A Love Hate Relationship

With my studio....sigh....

Affectionately known as The Imagination Station.  Lately, we have been in a love/hate relationship.  I love my space....but I hate the condition that I have let it become....

Pure clutter!!!

Have you ever seen such a mess!!!!

I just honestly love my stuff!!!!!

And, the unfortunate part is I have realized that my space is stifling my creativity.

Yes, the easy answer is just to clean this place up....

But, man oh man, do I have a lot of work to do....its one of those too busy driving to stop for gas...then, you realize that you just have to stop.
Have you honestly ever seen such a mess!!!

I have decided that on Monday....this Monday, August 4, 2014....I shall get order back to this haven that once was mine.

I am going to go through Julie Fei Fan Balzer's Studio Organization that she posted on her blog back in 2011.  It is time......sigh....I am prepared for the fact that it won't be easy...but, it must be done.

Wish me luck....seriously....to tackle this...I'm going to need it!!

Until next time,

Working through the Ugly...

Happy Monday, Blog Friends....
Have you ever started a painting or journal page, and find - quickly - that it is not turning out the way you intended?  Oh, how I have stumbled on this quite a bit lately.....so...I add more, smear, smoosh, highlight, ink, splatter...and everything just gets uglier, and uglier...thats where I am now with this....so, what do you do when this happens??

I ususally end up quitting....tucking the canvas away, or flipping the page and starting on with something else....sometimes, just out of pure frustration, I walk away - and then mistake the whole feeling for being in a slump,,,when I really just don't know what to do with it...

And...then there are the tims, where I just keep going - right on through that ugly phase that my work takes on...and, I end up with something that I never thought I had in me..

I end up creating something that I actually truly like.....

Until next time,





An Exhausting Week!

Happy Friday Blog Friends!

What an incredible week I have had...and, as all good things must come to an end, so must my workshop with Bob Rankin.

This has been such an amazing experience!  Both exhilirating and exhausting at the same time.  I can not remember when I have painted for 7+ hours a day for so many days straight--but with tons of coffee, I am surviving.

My head is seriously about to explode with so many ideas!!!

And...I sold my very first painting!!!!  Talk about a cloud 9 feeling---especially when I was feeling quite a bit "less than"!

I finished my day yesterday with these

Can't wait to get back today to have a look at them with fresh eyes!  From the girl that was quite afraid to paint on canvas, I bought a 30x40... Gonna go big today!!!  Wish me luck!

Until next time,

Being a Student...

This week, I get to be a student...all I can say is WOW!!

I get to study this week with one of my favorite local artists---Bob Rankin.  

He is such an incredible abstract artist.

Abstracts---right---loose, free--oh wow...I am just having such a hard time!!!

Coming up with designs have been tough...

Coming up with my personal color library was fun...

Not sure of how I am feeling about this, but calling it done for today.

As with this one as well...step back and see it tomorrow with freah eyes.

Painting 7 hours a day for 5 days straight is going to be bliss!!  Now, I need to learn to loosen up, relax, and breathe!

Hey...also, tell me what you think about my new blog look...Lauren over on Etsy Teach Pray Love Designs is incredible!!

Until next time,

More Color...SOC Week 6

Good Morning Blog Friends,
I found myself with lots of time in my studio this past weekend...which was a good thing, because I have quite a bit to do.  Thank goodness my mojo is back...I think I painted for about 4 hours on Saturday...and it felt GREAT!!

When I saw the color challenge yesterday, I was soo excited!!  I absolutely love these colors together!!I just think they are so lush!!!

Kristen just has the greatest color combinations for this challenge....and, sometimes, like I'm noticing today...it is a challenge to create something.

Lots of mixing and just playing around...

Not quite the Raspberry of the challenge...but, but oh so fun!!!

All finished.....

I hope you have a great day....

Until next time,

Ophelia

Summer of Color....Finally!!!

I am finally able to play a bit in my studio....it seems like forever.
That little situation I showed you all last post (the horrific condition that my studio became), has been picked up a bit, and I can now make my way to my table.

Realizing immediately, that this is completely a work in progress...but, it shows - in horrible handwriting, my intentions for this summer...Be Open, Show Up Every Day, and Enjoy the Journey...

Enjoy your day!!

Until next time,

Ophelia

Where the Heck Have You Been????

So, it seems as though I have pulled another vanishing act!!!  Feels like I have been on the road for FOREVER!

Came up to my studio this morning, flipped to my daily journal, and could not believe where I left off...

June 8th...are you kidding me????

As soon as school was over, we headed out of town...literally the very next day.

Baseball life = on the road.

For a whole lot of this!  Our trip to KY was great, but, I truly miss being at home.  Especially after 10 straight days.

Unfortunately, whis morning, my studio looks like this...

Do not call the authorities...

I promise...I am here to clean up a few things...

That is before I hit the road again this afternoon...

Until next time,

Ophelia