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This Nixie taught me to take the time to listen to her.

I usually paint what comes, whatever it is. But this was different, I started the Nixie as a project for ColourArte. And then, I did not really know in which direction to take her. It is not the first time it happens, and it won’t be the last either.

I persisted, however. I am glad I did, because she taught me that it was okay not to hurry a painting. To let her sit for a while until I was ready for her.

I shared with you how I made her rainbow hair using a fun controlled pouring technique and then in the second part I share how I made her face come to life. Doubts creeped in, I waited and waited before just going for it.

I hope you’ll enjoy watching my creative process in these two videos.

PS: would you like more videos like this, on which I let you peak at my brain while creating ?

Here is part 1:

And there is part 2:

Happy Thursday ! Today I have a new {Painting In Motion} video, created for ColourArte, to share with you. Scroll down to see the list of the products I used.

I wanted to try something I have had in mind for quite some time. However, I did not dare doing it until now. Use a fluid painting as a background instead of a finished abstract painting. All the possibilities !

Don’t be scared to experiment !

If you always put some pressure about doing every piece of art a masterpiece, you will forget all about the joy. Trust me: I have been there ! I had a urge to do something more with my fluid paintings. Even though this year is the year I chose to explore abstract paintings in different forms, I wanted to go further.

Nixies have been a quiet voice this past year. Always on the back of my mind but not in the foreground anymore. I guess we needed some time apart to grow.

Experimenting is leaving some space for mistakes. I don’t believe in mistakes when it comes to creativity though. Because it always becomes some learning material. Think of it that way next time.

SUPPLIES USED

• ColourArte Primary Elements pigment –  BABY’S BREATH
• ColourArte Primary Elements pigment – WINTERMIST GREY
• ColourArte Primary Elements pigment – DEEP CORAL
• ColourArte Primary Elements pigment – PLUMERIA
• ColourArte CLEAR ENAMEL
• ColourArte Vivid Ultra-Metallics – PERIWINKLE
• ColourArte Vivid Ultra-Metallics – BOLIVIAN BLUE
• ColourArte Vivid Ultra-Metallics – PINK AZALEA
• ColourArte Silks acrylic glaze – IRIDESCENT BLUE
• Stabilo mark-it-all – BLACK
• Artist’s loft – WHITE acrylic
• Americana acrylic – GRAPHITE
• Liquitex Pouring medium
• Water

You guys… you might think I am crazy because a few weeks ago, I purchased a Very Big Sketchbook. I first saw it on Facebook after Effy Wild shared about it on her timeline. You know by now that I have an obsession with journals and sketchbooks, and I have a ton of each (and still a good chunk empty).

Your words do not have to be legible

I assure you, they absolutely don’t. Your art journal is a sacred place that can be for your eyes only. Usually, when it is an art journal spread I know I won’t publicly share, I write as I’m pleased. Even when I want them to be clear in a video (for example), I can hide them in the first layers that will end up covered up.

Your art journal is yours, the decisions belong to you.

The saying “Hiding in plain sight” kept coming to me while I was creating this page. It was obvious soon enough in my process that this Nixie was a part of me that was actually always hiding, but right under everyone’s nose. Both here and not here at the same time.

Do you incorporate words in your art journal ? What’s your favorite method if you choose to add them in ?

Products used for this project:

✼ Very Big Sketchbook
✼ Gesso
✼ Radiant Rain mist – SNAPDRAGON
✼ Radiant Rain mist – GINGER FLOWER
✼ Stabilo mark-it-all – BLACK
✼ Silk Acrylic Glaze – KEY LIME
✼ Silk Acrylic Glaze – FOREST GREEN
✼ Oil Pastels

When in doubt, start with what you know.

This is the mantra I have been repeating to myself lately. When my hands get all itchy because they want to move paint around, because they want to create texture that tells stories and add colors but that fear of the unknown starts creeping it, this is what I tell myself.

I am a never ending explorer when it comes to my creativity. However, I am also very much my worst saboteur. It’s been a wild ride in the past year, and I almost stopped doing anything in my Studio. But I am not a quitter, and I guess painting is in my veins because even though I do not paint, ideas and stories and faces invade my mental space. A texture I see, a name I hear, whispers of stories to be told… it’s always there.

This is why I decided to stop fighting against all this, and to give in to it, to go with the flow. But what to do when it’s been months without creation ?

I live in colors, texture and emotions. This is the fuel to my Soul.

And by being well aware of this Truth, it helps me when I am doubting everything else. I astonish myself to find inspiration everywhere because of it (life is made of textures and colors, and ruled by our emotions and reactions to events).

I believe life is what we make of it. And decided to stop bitching about what I lack of, and instead I decided to focus on what brings me true joy and pleasure. What makes me feel like I am home. This is when I said to myself “F*uck it, just go and do something. Play around with what you know works well, and see what happens“. To my surprise, I was hit with a huge crashing wave of happiness, that giddy feeling you get once you are in your comfort zone and didn’t remember what it looked like. And to top it, a Nixie decided to show up (you might remember I took a break from painting Nixies).

It’s okay to get back to your comfort zone.

It truly is no big deal. If it is what you need to go away from giving your (he)art up. As long as you are aware that it is to get back in the swing of things and that you continue to be adventurous, to explore the edges of that comforting and beautiful zone so you can push them.

So yea…. Nolwenn is back ! *hooray*

You know that my Nixies mean everything to me. It is not because we take a little break from each other that I forget about them. They still appear.

This year, I have the pleasure to be a visual contributor to the amazing e-zine The Phoenix Soul. You will find a piece of art from me in every issue of 2017 (it is a quarterly zine).

Meet Cerah. I created her on an elongated canvas (a format I don’t usually use but had around). The theme of this issue is: Living your vibrant life.

I had this vision of a Nixie with rainbow hair. It does not happen often this way; I am an intuitive artist. I let whatever wants to happen happen, and just go with it. But this time, it was the other way around: I could see her before doing anything on my surface. So I let her be: I sketched what I was seeing and created her as she wanted.

I created texture first, and played with ColourArte Primary Elements (shimmery art pigment powders) for her hair. Because it was so vibrant, I went for a more subtle background.

I love her. She was the first Nixie I painted since we moved to Québec, so I was nervous to be honest. She is very stunning, to me. And very meaningful, too. I can not make art that is not personal somehow, this is just how I roll…

I wish I had recorder her creative process in video, but I did not. Maybe next time !