Prelude to Creative Shift

I've decided to go through Sally-Ann Ashley's Creative Shift again this year. It really helped me on my creative journey the last time I did the course (is it two years ago? I can't remember) . I have gone back to my notes many times and I still use a lot of the ideas to find my way when I am lost. This year, I feel I need it more than ever, so I have signed up for the full course again. It's starting in early September, but she's running a free mini-intro, called Seeing More Clearly, and I'm enjoying it already. It was fun to make an concertina sketchbook out of heavyweight cartridge paper. I can already see that the format will help me see things more clearly!!

The big ha-ha for me was using the Photos app on my laptop and taking screenshots of groups of 8 thumbnails of photos I had selected from my Google Photo albums. I had chosen the images by location, but otherwise just going with my gut instinct as to what images appealed to me. I take photos in 16x9 format, but the Photos app on my Mac shows me square thumbnails. 4 to the width of my screen. I took screenshots of 2 rows of 4 at a time. Completely random. And yet, what I saw in front of my eyes was so beautiful. Great start to another creative adventure!

Time for reflection, reset, trial and error

I haven't been painting much lately, busy with sketching and other distractions. It's really been a few months since I have painted anything I'm 100% happy with (apart from the big cloud over the beach, which I like a lot). Amazing how hard it is to get back to painting now.  

I'm taking it one step at a time, looking at my own works that I like, thinking about what I want to take from this reflection. Also refocusing on shift words and how they might express in design elements. Basically going back to process and play, rather than trying to paint a painting worthy of an exhibition. It will take a while!

No prizes for guessing which ones I'm happy with! I just have to listen to my inner voice and remember not to try so hard!!

Land Sea Land

Work in progress? Or ready for the bin? I've been working with much smoother and thinner paper lately, so this Arches Cold Press in 640gsm is a struggle. Added some gouache. Made it worse. Took forever to dry and it looks like nothing. Maybe I'll flush it with water and start again?

Like a Pirouette

I'm not at the stage where I can name these paintings yet. They're very much part of the exploration,  but I am so happy to be painting again. It's really just about showing up, following what speaks to me, from day to day. And discover where it will lead me. And having no idea where that will be. 

I love combining watercolour, oil pastel and soft pastel to create textures that surprise me. This one is inspired by a crop I did a few weeks ago, from a view across the bay from the road leading up Bolus Head from the Cill Rialaig artist village where I was lucky to work as part of my residency last year. Being neurodivergent, it sometimes takes a while for me to process the world. It's taken me over a year to come back to this location in my art. These things can't be rushed.

How to get those lines?

Oil pastel can be a bit too skippy on rougher paper. So I tried a few other options. Unison soft pastels win, hands down. Even after spray-fixing.