Business Boot Camp and Painting Again

Last week felt pretty much like a creative business boot camp, as I continued to work through the book by Jennifer Lee and listened to one business guru after another, tried to figure out my unique expertise and the best ways to serve with it using the Soulcollage and other tools. For now, I just continue to discover more and more gifts and have no idea, how to make them all work together... I hope, it's just a phase, and I can figure it out with time and perseverance. Yesterday, I listened to an interview with Flora Bowley, and she mentioned a span of 18(!!!) years between her starting to consider herself an artist and the flourishing business she has now. The thing is, I don't have 18 years. I'm almost 55 and need to feed me, my 2 youngest kids, and animals now. That makes me take almost every job I can get, although they don't provide me with serious income and slow down my process of figuring out a better way of life. Besides, working as a freelancer doesn't give me much control over our life, as the offers come in, as they do, sometimes - one a week or even less, sometimes - 4 at once, as it happened today. :) But enough about that!

I didn't think I'd take any more art courses, but the Strathmore Artist Papers offer some for free, so I signed up for the class with Robert Joyner. And the second video brought me back to painting, which felt really good after quite a while.

This is the first result

And these are some of the phases it went through

Not loose enough for Robert Joyner, I guess, but almost too lose for RitaJC :)

This is it for today, excerpt for the usual ending :)

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My Creative Space - (RE)DISCOVERIES

Last week has been more about contemplating and research than creating for me. Nevertheless, this little portrait for the e-course with Sharon Tomlinson could be finished (one never knows, right?)

But the process was really hard for me, as I had to discover, that after the course with Flora Bowley, I hate to paint small and realistic and even more - to try to copy another artist's work. So I had to find another way for that course to work for me. This week is about portraits by Romanian artists around 1900. I did a good research about them on-line, especially, about the ones done by the authors associated with the symbolist movement in Romania. It took me 3 hours and was really inspiring: I made 13 study sketches and rediscovered my love for painting and drawing on dark backgrounds. So a couple of new paintings have their first layers already down on pieces of repurposed card board.

And thanks to a free Mandala e-course by Guadalupe Brizuela Cabal , I made another rediscovery: my love for geometric drawings and paintings, especially - the s.c. sacred geometry.

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My Creative Space - Painting, painting, painting...

This is the last week with the Bloom True e-course with Flora Bowley. This course has allowed me to make new artist friends and released a huge artistic potential in me. So I have painted a lot this week. These two small paintings could be finished. 

Another large painting is next to finished.

These are the fazes it went through during the process.

All of the smaller paintings have gotten a couple of new layers.


And to improve my portrait painting skills, I have started the first painting in the next e-course: "A Diary of Faces" with Sharon Tomlinson :)

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My Creative Space - Filling up the Well and Being Brave

The past week, I didn't paint much. Two of the days were occupied with trips to the town, the rest of the time I mostly did things to fill up my inner well, as Flora Bowley suggested for the week 3 of the Bloom True e-course I'm doing right now: I read a book, watched a couple of movies (nothing extra-ordinary, but good enough to feed my imagination), spent peaceful days in our home and out in the nature paying much more conscious attention to and learning to appreciate my unique surrounding with all my senses, and captured part of it in sketches and photos.


Sure thing, I painted a bit almost every day as well. So this painting could be next to finished

Below are some of the phases it went through (unfortunately, I forgot to capture the first layer I had so much fun with: covering the canvas with snippets of my kids old school works and some white wall paint)

Today, I tried to do one of the assignments suggested by Flora for week 4: to be brave and paint a whole painting only with quadrates.  To be honest, the fear of wasting a canvas and some pricey paints for an unknown (crappy?) result really spoiled the process for me this time. I hope this experience allows me to enjoy more the next time I try to be extra brave with my paintings, as I pretty much like the result of this one :)

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My Creative Space - Blooming in Full

This week, I'm feeling pretty much like on an art retreat! The every day life didn't stop, there were even a couple of translations I worked at and one of my ex MILs visiting one afternoon, but, most of the time, I spent playing with art supplies inspired by Flora Bowley and her Bloom True e-course.
Now there are 12(!) paintings started since the beginning of the course. This one of them could be finished (one never knows, right? :) ).

And these are the phases it went through since the beginning.

And these are the rest of them in the current stage.

It is so much fun and such a deep learning! Not only for my art!
(Spent half of the day editing images for this post on my old, terribly overloaded and super slow Mac... Considering sharing less of my WIPs to have more time and energy for the actual creating process :).)


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My Creative Space - Blooming

HAPPY SOLSTICE, EVERYONE!

This week was pretty much occupied with translations and finding a new routine for all of us with our new family member for me. But much time was spent painting inspired by the e-course Bloom True with Flora Bowley, her prompts and the community of bloomers on FB. Now, there are loads of WIPs of various sizes on various substrates, and I can't wait for the next painting class, which is tomorrow.

I even bought 3 new paints today.

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My Creative Space

The last week for me, was mostly occupied with a German/English to Latvian translation and settling in our new family member - the rescued doggie Lesa (more a Kelpie than a Doberman, as I first thought). The translation is pretty simple and boring, so there is a good chance I can deliver it before the deadline, if only my brain cooperates well enough (working at it makes me sleepy very quickly). Lesa is settling in very well, and the shyest and more aggressive of our cats is adjusting as well. Yesterday, they both slept on one bed already :)

As I can be really productive, when there are loads on my plate, I was arting every day as well. Among other things, the first two canvas-backgrounds were created for the Bloom True e-course with Flora Bowley.

Some more inspiring facts:
- a couple of nights ago, we had a gorgeous sunset

- received some great feedback from a happy customer in US about this boa

- received great feedback from a friend in UK about my first ever sold print
- a lilac tree is starting to bloom right across my studio window

It's a late bloomer (just like me), as lilacs have actually finished blooming in our village, and I love blooming lilacs!


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My days

The last couple of days, I have spent mostly at our PC working at a large translation I have to deliver on June 20. But I still took care for my kids and animals, and even managed to do some gardening and art now and than.


Our new family member - the dog girl Lesa - is settling in fast and well. Even our cat lady is adjusting pretty easy, although she still attacks her at least once every day. Lesa has developed a special love for my daughter Anna, who loves her very much as well.

As to the arting, I haven't done much, just continued working at the last portrait for a couple of short sessions every day. At some point I didn't like the features of the face, so I covered it almost completely and started out fresh and brave. Like them much more now.

One more great news: the " Bloom True" e-course with Flora Bowley has started today and I even managed to do today's exercises! :)


And a sad one: the artist Peter Sewell has lost his battle with cancer last Tuesday... I haven't met this nice man in person, but we had good contact via Facebook, and I will really miss him and his witty expressions...