Speaking of Dreams

Thank you everyone!
I truly appreciate the support, love and words of encouragement you guys gave me on the news of my being published.  It is so nice to cross a Life Goal off the list....it was a dream come true....a small, but important step forward for me and my art :)

Though it was a nice wave to ride for a while,
...it's time to get cracking again....heehee!

I wanted to show you a piece I just finished inspired by all the strong, amazing Tribal Girls painted by my dear friend Micki Wilde in her new art course, Wilde and Free (clever, eh?)

I have to be honest, I had never done any tribal/native-feel paintings before...and I was afraid I wouldn't get the "right" look.
Micki makes it look so effortless and gives you so many ideas, references and videos of her own to drool over (you can see the finished products on her blog or in her Etsy store now)....that it makes you just want to go "wilde" ;P

Dream

8x10 Mixed Media on canvas panel

 

I knew I needed to incorporate a dragonfly, which has served as my totem animal for a long, long time.  It represents the Guardian of the DreamWorld and can warn of illusions.  I wanted this girl to be looking toward her dreams....and be ready follow them :)

 

 

 

Micki really knows how to stoke the creative flame.  I see more tribal girls in my future!

 

Thanks so much for checking in on me.  With blogging starting to fall out of favor, your choice to visit me here speaks volumes!

((Hugs))

 

Now go chase some of your own dreams!

Cam

 

Painting Happy!

Hello Everyone!

I'm so excited to share a new piece of art with you!  But, before I do, I need to give you a bit of info on how she came to be.....

You see, I was lucky enough to take a very special online painting course called Paint Happy.
It is given by the wonderful Micki Wilde of The Secret Hermit.



I've long been a fan of her work.

She makes whimsy and cheeriness look so easy....her faces are so full of warmth and character....her backgrounds are delicious....and it is evident that she adores what she does. 

What's amazing about this course is that it addresses every single one of those truths so that you can have them, too!  It delivers so much good and useful information on how to keep your art playful and meaningful, even if it sprang from a darker place.

Wait til you get to the part about your Wolf!  I don't want to give too much away...but that part was really powerful for me.  There is a wolf in me that hasn't yet gotten onto the page.  When it does, I'll share it here.
Here, check out the promo video for the course.  You'll see why I'm so excited!
 

 

Now, onto my art! 

 

I had so much fun making this piece.  I find I can be way too serious when I create.  I can get too hung up on details and my own weird sense of perfection that it can suck a lot of the enjoyment out of making art....and it seems to take a lot longer, too.

 

I whipped this one out pretty quickly (humming all the while, I might add)...and I couldn't be happier with the results! 

You can see the influence of Micki's style in her sweet face.

 

 

...and look at how her ideas and techniques transformed my background!

You can click to enlarge if you like :)

 

 

So much bright, doodly, colorful play!

 

I can't wait to try out more of her suggestions!

If you'd like to take the course or see more of her fantastic art, please visit her Etsy Shop and her Blog!

Everyone deserves to enjoy what they do!

 

 

Big neon colored hugs!

Cam

Mermaid Art Swap!!

Hello my pretties!

I can't express how happy I am to write this post!  You see, earlier this year my good friend, Micki at The Secret Hermit did a mail art swap....it was fantastic....her art is awesome...and I knew it was an idea I would steal, er...I mean borrow for my own little swappy poo!!

The difference is that this will be a swap of Mermaid Art!
Now, I'm not talking monumental masterpieces here...unless, of course, that's what you love to make and want to send...
But, as far as I'm concerned, if you created it, it made you happy to do so and it has a mermaid on it....please send it!  Can be any medium. :)

As for what I'm offering, I took a huge piece of currogated cardboard and cut it into rectangles approximately 5 x 7 inches in size.  Some are larger, some are smaller.
I simply sketched right on them with pencil and started painting them, coloring with colored pencils and detailing with black ink...

Here's what I've made to swap so far...

This swap will be active from Monday, August 27th to Friday, September 21st 2012.

Here's how it will work (again, thanks to Micki for figuring all this out and letting me mooch the parameters off her....heehee) :

If you would like to participate in this swap, please email me and let me know.  Send me a link to your blog (I want to share what I get from everyone and have a linky for you) and include your address, please....  I am so bad at reading return addresses on mail.

My email address is : paintmyselfpretty(at)yahoo(dot)com

I will confirm your email and send you my address, too....and we can virtually hold hands and jump up and down with anticipation of doing such a fun swap together :D

Then, just send in your mermaid art within the designated dates.  Postmarks must be between those dates.  I'm giving everyone 2 1/2 weeks to prepare and 4 whole weeks to get their art here.  Don't worry my International Friends, as long as your art is postmarked by Sept. 21st, it can take as long as it wants to get here.  I will mail your art out to you after yours is received :)

I will be prepackaging these sirens up ahead of time, so I won't know who will be getting what...adds an element of surprise to the whole thing!!

Did I cover everything?

If I have left out any details, please feel free to ask away!

Hope to "sea" your name in my inbox....corny, yes....but I'm just so excited...heehee!!

Splash,

Cameron