I am working on a collection of mixed media and collage paintings called Colorful Arrangements. These paintings are abstract realism flowers and plants.

I have been enjoying the process of creating multicolored artwork with lots of texture. I repurposed old paintings on paper into collage elements. It adds dimension and interest to the paintings.

Each piece has some amount of gold accent. The gold symbolizes the happiness I have when seeing flowers in my surroundings.

As of today, each painting is on canvas or canvas panel. The sizes range from 5×7 inches up to 18×24 inches.

They have a slight to heavy surface texture due to my process and the collage elements. The edges are painted with gold acrylic paint and will be sealed with a gloss varnish.

I can’t wait to share more of my artwork and process with you. Cheers!

For Brain Injury Awareness Month 2021, I shared a video on YouTube about my artist journey. I talk about how I started on this path to becoming a full time artist after my head injury.

I also made a video playlist on YouTube. I shared quick tips for artists and creatives who are recovering from brain injury or head injury.

I hope the information I shared is helpful to those recovering from head injury, their loved ones or caregivers.

Watch the Videos

My creative process consists of many practices, but art journaling is one that helps me the most. I put together my top five dos and top five don’ts for art journaling.

TOP FIVE DON’TS

1. Don’t plan too much.

Set up a little space (if possible) for your art. For example, have a sketchbook with pencils and erasers. Or, a sketchbook with a watercolor palette. That’s it.

It’s enough to start with and will encourage you to be creative.

I like to plan. But, when you do, you can get bogged down in thinking you need lots of space and supplies. Having a minimal set up is great for art journaling.

2. Don’t finish all or your pages.

One of my go to moves is to paint messy backgrounds and blocks of colors on multiple pages. That’s it! Nothing fancy.

Then, I use those backgrounds as a base for another journal session later.

If you only have a short window of time for your art, make messy backgrounds. Then, use them as a base layer or just leave them the way they are. It’s up to you.

Don’t feel like you have to make “finished” art. Allow yourself to play and explore your supplies on your pages.

3. Don’t judge yourself.

There is nothing more distracting than criticizing yourself during your creative time.

Enjoy your time using your art supplies.

Please don’t judge yourself. Don’t think about good vs. bad art. It’s not that serious.

4. Don’t compare yourself to others.

Your art is personal. It’s not wise to compare your work or expression to anyone else. Focus on what you want to do and what you want to create.

If you want to improve your art make time to keep trying and don’t give up. Be patient with yourself.

Use your own work to measure your progress and how much you’re improving. Celebrate how much you’ve learned.

5. Don’t focus on the outcome.

Most times, we have an idea in our heads of what we want our art to look like. It doesn’t usually work out the way we plan.

That’s why it’s good to be open to the process and see how things develop.

Don’t be too set in the outcome. Flexibility is important to when you’re art journaling from the heart.

TOP FIVE DOS

1. Do have fun!

Having fun is one of the most important parts to my process. When I’m creating pages in my art journal it’s for personal care and expression. So it’s super important to have fun with what I’m doing.

That’s what I recommend to any other creatives and artists.

2. Do use cheap products or art supplies easily available to you.

One thing that used to hold me back from art journaling was the idea that I needed lots of expensive paints and tools. It’s not true!

Inexpensive items that I’ve used with good results are: ink pens, graphite pencils, markers, colored pencils, and student grade watercolors.

Use affordable supplies you already have on hand. Some of my favorite journal pages were made with student grade paints and colored pencils.

Be creative with what you have.

3. Do try new techniques or supplies you shy away from.

Art journals or sketchbooks are the best places to try out new supplies and techniques. They’re just for you! You don’t HAVE to show them to anyone.

So don’t worry about what your learning. One of my favorite things to do is make color swatches of my supplies. It’s easy and anyone can do it!

Give yourself permission to try new things. Think of it as an art adventure.

4. Do explore color combinations and color palettes.

Pick a color combination from the color wheel and make a page with just that combination.

Or make pages filled with your favorite color combinations for your clothing and your home.

5. Do use several types of art supplies together.

I used to paint only in acrylic or watercolor. Then, I discovered that I can combine them to create different effects. It was a game changer for me. I love mixed media now. I don’t always paint mixed media, but it’s perfect or art journaling. My new favorite combination of materials is watercolor and soft pastel.

If you like more than one art media, try combining one or two of them. See how they work together.

Hopefully these tips will encourage you to be creative each day.

Me (figuratively) trying to evade the bad vibes of 2020. LAWD HELP US! Because what the?!

SO…

The first part of the ICAD, for me, was ridiculous. I will spare you the details. Nothing went as I planned, but I still wanted to join. I made some posts on my stories. Yay. Then I made a video of my first week progress. I haven’t updated anything else.

WHAT NOW?

What I’m going to do for the rest of the challenge. Continue to post when I feel up to it. Also, I think the weekly themes will suit my situation this year best. In the past I could work on a card a day. Maybe because of the odd circumstances I will have more success doing weekly themes. So I’m going to try the weekly theme and maybe that will get me back in the art challenge groove.

Since I don’t have as much to share as I had hoped I will keep this week’s ICAD post here. I didn’t think this short note needed it’s own page. Hopefully by the finish line I will have much more to share. I will make sure to post the results of the challenge no matter if I accomplished my goal or not.

Until next time,

Yolanda

I created a new abstract still life mixed media collection called Wild Fruits. They’re part of the In the Garden series.

They are colorful and expressive paintings with a textured surface. Each piece is on 9×12 inch mixed media paper.

I chose to paint blueberries and pomegranates. They remind me of my grandma’s garden. I also chose strawberries because I couldn’t resist painting those beautiful berries with sweet flowers!

THE PROCESS

I used charcoal, graphite for the first layers and values. Then, I added soft pastel, acrylic ink and acrylic paint.

Next, I etched into the first layers with pencils or other tools. Watercolor, grease markers, and colored pencils were applied to the final layers.

CURRENT LISTINGS

Two paintings have been gifted to relatives. The other seven will be listed in the shop for sale on Friday.

I only have originals of these paintings. They will not be available on my print shop.

I will be making similar artwork especially for the print shop.

PRODUCT VIDEO

I’ve been creating simple product videos about my work. I hope they help with showing the colors and textures of the paintings. I’m still new at making videos.

Click below to see the Wild Fruits mixed media paintings.

HOW TO STAY UP TO DATE

Sign up for the newsletter to be notified of original work, prints and updates. It’s an easy way for me to send you current information.

Thank you so much for being part of my art journey!

Until next time,

Yolanda

Tammy Garcia of Daisy Yellow is hosting the Tenth Annual ICAD Challenge on Instagram.

The challenge runs from June 1 to July 31, 2020.

I will be sharing my progress on my Instagram Stories and Instagram Highlights this year.

WHY I LIKE ICAD CHALLENGE

This will be the third year I join in the ICAD challenge.

I like it for several reasons:

• it’s beginner friendly
• it uses simple supplies
• ability to interact with and meet other people
• encourages good vibes

It gives me a sense of playfulness when I work on those tiny cards each day.

Typically I use the daily prompts unless I’m not sure how to make a card about the topic/word prompt. In that case I go off prompt and make whatever I want that day.

The challenge encourages me not to be too shy on social media. I have something to look forward to each day. I get a routine and find new creative people to interact with.

SOME DETAILS

THE CARDS

ICAD is a specific challenge in only the substrate. It must be an index card measuring no larger than 4 inches by 6 inches. The kind you can find at in office supply stores. I purchased some from the local pharmacy on sale. They are typically easy to obtain.

Rolodex cards are also acceptable because of their size, but I’ve never used them myself.

THE PROMPTS

Tammy created daily prompts lists and weekly theme lists. These prompts can be combined if you want to mix up the variety in your cards.

You can follow the prompts provided literally or interpret them any way you want or go off prompt completely. It’s up to you.

DON’T FORGET

Share Your Progress!

Share on Instagram using the challenge hashtag:

#dyicad2020

Encourage Other Participants!

It’s super important to help other people by encouraging them during the challenge.

View the hashtag daily. Better yet, follow the hashtag. You’ll have more of a chance to see and engage with other participants.

Check out their posts, stories, feed page. Like and comment – authentically – so they will be more likely to keep participating.

Doing all of the above helps the person hosting the challenge and the participants, including yourself.

A FEW MORE BENEFITS

This challenge is great for beginners and will help you share you art consistently on Instagram. Extra benefits of art challenges:

• get used to engaging daily with you own account and other users
• stimulate ideas for your other projects
• encourage you to reach out more on social media

Can you tell I’m excited about the ICAD challenge this year?

Oh yeah. This will be fun. I like having a little positive distraction. And this is the time for one. Am I right? Or am I absolutely right?

Well with all that said, I hope you join in (or at least check out) the 2020 ICAD challenge.

NEED MORE DEETS?

Read more in detail about the challenge on the Daisy Yellow page

Follow Daisy Yellow on Instagram

Follow the ICAD 2020 hashtag

You can follow my account at:

https://www.instagram.com/bellcreatives/ (update: I have a new art account on Instagram linked below.)

I don’t always create paintings that are spiritual or religious. But, lately some of my work has been reflecting my personal beliefs. I’m not sure how often or when I will paint from a spiritual perspective. I am thankful to do this work freely. I’ll see where this takes me on my art journey.

For this collection, I was inspired to create small pieces of art about the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. The fruits of the the Spirit are found in the fifth chapter of the book of Galatians. It states:

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22, 23 ESV

Why I Chose Flowers

I chose flowers as focal points for this collection instead of fruit because many fruit bearing trees bloom with flowers.

Some flowering fruit trees are:

• apples
• apricots
• cherries
• peaches
• pears

These beautiful trees are some of my favorites. In my neighborhood we have cherry trees and not far from here are farms that grow apples and peaches. Yum! One of the most exciting times of the year is when I get to pick my own fruits. I love visiting the local orchards or farm stands.

So rather than painting literal fruits I decided to paint abstract flowers and buds.

The Gold Lettering

I wanted to add text for the fruits on the front of each painting. While I was planning for the paintings, I remembered something from the scriptures about words with apples and gold. Or something like that. I couldn’t remember the whole text, but I thought gold would be awesome.

If you’re curious about the verse, it reads:

11A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

Proverbs 25:11 ESV

Everything seemed to be coming together perfectly and I was so glad. Until…

Back To The Drawing Board

I had everything set. Canvases were prepped, color schemes were chosen, paints were ready to go.

As I started working so much went wrong! I couldn’t believe it. The color scheme tanked and the design was not right. The painting “ugly stage” had set up shop and it was not great. Ugh. So I took some time off from this collection to focus on other things.

Faithfulness

The only painting that worked out at the first stage was “faithfulness”.

I’m totally serious. I was close to giving up. I thought maybe things weren’t going to work out. I considered giving up and working on other projects that I had to finish.

The “faithfulness” painting sat on my bookshelf for a while. Then one day I set out the canvases and got back to work. The paintings weren’t perfect, but the longer I worked the more aligned things became.

Collection Completed

I’m so happy that I persisted through that tough phase. I learned so much creating these tiny works of art. I wanted to add them to the garden series and I did! It seems like a small accomplishment. For me, it was important to continue and achieve this personal goal I had set ahead of myself.

Each time I work on my paintings it’s almost as if I’m remembering life lessons. I realize that nothing is perfect. When things are difficult, will I keep going or quit? By moving ahead, I gain knowledge and experience to do better next me. Quitting means never knowing what I could have accomplished.

Like I stated in the beginning of this post, I don’t always create paintings that are spiritual or religious. But somehow, I’m going through a new process with my art, work, and life. Not all of my art is based on some learning experience. Most of the time I’m learning by having fun. But creating work like this changes the scene of my art journey.

Video Clip

I created a product video to show the paintings from different angles and lighting.

Thank you so much for your time and support! I hope you have a great day.

This week I’m sharing a little more about the landscapes that I added the shop. I call them Land and Sky. They are abstract mixed media paintings and I am including them as part of my In the Garden series.

I had the idea of painting them after watching a video I captured during a walk. It was a peaceful morning in my neighborhood. The wild flowers are so beautiful to me. I love seeing the pops of color in the grassy areas.

PAINTING PROCESS

I used a simple painting process and added multiple layers of color and marks.

The main items I used in this process were:

• acrylic paint and ink
• ink
• graphite and color pencil
• distress crayons
• watercolor

SEALING AND VARNISHING

• First I sealed the paintings in a spray fixative. This helps to seal in pencil, ink, watercolor or pastels. It is important because it keeps them from smudging or smearing during the varnish application.
• After that they were coated in an isolation coat of gloss medium and water.
• The final varnish coat I applied to them is an archival satin finish. I chose the satin finish because it has a slight luster, but is not as shiny as the gloss finish.

artwork framing

I chose not to frame or mat the finished pieces. I prefer for the client and purchaser to decide their aesthetic. Framing and displaying art is a personal decision. Choices about framing and matting change based on the environment where the art will be displayed.

LAND AND SKY VIDEO

Thank you so much for your support.

This week I shared an art journal process in my small DIY junk journal. I made it from recycled packaging and papers. I used a three hole pamphlet stitch to bind the signatures.

COLLAGE AND COLOR

The collage elements I used are recycled scrapbook paper, an essential oil packaging (one of my favorites) and magazine text. I chose to use the large floral as a focal point. I love using tabs. I made one from recycled packaging.

I really liked working with the muted color scheme. Working in the art journal is a way to test out some of my products. It also helps me discover new favorite color combinations.

MAKING THE MARKS

Over the past year I’ve noticed I’m developing what I would call signature marks. They are in almost all of my paintings. I make them either subtle or very obvious depending on the work. On these pages I used the circles within circles and rectangles with dash marks. They are part of my intuitive expressive art vocabulary.

SEE THE PROCESS

COMPLETED PAGES

These are photos of the completed pages and a close up of the words I chose for the daily entry. I also decide to shape the page tab into a wonky little heart. The pages turned out super grungy again. Loving that look in my books lately.

ART SUPPLIES

Brushes

• Flat 10 and Round 2

Pencils

• Graphite #2
• Grease Marker: Black
• Prismacolor: Ebony and Metallic Gold

Paints

• Ceramcoat: Exotic Bloom and Pretty Pink
• Golden Fluid Acrylics: Primary Yellow
• Liquitex Basics: Gesso
• Ranger Mixed Media: Turquoise

This is a short list of supplies I used in the process. Use whatever art supplies you have on hand.

Art journaling is a personal process. You can use as many or as few supplies as fit the situation and circumstance. I hope you have a chance to be creative today!

Until next time, I wish you well.

I’m still learning about capturing my art process with my camera. It has definitely been an adventure. This week I decided to upload a very simple and quiet process video. I didn’t speak much or add background music. If you like paper sounds, there are some. But if not, you can watch the process with music of your choice.

I’m working in my small junk journal art journal that I made from recycled paper and packaging. The background is acrylic paint. The collage elements are from a repurposed painting and left over scrapbook papers.

The phrase “freedom flight” came to me as I was creating the page. Some of the sentiments or messages that I add to my journals are song phrases that are meaningful to me. Other times they are words that resonate with me when I’m working on a page.

I really like how grungy and bright the pages turned out! I hope the process video will encourage you to be creative today. It doesn’t have to take lots of time. You don’t have to be concerned about making a masterpiece in your journals. Because who in the world needs that burden nowadays?

Just do you and have fun.

These are close up photos of the finished pages.

ART SUPPLIES

• DIY Junk Journal
• Ceramcoat paint
• Golden Fluid Acrylics
• Assorted paint markers
• Assorted scrapbook papers and recycled art papers

This is a short list of items I used in the video. I do not have any sponsors or affiliates. Feel free to use whatever supplies you have on hand.

WATCH THE PROCESS

Until next time, thank you for watching and have a great day!