Blog: Mixed Media

Art Mesa 2015 in Madrid, Spain

button

Yeah – Cuchy and I organizing another Art Mesa Mixed Media event in Madrid. It will be our fourth and we always had the best time our awesome students! Time to fresh up my 3 words of Spanish for the event on May 30th.

Here are the Classes:

ArtvergnugenAd

TALLER DE NATHALIE KALBACH – ArtVergnugen

 30.05.2015 – 10,00 hs. – 14,00 hs.

Comienza en el momento en que te sientas. Una experiencia que es claramente Art Journaling. Euforia, sensación de control, sorprendente capacidad de respuesta de los materiales artísticos, como si fueran simplemente una extensión de ti.

Hay una palabra para esta experiencia creativa: Artvergnugen! Es lo que hace de tu journal una obra de arte.

Acompaña a Nathalie es este taller de medio día y juega con los diferentes materiales y mediums artísticos. Aprende técnicas, consejos y trucos para llevar tu art journaling más allá y convertirlo en Artvergnugen.

ArtVergnugen

It starts the moment you sit down, an experience that is distinctly Art Journaling. A quick exhilaration, a sense of control, the art media’s surprising responsiveness as if they were simply an extension of you.

There is a word for this creative experience: Artvergnugen ! Artvergnugen is what makes your journal a piece of art.

Join Nathalie for a half day workshop and play with different art media and supplies. Learn techniques, tips and tricks to take your art journaling further and turn it into Artvergnugen. 

 

——————————————-

TALLER M. CARMEN SÁNCHEZ “CUCHY” – Words on wood

30.05.2015 – 16,00 hs. – 20,00 hs.

¿Ves esos carteles de madera con frases creativas y te preguntas cómo hacerlos? ¿Piensas que tu escritura “no tiene gracia” y te gustaría que fuera espectacular?

No tienes excusa. En nuestro taller “words on wood”, con M. Carmen Sánchez (Cuchy), pintaremos un panel de madera, envejeciéndolo y haremos que nuestra cita favorita destaque con una tipografía elegante, divertida y escrita por tí.

Además, las técnicas aprendidas podrás utilizarlas en tu art journal o en trabajos de scrapbooking.

Acompáñanos y deja que hablen las palabras.

Do you see those wooden panels with witty quotes and do you ask yourself how to do them? Do you think your handlettering is “dull” and you would like to make it stunning?

You do not have any excuse. In our workshop “words on wood” with M. Carmen Sánchez (Cuchy), we will paint a wooden panel, distress it and we will make our favourite quote to pop up with an elegant and funny typo, handwritten by you.

Besides, you could use the learned techniques in your art journal or in scrapbooking works.

Join us and let the words speak

 

Besos and hope to see some of you there!

 

Comments (6)

  • Gabriela Seminario

    |

    Hi Nat! I just emailed Cuchy to see if there are spots available. I completely forgot to sing up before. I hope I’m not too late.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      I think there should be still spots availiable- it would be awesome to see you again!!!

      Reply

  • ceciscrap

    |

    I´ll be there too!!!
    I have to think about “the Word” i show you this year.
    Besos guapa!!!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Yeahhh so looking forward seeing you again Cecilia! And cannot wait to learn new spanish words :))))

      Reply

  • tesa

    |

    I´m very happy!!! Me and my sister will be there!.
    Será un verdadero “placer” volver a estar con vosotras.

    Reply

Leave a comment

Workshops in Toronto, Canada in March

Yeahh – I am coming back again to Bizzy B’s in Toronto to teach three workshops from March 13 – 15, 2015.

Friday, March 13 – WALK WITH ME: ALTERED BOOK CLASS – 6:30 – 10:00 PM 

WalkWithMeAd2

In this class, Nathalie will show you how you can turn an old, sad book in to something beautiful again! You will work with acrylic paints, acrylic inks, stamps, and stencils, and Nat will walk you through some fun sketching tricks. In the end, you will have a colourful creative keepsake filled with techniques that you can use for all kinds of Mixed Media and Art Journal projects.

NOTE: this is a different class from the altered book class that Nat taught at Bizzy B’s before!

Saturday, March 14 -ACRYLICS DEMYSTIFIED: TECHNIQUE & ABSTRACT CANVAS WORKSHOP – 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM 

AcrylicsDemystified

Join Nathalie for a full-day class to explore all kinds of different Acrylic Media – from Dumbledore to Merlin, from Acrylic Paints to Acrylic Inks, from String Gel to Pouring Medium, from Modeling Paste to Stucco and other fun stuff! Learn their magic – and put an end to the mystery of how to use these amazing helpers in your Mixed Media and/or Art Journaling projects. Learn not only how to use Acrylic Media and when to use them, but also put your own spell into 3 abstract canvases during the class. You will for sure have as much fun waving your new magic acrylic wand in the future as Nathalie does!

Sunday, March 15 – RAW CANVAS STAINING WORKSHOP – 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM

RawCanvasStainingWSAd

The technique of painting on unprimed, raw canvas is most often associated with artists such as Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and Helen Frankenthaler, just to name a few. Colour-field artists poured, dripped, or brushed thinned paints onto the canvas that soaked through the surface and stained the fabric, creating a velvet-like appearance. Join Nathalie in exploring fun techniques of staining and painting raw canvas and open a whole new creative world to apply these techniques to stretched canvases, pillow cases, bags, home decor items, and even clothes!

 

More information and sign up info here at Bizzy B’s – I hope to see you there!

 

Comments (7)

  • Gerit

    |

    Wunderbar !
    I love you work and almost everything what comes with it;)

    Reply

  • Francine G

    |

    I can’t believe you are coming and I’m out of the country…. Darn I’m not lucky…. :-)

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Too bad Francine – so sorry to hear! Hope out of country means a great vacation though :)

      Reply

  • nurse-ratchet

    |

    First on the list….as soon as I heard you were coming in March …made Bizzy B put me down for all three before I knew what the workshops were! Now I know am thrilled!!!!,

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Can’t wait either Kelly!!! Always love to see you!!!

      Reply

Leave a comment

State of the Union – Mixed Media Painting

NatKalbach_StateofTheUnion01

Finally I finished up this canvas which some of you might remember seeing me working on in the Liquitex video. And that is how long this canvas took me – about four months. Boy it just didn’t wanna come along and play with me …

NatKalbach_StateofTheUnion02

The scene on the canvas is from Liberty State Park – at the historical Ellis Island Train Station, where hopeful immigrants not going to NYC would go on a train ride to start their new lives somewhere in the U.S. The train station is pretty much in shambles though seems to get restored somewhat. From this spot you have an amazing view of the sparkling finance world of Manhattan across the Hudson River …if you actually heave your eyes over the totally destroyed historic ferry landing area  …remains of Hurricane Sandy. You can also see the skyline of Jersey City – behind the New Jersey 9/11 Memorial .

NatKalbach_StateofTheUnion03

For me this spots represents a very powerful and symbolic place in America.

NatKalbach_StateofTheUnion04

I used lot’s of acrylic media on this 12 x 14 inch Canvas of course :)

NatKalbach_StateofTheUnion05

Here is a list of what I used

nSupplies



Have a wonderful day

Comments (16)

  • Francine G

    |

    Nathalie i love your canvas the textures, the details, colors combos and composition … I simple love your artwork…. Keep it going.

    Francine

    Reply

  • Mary W

    |

    This is awesome – giving not only the look but the feel of so much history and the life that vibrates through everything. Great work!

    Reply

  • Tina Gilbert

    |

    It’s absolutely GORGEOUS, Nathalie!!!

    Reply

  • Sabine Schneider

    |

    Fantastisch! Love all about it, besonders die Farbe!
    Inzwischen ist auch das pouring medium, ein paar Liquitex freestyle brushes und splatter brushes angekommen. Und ich hatte schon viel Spaß mit dem “splatter brush”.
    Liebe Grüße aus dem kalten und trüben Deutschland, Sabine

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Danke liebe Sabine :) YEAHH – freut mich dass Deine neuen Spielzeuge angekommen sind. Frohes Splattern- LOL. Liebe Grüße in die Heimat :)

      Reply

  • rivonda

    |

    That’s awesome, Nathalie! I love the colors. Pensive.

    Reply

  • mary

    |

    We are a young nation. I appreciate seeing the work of artists who feel the tensions and can represent our history and longings. Thank you for this.

    Reply

  • nurse-ratchet

    |

    The colours in the sky speak to me of new beginnings and the beautiful essense of hope! Stunning !

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Thank you Nurse Ratchet – I am glad that the colors in the sky came across as they were intended to be :)

      Reply

  • windinn

    |

    What a fabulous painting – love the concept, and the execution!

    Reply

Leave a comment

Workshops at Pratt Institute CCPS – April 2015

PrattInstituteCatalogue

 

I am super excited to teach two day classes at Pratt Institute CCPS in NYC on the Manhattan Campus in April.

ArtJournaling101

Sunday April 19,   9.30 am – 4.30 pm

artjournaling101

MixedMediaCanvas

Sunday April 26,  1pm – 4 pm

MixedMediaCanvasCat

Find the whole Spring catalogue for Pratt CCPS here

You can sign up at Pratt here

I hope some of you can and will join me – that would be awesome!

 

Comments (5)

  • Marjie Kemper

    |

    That’s awesome, Nat! What a great venue, and you can introduce art journaling to a whole new crowd. Go, girl!

    Reply

  • sunmoongal

    |

    Wow this is great. Congrats on these classes at Pratt. Super cool. Wish I was there!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Thank you Denise – oh that would be cool to have you there!

      Reply

  • michelle

    |

    WHAT?? This. is . AWESOME!!! Congrats! Killing it in the big city girl! I wish I was there because I would SO sign up!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Thank you so much Michelle! Too bad you are not living in the City anymore!!

      Reply

Leave a comment

Hipster Wall Decor or Upcycled Embroidery Hoop

NatKalbachModernVintage01

When I was looking at my new Fiesta Stamp Set I all of a sudden was thinking of those paper cut silhouette wall decors of the 18th century and I started thinking about how this could be translated into a modern form.

Here is how the stencil and the masks look like :

Screen Shot 2015-01-20 at 4.19.02 PM

And the idea was born for this Hipster Version ;) I mono printed the background by placing the two masks that are included in my Fiesta Stamp Set on top of the Mono Printing Plate and then rolled different colors on top and printed several times also imprinting the stamps themselves to give some texture.

NatKalbachModernVintage02

using Liquitex Iridescence Gold Acrylic Paint I stamped the Fiesta Stamps over the masks.

NKCRS01_INSERT_FRONT

I spray painted the embroidery hoop in black – which was easy peasy and fast and then cut out the paper so it would fit to the back of the hoop. Using a Journaling Pen I started loosely writing text into the silhouette figures. To make sure that I would really write loosely but not overwrite the edges I placed the stencil for the men and the woman on top to protect the background.

NatKalbachModernVintage03

I adhered the Paper to the hoop with double sided tape and voila ….done :) That was fun.

 

Here are the supplies I used

nSupplies


hope you like the Hipster Wall Decor :) 

Have a gorgeous day

Comments (8)

  • susan salyer

    |

    so many wonderful goodies went into the make of this . truly fabulous

    Reply

  • Mary Holshouser

    |

    I love silhouettes and your take on them is so unique.
    Using the embroidery hoop was a nice idea.
    The stamps made a great background.
    thanks for sharing a wonderful project.
    Illinois

    Reply

  • Viki B

    |

    This is such an awesome look! I love your designs.

    Reply

  • Sue D

    |

    Very cool hipster version!
    Sue in Ohio

    Reply

  • D.Ann C

    |

    What a cool silhouette variant and I’m in LOVE with that sumptuous background!! Sunny greetings from FL

    Reply

  • beverly

    |

    We like to get messy in Mississippi. Love the background paper.

    Reply

  • windinn

    |

    Love the fun and modern take with these stencils – it’s a beaut!

    Reply

Leave a comment

Create Memories – Canvas

NatkalbachCREATEMemories01

I haven’t done canvases with photos in a long time and I really had a lot of fun to create this super easy canvas for the Stampendous CHA booth for my new Stamp Set section :) The stamps are trickling now into the first shops- the are just starting to ship out. I will post a list of stores soon! Using the Kaffee Klatsch Stamp Set which also includes a free stencil, I took the stencil, laid it down onto the canvas and using a nice Painter’s Knife I spread some Heavy Gesso over the Stencil.

NKCRS01_INSERT_FRONT

After the stenciled images dried, I used some Liquitex Acrylic inks and added them to the canvas using a water spray to mix them at areas, take off some ink, make the ink run and drip and drop . Super fun!

NatkalbachCREATEMemories03

When the ink was dry I just stamped with the Kaffee Klatsch Stamps and Archival ink on top of the canvas. I splattered some Soft Body Paints on top of an old and dried up brush (yup- if you forgot to clean it and ruined it- you might as well just incorporate it into your art work or craft projects, right? ) . I applied the photo with double sided tape and the heavy brush with Heavy Gel Medium.

 

NatkalbachCREATEMemories02

I used some old black chipboard letters and to unify them more with my background design, I stamped with one of the round Kaffee Klatsch stamps using  Liquitex Unbleached Titanium White on top. Since most self adhesive letters won’t hold forever on canvas, I applied the letter also with a thin coating of Gel Medium.

Here is a list of all the supplies I used

nSupplies


Have a gorgeous day!

Nat

Comments (20)

  • Seth

    |

    Loving the new stamp sets Nat. Congratulations on a great release!!

    Reply

  • mapperlmutter

    |

    Looking forward to using your stamps. I am now sold on the Liquitex acrylic inks. These past few weeks have really “Jump Started ” my creative side. Thank you.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      I am so glad you like them and also feel jumpStarted- yeahh! Thank you for being part of it!

      Reply

  • nathalie-kalbach

    |

    Danke schön :) Die Stempel gibt es auch bald in Deutschland- ich weiß von mindestens zwei deutschen Shops, die sie bestellt haben – ich halte Dich auf dem Laufenden :)

    Reply

  • colourfly

    |

    Stunning piece! Love all about it.
    Und die Stempel hätte ich auch gerne. Mal schauen, wo ich die finde….

    Reply

  • smokeysmom

    |

    Nat, I love, love, LOVE this canvas!! Great picture of you, too. You’re so cute:) I, too, cannot wait to buy the stamps you used in this project! Attaching the old brush to this painting is genIous!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Thank you so much for your sweet words! I knew this brush would come handy some times – LOL

      Reply

  • Denise Spillane

    |

    Oh Nat, I so love this. The texture, the look do doilies, the great picture of you! The color! Wonderful.

    Reply

  • Barb

    |

    I Love this idea!!! Can’t wait to try it–an extra jumpstart!!! Thank You so much. I am so enjoying CJS–only wish I had known about it from the beginning. But I know now, so hope it remains an annual thing. : )

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      I am so glad you enjoy it Barb ! You never know ;) I hope I will do it again but every year in January I need a break- LOL

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

    |

    I continue to love this pic of you in your element Nat and the canvas came out great. Liquid inks I now must try.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Thank you Sue- I know you will love those inks and they are super versatile!

      Reply

  • Cynthia

    |

    Love this canvas, especially the way you added the decorated brush and that fabulous photo of your beautiful, smiling self!!

    Reply

  • nurse-ratchet

    |

    This piece is so cheerful and happy which reflects the fab pic of you! I cannot wat to get my hands on these new stamps! See you in March, my LGL!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      thank you Nurse Ratchet! Cannot wait to see you in March- we will have loads of fun at the workshops !!!

      Reply

  • yankeegirl

    |

    Awesome canvas, Nat! I really like the look of the liquid inks. You have inspired me to get out my stuff and get messy today! And you are looking fabulous—- love that photo of you!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Awe- thank you so much! Yes I do love those Liquitex Inks a lot too :)

      Reply

Leave a comment

Have You Seen Anything Exciting at CHA? or … What about Surfaces/Substrates?

CHAshow

I just came back from six days at the CHA Show in Anaheim, California. CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association and holds a big Trade Show for the latest and greatest regarding Craft and Hobby every January.

The most asked question between Designers, Artists, Crafters and Educators this year was “Have you seen anything exciting at CHA where you think I should head right over to?” This wasn’t an easy question to answer. My friend Seth Apter did a great job listing the Trends to Watch and some thoughts on his blog – and I agree with everything fully .

SURFACES/Substrates: 

I personally was on the hunt for Surfaces/Substrates at CHA whenever I had a bit time between meetings, and demoing (I will post some photos of that later ;) ). As most of you know I am working with my dream paint company right now and I am always on the look out for some wonderful surfaces that I can incorporate in my artwork or in my Mixed Media Workshops.

Mixed Media is still a hot and climbing trend in the Craft and Hobby Sector and it was EVERYWHERE but it was really hard to find something that made me excited to work on regarding as a surface. Most paper crafting manufacturers seem to venture into producing paints and media that already exist. I was a bit surprised by that. Wouldn’t it would be so much more innovative and successful to come up with something unique that works with the products a paper craft company already manufactures but also supports other media? Oh well….

Here are my top 5 surface products I found by Craft Manufacturers:

Relics and Artifacts by Susan Evertson for Prima Marketing

NatKalbachPrima

 

These resins excited me! They were unique and not main stream- they can be used in Mixed Media – Assemblages, Canvases but also for Scrapbooking and Card Project. For me a great idea and I love the unique designs !

Mixed Media Albums by Graphic 45

NatKalbachGraphic45_01

Nice and sturdy cardboard albums, in different color schemes, with nice and thick paper inserts – different designs as with pockets and tabs. Graphic45 came out with some great paper lines and embellishments to go with those books to make them into calendars or recipe books- but they also can be altered and used with paints – I cannot wait to play with one and make an Mixed Media-photo-album out of one of those.

Mixed Media Boxes by Graphic 45

 

NatKalbachGraphic45_02

I know… Boxes – but- I liked those- nice quality boxes – with so many possibilities. Alter them with Scrapbooking Paper, make recipe boxes, make shadowboxes, home decor items- with photos – use them for a Mixed Media project …you see –  endless possibilities and a good fit with their already existing paper products!

Just Add Watercolors by Cosmo Cricket

 

NatKalbachCosmo01

Cosmo Cricket did it for me this year in coming up with great surface ideas for the craft and hobby industry!! I love their Watercolor paper, cards, tags and blocks printed with gold and clear foil resist. You can not only add watercolor, but also acrylic inks and make some easy yet artsy looking cards etc. I think this is a great gateway into experimenting with Mixed Media for people that want to get a tiny bit messy but are still clean paper crafters !

Gallery Blocks by Cosmo Cricket

NatKalbachCosmo02

This one was my favorite! These are  canvases with a wooden back. You can use them either kind of like a shadowbox or paint on the wooden surface- which is fun too – as you will have a frame then already. BUT even cooler, if you want to wrap it in fabric, they added super strong adhesive on the edges and every block comes with thumb tacks for reinforcing the corners. this means you can add any painted fabric – duck canvas, stained and painted canvas or fabric on top of  it- in an easy peasy way. GREAT idea!!!

That was the result of my Surface and Substrate hunt . Oh wait, speaking of Mixed Media Surfaces ….looksie what I found in the Ice Resin Booth ;) That is the suitcase that Jen Cushman made for her Creative JumpStart Video- if you are signed up – you will recognize it :)

IMG_5349

If you were at CHA- let me know your thoughts- and if you weren’t let me know your thoughts about surfaces or substrates you personally would love to see !

 

Comments (10)

  • Sandra Evertson

    |

    Thank you so much for including my RELICS & ARTIFACTS resin craft blanks by Sandra Evertson/Prima Marketing Inc. in your top five picks for CHA 2015!! I’d like to invite you to the Prima Marketing Inc booth this Winter 2016 CHA, we are going to introduce an even more fabulous companion line to mix and match!! Thanks again! And hope to see you there!
    Sandra Evertson

    Reply

  • Seth

    |

    Hey Nat. Great seeing you at the show. Thanks so much for including my link in the post. And for sharing these product favorites. Somehow I missed a few of them at the show.

    Reply

  • Zandra Cudney

    |

    It was so nice to see you and Suze in front of the Prima Finnabair demo. Missed you at Art Venture this year.

    Reply

  • ljfsyd

    |

    Wasn’t there but so glad you shared …. Love the canvases w
    Itch wood back. Also would like to see uses with all the wood embellishments I saw here and in retail and some ideas.

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

    |

    I am very interested in the mixed media albums. I tend to love Graphic 45 products. Resin relics…yeah.

    Reply

  • Kim reed

    |

    I wasn’t at CHA, but watched quite a bit of the action on YouTube. I about pooped my pants when I saw Sandra Evertson’s new line with Prima because I am already a big fan of her stamp line. However, I had no clue about that Cosmo Cricket line, so the gallery blocks are going right to my wish list. I’m looking forward to your new stamp release as well! And I totally agree with you about the paper companies invading the paint territory, they just need to get off that bandwagon already. Thanks for sharing this info!!

    Reply

  • Ursula

    |

    Hallo Nat – mein Neid ist mit dir ;)) Ich denke, ich werde mir all die neuen Dinge mal die nächsten Tage am Compi anschauen – aber das GraphicAlbum sieht schon mal seeeeeeeeehr vielversprechend aus – auch wenn ich ja nicht so der “Matscher” bin ;)) LG Ursula

    Reply

  • Laura S.

    |

    Love all your choices. The Prima Relics are too cool. Need to play with them for sure!

    Reply

  • Francine G

    |

    Hi Nathalie

    Like you I love those resin artifacts…. I just hope that I will find some? Also the Graphic 45 albums are awesome… And the canvas with wooden back what a cool idea with so many possibilities…
    I was not at CHA but I was able to follow with all the posts of the différent company…
    I appreciate your overview you’re the expert!

    Hugs

    Reply

  • jackiepn

    |

    I’m digging the relics and the gallery blocks you’ve posted! and no I was not at CHA , but home viewing from my computer “( waaahh
    I do however ADORE that luggage that Jen painted on CJS!!! And I have a huge supply of vintage ones- just asking for paint!!
    I think you need to design a cool substrate Nat!! hint hint!
    thanks for your insight! hugs xo

    Reply

Leave a comment

Mark Maker

NatKalbachMarkMaker01

This Canvas was created for the CHA Show (Craft and Hobby Association – which has a yearly trade show in Anaheim) and where my new Stamps with Stampendous are released at the moment…I am waving from there right now.

NatKalbachMarkMaker02

I used the Mark Maker Stamp Set with it- that also includes a stencil

The stamps will be available soon. I used them with acrylic paint on top of the canvas – my favorite way to use stamps.

NatKalbachMarkMaker03

For texture I added Frantage Aged Embossing Powders and smoothed and mixed some acrylic paint over the heat embossed areas with my finger. The washers and metal pins are also heat embossed with Frantage Embossing Powder.

NatKalbachMarkMaker04

Here is a list of all the supplies I used

nSupplies


Hope you like it – have a great day!

 

Comments (31)

  • susan salyer

    |

    wow wonderful canvas love the layers and the wonderful goodies you used to make this happen

    Reply

  • Liz Lumsden

    |

    Wonderful fabric stamping!

    Reply

  • Autumn

    |

    What an amazing mixed media project – oh makes me want to get into some paint! ;0

    Reply

  • D.Ann C

    |

    LOVE the look and ingenuity of embossing the washers!! Warm hugs from Florida

    Reply

  • Linda on the Prairie

    |

    Nathalie, you make everything fun! These sets are so versatile.

    Reply

Leave a comment

Winding Down: My Top Five Mixed Media Paintings of 2014

It has become a tradition of mine and other blogger friends to wind down the year with some  Top “insert number”- Lists of work , posts and photos, before the year ends. It makes me go back and look at what I have done and accomplished and it also makes me dwell in memories. Too often we forget about the things we did and accomplished throughout the year- often just bashing ourselves for not fulfilling all the wonderful new year’s resolutions from last year.  Maybe this makes you wanna do it too – if so – share :)

2014 was definitely a year I did more work on canvas than any other years before – here are my personal top five canvases:

1. On The Flip Side

This one might be my absolute favorite of the year – it has a lot of personal meaning for me and that might be actually the only reason why it is a favorite- LOL- the personal meaning – although- I do like that I for a change was also working in a bit different color rage than usual.

2. The Powerhouse

I like this one because of the colors and …because I stopped- LOL. I wasn’t sure in the beginning if that was done and then I decided to let it go and I am so happy I did. This canvas taught me that it is ok to have long breaks in between and come back after a while, just to decide to call it finished.

3. Standing Strong

This canvas does not have as much texture as usual- but I did like creating it a lot. I started mixing very intrigue parts of buildings with undefined parts and it gave me a push from there on to explore this a bit more.

4. Everything is Gentrified

This painting gave me a lot of headaches- meanwhile and after – I do love it -but I learned a lot about light sources. How important it is in which light you work and in which light you then maybe hang it. It is a painting that needs a well lit area and it changes it’s looks during the day from vibrant and uplifting to dark and oppressing. For sure interesting for me and while not perfect- it goes with the topic and title.

5. In the Same Boat?

This one was also a canvas of headaches – LOL. I had a finished picture in my head when I started it- which was a huge mistake and then I also started mixing some colors which at first I totally did not like. It took me forever to finish this work up- the canvas was sitting on the easel and I would look at it contemplating for weeks if I should just paint over it. And then I didn’t …and it grew on me – and now I really like it -I do like the colors I mixed …another canvas that taught me to be patient.

 

What I learned:

2014 marks definitely a year where I feel I have learned to be patient with me, my skills and my work. I also learned that I shouldn’t give up too early on something.

 

My goal for 2015:

All of those canvases are a smaller scale (12×24 is I think the biggest one- still not having the U.S. sizes in my head- LOL) – so my goal for next year is to go bigger – so we will see :) . I started a bigger canvas a couple weeks ago- I will show you the process in a couple days. It feels pretty daring to me but is a lot of fun :)

Hope you enjoyed this little journey – next up will be photos and art journal pages!

have a gorgeous day

 

Comments (9)

Leave a comment