Art journal with me: Mixed media florals

How to paint mixed media florals in an art journal

I’ll let you on on a little secret today. I suck at painting flowers. Much as I love them, much as I admire floral paintings, I am just not very good at painting flowers.

And still, that is just what I am sharing today – my attempt at painting fun mixed media florals in my art journal.

I’m using a journal I made out of a shopping bag, so all the pages already have some color and collage on them, just waiting for inspiration to strike. {You can see a snippet of the creation process here.}Continue reading→

Intuitive painting process: Into the storm

The thing I enjoy most about intuitive painting is how closely the intuitive painting process starts to mimic life. By remaining present in the moment, trusting my instincts, and not allowing my mind to start dictating what happens next, the push-pull nature of this style of painting starts to reveal numerous life lessons.

I’ve spoken about the influences that informed one of my intuitive paintings in the video below, as I take you through the evolution of this painting from start to finish.

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When it rains

“Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.”
― Bill Watterson, The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book

Or in my case, a sketchbook and watercolours.

But I must admit that I’m not a huge fan of the rains, especially in Delhi-NCR, and particularly on week days. Because when it rains, the roads invariably get flooded, and new potholes appear miraculously and there’s no way of knowing where they may have decided to spring up.Continue reading→

100 days of painting intuitively: an update

100 days of painting intuitively an update

When you take on a big project, accountability and tracking your progress – both the successes and the failures – is important to not only see how far you have come, but also to see what is working and what isn’t. As I approach the half-way mark of my 100 day project – 100 days of painting intuitively, which I started back in April, I figure the time is ripe for an update.

My 100 day project is taking longer than 100 days!

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Mixed media painting: Lotus Moon

Mixed media painting lotus moon

Art, people think, needs to be done on canvas – if you want to be taken seriously, that is. People tend to look at paintings on paper as “less than”. But why is that? Who made the rules here?

Canvas was the preferred medium at one point because of its archival quality. It lasted longer, it was easier to transport without tearing or damage. And it’s easier to hang up without the need for framing.

But art on paper is no less durable – you get excellent quality archival paper in various paper weights that you can use depending on your medium. It is much easier to transport than canvas – less weight, easier packaging, better portability. Depending on the size of the painting, you can frame it and hang it up on your walls or stick it into a frame and display it on a table or mantle place. And most importantly, it is easy to store, unlike canvas, which requires a lot of real estate.Continue reading→

5 of my favorite art supplies and why you should try them too

Paint bottles and paint brushes and some of my favorite art supplies

Me: “See, I can finally fit all my art supplies into one box!”

Husband: “Stop calling our house a box.”

That’s {almost} a true story. What can I say, I love buying {and hoarding} art supplies! Acrylics, inks, watercolors, fabric paints, acrylic mediums, gel mediums, crayons, pastels, pencils, brushes, brush pens, paint pens, foam rollers, glues, scrapbook papers, embellishments…the world of art supplies is vast and ever growing and filled with shiny beautiful things!Continue reading→

How to bloom where you are planted + an intuitive painting demo

how to bloom where you are planted

As motivational quotes go, bloom where you are planted is one of the most ubiquitous phrases. But what does it mean? And more importantly, how does one know that they have it in them to bloom where they are planted?

The phrase stems from the natural world, where you can find plants, flowers, and trees blooming wild and free, often times in areas where you would least expect them. Like the Ginko trees in Hiroshima, Japan, which survived the nuclear blasts. Or the deodar trees that grow at the Tarkeshwar Mahadev temple near Lancedown, but are not found anywhere else in the area, because they actually grow at higher altitudes.

What this seems to symbolize is that with the right attitude and resilience of spirit, we can find within us the strength to survive almost any adversity.Continue reading→

Art journal tutorial: how to paint a mixed media portrait

how to paint a mixed media portrait in your art journal

Painting whimsical faces in my art journal is one of my favorite things to do. They add expression and personality to my pages, and offer me a way to access my innermost reaches and bring forth a variety of emotions. Often, I will journal the emotions and thoughts that arose during the painting process while waiting for layers to dry, building up a narrative that is deeply personal and meaningful to me. And by the time I have finished a painting, I will often find either a few words or a snippet from my journal or a quote to encapsulate what was going on during the painting process.Continue reading→

On my art table: Enter the mystery

I’ve been spending some time at the painty table almost every day since last month, when I started my 100 day project. This immersion in painting intuitively has been a learning experience in more ways than one.

One the art front, I’ve found new supplies that I enjoy using; experimented with different tools for mark making; embraced art as process rather than product; and understood how to combine a variety of mediums. I’ve surprised myself with the ways in which my paintings have evolved and with the themes that have appeared on the page. And each of the paintings has brought forth something from deep within my soul, each of them with lessons of their own – on life, on love, on being.Continue reading→

Art journal flip through to spark your creativity

Art journal flip through

I have a confession to make: watching art journal flip throughs on YouTube is one of my favorite things, ever! I love seeing completed spreads from other art journalers; all the different styles and color combinations; the layout ideas; and a little bit of a talk on the page, when it was created, why…oh, it is so much fun!

So for this week’s art journal video, I decided to share a flip through of my moon journals from last year. I hope you enjoy!Continue reading→