look a little closer blog

I took the day off to do some art -

And it’s hotter than heck…which means hair is going up! You can’t tell, but this is a seriously crazy hair do!

Oh painting makes me happy!

I took a break from painting, and learned something new about this apartment –

Apparently, we have a rooster!

I don’t think he liked me…

But he didn’t want to go where the cleaning supplies were!

Oh, did I mention we have a backyard?
Well, my neighbors do…

I’ll be moving out in September, but I think I’ll miss Mr. Rooster!
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anyway, back to my painting!

Last week was crazy.

It was like I had a rain cloud over me..

But something magical happened and a butterfly came to the rescue!

And brought friends…

They had a different idea for the rain drops…

Much better…

Hooray!

They reminded me to remember the love and serenity through the dark and annoying times!

I’m feeling the love and making lots of art!

Things I love lately:

*paintings with ribbons and diamonds…*

*…looming birds, webs of color, and fishes eating the roots of a village*

*a swan with feathers of glitter and a sail boat weathering the storm*

*a golden village above a pink octopus and a beautiful peacock looking at an organ*

*finally finishing this piece! it was on my wall for nearly five months*

*When Lavi gives me her opinions…*

*And decides she wants to help! (no worries, there was no paint in this!)*

*Updating even older art from my walls! (It started off with just the blocked colors as a landscape, no details)*

*bright colors and fireworks of color*

*diamond drips leading to tiny dots*

*finally having a messy art room, even if it’s a shoebox!*

*and messy hair is kind of fun too*

I love my new camera.

I love taking pictures, but it’s better when it’s nice outside!

Last night Johanna and I thought it would a good idea to run around the city and shoot some pictures.

NOT.

I think we got about two blocks away from her apartment before she said, “My feet are freezing and wet. I’m not sure this was a good idea.” I almost died laughing, since I was a bit skeptical of the idea earlier in the day. Needless to say, we basically walked around the block–at least it was in good company!

Here is one picture I managed to take in the snow. Not the greatest, but I’m learning!

I also took some photos at home. I was doing some research and learned this cool technique which changes the shapes of the bokeh (photo blur).

I wish my apartment would always be lined with hearts!

Or that they’d be reflecting in my wine!

Luckily, I have Lavi to remind me that she loves me!

hayden and i had a great work day. i painted, he wrote, we exchanged ideas, and grooved to florence and the machine. i am feeling super excited about art! i have some new ideas floating around my head, i just need an entire month of weekends to do them!

process and flow-
this piece has taken me a few months. it started off as something completely different, but after leaving it on my wall for 5 months (literally), i finally figured what i wanted to do with it. i think one day i woke up saw something new and/or different and i’ve been working on it every chance i can since then.

this is usually how i work with my paintings.  i start something because i feel like doing art, but i realize it’s not quite good enough. so i put it on my wall and stare at it until i figure it out.

in other cases (the new pieces in my head) i will sketch it out until i have the layout, and go from there. (the prom dress piece was also very planned)

sometimes (rare cases), i can just paint what i’m feeling/thinking/realizing about a person/moment and after a bit, i can step back and the piece is done. there was one time, i did a piece in a few hours and it’s been one of my favorites ever since. my friend asked me to do a piece for her family as a moving present for their new house. they had gone through some difficult times which i could relate to, and the piece just came naturally. to this day, the family still loves it!

so here are some pictures of this piece and it’s transition. it’s not quite finished, but it’s almost there. i was just excited about it and had to share!

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