Abstract Acrylics

Lately I've felt in a rut with my art and a little stuck only painting animals and then I realized that I can branch out however I would like to. So I have entered an abstract art phase, where I am free to just follow colors and shapes and experiment.

With these four paintings, I wanted to use a limited color palette: Phthalo Turquoise, Nickel Azo Yellow, Transparent Red Iron Oxide, plus Titanium White.

And I wanted to paint a series of four, working with big brushes and a palette knife.

All similar yet each distinct. I painted over old canvases, which already had texture on them making the paintings even more interesting to me.

Right now I'm working on a new abstract painting that has a lot of texture I created with molding paste and stencils. I'll post it as soon as I finish it.

It's been a while since I posted to Paint Party Friday and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's awesome art. Head on over to check it out!

❧ Silke

Video & Lots of Art

Well, it's been awhile but I'm back with another video and a lot of art! In the video I'll show you a couple of my paintings and also tell you about a class I'm taking and a book I'm reading. So it's not strictly show & tell. If you just want to see my art, I'm showing it all below.

Since my last post, I've finished six little paintings. A chicken,

 a camel (just look at those eye lashes!),

 an otter (I was stunned by the number of whiskers),

 a hedgehog (the cutest!),

a rooster (Happy Chinese New Year),

and a young leopard.

The stag on the other hand is a large painting (24 x 30 inches), which took a while to finish. There's so much to see in all the layers that went into this painting. It looks like worlds within worlds...

In the video I'm talking about a class I'm taking with Jeanne Oliver, called Wild Awakening: Painting Big with Expressive Freedom. It's wonderful!! In one video she suggested we go out in nature to find alternative brushes like branches, leaves and in my case pine needles and cones.

I used them all for mark making and had the best time!

Just look at some of this gorgeous texture!

The result was a stunning and large (12 x 36 inches) emperor penguin!  Just look at that intense expression! They are magnificent creatures!!

I hope you have all been doing well. I'm looking forward to seeing what you've been up to these last few weeks!

I'm linking to Paint Party Friday where inspiration always abounds!

❧ Silke
P.S. The book Jeanne Oliver recommended, that I'm talking about in the video is called "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield. 

A Couple of Bigger Pieces

With all the small pieces I have painted this year, I have missed working on more of the larger canvases. I have a stack of blank ones just waiting for my paint brush and can't wait to get going.

These here are a couple of larger paintings I recently completed. Both of them have already found new homes. Yeah!!

I loved painting the elephant - they always turn out rather playful for me. Incidentally, I sold my other big elephant painting just a couple of weeks ago as well. Must be the season for ellies!

The beautiful dog below belongs to our nephew and his wife. So much fun to paint! I love the colors. Actually both of those paintings use more muted colors than is "normal" for me.

Painting Sasha, the dog, has gotten me a few commissions, two of which I finished this week. I'll share them soon! Both were fun, fun, fun to do!

Last, but certainly not least, do you remember this koala painting from earlier this year? Well, it has now been published by Thames & Hudson Australia in a beautiful little book featuring 60 works by artists from around the world. Part of the proceeds benefit the Australian Koala Foundation.

Considering that eight years ago I had never done any art at all, this is almost unbelievable to me. It just goes to show that it's never too late to start something new! And how very important it can be to listen to that inner voice when it suggests you try something you never thought you could do!

Eight years ago, I would have assured you that I had no talent for painting at all! None! And now I get to have this life of color and paint. I am beyond grateful that I didn't ignore the nudge!

How are you faring this week? So close to Christmas (if you celebrate)? Do you enjoy the spirit of the season or do you feel pulled in a million different directions?

No matter what, I send you love and joy and peace!

❧ Silke
P.S. I'm linking again to Paint Party Friday, where I hope to visit more frequently this week! It is such a source of inspiration!! Go visit! 

A Little Art and Some Thoughts

Dear friends, I hope you have been well! I haven't posted in a while, which means I have a good bit of art to show you. So much, in fact, that I'm dividing it into a few posts. 

This morning I was thinking about my blog and how I have gotten away from it. It made me feel a little wistful. You know I like change. I like how life progresses, how I change (otherwise I would have never started painting), how nothing ever stays the same, how there are seasons for everything.

And at the same time, there are some things I used to love to do that don't come easily anymore, friends we used to hang out with a lot who now live far away from us,  places we used to live and love, which we now don't get back to much anymore, places we used to travel to a lot, which we now don't anymore. It fills me with a bittersweet melancholy.

And there's my blog, which I used to love. I looked forward to posting every day, to connecting every day and to discover new things for all of my readers. Everything that delighted me, I'd think: "Oh, I have to share that on my blog." Where has that excitement gone?

There was a period of great loss in my small blogging world. Two of my earliest and dear, dear blogging friends passed away and it took the levity and fun out of blogging for me. And I think I've never quite gotten it back after that. Maybe it's time!

As I write this, I realize it's the birthday today of one of those two dear friends and I believe she is giving me a nudge! I need to blog again! I need to connect again!

I miss it. I miss being in touch with you all. I am very active on Facebook, which is really fun in its own way, but it's not the same. I don't really share my thoughts on Facebook. Mostly photos and definitely my art. Still, I love how I can be connected to family and old and new friends in such an easy way. It's also how I sell most of my art and I am very grateful for that. But it's not the same as sharing my life and my thoughts on my blog.

Ok, that decided it. It's time! I have changed and I need to write about it.

I miss you all! And I love you!

❧ Silke 
P.S. Linking to the always inspiring Paint Party Friday! I'm so grateful for their unfailing weekly inspiration! 

Color Studies

I was so happy to be on a roll again with blogging and then Hurrican Matthew happened. Days of watching where it was going and how strong it was getting. Days of wondering if we were going to have to evacuate or if we could stay.

Days of making our house storm ready, preparing for long stretches without power and possible evacuation. Making hotel reservations inland, thinking about everything we needed for us, four cats and Winslow for a few days, and making sure we had all important papers with us. The rest of our "stuff" suddenly didn't seem all that important anymore. We did what we could to make sure it would be safe.

First there the probability we'd have to evacuate, then a polite urging from city officials, (which is when we left) and finally mandatory evacuation. We were safe in a hotel room with all of our critters. They all got along great. Everyone was calm and content. Even when we lost power at our hotel (this was a large storm), we were all still quite happy. And also a little nervous about what we might come home to.

We listened to the local news on our weather radio and it sounded like the storm had been very strong with a lot of destruction. When the evacuation order was lifted, we came home to our house and property perfectly intact. No damage! We were so grateful! It's sad to see how many hundreds of old trees fell in this storm. And it's beautiful to see how everyone came together to help each other out.

We finally got power back and then (much later) our internet and for us life is back to normal, which is certainly not the case for so many others. Again, I'm so grateful!

One thing I did notice though - my art has changed. I started painting in watercolor with a very limited palette (three colors only) and I love it! It's a new challenge and a completely different process for me.

And that's the thing I love about life: nothing ever stays the same!

Linking to the ever fabulous and inspiring Paint Party Friday.

❧ Silke

Playing with Color

When I say I just play with color, that is true and it's also in a way much more. The whole purpose of me painting the way I do is to develop my intuition, which I am finding is actually quite strong and accurate - now that I no longer ignore it.

When I went to school as a kid, everything was all about doing things "right."  I found the same thing when I was taking "serious" art classes. I had a hard time being creative and allowing my imagination to guide me when I was concerned about doing it correctly.

That's why I started playing with color and shapes before I even think about painting an animal. There is no way to get these wrong, at least in the beginning layers.

So when I start a painting, I am very tuned in to how I feel and the energy of the day (sounds weird, but that's what happens). And then I feel drawn to certain colors and color combinations.

I don't question it, I just take the colors and start. The first layer will lead to the next one and so on. And at some point I either see an animal in the shapes or an animal pops into my head and that's the one I go with. No questions asked. I assume my intuition is working correctly.

This is actually a watercolor card I painted for a friend who lost her sweet dog. 

Everything in the universe is vibration, including color. I have tried to have a more monochrome palette or to use black and white and one additional color, but that's just not me. At least at this point in my life.

I seem to be made of bright colors and when I paint with them they feel right to me every time!

At the moment I'm drawn very much to accents of neon pink, as you can see in the first four paintings I'm showing you today.

Every painting doesn't just carry the vibration and energies of the colors, but also all of the love and good wishes I pour into it while painting. I hope you can feel it, too!!

Some of these small paintings have already found their forever homes, but a few are still available at my Daily Paintworks Gallery.

I'm linking this to the wonderful Paint Party Friday group. If you want to be inspired, head on over for some fantastic art!!

❧ Silke

Charcoal Love

Dear friends, I know I've been quiet as of late. I've been busy enjoying the rest of the summer with Daniel before he starts teaching again. And...I've discovered a new love: charcoal!

Those of you who have followed this blog for awhile know that I've always had a fascination with portraits and it seems I'm getting back to that (while still doing my colorful animal paintings).

I've had such a yearning for working with charcoal in a style that's been in my head and is finally finding expression.

Here are four larger charcoal drawings I did in their various stages of development. Enjoy!

Even though this isn't painting in the strict sense of the word, I am still linking to Paint Party Friday, a wonderful place to gather creative inspiration of any kind!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

❧ Silke