Kat Eye Studio

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Love Letter from Italy

“You have entered my life and colored it with amazing colors I did not know before…”
This is a rough translation of one line of the love graffiti found on the path in Parco di Monza Saturday. Isn’t it beautiful? I captured this image of the graffiti for the interest in the photograph but when I looked at it on the computer, I fell in love with that line.  I could take that quote for myself, to describe my time in Italy. Or the beauty and peace I find in Parco di Monza. Or the relationships with my husband and son, also pictured in the distance. So many interpretations in one simple line. 

We had a beautiful weekend spent doing a few last, favorite things around our home in Italy before the dismantling of our lives this week. It’s a weird feeling, this dismantling. Taking apart piece by piece the life we’ve built here. What seemed so exotic a couple of years ago has become so normal. When did that happen? There was no exact moment in time, I know, but a gradual adjustment that just now becomes obvious as we shake things up again.

Beyond my move, there is quite a bit going on around here, I want to share with you too…

– I am featured today in Beth Nicholl’s “Shared Stories” on the Do What You Love blog. Please come by and say hi! There are also lots of wonderful stories in Beth’s archive, if you want to look around a bit.

– Exploring with a Camera: From a Flower’s Point of View continues for another day, link up by the end of the day tomorrow if you are participating. I am loving the entries for this theme!

– Will you share what interesting new sites you have found in the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap? Yesterday I shared the link list and asked you to share your favorites in the comments. There are so many wonderful artists participating! Please come by and let us know who you’ve found by leaving a comment on yesterday’s post.

– I did something crazy this weekend and entered a photo contest, my first ever. I’ve looked at a number of contests over time, but for some reason this one felt like it “fit.” Would you come by and vote for me for the “people’s choice” award? (This is an example of me feeling the fear – both of putting myself out there in a new place and asking people to vote for me – and moving ahead anyway.)

Whew. And I’m moving internationally in the midst of all of this. Doesn’t that sound a bit crazy? But for some reason, it’s all working out just fine.

I hope you have a wonderful, creative Monday! I am linking in to Creative Every Day and The Creative Exchange today.

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A Whole New World

Blooming Collaboratively, 30x30in, Acrylic on Canvas

Have you ever craved something, but didn’t know how to start? That’s painting for me. I’ve had the desire for two years now, to paint big, bold, bright paintings. Paintings that expressed something more than the reality around me. Something that would come from intuition and a place deep inside. I’ve dabbled in painting but on a small scale, and without getting to where I wanted to go.

I finally found a way to tap into that inner creative energy that’s been wanting to run free in Flora Bowley‘s Bloom True painting class last week at the Do What You Love retreat. A couple of days ago, I shared the process we learned over the three days to get to one finished painting. Today I’m sharing images of the three paintings I worked on in the class, in celebration of Paint Party Friday.

Painting #1 (above) I’ve titled “Blooming Collaboratively” because it is not wholly mine. Flora teaches a lot about non-attachment and using what “is.” She helped us work through our attachment issues by having us paint on each other’s canvases at the beginning of the first day. An even bigger lesson came mid-morning the second day, when we had to give one of the two paintings we were working on to the person on our left. Yep, a day and a half of painting on this canvas, and now it’s not ours. Big, big lesson in non-attachment.

This painting is partly done by Carissa, who was painting to my left. In the painting I received, I noticed the three bright orange and yellow dots. I had just been sketching flowers on the trees as part of our morning exercise, so the flowers just came, along with the circles. All of the painting you see in the middle of the flowers and circles is the original painting I received. I went from there with the background and details.

It’s interesting, I really like how this painting turned out, but I’m not attached to it. I don’t feel like I can really call it “mine.” It came so easily, it felt like cheating. Somewhere deep inside me there must be some self-inflicted rules I’m harboring that relate to this feeling, that need to get sorted out.

Leafing Out, 30x30in, Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #2: I wrote about the process to create this painting, start to finish, earlier this week. You can read that post here. I am more attached to this painting, because of the struggles I went through and what I learned on it, but I’m not sure I like it. I like the colors and the shapes, the brushstrokes, the individual elements. I struggled with the composition.

What I’ve realized is that composition in painting is very different than composition in photography. In my photography, composition comes naturally to me. My favorite type of photography is what I call “real life still life,” finding an existing scene and composing a photograph with the elements that are already there. Composition, in that case, is about eliminating what shouldn’t be in the frame so that my vision is clear. Painting is different. I’m creating the elements, adding them, subtracting them, combining them. There are just so many possibilities! I’ll have to work through this more, to find a compositional style in painting that comes intuitively.

Unlocked (unfinished), 30x30in, Acrylic on Canvas

Painting #3: This is the canvas we started from scratch on the third (and last) day. Using all of what we had learned so far, it was time to integrate and work independently. Boy, was it fun!! This one came very easily so far, but it’s not complete. Others have commented, “It looks complete to me!” I know in my heart that it is not. I see a few things that I want to do, when I next get my hands on it. The visual elements represent how I feel about painting after this class too, as if there is something that has been unlocked inside of me. Something I’ve been trying to get at, but didn’t know how.

It was great to get the opportunity to do this third canvas, start to (almost) finish. Flora’s classes are usually two days and so this third canvas is not part of the normal plan. It really helped me to integrate what I’ve learned and see what would come out in a work that was on my own. I find it so interesting, how some of the elements are the same in all three – the circles, organic curving shapes of flowers, leaves and vines, the colors of the last two – mostly cool with some warm popping through. Here I’ve hardly painted and a bit of style is emerging. I love it! Right up my alley as I’m passionate about everyone finding their unique vision of the world, regardless of the art form.

There you have it! Three paintings – bigger, bolder and quicker than I’ve ever painted. I’m filled with so much joy and excitement about painting, a whole new world has opened up. I am completely and totally smitten. Now, these canvases have been removed from the wood frames and are rolled up, ready to be shipped to Oregon in July when I move back home from Italy.

After writing this, I’m itching to paint again and am resolving to make the time to get to it before we move. Happy Paint Party Friday everyone!

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The Evolution of a Painting: A Thank You to Art

Yesterday I shared a tiny bit about the Do What You Love retreat, but honestly I was a bit at a loss for words. It was easier to let the photographs do the talking. How can you possibly explain the feeling of being in an environment where art and creativity, positive encouragement and infinite possibility are the norm for four days?

Today I thought I would share just a peek at some of what I experienced by showing the evolution of one of the paintings I created in Flora Bowley‘s class. Through showing you how it progressed through the three days and what I learned, I hope to give you an idea of what it was like. I created three paintings over the three days, and I’ll share the other two (one of which is pictured above, in progress) in Friday’s blog post. (I have to save something for Paint Party Friday, don’t I?)

The first day we quickly learned to get past the “blank canvas” syndrome. Flora’s painting technique starts with a lot of mark making. Using foam brushes, small paintbrushes, found objects, fingers, rags and a spray bottle we learned all sorts of ways to make marks on the canvas. We painted with our eyes closed, danced to the music, stopped for yoga stretches, just worked on releasing the tensions and expectations and using our whole body to paint.

One of the more interesting things we did early in the first day is paint on each other’s canvases. We rotated around the room, moving from canvas to canvas and Flora would tell us what kind of mark to make. We would practice that mark on the canvas we were at and then rotate to the next canvas to practice a new type of mark. The idea was to keep us from attaching too much to any one thing we painted. It definitely worked! It was very fun to see what our canvas looked like when we got back to it.

We spent the first day building up multiple layers of two of our 30×30″ canvases, painting in all of the colors of the rainbow. The idea was to give us lots of possibilities and directions the painting could go in terms of color, shape, subject. Here is the painting at the end of the first day:

Kind of wild, isn’t it? I definitely had lots of directions to go with this! I couldn’t really see how this was going to evolve into anything “beautiful” at this point. This was the canvas that everyone painted on, so it’s fun to know that the whole class had a part in creating this painting.

Here is the image again, rotated 90 degrees, in the orientation of the painting for later comparison. It’s interesting how you see different things when you rotate the painting, isn’t it? We did a lot of that, working from different directions.

We started the second day by writing a gratitude list and then sketching from nature. Flora encouraged us to look at both the broad vista and the close up for our sketches. We were in a beautiful place to do this! The Yorkshire countryside rolled along in front of us and the trees and flowers were in their spring bloom. She then showed us how she started to use what was working in the layers she had created, plus her sketches from the morning, to bring more out of the painting. She encouraged us to make a bold move, commit to something, not be afraid to cover up what was already there. You have to do this to make room for the new, great things that will come along.

That was probably the hardest lesson for me to learn in this class – covering up what was already there. I seemed to want to keep everything. I mean, what if it became important to the end work? It wasn’t until the end of this second day that I finally got this concept. It is only by truly committing and seriously covering up parts of the underpainting that the wonderful layers and textures begin to pop out. You need that contrast. (Interesting, isn’t it, that I’ve been exploring Visual Contrast in my photography.)

My “bold move” to start at the beginning of the second day was to paint the fern across the middle of the painting and then started to fill in around that. The other leaves and circles started to pop out and emerge, so I went with that. One of Flora’s mantras was to “go with what’s working.” Here is the painting at the end of the second day:

The color palette had emerged as mainly cool colors, green, blue and purple. I discovered I absolutely loved painting and mixing the dark and lights with my fingers, you can see that in the greens in the upper left corner. I really liked how the fern and the upper left corner were emerging, but was struggling with the bottom right. I hadn’t committed to anything there yet and had been reworking it. By the end of the day, I was just fried. I needed some time away from painting, so that I could get a better perspective and see what to do next. We had an evening off from the activities, so I drank wine and talked with my cabin-mates into the wee hours of the morning.
We started day three with writing an affirmation for the day. Taking a fear, or something we were struggling with, and turning it into a positive statement.  We taped this up on the wall of the painting tent, to remind us during the day if we got stuck. We also started with stretches, and had frequent breaks throughout the day for stretching, dancing, running around the field. Just keeping ourselves loose and having fun. Letting go. It was very funny, when Flora asked us as the beginning of the day if we wanted to start with a demo or if we wanted to just start painting, we enthusiastically answered that we wanted to paint!
When I stood back and looked at my painting in the morning of the third day, I had a very good idea what I wanted to do and just got on with it. I covered up some more of the bottom right area, bringing in the light greens from the upper left, and created some repetition with the black dots. 
I was struggling with the upper right area, the bright red. I liked the pops of red that were throughout the painting from the underpainting but that area wasn’t working for me. Flora suggested I pull the red through some other areas of the painting more, with little details. She didn’t tell me where or how to do it, just that it would help. What a great teacher! I’m sure she saw some things I could do but she didn’t tell me, she let me figure it out myself.
I finished the painting around the middle of the third day. Here is the finished work:

It is unlike anything I’ve ever done before. It is big, it is bold, it is unplanned. This isn’t necessarily my favorite of the three paintings, but this is definitely the one that I learned the most on. I struggled with things and broke through them. Flora’s experience, repeated many times to us, is that the paintings she struggles the most with are often her best work. She encouraged us to keep pushing through those barriers we found. To commit to bold moves. Look to nature for inspiration. Move our bodies. Go with what’s working. Reminding us that we made the marks that were there, we could always make them again.

It was a very emotional experience for many of us. It’s amazing how painting can be so connected to our core self, how much we can each individually struggle and the emotions it brings up. How we can attach ourselves to certain outcomes. How our inner voices can just destroy our confidence. There are so many parallels between painting, or any art, with our life. I learn this over and over again as I continue explore art and creativity. I have learned more about myself through art in the last couple of years than through anything else, ever.

Thank you to Flora, for being such a wonderful teacher. She gave us the tools and lessons but let us find the ways to make our painting an expression of our self. Thank you to my classmates, who provided all sorts of positive encouragement and support for each other along this journey, which was difficult at times. Thank you to Beth, for creating such a wonderful environment at the retreat that we could learn these amazing things about art and life. And thank you to art and creativity, for being the thing that makes me whole.

(Stephey Baker of Marked by the Muse is doing a “Thank You to Art” link up right now. What perfect timing! Visit her site to see more stories and link your “thank you” in.)

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Doing What I Love…

Imagine spending five days in the gorgeous Yorkshire countryside, eating your meals in a tipi around a fire.

Staying in wonderful cabins, that feel like part of the surrounding forest, with the best cabin-mates ever.
Sleeping in a heavenly bed, in a room where the art is the natural world outside the window.
Juliette and Carissa
Meeting the most amazing people from all over the world. We didn’t know each other, but found instant connections. I felt like I had known these wonderful women my whole life.
Tara
Learning to paint from my intuition with the most amazing artist and teacher, Flora Bowley. Learning to go with what’s working, to go bold, to let go of attachment to a specific outcome and see what happens.
Finding my heart, in the midst of it all.
I got back late last night from the Do What You Love retreat, and I’m still processing all that went on. It was so, so wonderful! I will share more over time. Over the next few days I’ll be getting caught up on the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap, adding new participants to the link list. The swap is now at 172 participants – so close to my goal of 200 – thank you all for your help!! I will also be visiting the many people who have linked in to Exploring with a Camera: Visual Contrast in the last few days, you still have a day or two to link in if you would like to share your image. 
I’m full to bursting with all of the positive energy that happens when you get 40+ people together, all doing creative things they love. Who knows what will come out next…

(Linking in to The Creative Exchange and Creative Every Day today.)

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My Bags are Packed

I have a song running through my head this morning:

My bags are packed, I’m ready to go… (humming the melody)… I’m a-leavin’ on a jet plane…

My suitcase is packed full of painting supplies, and on Wednesday I head to Yorkshire, England for the Do What You Love Creative Enterprise Retreat. This retreat is a combination of art classes and creative enterprise sessions over three or so days. There are three different art class options, and I’m taking the painting class with Flora Bowley – I can’t wait!

I’ve been keeping my eye out for a painting class or art retreat in Europe for quite a while, since 2009 when I got the urge to start painting. I’ve periodically looked and nothing ever felt like it was the perfect option for me until this retreat came up. I was intrigued by the combination of both art and creative business. When I read the description of Flora’s class and saw her work, I was sold. I loved her bright, expressive style and knew this was the class for me. It’s ironic that I’m taking a painting class in Europe with an instructor who lives and works only 90 miles from my permanent home in Oregon, but there is also a synchronicity to that too.

What’s even better are the connections that I will make with the people attending from around Europe and North America. The UK, USA, Denmark, Germany, Canada, and Ireland are all represented. Many of these are artists I’ve interacted with online, meeting through Kelly Rae Robert’s Flying Lessons course last summer. It will be so much fun to meet them in person!

I could have waited to attend something like this when I move back to the USA, but this one gives me the opportunity to strengthen my connections to Europe through these wonderful, creative people who will attend. After living in Italy for two years, Europe is a part of me now just as the USA always has been. Even though I move back to Oregon in July, I will never truly leave behind my experiences here and will definitely be coming back in the future. The people I get to know will only give me more reasons to come back and visit.

Thinking about creating all of these in-person connections has made me realize just how much I already have gained through the connections I’ve made on the internet. Every time I connect with someone new in the creative world, whether it’s through a blog or a class or an online group, I come out ahead. I’ve never had a bad experience or a negative situation in this nurturing, supportive, creative environment I’ve discovered. I think this support is so important to our growth as artists and individuals. I want to help contribute to this supportive network, that’s one of the reasons I try to provide ways for others to learn, connect and share – whether it’s the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap, Exploring with a Camera or the Find Your Eye classes. The Mortal Muses support this creative network too. Isn’t it fabulous how it all fits together?

I can’t wait to see what blossoms out of this retreat, both for me and others. I’m sure I’ll come back with even more ideas (which is kind of scary, actually, given the number I seem to be working on already). I’ll also have more wonderful connections in the world wide web of the creative community. And that, my friends, is the best thing of all.

(Linking this post in to Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday.)

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