation.

I could have left the streak alone or painted over it in white. Either way, the unfinished look I originally was going for was no longer possible, so I decided to paint some stripes instead.

I think the stripes make her hair pop, and my original idea probably wouldn’t have, so everything worked out.

This painting isn’t for sale, but there are prints available on Daily Paintworks. There are also other paintings available in my shop.

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What I’m watching:

Jade van der Mark – REFLECT / RECONNECT – LOVE her portraits. She also has a website.

Gloria Landenberger – MEDITATION / CLARITY – As young as 8 or 9, Gloria developed a passion for creating little ornamental ships out of paper. Showcasing pieces as small as a grain of rice, her dream was to create the smallest ship in the entire world.

Do You Still Believe ART Should Be Beautiful?

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Painting a silly character in my art journal with gouache

This is the silly character painting I wrote about last week. Oh what a difference it makes to be in the right headspace when you paint.

This painting came together so fast, and I had fun painting him because I stayed loose, and playful. I threw paint down quickly to get this guy out of my mind’s eye, and on to the page where he was begging to be released.

When I was finished, which maybe was in 10 minutes tops, I said to myself, now THIS is how I want to paint in my art journal. I’m a realist, and know it isn’t always possible. I’m happy that I was able to pause my adult brain for a few minutes, and create this guy, tho.

It took me four years to paint like Raphael,
but a lifetime to paint like a child.
Picasso

The learning curve to get into a childlike mindset is steep, but I’m thinking if I can tap into it, so can you. I hope you leave your adult world behind, and find some time to play today.

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It’s hard to paint like a child

This is continuing on from last week‘s post..same art journal page, but this is after I decided to add color to it. I don’t usually talk about paintings I don’t like, but I’m going to make an exception for this one. I don’t like it. I’m not judging the painting by the outcome, and how it looks, but rather, how I felt as I was painting it. I’m going to explain what happened because it might be helpful to someone struggling to paint.

It was my first time painting after taking some time off, and I felt tight and rigid..in my thoughts, and the way I was painting. I was gripping the paint brush, and being highly critical of every brush stroke I made. I was all up in my head, and it made what could have been a lovely experience difficult.

If I create from the heart,
nearly everything works;
if from the head,
almost nothing.

Marc Chagall

I was able to snap out of my serious mood, if only for a few minutes, and get back into the flow by watching a video by Sandi Hester. She always makes me laugh, and in the video I watched, she was talking about how hard it is to paint like a child. I started nodding my head like a bobble doll at the screen. It was as if she was speaking directly to me.

Our adult minds tend to be very serious, and to let go and play like a child requires finding that kid-like place buried deep inside.

I definitely recommend watching Sandi if you can’t quite get there on your own because once I laughed a few times at her silly antics, and watched her paint, I was ready to try again.

Putting my adult brain on pause, I reached for my art journal, and painted a silly character. Laaaaa! I felt like singing. The paint started to flow easily off my brush once my brain eased up on me. What a difference between the two experiences. It’s no wonder I like the second painting better than this one. The process…it’s all about how much you’re enjoying the process.

Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

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B&W art journal sketch

I thought I was finished with this art journal. This is the one I worked over the winter, and I filled the front side of each page. I recently decided to flip it over and paint on the reverse side of the paper.

I was a little hesitant to do this because the paper is thin, and I thought the gouache would bleed through, and possibly ruin the painting on the other side.

If it happens, I’ll stop, but so far, so good. I’ve done 2 paintings, and all seems well.

There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules. That is what invention is about.

Helen Frankenthaler

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Scribbling in my art journal

Art journal gouache portrait painting

Sometimes I’m in the mood to scribble all over my artwork.

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The hardest part about blogging

Mixed media portrait paintings
in my art journal

The hardest part about blogging for me has always been the writing part. It’s especially difficult when I’ve spent all my creative energy on new paintings.

Today, I brainstormed for over an hour. I wrote. I deleted. I wrote more. Deleted. I tried to find a quote that might work instead. I came up empty handed.

I ask myself routinely why my artwork can’t be enough. Why must I hold myself to adding conversation on top of it? I’m an artist, not a writer. Who set these stupid rules anyway? Oh, yeah..I did. Doh.

Silly thinking on my part. Of course my artwork can be enough. Now, and always.

What I’ve been watching:

Lonely life of 92 year old grandmother at the edge of the world is far from civilization.

I watched this beautiful short 30 min documentary a couple days ago, and can’t stop thinking about this lady. Her story is haunting me, especially the part at the end where her grandson said he’d come back in the summer. That’s far too long for her to be alone, imo, especially with the amount of work it takes to provide heat, water & food for herself. Plus, she has no way to communicate with anyone, I assume. Oh, my heart. I hope they do a follow up on her.

Happy old age of an elderly couple in a mountain village in winter far from civilization.

This lovely couple also lives in Ukraine, and it’s another fascinating story.

Reading:

Karola Pezarro Conjures Hidden Thoughts and Emotions Through Gauzy Embroidered Portraits

I thought of my bestie Wanda when I saw these. xoxo

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a lovely creative day.

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Purchase original art through me, and get free shipping.

I also sell originals & prints on eBay and Etsy – shipping isn’t free on these sites because of the high cost of fees & ads.

You can message me here.

Other places to find me online.

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