In an effort to get back to creating consistently, I went out and made an on the go studio kit for myself. You can see what it includes in this post I wrote about creativity. I wanted to take the pressure off of needing to set my studio back up after having a baby in order to get back to abstract painting. I realized I can be creative in so many ways on the go (hello simple sketches) and I liked the idea of smaller versions of my favorite supplies to bring the ease back to my process.
I got these adorable paints from Target. They’re small and fun and the colors! *swoon*
I wanted to change what I painted on and try a new format–using a pad of heavy duty mixed media paper is new to me because I usually use a canvas to create. You know what? I found working on the paper to be amazingly freeing! I wasn’t so worried about ‘messing things up’ like I would feel sometimes in front of a fresh started canvas.
I began this piece below by using water soluble wax pastels and treating them like watercolors. Have you used them before? They’re definitely worth checking out. I colored with them on the page, then smudged with a wet brush and sometimes my fingers and it gave a nice watercolor background effect.
I spread some of the paint colors around the edges of the paper and added in collage and pen details. I had fun with the doodles, I wasn’t thinking too much but just trying to enjoy the process–that is the way abstract painting is meant to feel. I saw that a girl was emerging so I brought her to life by painting her face and neck.
Some close up details of the doodles…
I found myself getting a little stuck on what to do next so I started adding details to the girl–her hair came first. And then I added the outline for her eyes, but I messed up on the left eye! Oh well. I was using a pitt pen, so I quickly wiped it with a baby wipe and just tried again. The paint for the color of the eyes eventually covered it up.
After adding some more details and the sentiment, I feel like it was finished. This was so much fun to create on paper, I can’t wait to do the next one!
