Sunday, May 6, 2012

Laura's Color Challenge: Return to the 80s...1880s

I thought about it. I really thought about it.

A black canvas. Spattered paint in intense hues of hot pink and lime green. A return to all that was the 1980s. Black lights and mall rat hair. Jelly bracelets and lace gloves.

And then I metaphorically slapped myself. This was a challenge after all! And I like to use challenges to think outside the box, so I did.

My friend, Laura, hosts a wonderfully creative and inspiring blog called "Where the Gold Bees Dream." In her latest post, she issued a color challenge to anyone who reads her blog. She gave us three colors and we had to create something using those colors: black, lime green, and hot pink.

As I said, I thought about going the 1980s route. It made sense to do so, especially since Laura referenced that decade herself.

But I wanted to do something different. I wanted to take those colors and use them differently. Subdue and twist them. Take them somewhere beyond spiral curls and Madonna videos.

So I started with a texture from Distressed Jewell. It had shades of pink and green that I saturated until they were nearly fluorescent. Then, black as the chosen color, I began to use my "brushes" to add elements to my digital "painting."

Soon, I was reminded of the hapless narrator finally arriving at Poe's envisioned House of Usher...

Usher

"During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country ; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher."                                    
~Edgar Allan Poe

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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Lots of Creativity in Small Doses

It has been and continues to be pretty stressful around here. In order to find some peace of mind, I have been trying to squeeze in little bits of creativity. Just to quiet all the negative voices in my head. So, here are the fruits of my escapist attempts:

Having fun on Instagram. Instant gratification photography is appealing right now...


More iPhone photography...


Selfies that capture my mood and soul are also useful right now...


I've been doing some experiments in mixed media, too. I'm not 100% satisfied...but I'm thrilled with the process of learning and painting and experimenting!


"Abandonment"


"Ache"
(My current favorite, I think...)


"Upward Sent"

There really is something to be said for the power of art and creation. It isn't always healing, at least not fully, but it redirects the noisy voices in my head. It gives them a point on which to focus so my other thoughts can pick up their scattered pieces and make sense of them...

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