Author: Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Revisiting Unfinished Projects

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I came across several unfinished projects, while cleaning my office. I have a really hard time getting back into a project that I’ve abandoned. I think I’m afraid of ruining it. I forget where I was, and don’t even know where to start.

One such project, is an acrylic version of a bike on the boardwalk. I forced myself to start, even though it wasn’t easy! I had all kinds of measurements (because I was enlarging a section of a watercolor painting) and I didn’t even know what they meant! I had no idea what part I intended on working on next.

Once I got working again, things started to come more easily. I painted the railing and decided to do the sand and ocean next. I love painting the beach. It’s my favorite place. But, mixing the right color for sand and painting the ocean is really hard (for me).

For the sand, I mixed cadmium red and thalo blue to create a purple, which I added white to. This resulted in a grayish purple which I added cadmium yellow light to. In the sand area, I already had a base color, a purplish tan, which I thought might look good in the spots it will show through. I mixed a thalo blue with the cadmium yellow and added this greenish blue to my ocean area.

Here is my progress so far. Time to add the bike wheel…only slightly intimidating!

boardwalk2   boardwalk3

A Bike on the Boardwalk

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

For a while, I kept meaning to paint a bike leaning on the railing of the boardwalk, with the beach in the background. Then Sandy hit and the boardwalk was destroyed. It is really strange for something that was always there to be gone. Obviously, my painting was of no priority amongst the Sandy damage.

One day I saw a couple of bikes locked to a signpost. I could imagine them leaning on the railing of the boardwalk. I ended up painting the pink beach cruiser, a bike I once owned, changing the background to the boardwalk and the beach. Since I didn’t have any great boardwalk pictures to use as reference, I painted the background mostly from memory.

Even though I always imagined the painting as an acrylic, I ended up working in watercolor. Shortly after, I started an acrylic version, which I never finished. Time to start painting…

bikeboardwalk

Filling the Sketch book

Sketchbook
| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I plan on filling this sketch book. Although it is a bit daunting! I like saving all my old sketch books and looking through them. I even keep drawings that I am embarrassed by. They show me how far I’ve come. I look at old sketches with a fresh perspective and know what is “off.” Sometimes I look at a sketch and proudly think, “I did that?” As I thumb through, I am reminded of projects I was interested in. I can add some of those  to my list for the coming year.

sketches

Happy New Year!

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

This year I’m taking my New Year’s resolution to a new level. I’m holding myself accountable, by making a commitment to blog about my progress. In the past I’ve been great in the ideas department, not as good in the follow through! But this time, I hope to draw, paint and create my way through 2014! Join me on the journey so you can witness the successes (and failures) and maybe we’ll both learn a thing or two on the way!

Here’s to a successful resolution and a Happy New Year, Cheers!