"Just for fun" painting

Recently, I had the opportunity to invite my friend Nicole over to do a little painting. Nicole's also an artist, but neither of us get to paint as much as we'd like to, so it seemed like a fun way to hang out. And since it can be hard to figure out what you should paint, she brought over a bouquet of flowers and we used that for reference. Here are the two paintings I did.

I was a little unsure about trying to paint flowers, but they turned out to be pretty cool to work with (especially since I wasn't trying to be hyper realistic). But the best part was being able to paint something without the pressure to have it "turn out right". I wasn't being graded, I wasn't doing this for some big project; the whole process was super laid back and relaxing. 

Since making art is part of my career, it can easily become stressful and lose a lot of that "just for fun" quality. Painting just for the enjoyment of the painting and not for an end result really helped me reconnect with that element of fun again.

onward and upward,

Bethany

Abstract painting

I'm going to share something a bit different today. I've been developing several story projects, which is very exciting, but very draining on creative energies. To combat that brain drain, I've found myself being drawn to forms of abstract painting. For me, abstract painting is about the act of guiding the paint rather than controlling it. There are still some decisions to make, but allowing the colors to mix and spread on their own is my main focus. And when you're knee deep in decisions about character, story structure, themes, and the like, it feels wonderful to sit back and let the paint do its thing.

(Watercolor washes I used for a project)

I have this huge canvas from college that I painted over and started working on. Right now, it sort of reminds me of a cluster of plants or flowers, but that might change.

I love the paths that oil paint takes when it's thinned down. It's like dozens of tiny rivers, all meandering and mixing together.

Abstract painting is kind of a subjective topic and I don't pretend to be an expert on it. These paintings may not mean much to other people, nor will they ever be grand and important masterpieces. But that's ok. For me, they are an act of letting go, of sitting back and observing, of embracing happy accidents. And if that's all they end up being, that's enough.

onward and upward,
Bethany

Art from My Trip to the Beach

Well, here I am; back from the beach! Our trip was...not as smooth as we would have liked. Adversity took the form of cloudy weather, robust winds, an upset stomach, and an enthusiastic mosquito population. But, with determination, fortitude, and a fair amount of bug spray, we persevered through it all and manged to enjoy ourselves despite the circumstances! That being said, it's good to be back home again. It really is the best of places. ^_^

Since the weather was less than favorable, I couldn't paint outside like I had planned. However, I did manage to take a sketchbook out with me and do a few rough sketches, which I later inked and colored. I also did some indoor studies; one oil landscape of the view out one of our windows and two watercolor sea shell paintings. 

onward and upward,

Bethany

Plein air painting

I've been trying to practice "en plein air" painting, (which means "in the open air" in French), over the past two weeks. Unfortunately, I'm really, really terrible at it. (In fact, I just got back from painting and all my attempts were so bad, I only kept one of them.) These are the best ones I have so far. But, I'm determined to keep working on it in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, I'll get the tiniest bit better some day. 

onward and upward,

Bethany

Landscape Painting Practice

As I've mentioned before, I've been working on a landscape painting for a friend of mine. Trouble is, I don't really know how to paint landscapes. So I figured, what better way to learn that to do a few practice rounds before I attempt the final piece? It seems like such an obvious course of action, but you'd be amazed at the number of times I just want to jump right into something. Or get paralyzed by lack of direction and just give up on the whole project. (I do that way more often than I'd like to admit...) Anyway, these studies have really helped me learn how to start out with the larger forms and work down to the details, (my arch enemy). Here are the first three pieces.

Jon and I especially like this winter one. ^_^ 

In other news, you might notice that my blog looks a bit different. I've been wanting to make some changes, like the web address and blog banner, for awhile now, but lacked the necessary motivation. Well, yesterday I decided to get a Twitter account, (another "some day" goal) and that gave me the kick start I needed. Over all, I'm much happier with how the blog looks now. I'll probably keep tinkering with it and possibly even venture forth into the social media world a bit more. Stay tuned for more about that later!

onward and upward,

Bethany

Painting: Guiding Chaos

Today I decided to share a little bit about my painting process. I realized a few weeks ago that there is very specific method, dare I say, style, to how I paint. I've talked a little bit about my process in the past, but now I want to go into a little more depth about my painting philosophy.

Painting, for me, is more about guiding chaotic forces than it is meticulously putting in each tiny detail myself. In college, I discovered, quite by accident, how fascinating the paint became when I watered it down and let it run together on the canvas, The colors, textures, and patterns that formed added more depth and beauty to my image than I could have ever put there myself. I began incorporating this technique into my pieces, going back to add structure and details to the forms and subtracting what I didn't want after the paint had dried.

There are some projects that I can't use this method on and I have to be more controlling with my brush strokes. And when I do chose to go with a more chaotic approach, it's a bit nerve-wracking to step back and let the paint do it's thing. Sometimes the colors don't look right, or I get lines where I don't want them to be. But those are the things I can change later and the happy accidents are well worth the risk.  

As with all approaches to painting, there is a danger of falling into repetition and mediocrity. I sometimes worry that, if I rely too much on this technique, my paintings will become predictable. That is the double edged sword of style; what can set you apart from others can also keep you from growing. But, so long as I am aware of this danger, I can keep pushing myself to experiment and try new things. Although 3 years of experience have made me competent enough to try bigger, more challenging paintings, they have by no means made me a master at this craft. I hope to continue improving and allow my method to improve with me.

Thanks for letting me share some of my thoughts about painting. I'm thinking of taking the advice of my friend Lauren and writing a few reflective posts about my works from college. Stay tuned for more about that!

onward and upward,

Bethany

Portrait of Dresden and Calvin

Hello everyone! Welcome to January! I hope all of you had a good holiday break. Mine was busy, but with some very low key moments, for which I am extremely grateful. I got to spend time with family members, eat lots of good food, and took a few days to just relax. 

Right before Christmas kicked off, I finished up a portrait of my friend Dresden and her son. It was my gift to her and I will say straight up, it was one of the hardest paintings I've every done. Like, "feeling like I was back in art school, learning how to paint" hard. I actually had to scrap the first attempted because I hated it. But, through perseverance and prayer, I finished the painting off and both Dresden and I are pleased with how it turned out. Here are some photos of my process. 

sincerely,

Beth

Bonus blog post: "Moonlight Sonata" painting process

I've been working on a painting for my friend Brandon for about a month and finally finished it last week. ^_^ I presented it to him yesterday and we're both extremely happy with how it turned out. Here is the whole process, from the under painting to the finished product.

Ta da!! I think it turned out extremely well considering this is the first time I've ever painted anything from a compilation of images, rather than just copying a photo like I usually do.

sincerely,

Beth

Project Craziness!!

I meant to have a project to share today; I really did. But then stuff got complicated and family things happened. However, I still wanted to stick with my schedule, so I'm compromising with a few "in process" photos. Sorry I can't do any better than that. Maybe next week. 

Studies for a class illustration I've been working on for a really long time.

Painting what not.

And my adorable, sleepy gerbil! ^_^

sincerely,

Beth