Working with outtakes

September 17, 2014 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

The other day, when I was painting sunflowers, I started several versions before selecting one to work on in more detail. Today I decided to see what I could do with two of these “outtakes.” I used an ink pen and started scribbling away.

The first outtake immediately reminded me of a feather (when the sunflower’s center flowed all over the paper). So I added ink and made it a feather.

Outtake #1:

The second outtake, looked like a bunch of sunflowers, so I added ink to make it look more finished. Lately I’ve been having fun playing with ink. In the past I shied away – thinking the outline had to be precise and perfect. Now I’m just scratching away, the way I would with a pencil. Is my style coming out?!

Outtake #2:

Painting Sunflowers

September 14, 2014 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I wasn’t sure how to start my painting – detailed or loose? I tried different ways and moved forward with the more detailed one. [See the final painting here.] I took this photo at a farmers’ market.

Each time I added paint, I added more details to tighten it up. I wanted the center flower to be the focal point and the rest to blur away.

Beach Lover Wooden Sign

September 13, 2014May 4, 2017 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I bought a piece of wood and had it cut into pieces at the hardware store. Using acrylic paints – teal and white – I added streaks of both and blended them, to get achieve a beachy, sun bleached look.

Wooden signs
I set up the lettering on the computer and outlined it. Last time around I cut custom stencils which was a lot of work. This time I found advice on hand lettering. I laid the printout on the wood and using a hard stylus pen (from my kid’s old DS), traced the outline of the letter. When I was finished I could see the outline impression on the wood.

Following the outline impression on the wood, I painted the letters black. When they were dry, I painted white steaks over the letters with a very dry brush to capture the distressed look. I’m happy with the results!

Click here to learn more about how I painted the background.

Mounting on pretty paper.

September 9, 2014 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I decided to mount today’s practice watercolor and ink onto pretty paper. I was inspired by artwork in the background of the Pottery Barn catalog. I think it looks cute. 🙂

I need to eat more veggies.

September 4, 2014 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Lately I’ve been warming up by painting vegetables. I’m playing around with adding loose ink lines, like I did with the swim goggles. I had a fruit phase, now it’s veggies, probably because I need to eat more of them! I wish I could say I painted from actual vegetables, but I used photos I googled for reference. I’ve been working alphabetically, so next I’ll try cucumbers. Those I have on hand! I’m not committing to the whole alphabet, but it’s something to paint when I sit down and don’t know what to start with.

Painting Wooden Signs

August 27, 2014May 4, 2017 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Finally, I’m tackling a wood project! I’ve been interested in painting on wood, and creating handmade signs. It was surprisingly easy to walk in to Ace, pick out wood and ask them to cut it. And cheap!

I pulled out the hand sander, which made me feel like a pro, and gave the wood a light sanding. Then I added streaks of different colors and blended them, sometimes adding water to dilute a color. I wanted to create a bleached, weathered look.

I’m happy with how they came out. See how I added lettering to them here.

Back to School – Back to Acrylics

August 25, 2014 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I’m looking forward to the kids going back to school (lol!) and having more time to paint – especially with acrylics! This week I got a jump start and worked on my painting “Little Girl Digging.” It’s been almost 2 months since I worked on this! If I let too much time pass I lose momentum and then it’s really hard to get back into a painting.

Although I haven’t worked with acrylics all summer, I’ve been creative – sketching, painting with watercolor, etc. I’m proud of all I’ve done during these busy months. It will make September, when the house is quiet again, all the more productive.

Here is where I started from:

First I worked on the sand and added some definition to the ocean. Then (above) I added color to the ocean.

Putting yourself out there

August 20, 2014 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I started this blog anonymously to feel free and uninhibited. Now I’m ready to share who I am. In the beginning, I told only 3 people and worried what they’d think. My biggest fear was criticism. I think growing up as the “teased” little sister fostered this fear in me. And it has prevented me from pursuing art. Those nagging thoughts – What if I’m not any good? What if someone makes fun of me?

The book, “An Enemy Called Average,” by John Mason really resonated with me. Mason says – if you are going to put yourself out there, expect criticism. I found that very freeing. In the 9 months since I started my creative resolution, I’ve shared the good, the bad, and the ugly. There were times I wondered, “Should I really share this? It’s terrible.” And I shared it, because I want to be honest about my process of learning and striving to be better. I’m not trying to be someone I’m not. I’m just being me. 🙂

Painting without a plan

August 19, 2014 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

While I’m sad that vacation is over, it is nice to have some quiet time to paint. What amazes me about these three paintings, is that I had no preconceived ideas until I sat down to paint – I just went with it. All three were done yesterday and they are all so different!

The first one I painted was the flowers in the container. I looked around my patio and picked the container just as I started painting.

The second painting was the hearts. I started painting the background, decided to leave the dry areas dry and filled one of them with a heart. Then I started adding more hearts and the word love. It is my favorite of the day – and I have no idea where it came from!

The third painting is the watercolor background with the ink flowers. I decided as I was painting – to make a colorful background and add ink to it. As I chatted with an old friend on the phone – I added the flower doodles. I looked around my yard for inspiration.

I am excited for another quiet day and more painting!