Author: Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Feathers

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

feathersfinal
A while back, I painted a feather by accident. I was trying to paint a sunflower and the center bled into the background. I tossed that version to the side and finished a different one. Every time I looked at that “mistake,” I saw a feather. Eventually I used ink to turn it into a feather. Since then, I’ve realized how interesting feathers are. They’ve been “hip” for a years – I know I’m not onto something new!

The other day when I was running I saw feathers lying on the sidewalk. I snapped a photo and later started painting them. I had a lot of fun creating the texture of the background. After I added the ink, I almost wished I hadn’t. I thought I may have ruined it. But, I added more watercolor and a shadow to the feather and it started to pop.

My Steps:

First I did a light outline of the feathers in pencil.
Then I worked on the background. I splashed and splattered.
feathers1
feathers2feathers2b

After the background was completely dry, I painted the feather.
feathers3

Then, I added ink to the feather.
feathers4

I added more color to the feather and a shadow. See the final at the beginning of the post.

Forgotten Projects

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

forgottenprojectsjar
I love starting a new project, but inevitably my enthusiasm wanes and it’s hard to stick with and finish the project . As I look back on my creative projects this year, I’m surprised there aren’t more abandoned projects. I know the reason why. It’s because of you! If I was working privately and not filling you in on all the details, I would be a lot less motivated to finish. So thank you!

I’m of two minds on forgotten projects. One part of me wants to finish them. But the other part of me, thinks I should work on what inspires me. A happy medium between these two “minds” is probably the answer. So, as part of My Creative Resolution 2015, I will (every so often) select a forgotten project and finish it.

I can’t promise I’ll pick these projects at random, or how often I’ll do this – but I do promise to keep you posted. 😉

A few forgotten and unfinished projects from 2014
Dandelion, acrylic 
dandelion

Girl Digging, acrylic
girldiggingrev

Beach Girl, illustration style in progress. Last version – watercolor
beachgirl3

A few abandoned watercolors:
abandonedw

and

A Mirror (that’s buried in the garage), that I was going to sand and paint the frame in an interesting way. It’s been there since June.

BTW – I refuse to add to the “forgotten” list – Christmas Dioramas and House/Door Paintings because I will work on these again! If I remember.

Winter

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

skitrail
I’m really happy with how the sky turned out – although the salt wasn’t working as well as last time. I had to try it several times – I think the painting wasn’t wet enough. Some of the salt is stuck on there for good. It adds a bit of sparkle! Maybe I let it dry too long?

My Steps:
The underpainting.
skitrail1
Adding ink.
skitrail3
One of the attempts with the salt.
skitrail4

My Creative Resolution – a year in review.

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

chart
As the first anniversary of My Creative Resolution approaches, I decided to look back and see what I worked on this year – what mediums I choose. It was surprising to me that during the first two months I painted with acrylics. I think it was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I even pulled out old unfinished canvases and finished them!

After two months, I was getting a little bored with my sketchbook and I pulled out my watercolors. Well, that changed everything! I started focusing more and more on watercolor. I had a history and some knowledge with watercolor. I added to that by watching videos and absorbing ideas and techniques from other artists online. I was having fun with it and was more and more liking my results. For too long I was working on crappy paper, but eventually I bought the right stuff!

Eight months in and I decided to paint cards for the swim coaches. To make the cards whimsical I added ink to the cards. When I draw in pencil, I tend to have a scratchy (lots of lines) style. In the past whenever I tried pen and ink I thought I had to draw one perfect deliberate line. (This stressed me out.) This time I scratched away (with the ink pen) and was happy with the results!

After that, I started adding ink to a lot of my watercolors. My favorite, surprising result, was when I took two outtakes and attacked them with a pen. I liked them better than the original painting!

For a long time I wanted to know what my style was – especially when I was trying to illustrate a children’s book. I scoured the internet for the answer – how do you develop/choose a style? Now I know that the answer is simple – time. Take the time to practice and try different things and your style will come out. The longer you work at it, the more it will evolve.

Even though I’ve almost reached the one year mark in My Creative Resolution, I have no intention of stopping! I am so happy with the results – the result of pushing myself to keep at it. I can’t wait to see where this journey will continue to take me, where I’ll be in six months or in another year. My original creative resolution was to draw, paint and create. I left open the possibility that I might be sanding and refinishing furniture, making signs, drawing or painting. BTW there are STILL a few pieces waiting in the garage to be refinished! Maybe in 2015?

Giving my artwork as a gift.

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

housesdoors
I’ve been playing around with the idea of giving whimsical house (or door) paintings as hostess gifts (either framed or made into ornaments). I’ve come a long way this year, in terms of my confidence as an artist, but there is something scary about giving my artwork as a gift! Regardless of whether or not I’ll get up the nerve – I’ve started painting. The house is my brother and sister-in-law’s. I definitely want to try another version!

Here are my steps:
brothers1brothers2
brothers3brothers4

 

Starting the day with creativity and a sunflower

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

bigsunflowerfinal
I love the days where I can start off being creative. When I say start off, I mean after the 2 hours of – waking up the kids, making lunches, and getting the 3 of them to 3 different schools! Now that I am working from home, on most days I start “work” as soon as I get back from the last drop off. Even if I try to be creative later in the day, it is not the same as starting the day that way. There is a different vibe to the day. When I start off painting or sketching I feel so much more inspired. And I love the light in the kitchen in the morning.

Below are my steps to creating my sunflower. You can see the final piece here on instagram – and by the way don’t you want to follow me on instagram too? I have a sad and lonely little account with only 11 followers!
bigsunflower1 bigsunflower2
 bigsunflower3 bigsunflower4

Dioramas – the planning stage

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

christmasdiorama1
I’ve wanted to work on a diorama for awhile now. I haven’t worked on one since the kids made shoebox sized ones for school. Even then it wasn’t my project and they wouldn’t let me take over! I’ve been pinning Christmas diorama projects on my board like crazy lately. When I remembered the illustrations in my dad’s old Christmas music book, I thought they would be perfect! I could plan my dioramas around them. Imagine – vintage illustrations, right at my fingertips. How lucky and out of character. We are not the family that ends up on Antique Roadshow! We didn’t even have an attic!

I looked through each illustration and figured out how I could create a diorama around it. Then I wrote a list of all the things I need. I measured my box to know the sizes. I want the dioramas to have one 2D element (where the illustration is brought forward from the background) and one 3D element – a miniature tree for example. I’ve planned on five dioramas, but we’ll see! I’m an ambitious planner.