I made fun art in my studio this week with some works I did I call “Feathers and Fun.” I have some UFOs (Unfinished Objects) taking up space that worked on to clear up for my next project. I also did a couple of fun mini lessons from the Taster Sessions generously provided by Tamara LaPorte of Willowing.org.
Fun Art Number 1: Feathers
I am obsessed with owls. I’m not alone. The owl has a long history of meanings, good and bad, in nearly all cultures around the world. When researching owls I found that the barn owl was considered a bird of ill-omen during the Middle Ages. I mention this because my husband and I had a spooky occurrence surrounding a barn owl when he went out to the garage on New Year’s Day 2007 and found a barn owl had flown into the garage door and died. We did consider that to be a bad start to the new year.
I started painting owls in 2015 and they continue to be a favorite subject.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_1203-COLLAGE-1024x1024.jpg" alt="Three owl paintings" class="wp-image-4046" width="512" height="512" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_1203-COLLAGE-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_1203-COLLAGE-300x300.jpg 300w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_1203-COLLAGE-150x150.jpg 150w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_1203-COLLAGE-768x768.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_1203-COLLAGE-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_1203-COLLAGE.jpg 1577w" sizes="(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" />
I did a few “wonky” owls in the process:
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_0598-COLLAGE-1024x1024.jpg" alt="Three quirky owls!" class="wp-image-4049" width="512" height="512" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_0598-COLLAGE-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_0598-COLLAGE-300x300.jpg 300w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_0598-COLLAGE-150x150.jpg 150w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_0598-COLLAGE-768x768.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_0598-COLLAGE-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_0598-COLLAGE.jpg 2046w" sizes="(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" />
Below are my most recent owl paintings. I used the same reference photo for both owls. The one with the woman is done in oils. My husband wanted a heavily textured owl so the painting on the right is done impasto-style with acrylics.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2517-COLLAGE-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-4053" width="512" height="384" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2517-COLLAGE-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2517-COLLAGE-300x225.jpg 300w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2517-COLLAGE-768x576.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2517-COLLAGE-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2517-COLLAGE.jpg 2046w" sizes="(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" />
Fun in My Studio Number 2: Just Plain Fun
I have been a big fan of Tamara LaPorte of Willowing.org. She offers several painting workshops featuring various artists revolving around a theme. Typically she has a week or more of “taster” mini lessons for you to try out the offerings.
I was able to squeeze in a few from her latest Kaleidoscope 2023 Workshop. I did one that she presented herself called “Poppies.” This was done in watercolor. Mine wasn’t as vibrant as hers, but I still like it.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2654-794x1024.jpg" alt="Fun Art Project painting of Watercolor Poppies" class="wp-image-4060" width="596" height="768" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2654-794x1024.jpg 794w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2654-233x300.jpg 233w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2654-768x990.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2654-1191x1536.jpg 1191w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2654-1588x2048.jpg 1588w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2654-scaled.jpg 1986w" sizes="(max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px" />
I had time for one more and I wanted to try an artist who I had never heard of before. The artist is Bonita Hendricks and the medium is pastels. This is a medium I would like to try more.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2655-1024x689.jpg" alt="Fun Art Pastel Sunset" class="wp-image-4063" width="512" height="345" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2655-1024x689.jpg 1024w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2655-300x202.jpg 300w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2655-768x517.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2655-1536x1034.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2655-2048x1379.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" />
One thing I learned from this is that I should watch first before diving right into the Lesson. I thought as I grew older, I would have more patience, but that hasn’t been the case. Not too far into this lesson, Bonita mentioned not to draw the horizon line entirely across the sheet of paper. Oops -too late!
Below is thre link to Tamara LaPorte’s AMAZING website. She offers free classes if you sign up for her newsletter.
Until next week – Happy Creating!
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pexels-photo-509087-683x1024.jpeg" alt="woman in black shirt covering her face" class="wp-image-4067" width="342" height="512" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pexels-photo-509087-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pexels-photo-509087-200x300.jpeg 200w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pexels-photo-509087-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/pexels-photo-509087.jpeg 867w" sizes="(max-width: 342px) 100vw, 342px" />
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
I had almost forgot about these two owls I had created through Tamara LsaPorte’s lessons some time ago!
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2656-COLLAGE-1024x768.jpg" alt="Two quirky owl paintings" class="wp-image-4089" width="512" height="384" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2656-COLLAGE-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2656-COLLAGE-300x225.jpg 300w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2656-COLLAGE-768x576.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2656-COLLAGE-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2656-COLLAGE.jpg 2046w" sizes="(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" />
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