happy mistakes


i love these 3 worried men! 

the best is that they happened from a mistake. 
i had been drawing men with charcoal
 (in fact if you look carefully you might still see the eyes lower on the cheeks of the one above)
but i didn't like them. 
so i wiped what i could off and started drawing eyes for a girl i had in mind
and then the eyes somehow look so perfectly imperfect on this strange man's face
that i decided to go with it. 



i wiped, tweaked and drew until these 3 little guys appeared. 
aren't they just too cute? 
i just want to hug them and tell them all will be well. 



i love how making mistakes can show me a whole new way. 
these guys are busy influencing more of my work right now! 



companion


this little creature, 
always by my side, 
adorable and bossy, 
she's the best little rascal!


here she is again making sure my pile of 50 faces is safe!


50/365





and this below is my 50th face! 
i never knew the 19th of feb was the 50th day of the year 
or that Valentine's day was on the 45th day...
those things we learn ;) 


these last 10 were on cardboard again, square format. 
i'll be changing for the next 10,
smaller, on watercolor paper, here is the first one:


a little crowned dork

today

today is the start of Art Entwined
Misty Mawn's new online course. 

i can't wait to see Misty's amazing creativity at work again.
 yet i'm a little anxious about the course because 
i don't really know when i will find the time to  
do it all and i will be away for two weeks soon.

i will just have to pace myself, to let it go and catch up later, 
to be inspired and do what i can. 

breathe... there is plenty of time :)



one sided?



more clowns, 
more art... 



i am very one sided lately, 
just can't seem to stop or get anything else done... 

oh well, feels like a fabulous obsession right now! 


gesso, Stabilo woodie and Stabilo mark all on watercolor paper

so many layers



the evolution of a clown. 
trying different techniques, experimenting, 
layering, scratching, scraping, layering some more. 




is he finished? maybe, maybe not... 



acrylics and inks on watercolor paper. 

on human talent

often i wonder why there can't be more art, more love, 
more dancing, more music in this world. 

better use of our human talents, skills and knowledge. 
as oppose to wars, gossips, fights and ignorance... 

true magnificence below. 
          

"What happens when you combine the talents of Russia's ballet bad boy Sergei Polunin, Irish gospel luminary Hozier and photography pop wizard David LaChapelle? Apparently, a whole lot of angsty, sexy, beautiful dancing ensues."


                        

found here
Merci Deb pour le beau partage :) 

all sorts



all sorts of faces coming up lately, 
inspired by other artists or appearing from 
somewhere mysterious. 




this one above was inspired by artist Spencer Herr
(love his stuff!)





i nearly deleted this one (above)
i don't like her and i was ready to cheat, 
edit and redo... but i didn't because i would like this daily practice
to also be about authenticity. 
being honest that some days the creative juices don't flow very well, 
are harder to access and yet it's about letting go of the outcome
and showing up anyway.




thank goodness then came my dorky little Valentine geek! 

on my easel

bits and pieces of what's happening in my studio. 



i liked this guy too much and got all uptight and precious 
about him even though he wasn't finished, i got stuck. 
the only way to get moving again was to give him a good 
sand down. 


i still like him but i feel less worried to mess him up, 
i think i'm ready for the next step. 


this lady has very few details and i painted her quite thinly. 
i can't decide whether she is "enough"... 
oh dear... when to stop? when is enough, enough? 


learning! 

focus on what is working


i've hit a little slump with some of my paintings. 
trying new things that are not working, 
not yet. 




but i'm choosing to focus of the small parts of the canvas that are working. 
marks, colors, contrasts, 
hopefully that will get me through to the next steps.



!!!

BIG news for me people!!!

i am beyond excited to have one of my BIG dreams come true this year... 

i'm going to have my first solo exhibition!!!! 

OH MY GOODNESS it feels so, SO BIG....

i am super mega thrilled AND nervous.

it will be towards the end of the year
so i have a few months to immerse myself 
into building a body of work. 

i need to buckle down, work, work, work, focus, 
paint a lot, paint some more 
and hopefully out of all that work something good will come out. 

it's daunting, exciting, scary and fabulous...
deep trust... i am held ;) 

here is the first painting i have done with the exhibition in mind


in progress


it may or may not make it but i think it's finished...

monkey mind

first february batch of faces
#1faceaday




i won't lie,
 i struggled a little at the beginning of the new month. 
i had the end of january in sight as a goal, a first step towards 365 faces
but then the first of february came 
and it was just another day.

 i had to go on with my project, 
and it felt a little harder, with a few more doubts... 



it is fascinating how the mind clings to those things, 
the goals, the time, the dates, making life more complicated than it should be. 
the monkey mind...


i am back on track though, 
feeling refreshed and excited to carry on now. 



i'm sure there will be many highs and many lows throughout the year, 
rhythm, patterns, emotions and moods... 
as long as i can recognize them,  acknowledge them
and keep showing up!