Yvonne's Sketchbook

Catching up with creative things

Having crossed quite a lot of things off my very long "to do" list I rewarded myself by shutting myself away for a few hours yesterday evening to catch up with the Wanderlust 2016 videos for June which I hadn't downloaded or watched yet. Now I have :) I have to say this is a great year-long mixed media class so far, and excellent value. If it is run again next year i'll definitely sign up again.

I also managed to go through some more of the lessons of the Sketchbook Skool class "Expressing" that was run earlier this year over a six week period. I'd done the first three weeks but then was in Spain with virtually no internet. I have to say that I really really enjoyed the class by Michael Nobbs and really like his "Sustainably Creative" website. I've been striving all of this year to be creative every single day and this is mostly working out - there have very, very few days when I don't do at least something - even if it is just a few rows of my crocheted blanket work in progress.

Michael suffers with ME/CFS and he gives plenty of advice on staying creative when you have little energy (or time).

I'd already decided that as from 1st July i'm going to do a collage every day for the month - I will look upon this as my daily playtime :D then I came across a website - kind of randomly - and it interested me a great deal www.expressiveartworkshops.com run by Shelley Klammer. I've signed up for her Collage for Self Discovery e-course 

Eriskay - Prince Charlie's Beach

30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day 25

Thought I would spend my final week of this challenge doing still life paintings. This one also doubled as my Wanderlust 2016 homework.

I'm really pressed for time this week as I leave the island a week on Wednesday for an extended break in Spain, wich i'm really looking forward to - ah, what art supplies to pack and take is my biggest question?! I'm driving down through France and Spain so I won't have as many space restrictions as I would if I were flying.

Acrylic paint on 6" x 6" canvas board.

30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day 24

Well the weather has been pretty awful and my plan was to return home tomorrow - however, the forecast looks pretty awful so I chanced it and headed down at first light to get the first ferry of the day back to my island. Before leaving I made sure that my friend's cat, cows and sheep were fed. The ferry was on amber alert but I was very thankful that it sailed - the way it's looking this week I could have been stranded for days on the other island! Bit lumpy and bumpy on the crossing but I had my head in a good book to distract me.

View from the ferry window

Today's painting, now i'm safely home is another one inspired by Kate Crane. On showing my daughter she suggested that the four that i've done look like the seasons - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. And yes, I think she's right - see picture of all four together below todays painting.

Four seasons

Top left: Spring

Top right: Summer

Bottom left: Autumn

Bottom right: Winter

 

30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day 23

A mixed media painting today, and like yesterday, inspired by Kate Crane's tutorial on Wanderlust 2016. 6" x 6" mixed media paper.

30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day 22

OK, so having done 7 days of abstracts it's time to have a go at something else. I have been really enjoying the abstract exercises from the van Vliet book and I intend to continue with them each day, in addition to the daily painting for the challenge.

My first painting going into the fourth week of this challenge is inspired by the amazing Kate Crane. There was a fabulous tutorial by Kate on Wanderlust 2016 a couple of weeks ago and this is my take on it. It is on mixed media and materials used include acrylic paint, Posca paint pens and a little stamping. I really enjoyed doing this - probably because it incorporates my favourite colours - purples and blues!

Taking stock

During 2014 I signed up for an art degree, a distance learning course with the Open College of the Arts but that has currently gone by the wayside as 2015 has been a bad year for me. Late last year a good and very dear friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I have spent many weeks with him during 2015, supporting and looking after him until his death on the 8th December. Advice received from another friend is "to try to focus on positives, whilst also being sad." With this in mind, and remembering how art helped so much after I lost my son in 2003, I am working every day, making art.

Not everything was bad or sad about 2015, I was able to return briefly to the Camino de Santiago in September and walk for three weeks with my best friends, I had a week in Gibraltar with another girl friend and I have been able to visit with my lovely daughters and my parents. I continue to be supported by a loving husband and I am very grateful for that - he gives me the time and space that I need, he's patient and tolerant, although this is stretched a little when, in the midst of creativity, I spread my art stuff all over the kitchen :-)

So, I've had a sense all year of life being on hold and not too much art has been done, although what I created during the summer - mostly little mixed media works, made into cards and bookmarks - sold very well both here in the studio and at the local craft centre. 2016 is almost upon us and I will be kind and gentle to myself, not too much stress, and allow myself to paint and draw what I want, when I want. I will experiment, have fun and do something creative every day - whether that be painting, drawing, working in my sketchbook, photography or crocheting. With that in mind i've signed up for Leah Piken Kolidas's Creative Every Day Challenge 

Other plans for 2016? I've signed up for Wanderlust 2016 which is described as "a year long class in mixed media and art journalling" so i'm hoping to learn a lot and most of all enjoy!