Tuesday 20 August 2013

A MISCELLANY OF ENJOYMENT

I had lost my creative mojo a little bit, so I spent a few days just playing about with making postcard sized collages just for fun.  The result was that today I found it easy to get straight down to creativity and sorted out five challenge pieces.  So the enjoyment was mine, just feeling the flow, but I hope that you also enjoy something in this post.

Firstly, here is my postcard sized sketch for this week's theme of Baking for Sunday Postcard Art.  This came together so quickly.


I made a very quick sketch in my 'rough' sketchbook while I had my morning coffee, came back to the studio to draw and paint it.  When it was finished, I realised I had concentrated on the 'baking' and had forgotten the postcard size.  So I cheated a little and added some blank space at the top to get it to the right size.

We were given a colour challenge from Collage Obsession, with the colour purple to be used.  Here's my offering:


I just love the rich colour and this image which started from a photograph.  Yesterday my sweet neighbour from the apartment three floors above us came to the door with a beautiful bunch of salmon pink roses because when she saw me on Sunday she thought I didn't look well.  Such thoughtfulness and kindness, and the flowers make me happy whenever I look at them.

The purple image doesn't look much like pink roses, but that's how it started.  I photographed part of the bunch using the Photo Booth app on my i-pad and choosing one of the image types available.  I think this was 'swirl'.  Then in the PSE app (Photoshop Express) on the i-pad I changed the colours to purple.  I love the result.


This colourful scene started as a postcard sized experiment I made with acrylic paints some time ago - just the central section that suggests trees or mountains.  On Photoshop I added the blue and the sandy colours and put a frame around it.

It just fits the brief from Inspiration Avenue of 'Postcard'.  The abstract image gives me the feeling of a landscape, and with our grey cloudy skies at the moment it looks just the kind of warm and colourful place where I'd like to be spending a few days of holiday and sending a postcard back to my friend.


Jen at Artists Play Room suggested it would be a fun theme to use 'Abstracts' as our challenge this week.  So I decided to have fun and created the abstract painting above.  It consists of four waste pieces from a larger acrylic painting that I was cutting up to use for something else.  A constant saying when I was growing up was 'Waste not, Want not',  so I decided to put them together to make an abstract with a difference.

These are the three strips and triangle that I put together, cut the top and bottom straight and stuck onto another piece of card.  Quite pleased with that.

And last of all, here's my offering for the Take a Word challenge of 'Warm Colours'.


The background is something I tried out a while ago, and I have been wondering how to complete it.  I searched through my box of 'failed paintings', and this image of a girl jumped out at me from an acrylic experimental piece.  The girl's size, shape and colouring were exactly right.  I cut her out and stuck her in the cave-like space of the background.  And I loved it.

The girl came from the failed painting that produced the waste strips used for the abstract above.

All in all I've had a good arty day, great fun, and feel I've got my mojo back.

27 comments:

  1. Hello Jez,
    I'm so glad you were inspired this week! I love all of your pieces. My two favorites are the cut up postcard, with its vivid colors and tantalizing swirls, and the colorful scene. It reminds me of Georgia O'Keefe's desert landscapes. Not only do I love the color palette, the texture of the acrylics is really intriguing. Finally, your lovely neighbor bringing you my favorite color of roses must have been a wonderful pick me up.

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    1. I shall carry your wonderful Georgia O'Keefe comment around with me all day, especially during my horrible hospital appointment. What nicer comment could I have! Thanks Lou Anne.

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  2. Hi Jez I know that feeling so well I am struggling with my creative mojo at the moment. I had a superlong summer break, not doing anything at all for weeks. Paper Saturday posts were created well in advance. Tonight I am trying to get back into drawing and then hopefully I may find some inspiration to make something new for Paper Saturdays. I am so sorry if I missed one of your linked posts. I am only just back behind my PC it was hard keeping up with it all from my Iphone. I hope you are doing well my dear blog friend. How wonderful to get flowers when you don't look well, so thoughtful. Look after yourself Jez I love coming to visit you. Big Hugs. ManonXx

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  3. Jez, I love Georgia o'Keefe and I love your art. Both are delicate and sublime!

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  4. What a wonderful swirl from your roses. Very beautiful abstract.

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  5. Jez you are just the creative maven love your drawing and your other beautiful creations.

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  6. Love your interesting and varied art on this blog posting...especially Collage Obsession's and Inspiration Avenue's... I'm not one for abstract art, but the colors and designs of these two are very pleasing to my eye!! Fun that you're using apps...must try them more! THanks for the inspiration... and the beautiful art!

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  7. Well the results are fantastic!

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  8. You have done some beautiful work this week, I especially love the warm colours painting. Valerie

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  9. Very creative and interesting, love your pieces! <3

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  10. I really hope your mojo is returningJez, you have done some great pieces this week, I love your ipad drawings, the image reminds me of a landscape with beautiful trees. I am off to the Chagall exhibition at the end of next week so will think of you when I am there.

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  11. Wonderful! It's good to do something different for a while so the mojo gets the time to relax a bit. :)

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  12. Lots of lovely work this week Jez. I love the purple flower swirl. What a nice neighbour you have:) HPPF

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  13. Love all your art this week, so much beautiful color and texture!

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  14. such wonderful projects Jez! I adore your apple pie illustration-and now it has me hungry and wanting to make one! what a thoughtful neighbor you have.Hope you're feeling better. Your digital manipulations are very cool too.

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  15. Jez, I love the mom and apple pie sketch. So real! And your warm colors for TAW and PPF is so beautiful.

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  16. beautiful work this week, you got your mojo back!

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  17. Oh Jez I think you painted me perfectly in that mums apple pie painting...Love it...that was so true about my mum too! All the other pieces are wonderful too...glad your mojo came back. I love making abstracts digitally it's quite fun, yours turned out beautifully!!
    Great works...and so nice of your neighbor to bring you flowers!! Hope you are feeling a bit better!

    Hugs Giggles

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  18. Wow you've been so productive creating some fabulous work here Jez,
    The purple swirl is my favourite I think although they are all fantastic for different reasons.
    I'm hoping some of your arty karma passes through the screen to me...I'm struggling at the moment. Head full of ideas but my hands just won't play! :(
    Enjoy your flowers...they always make me smile too ;D

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  19. Well, you really have been recycling your art! I love the abstract piece that you made, and the art that you made with the picture of your roses looks great. Such a sweet and wonderful gesture of your neighbour! Happy to hear that your mojo is back :-)

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  20. I love all of your work in this post - the photoshopping you did on the purple photo is pretty amazing! I love the golden sunset hues of the last piece too.


    Sarah @ A Cat-Like Curiosity

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  21. Happy Paper Saturdays Jez, I know it is my second time commenting on this post but I just had to stop by and wish you a happy Saturday! ManonX

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  22. I love your abstract landscape postcard, and also the abstract piece for Artist's Playroom. The colors in the postcard are amazing...I can't decide if maybe it is an undersea-scape...it has the look of coral and other beautiful sea life.

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  23. Love your abstracts and love the fact that you're making abstract images - they're kind of rare among the challenge blogs. Excellent work.

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  24. Oh hate that when my Mojo goes off on a mini break. Glad to see your working through yours and it's back.. :)

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