THE ADVENTURE

When I’m in my studio I feel as though I’m on a grand adventure where anything can happen and usually does. Art is the hero’s journey with all its challenging parts along the way, the guides along the way and the transformation of the journey itself. The is an adventure and I never know where it will take me. I came into this studio space with a knowing that I have to be braver enough to trust that whatever happens is what is meant to happen and that is perfect for this point in the journey. I don’t know what I will create when I come to my studio. I will sometimes have an idea of what I want to work on but this is often thrown out the window as my guidance takes me along another path. It’s the adventure that I love as it always surprises me, often challenges me but never fails to light up my soul.

A GLIMPSE AT THE PROCESS

This is a glimpse into my intuitive art process and some of the steps I took when I was creating my Owl Dreaming painting.

Stage 1: background play

Owl dreaming began as an exploration on creating a background with a black canvas. The question was where would I take it from here as I would have to use different layering techniques. This is always a guided process so I just listened to my inner guidance and picked up whatever my hand gravitated towards. The colors that felt right in that moment were the ones that I used and the idea of contrast guided some of my choices.
started having fun with blues and greens as I love these colors and liked the natural feeling I wanted it to pop more. I had spread the blues and greens randomly with an old plastic credit card. My fingers are another favourite tool to create smaller marks. I knew that I needed something to add contrast and liked the idea of adding gold and remembered the wide florist ribbon that I had bought that had gold hearts all over it.

The layers grew and I loved the florist ribbon. I realised that I could also use it as a mask as the fabric was sheer and the hearts created a type of mask. I love these accidental discoveries along the way. A bit of water spray to add drips and I was done for the first stage.

Stage 2: cloud dreaming

This is the space where I search for an image within the layers of paint that I have created. I turn the painting upside down and round and round until the suggestion of an I’m image seems to form. Sometimes I take a photograph and keep turning the image until I see something. I’m playing with my imagination, just like I did when I was a child looking for shapes in the clouds.

If there is no image forming in my minds eye I will add another layer. Sometimes I draw scribble lines on the canvas in chalk and an image appears. Sometimes I work on something else for awhile and an image comes into my mind. This is a playful practice of trust and finding images within the shapes that I use all the time. I trust that I will be guided to the right image and enjoy the playfulness of this intuitive process.

STAGE 3: chalk drawings

Once the image appeared, I used a piece of chalk and began to draw the image that I could see in my minds eye. I have always played this game and it always delights and surprises me. I drew in the girl and owl, then I started adding some random free flower shapes into the background. This step involved whiting out the background and adding some white to the face and a bit of line detail to gain a sense of the image.

STAGE 4: Shape play

I’m playfully exploring the block out technique so I used white gesso to block in the background. The shape was working and I was happy with the basic shapes. I always start with the big shapes and then add details. I had a lovely stencil and added some random pink flowers over the white. I was playing with developing different sections across the canvas and enjoying the flow. I often use a wooden skewer to create line details or my fingers to create small marks. I like the sense of randomness that they create in the work. The imperfect lines and shapes hold a lot of beauty.

STAGE 5: Final details

She developed into the final image with extra details in the flowers and a wash of green in the lower section of the work. The last step was to add dots o add a bit of vibrant energy to the piece. I wanted to keep the arm fairly dark so it wouldn’t become to dominant. I softened the right of the owl wing so it starts to merge into the background.

 

CELEBRATE

I step back, amile and wonder at what I’ve created bd say thank you for all the guidance along the way. Such a lovely way to acknowledge the journey. Sometimes I will do an intuitive reading if the piece at this stage as I step into the art work to see what it has to teach me. There is a free resource on the ‘Things I Love’ page if you want to know more about this simple guided technique to help you connect with your inner wisdom.

Enjoy the adventure,

Love and blessings,

Cheryle