Today I'm linking up with Samantha over at Elah Tree for an installment of her "artist guild" series! Each month has a different creative prompt, and this month's was "paint a canvas." You can read more about the linkup and prompts over here.
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Let's be honest.
I do words. I don't do paint.
I think the last time I painted was in elementary school, and so this project was mostly fun, but it was also a little bit stressful.
Last weekend, I went to Hobby Lobby and got some supplies, and then I spent my entire Tuesday evening staring at a blank 8x10 canvas wondering what the heck I was supposed to do. I also wasted half my red and blue acrylic paint tubes trying to make purple, and every time I kept just getting gray, which I painted over with black because I couldn't handle looking at the color of failure. Mad props to people who mix paint. It's not as easy as it sounds or looks. Or maybe it is, and I'm just confused.
I'm not really one of those people who's good at "just going for it" when it comes to creativity. I edit every sentence as I write, I like sticking firmly to recipes, and it took me an entire year to finish my wedding scrapbook.
So the whole "just put paint on a canvas, it doesn't have to be a masterpiece" thing is pretty much my worst nightmare behind getting lost in space or finding a snake in my toilet (I read a news story once about a guy who found a ten-foot snake in his toilet pipe, and now I always think about that when I'm going to the bathroom).
To top it off, I'm delusional. For some reason I thought maybe I was a painting prodigy whose artistic genius had yet to be recognized.
Clearly, I'll have to find another way to make my millions.
In any case, I have now officially finished my very first canvas! Like I said, it was fun, once I got over my crushing realization that I'm not going to be the next Picasso. Thanks again to Samantha for the inspiration! It's good to get out of your creative comfort zone every once in a while.
Now the question of what to do with these. I mean, they're not exactly something I can hang on my bedroom wall and pretend they're the work of my six-year-old who brings home art projects from the first grade.
No, don't worry about it. I made these. I'm an adult who paints with cookie cutters and can't make the color purple.
At least I'm good with words. Right?
Do you do paint? If not, what's your creative "thing"?
I love them. What a fun little project. I cannot paint for the life of me so I'm right there with yah. I do however love to scrapbook! It is so calming. Maybe I'll take a stab at painting. Btw, they do not look like your first grader painted them. Haha I call them abstract art.
ReplyDeleteMixing colors is overrated :)
Ok so last year Fredrik told me about this guy in Sweden, not near us like hundreds of miles away, that had an adult crocodile living in his bathtub and I got so freaked out. No matter how much Fredrik said it was now taken care of by the police and it was really far away from us I could not get over it and now sometimes when I am home alone I get scared to go in our bathroom!
ReplyDeleteMixing colors is hard! I cheated and bought purple:) I love that you experimented mixing colors with primary colors. It takes a lot to get out of your comfort zone and you did wonderfully! I am not better with words and STRUGGLED with the poem challenge and basically in the end, ended up listing 80's hair bands. Not even joking:) Can't wait to see your hairstyle next challenge!
ReplyDeleteSkid Marks. Brilliant. Half the talent is naming your piece.
ReplyDeleteI took Painting I in college, and got in the end of semester show as 'most improved'.
That was my 15 minutes.
As long as you had fun, it doesn't matter! I like to paint, it turns out terrible, but I like to paint. Keep trying, and you will find your niche.
They look great! I am loving Skid Marks (haha, immensely the name too)! I'm more of an abstract lady, and I'm loving it. And kudos to you for stepping out of your box, not enough people take that leap.
ReplyDelete~Katy
I love it! Painting, drawing, and anything of that nature is well out of my comfort zone. I would not be able to draw or paint to save my life! I do enjoy coloring though. Do you think that counts? LoL
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way - spontaneous creativity with paint is just not my thing! But I think you did great! My favorite is Skidmarks. I say hang it with pride ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm liking the skid-marks piece! How fun that you played with splattering. I think I hold myself back artistically sometimes when I don't allow myself to play with a medium, instead of always working toward a tighter finished piece. Process is important, not just a final product, and I need to remember that's how I'll learn and develop.
ReplyDeleteYes! That's it exactly. It was fun (once I stopped freaking out) to just kind of let it go. But also sad that I spent THREE HOURS on the above two tiny 8x10 canvases. Okay four hours. But who's counting? ;)
DeleteI love your piece's names.
ReplyDeleteI went through a phase were I loved to paint. I twas something I just really, really enjoyed. (This was a few months before I took up running more seriously.) But I, like you, am not good at "just going for it". I never just sat down and painted my own ideas. I had to find things I LIKED and say, "I think I could paint something like that!" And then after painting several canvases, I realized.. I had nothing to do with them! I was too critical to ever hand them up in my house, and who would actually WANT them? So now a few of my favorites are sitting on a shelf in my office at work.. because I had space and didn't want to throw them away. Ha.
ReplyDeletePainting didn't last long for me though. I got tired of having to buy supplies. And I got tired of having to clean up the mess. :P Running ended up being the better choice.
That's so cool you tried something new. I want to try to see what my inner artist does...
ReplyDeleteI'm better with a camera.. that's my art :)
I would never ever have the confidence to just paint a canvas with no instructions or guide. I did do a Wine and Pallet with a Groupon once, thinking it would be this relaxing, self-affirming kind of thing. Wrong. I was so anxious about making my painting look like the teacher's. It was really quite stressful and I could feel my blood pressure climbing with each brush stroke. I still want to do it again to redeem the experience/have another shot at creating a masterpiece. My "Ghost Ship" is hanging in our house (you may have seen it). People probably look at it and think I have an adorable niece who sends me her artwork, but I secretly hope they think I have that kind of artistic talent that is above amateur understanding.
ReplyDeleteI can see something like that being stressful. Before I started my canvas, I thought about checking out Pinterest to get ideas, but I decided that was actually a terrible idea. Which it would have been, obviously.
DeleteHey! Those look good! If you don't find a place for them, I bet you can give them to your mom...somehow my mom still loves my "artwork" even though I'm an "adult" now, ha ha.
ReplyDeleteI don't do paint either, i can barely draw a stick figure! Baking is my creative outlet and I think I'll stick to that for now! ;)
ReplyDeleteYour paintings look great! And I love the names! I really like scrapbooking, but it can be quite the expensive hobby. I have also gotten in to crocheting and making jewelry lately. I totally agree with you about trying new creative things- you never know what you might be good at!
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic! Like over the moon fantastic! I was laughing out loud. I love your paintings! I also love that I learned that you don't do "just going for it creativity." Sometimes I feel like that is the only way I know how to function with creativity, just dive right in and hope I don't' drowned. I love your black hole painting! I'm 100 times impressed that you painted out of your comfort zone!
ReplyDeleteThanks, friend! And thanks for hosting! It was good to get out of my comfort zone.
DeleteI think your art is fun. To be honest, if you took it to a modern art museum a lot of art looks like what you painted. =)
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh. I am so with you! Painting is so hard, and though I wish I could be good at it, it's one of those things that just won't happen. I'm way better with words :) though I'm also like you in that anything creative, including things with words, takes me a really long time to complete! Props to you for trying your hand at painting a canvas though--I don't know that I'll ever be that brave with my time, haha.
ReplyDeleteGlad it made you laugh :) That was kind of the goal. I mean, if you can't make fun of your terrible art, then really what's the point? haha. It was fun once I stopped trying to be a perfectionist about it.
DeleteVery fun! I like yours!! Painting is TOUGH. I had a graphic design minor and so a few 'hands-on' art classes were required... yikes! Talk about a humbling experience, lol! I do like to doodle/draw a little bit... but I'd much rather write and use my words as well!
ReplyDeleteI love Skidmarks. :-) I wanted to link up with this so badly and then I didn't have time to paint! Oh well, there's always next time. :-)
ReplyDeleteI've tried paint. I'm better at words, though. And I'd definitely hang yours on my wall!
ReplyDeleteI'm better with words, too, though I do paint randomly. Mostly I paint things just when I want them to be a different color or have a random pattern, more than paint pictures. But this whole post kind of makes me want to torture Angel into having a painting session with me...because of your description of the experience of painting when you aren't really comfortable with paint. I think it might be quite hilarious to see my husband forced to interact with a set of paints...
ReplyDeleteI really love yours! Your names for them made me laugh. I like the different textures you have in "skidmarks". Circles, splashes, streaks. Love it. Also, the colors are pretty!!
ReplyDeleteLove your "black hole" painting! Haha. You are definitely amazing with words. I'm still experimenting with a million different creative endeavors... but I think photography is my "thing" right now :)
ReplyDeleteThis is so much fun! I'm rubbish with paint. :)
ReplyDeleteLoving the titles!
hehe i love to paint and its fun to try something new outside of your comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteI read that same story about the snake, and it's a terrifying story. Did you also know that we swallow an average of 8(!) spiders in our sleep in a lifetime??? I didn't until recently and that really freaks me out.
ReplyDeleteI love the black hole painting, is that hole the disguised colour purple? It's fun sometimes to step out of our comfort zone!
Haha, you cracked me up. Skid marks....haha. I'm quietly chuckling to myself. GREAT effort. I love painting, even though I'm not great at it.
ReplyDeleteWe live in DC. So a few summers ago, my husband and I bought a bunch of canvases and paint and brushes. Since I am a teacher, I had the summer free. What I decided to do with my time was paint! I would visit a Smithsonian museum, take a ton of pictures, then find one painting/sculpture that I would recreate at home. So I ended up with 5 paintings based off 5 different museums! It was fun.
I kind of love "Skid Marks" -- it's bright and lively!
ReplyDeleteI used to paint all the time when I was in college. When life got too stressful, my friends and I would go into the art building, turn a movie on my laptop, and "angry fingerpaint"--it was remarkably therapeutic :) I haven't painted in forever, though . . . maybe I should try again. Thanks for sharing your creativity with us!
I love that you stretched yourself to do this. The skidmarks painting is so fun. I'd say you did a fabulous job friend. :)
ReplyDeleteThat last paragraph made me laugh out loud! Ha. And I love the skid marks painting.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I would have no idea of how to make purple. Lol