Is it really the end of December??? We say it every 12 months or so…”where did the year go?” And here I say it once again, looking at the calendar, and all that was accomplished this year. It’s been a full one, and a happy one….and it was filled with lots of art making too!
I’ve been so quiet here, because we’ve been in the middle of a huge project this last month. But I am happy to say that the hard work has paid off, and I have a beautifully renovated art space to work in!
New floors, new paint, new lamps…and desks and tables and shelves rearranged to create a very lovely place…to create!
And create, I have! In the last week, I’ve worked on journal pages, gouache paintings on watercolor paper, and an acrylic painting on canvas. I am happy to say that my small gouache paintings, painted on postcard watercolor paper, are now available in my Etsy shop. You get two for the price of one, and free shipping in the U.S….a way to celebrate me having this brand new art space!
The Victorians – Emma and Elyse
Windswept and Wandering
Patience and Wisdom
All six are created on Strathmore Postcard Watercolor Paper, and can either be matted and framed, displayed on an easel, or sent as mail art to family or friends.
It was fun to pull out my gouache paints (gouache – rhymes with wash) and make something bright and colorful. Gouache is a lot like watercolor, but it is more opaque in nature…or it can be thinned down to create more transparent washes of color. It is a fun medium to work with, and I would recommend trying it, if you haven’t already. It works really well with mixed media too, or for journal pages.
As with the end of every year, I think about what is to come in the new one, don’t you? I know I will plan on more art making, especially now that I have this beautiful new space to create in. I plan to delve a bit more into watercolor, gouache, and acrylic painting…and explore a few more styles of art too. And as always, I will continue my education of artists of the past, as well as contemporary artists. Their art constantly inspires me to try new things! I hope to add some new things to my Etsy shop on a regular basis too, possibly even some jewelry and handmade travel books. These are all things that I am mulling over, for the new year. I’ve decided to hold off on teaching for a while, and concentrate on building up an inventory of artwork, and continue a series of paintings I started this year. A lot of prep work goes into teaching a class, whether it is for a small group, or a larger one. And for the time being, I need to focus my energy and my limited time, into honing my skills. I will rethink the teaching plans in the spring, and see where I might go from there.
As the year comes to a close, I hope you can look back and reminisce about happy times spent in 2011. Was it an artful year for you too? I hope so!
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I’ll be back soon, as the calendar flips over to 2012.