... exploring in my creativity further in 2022



18 March 2011

Restarting my Stalled Painting for Paint Party Friday - WIP

I admit it - I am a painter wannabe with no clue what I'm doing. But I have a keen interest in dabbling, experimenting and (hopefully) getting better by doing. Sometimes, however, I get stalled. Well, often. But I hope Paint Party Friday (PPF) is going to change all that! I do much better with check-ins. Do you? That's one of the reasons why Kristin and I decided to start this and we are so happy you are joining us!

I found during CED2010 that I wanted to paint. I tried a few small acrylics on canvas board, then months later went big. This January, I started a new piece and have stalled twice. First, I stalled on my WIP (WIP/Work in Progress - I love this term, it holds such a promise of better things to come!) when it looked like this:

(I think painting must be like cleaning/tidying up, it always looks significantly worse before it looks better)

A while later, I started again. I did a sketch to help me plan the painting better...


Painting restarted but life got busy and I stalled again at this point:


And now, because of the PPF check-in, I have an incentive to paint AND some accountability! Yay! (How embarrassing it would be to co-host the party and not paint the opening week! Hmm, maybe I could bring wine and no one will notice the lack of a painting?) 

It felt great to have the acrylics out and to make progress!  It still has a ways to go before it's done (lots more detail and tone needed) and I'm not happy with the background but it is getting closer to the image I started with in my mind.



I am so looking forward to seeing everyone's efforts. I hope you have lots of fun and that everyone will make painting progress and meet new and interesting friends! 

See you there!

XO
EVA

36 comments:

  1. Wheee!!! Isn't this exciting?!?
    I'm so happy we're doing this!
    The details you are adding to your flower are really making it - and that vibrant red...love.
    (The texture in your background is very cool... I'd like to see it close up.)

    xo
    Kristin

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  2. I think it is looking really good. Love the red and the details you are adding. Thanks for sharing and this is going party is going to be fun.

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  3. I think it's off to a very good start! I give you a lot of credit, I tried acrylics and hated them. I love them for painting on wood and little things but I tried one painting on canvas board and gave up. lol

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  4. Love the red!!! It's all about progress... that is my mantra!!!
    cheers and thanks for hosting.
    dana

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  5. It's so funny to me how most paintings look worse (at least to the painter ;)) before they become what you saw in your mind's eye at the beginning. But how very gratifying to know that you're not alone in this! And this is beautiful- very O'Keeffe-ish" is reminds me of her poppies....as a lover of flowers and painting them, I appluad you- wonderful work! And thank you SO much for hosting PPF- I too need a jump start sometimes ;) and this is gonna be a fun one!
    Cheers,
    Stephanie

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  6. Love your red flower, very powerful :)

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  7. Hi Eva, super beautiful..I love your creations and your sketch..all gorgeous! Reds are so powerful and exciting! Your work looks quite meditative to me...I love that..I felt a wonderful pull to just focus and relax and then the red also felt energizing. Powerful! SHine on! It is so wonderful meeting fellow artists and exploring eachother's wonderful work. Thanks for hosting this fabulous affair!
    Happy wkd
    HUgs and sparkles
    Victoria~
    And thankyou for your kind words on mine..and you can call me either, Kiki for short!

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  8. Red, Is my favorite color! So vibrant. A lot of people don't use a lot of red but it is such a passionate color. I can see the passion emerging from this little flower and I bet it will be amazing when it is fully complete! :-)

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  9. Oh this is going to be gorgeous, who doesn't like red flowers and yours is such a vibrant red. Thanks for co-hosting this party I am looking forward to participating.

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  10. Interesting evolution of your WIP. Love the vibrant red. Thanks for co-hosting this party Eva.

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  11. Eva believe that painters always have ideas in his head that did not get everything in the shape of the lien or paper, perhaps these meetings help us all, besides having fun. Hugs

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  12. This is looking gorgeous! I've always wanted to paint big...hope to work up the nerve! Thank you for co-hosting this wonderful Party. I think it's just what I need to keep me on track. You're right about checking in...great idea you two had. Looking at everyone's art is icing on the cake! :)

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  13. Hi Eva,

    I'm having a lot of fun with the Paint Party and go works-in-progress! :-) :-P I'm loving the depth of the flower thus far. Can't wait to see the finished piece!

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  14. I love the poppy red and the depth you've created in the petals. It is always exciting to start a painting or whatever art piece you have in mind but almost always in my work it turns out differently and surprising and usually I'm happy with the results. I totally understand with life getting busy...so true; reason why we need an outlet for expression and meditation and painting is one that does that for us. Thanks again for hosting and I see we live close to each other....must keep in touch!
    Annabelle >^.^<

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  15. This is so pretty! The colors are just *perfect*. I'm so glad you and Kristin have started this paint party! Thank you!

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  16. Hi Eva! Your painting will be great. Acrylics are so hard to work with for me so I commend you on your big piece. Looking forward to seeing it finished. :-)

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  17. I totally understand about stalling. For me, usually if I don't finish it, it never gets finished so good for you to be able to go back to it! That red is so vibrant! Love that!

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  18. I think all artists feel the same way...the Masters sometimes took years to complete a painting...
    You have a beautiful start with this one, I love the red poppy...so cheerful! I am going to practice painting flowers. Thanks for the inspiration and also for hosting this party :)
    Have a fab weekend, Eva...Hugs!

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  19. Eva, what a great start!! I love the popping colour of red! Thank you, to you and Kristin. :)

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  20. Great start on your art piece. Wonderful to meet You
    Lynn

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  21. Lovely flower painting. I know what you mean about life getting in the way of our creaticity. Happens all the time to me. LOL

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  22. That flower pops right out at you...I love the red! Great work and thank you so much for inspiring me with the Paint Party!

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  23. I love it...Ileana is right it jumps out at you. I almost forgot to do post my PPF! But I guess better late than never LOL

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  24. Great post - being able to follow you on your painting journey is wonderful. I'm loving how this painting is turning out. Beautiful vibrant poppy!

    Kat :-)

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  25. Hi Eva =)
    Thanks so much for throwing the party! I am loving it. Your painting is coming along beautifully, and I'm so glad you are determined to keep at it. I have to say that you are brave to paint large. I've actually been doing a lot of ACEOs lately, and am really enjoying the spontaneity of them. Anyway, for Deanna and others who have a hard time liking acrylic...maybe I can help a bit. I use Delta Ceramcoat, Americana and Folk Art paints and I paint them onto Susan Scheewe 185# watercolor paper. Sometimes I add more water and paint like they are watercolors...sometimes I paint both watercolor and acrylic in the same painting. Anyway, using the acrylics on heavyweight paper is nice because they stay where you put them, lol.
    Happy Painting and Happy Partying! Kathryn

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  26. Hey Eva - keep splashing those acrylics - watching paint dry can be fun!!!!!

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  27. Am loving the red.... fantastic party, well done... I've nominated myself as Bubbly supplier...

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  28. Hi Eva, what a great idea and a fantastic post. This is what it's all about with art I think and challenging yourself is so exciting! Loving these progress shots! The red is so striking it's really taking shape now, I have painted over other canvas' so many times for different reasons but I've found that this creates some interesting textures too! :0) I look forward to seeing how this painting turns out and will really enjoy taking part in paint party Fridays :0)

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  29. Love seeing your process. I can totally relate to not knowing what you're doing painting-wise. It's fun, but it can be frustrating, too. I think your flower is turning out beautifully.

    Thanks for hosting Paint Party Friday!

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  30. How exciting to be part of your painting experience. I know what you mean about doing better if you have to check in. During CED in November I was so creative, when it was over, the creativity line chart took a sharp plummet. I love being part of your new adventure!

    Wonderful start to PPF!

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  31. Hello, Eva! I too have stalled paintings, although they were usually stalled by outside forces in the form of my two preschool aged sons :) I love works in progress, seeing that little glimpse into an artist's process is so inspiring, and often meanders in unexpected ways. Thanks for hosting such a great space for us artists to share and meet!

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  32. I'm glad to see you are pushing past that stall. It always helps me to get someone else to look at my work. Sometimes I have looked at it so long and hard that I can't see it anymore. Not that I know what I'm doing really, but I have never painted anything that didn't look horrible at some stage. I have to remind myself of that a lot, so I don't give up at the ugly stage. Looks like you past that stage already, but you might have to keep reminding yourself, like I do. :)

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  33. That is what's so cool about this. Playing in paint and partying around with WIP's to finished projects! Love it! Thanks so much for hosting!

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  34. Hey, hon, it is looking GREAT! You've got some good depth in the flower and I love the colour.

    Now, one thing to remember, something I learnt off Juliette Crane. Don't worry if it looks bad, just keep working until it works. Keep adding layers, paint over the bits you don't like, etc It may not turn out exactly as you had envisioned, but then you might find something else you didn't know you had. Sometimes mistakes can make masterpieces. So don't get disheartened if you spill paint on a spot you don't intend (which I have done many a time), or something else goes wrong - Work it until it works :D

    And thanks for starting the party. This is going to be fun :D

    Nutty
    (you have no idea how valuable that piece of advice has been to my painting skills :D)

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  35. Thank you for this lovely party! The timing is great for my new experiments.
    I remember you from AEDM 2010, great to see you again. :)

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  36. Thanks for this lovely party.....love seeing your art as well as each person who is playing along. Never worked with acrylics....don't know if I'm ready to try.

    Jo

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Looking forward to hearing from you!