Planning a set of paintings using Resene testpots, process unleashed. What Spring Means to me.

Painting by Marti Somers.

I am planning to do a set of collage paintings for a show about Spring,  using Resene testpots and mixed media. 
Before I  begin  a series I always  do some research and brainstorming. 
I go to my Pinterest site and have a look through all of my boards
Then I pick out paintings with the colours and compositions that I like. 

What do all of these paintings have in common? 

 I try to identify the feelings and shades want to use.

 In this case its gentle pastel pick tones and reds mixed with greys and muted oranges. 

 This is the sensation of Spring to me.

  I never copy other artists images. 
I have them up around me so that the colours will influence me.

I will also gather images from books  and magazines that I like and place  them around me as well. 

  This is adorable and really inspires me, so I have the magazine open in front of me.

I want soft muted tones.
This makes me feel like drawing a girl in a Spring garden holding a chook.

Love these pinks, love the idea of butterflies

 

Love these soft muted tones of pinks moss greens beiges and creams.

Then I will go out into the field and take photos of the colours that I like and come back and make a double exposure of them. 
Trying to replicate the tones I'm after.

I work across a lot of mediums at the same time so that everything can feed into the body of work I am about to embark on. 

Rabbits are fascinating me at the moment so they are popped into the mix.

Professional artists often spend a lot of time in the researching stage.

 I will write haiku  about my ideas , dream about them  and let thoughts  percolate through my mind, body and soul.

Making art is another type of meditation and praying.

I will also do some sketches in my visual diary and some practise on canvas and make some cards.

Felt pen and pencils in visual diaries. 
Quick working sketches

 



 

Then I pick out flowers I like from the sketches and paint them onto canvas as samplers

 These samplers will be made into a series of cards to go with the paintings

I will go out and take more photos, so I build up a large visual map of ideas in my subconscious. 
While I'm doing this I am thinking about the process and adding my stories.
 Always on the look out for what the universe wants to present to me.
I'm wanting to be in the zone and sometimes you need to climb your way in there.

The ideas keep on coming and then it is time to start the real thing. 
 i usually mediate before each painting session. 

Eight reasons to be creative every day

Cathartic.

Think

Energy

Opportunity

Focus

Learning

Dedication

Results

Mindfulness

 

Meditation 

1.Cathartic qualities

A creative pursuit can become a great outlet for venting steam in a positive and cathartic manner.

2.Helps the way you think

Being creative forces you to adopt new ways of thinking.

3.More energy and better moods

When you become entwined in a creative project, it draws you in and you will suddenly find new reserves of energy to work with.

4.Helps you to see opportunity

 To be creative, you have to accept that your experiments will often not work out, but that you must keep on experimenting until you find that perfect colour or ideal sentence.

 

 

5.Always learning

  You can always get better, change direction or try something new, and this way of thinking encourages a thirst for knowledge and learning.

6.Helps you to focus

 It is a skill that requires patience and time, and one that most of us don’t practice that much of the time, as the demands of contemporary life and work normally require us to multitask.

7.Teaches dedication

 Creative thinking, like everything else, needs to be cultivated through dedicated effort. This takes time, it is not easy, but it rewards the people who endure in many ways.

8.Tangible results

If you decide to start painting for example, after working, learning, experimenting, failing, repeating and struggling, you will eventually create a tangible image.

9. Mindfulness

 Helps relieve negative mind chatter by staying in the present moment.

10.Meditation 

You go into the zone and it's like a peaceful  meditation

You can work things out by being involved in creative pursuits. 

Come to my studio for a lesson  or two in creativity and see how it will positively add to your life. 

Phone 07 3463435

Email jkeen@clear.net.nz

Cellphone: 0273513887 

 Creative Quote of the day. 

Miracles happen everyday, change your perception of what a miracle is and you'll see them all around you. Jon Bon Jovi

Mandalas using art Photos that I have created in Photoshop.

 Juxtaposing poetry with your art can give it an extra dimension.

Beauty surrounds us but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it. Rumi

The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along. Rumi

That which is false troubles the heart, but truth brings joyous tranquillity. Rumi

Why should I be unhappy? Every parcel of my being is in full bloom. Rumi

  Everything that is made beautiful and fair and lovely is made for the eye of one who sees. Rumi

Sunlight fell upon the wall; the wall received a borrowed splendor. Why set your heart on a piece of earth, O simple one? Seek out the source which shines forever. Rumi

Oh, bird of my soul, fly away now, For I possess a hundred fortified towers. Rumi

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. Rumi

Rotorua Art Photography by Janet Keen., Spring cycles and circles.

Yesterday my husband and I  went for a Sunday outing to The Mount, in Tauranga. 

It had been raining for days and I  needed to move away from the house and the sodden garden 
 On the way over we talked about all the different bike rides and walks we are going on this summer. 

We had lunch at a Turkish style restaurant and read magazines while the rain poured down. 

I love Zeytin because of the interior design. 

You feel like you are in another country.

I had bread and dips. 
My husband went into the car while I did a quick trip of all my favourite galleries and dress shops at the Mount. 



I was looking for a navy blue shear top and for art in general. 
I was inspired by all the pastel, shimmering colours in clothes, art and interior decor. 

Rather like all of these. 
Beautiful soft tones of romance and revitalisation 

Finally I found my bunny fur pompom key rings and I bought two from GiftLocker. 
I'm going to order two more. 
I also bought a card by Emma Prill with lovely, lively colours from  Zohar Gallery. 
Mini works using canvas and bright colours. 
An explosion of Spring. 

I saw some amazing artwork from Sante Crombie and from (name coming) 

Both of their styles really spoke to me and  I was relieved because I'd  been to Hamilton a couple of weeks before and saw nothing that uplifted me in the way of art techniques. 



Exploring the world around you is really good for inspiration. 
I would recommend anyone who is wanting to make art or who is doing it to have a look around at what others are doing. 

 Just getting in the car and going travelling is a buzz. 
The countryside between here and Mount Maunganui if you go the back road is full of photo opportunities. 
I love going through Pyes Pa and seeing the glinting sea in the distance and the rise of the Mount. 

 I am inspired by artists on facebook as well. 
Part of the reason why Ipost my creations for all to see is that I like the thought of other people being inspired by my work. 
Making arty photos is so much quicker than making them by hand. 
I am also working out which ones to produce commercially. 

My heart at the moment lies in pushing the boundaries of abstraction. 
I am happiest looking at abstract works because  they make me wonder and i can imagine all sorts of different things with them. 

I like also photographing the backs of people heading into an unknown land because that is where I  would like to be. 
Going on continuous adventures. 
Stopping to write and create art about it.  Then coming back full of creative ideas. 
Making art photos like this allows me to escape for a time and it's a very meditative process. 
I often have circles in my work. 


Creative quotes of the week about circles. 

“Two main categories of people are needed in your circle; those who give you the necessary support to accomplish your dreams and those who become beneficiaries of what you achieve.”
― Israelmore Ayivor, Shaping the dream

“There is something particularly special and personal about the circle and how its curves comfortably rule every aspect of our lives.”
― Kat Lahr, Parallelism Of Cyclicality

“Don't let the circle you keep drive your life around in circles.”
― Edmond Mbiaka 

Mandala or circle art. 

Come to my studio and learn how to paint, mosaic or collage  circles and mandalas. 

They are powerful symbols and will bring you peace and relaxation. 

Workshops available for individuals or groups. 

Phone 073463435

 Text: 0273513887

Email jkeen@clear.net.nz for prices and availability.