kid art Archives - Stephanie Martel - Create Your Art + Create Your Life

Art In Progress: Take It Slow

This piece, “Take It Slow” actually started by me throwing some leftover color from my art class palette on a canvas. I hate wasting paint so sometimes I just start a new canvas quickly at the end of class to use it up. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but I liked these colors together this time.

After I put the color on, I used matte medium to ‘glue’ the collage piece at the bottom. I started loosely sketching the face out, too. Suprisingly to me, this was all done in the first session; It reminds me that sometimes working quickly works out better and not to do too much deep thinking, just let the paint speak through the painting….

Here is a peek at some other pieces I was working on at the same time. I try to keep a few in rotation so if I’m waiting for one to dry a little, I can work on another one. Momentum is my friend 🙂

This next phase shows a little more color, some stamping and a sketch of her face. I added some objects in to inspire the eye to move around the painting. I love these colors together!

Up next: the eyes shine through. There’s always something magnetic to me when the eyes surface–almost like she comes alive! So to bring her more to life, I added a little collage piece in the upper right, a flower in her hair and a collar.

Stamping in the sentiment gets me so excited–it’s a finishing touch that brings me a lot of joy.

This sweet girl is one of my favorites lately, not only for the color scheme, but for the reminder. You love her too? A print of her is available in my shop.

Be gentle–It’s always good to take it slow.

Art In Progress: Be Kind To Yourself

This piece is my recent favorite. I think because I experimented with some different color combinations and in the end it came out quite different than when I started. I didn’t totally love it and then…wham! It worked out. That’s always a good feeling.

Here’s the first pass through–just a simple throw on of some paint. I just try to get the brush moving and forget about expectations; letting go is so important in this first phase. I try to follow the flow and have fun.

I had sketched out a few objects that kind of called to me in the moment–a lotus-type flower, a feather and wheel-like objects. Can you see them? I’m not sure where the inspiration came from for those particular things, I just try to go with what feels good. It’s like my subconscious is talking to me through my brush.

As I keep layering colors, it warms up the original palette. It’s a good reminder that things evolve and change as we go.

The girl was added during this next phase. I was trying to resist the urge to overdo the background with colors, so I forced myself to stop; I wanted to focus more on the feel and warmth of the piece.

As you can see, I changed her dress a little. Hello collage! I didn’t love the sash, so I tried something else. I’m always open to changing + moving + switching it up so that I don’t get too rigid in my ways. It’s easy to get attached early in the process, but I find when I do that, it jams me up creatively.

The softness of her eyes inspired the sentiment for me. I just think it’s so important to be reminded: we all need to be kind, especially to ourselves.

I added in some accents: feathers in her hair, flowers and a little stamping.

I love how she turned out! I may add some small collage pieces around the border and accents to her hair, but I’m going to live with it like this for a bit. In the meantime, I’m going to hang her up and listen to her sweet wisdom.

Prints now available in the shop.