I am still enrolled in several online classes.  One of those is Serendipity 2 with Juliette Crane.  She is a really great instructor.  However, being a novice in drawing and painting original pieces of art, the course has presented quite a challenge for me.  It is NOT neat, it is NOT predictable and it certainly is NOT using my normal “safe” tools and mediums that I use most. LOL!  It has been really tough for me.

I have been taking it in stages.  LONG stages…lucky for me I have access to 12 months of material for two years because I am going to need it to get the goody out of all of the information that is being presented.  I know it may sound funny but as much as I like painting backgrounds, I did not realize how attached I have become to certain methods of accomplishing this task.  Juliette uses lots of oil crayons, acrylic inks and water soluble materials in her work.  It has been a challenge for me to use these successfully and with confidence so I guess you can say that I haven’t even gotten past the background stage yet. If I am to ever get freer and looser in my work, this class is going to force it out of me.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am enjoying the class.  It is just personally taking me and my conservative manners a lot longer to digest all of the actvity than it might take a “normal” person.  🙂  But that is OK with me.  It is great experience and I will get what I can get.  I won’t get exactly what Juliette presents and how she personally creates with her methods anywhere else.  So here I am puttering along…..

Here are two backgrounds that I have created using my interpretation of class methods.  I really like the second one.  I am going to photocopy it and use it as collage fodder in some of my other art when appropriate.  Many artists do this and now I have ONE piece that I like well enough to reuse in this manner many times.  They are brighter in person.  Hopefully my photography will improve as well!

I hope you have a nice and creatively fruitful day!