Making Art From A Nightmare

I was inspired to explore my feelings about this dream and nightmare from a YouTube video I watched by Electra Dashwood. You should check it out!

Tropical Travel Vlogger Trunk

This Fashion Polly-esque playset-looking trunk may look cute and fantastical, but in my dream, it was full of pure nightmares. This dream sequence was so vivid I woke feeling like my life was falling apart, all because of this Pandora’s box. Definitely the effect of some stressful personal situations I had in my life at the time. I’ve been feeling waves of anxiety lately. Although I deeply disliked this trunk in my dream, in art form I wish I had this little gem to store my fabric because it is delightfully bright and vivid. This was drawn in chalk pastel in February 2024.

Cloud Drawing Messenger

This was another odd dream, with my dad, whom I don’t often dream about because I honestly don’t have that many memories with him. After a big boundary breakthrough, I had this dream in which my dad would only communicate with me through watercolor clouds expressing his emotions about what I shared. This was such a cool dream because usually all my dad and I do if we have an emotional conversation, it is in anger and yelling. But this dream was delicate and uplifting. We communicated, and I wish this dream had been real life. The clouds were recreated in chalk pastel in December 2023.

March 5, 2024

Squirrel: Quick Sketch

A portrait of a squirrel, with bushy tail curled, to create a wind barrier against the chilling breeze.

This is my last project using watercolor paints, for the immediate future. I’m interested in going back to acrylic and want to pursue pastel, pencil, and charcoal drawings in 2024.

January 28, 2024

Lanterns in the Sky

In this watercolor painting, I wanted to explore the magic of lanterns being released into the night sky.

January 16, 2024

Winter Sunset | 01

Yesterday, as I video chatted with my mom a beautiful sunset washed across the sky above my house. The clouds glowed a cool icy lavender and the sun began trekking westward on a pink and orange fire. It was stunning, a showstopper. A sight I look forward to each year because sunsets, in my opinion, look more beautiful against the canvas of snow and leafless trees. There is a stark contrast that doesn’t appear real and yet it is.

I snapped a picture knowing I had to try painting this, and try over and over again until I learn how to get it right. This is the first attempt of many, maybe a lifetime I don’t know.

The process of developing the glow. It was messy, frustrating, and at times felt fruitless.

Finished painting photographed in natural light. The outside light was fading, yet the pink accents glowed from behind, exactly as I intended. It was great feedback from the painting itself that I may be able to capture the sunset’s glow with practice.

Finished painting photographed in an illuminated room.

December 21, 2023

Trying Out My Fan Brush & Mushrooms

A recent pick up of mine was a fanned brush for detailed, expressive brush strokes. It’s a cool technique that I look forward to playing around with.

November 21, 2023

#31 – Painting for a Future Story

I am a visual person. When I begin drafting a setting or character it helps me to build a story around a tangible place. While I enjoy going to Pinterest for ideas, I like to sketch out original artwork to dive into a place of imagination. This week, I dove into my notebook of ideas and began painting places for potential settings for a story. Here are some of the places I came up with.