Painting in the greenhouse

One of the many things I was looking forward to with a greenhouse was the possibility to sit outside while still protected from the elements. The summer has been very warm and sunny here in Denmark, so I did not sit out in my greenhouse so often. It was much too warm in there! Today however, we lost some degrees on the thermometer. The sky is covered and the wind blowing. It was the perfect day to enjoy a bit of creative time out in my outdoor, bright - yet protected - workshop.

It had been a very long time since I last painted, so I took my material out, installed a little work area, put on some music and started painting.

Peaceful... inspiring... delightful. 

My singer of choice to listen to while I paint is Yves Duteil, a French singer songwriter. His texts are just so beautifully written. French is such a beautiful language. No matter how many languages I might come to learn in my life,  my mother tongue will always be the most inspiring one to me. Listening to Yves Duteil's music always brings me into a creative mood. It brings me within myself and within my heart. Time disappears as my hands get busy with colours and paintbrushes, and images gradually take shape on the canvas.

Here is what today's adventure resulted in.

Watercolours on canvas - (c) Marie-Eve Cormier

My favorite way to paint is when I start without the slightest idea of what to put on the canvas. I let the music surround my heart, I let my thoughts run free and I let the colours speak to me. I add to the creation until I look at it and decide that it's done. My paintings are often nameless, and the only story they have is what they might evoke in the heart of the one looking at them. Abstract art is so open and free that way.

Unfinished

I enjoy painting skies and backgrounds. Hmm. That's fair enough, right? But now I have projects starting to pile up because I paint the backgrounds but don't always get around to finishing the whole painting. This can be because I have a background idea but not really a foreground one. Or it can be because the foreground idea is more complicated and I don't really know how to do it. It can also be that I try mediums or a new paintbrush out and end up with a lonely background.

These canvases are just leaning against the wall of my hobby room, waiting to be given some much awaited attention. Perhaps I should give myself the goal to finish the 3 following ones before I start anything new. :)

Acrylics

This painting is supposed to go on the wall over the sofa-bed in our guestroom / my hobby room.

Acrylics

I was testing the use of flow improver and slow drying blending medium. I could definitely do something with this, but my conclusion still is that nothing flows, blends and mixes as well on canvas as oils. (while keeping their vibrant colours, that is)

Watercolours

This has been in my pile for well over a year. I really had never tried watercolours at all and just decided to see how it works. I can't say I pushed the experiment very far at the time. I ended up with a very deserted desert. Maybe it needs a cactus and a camel. teehee :)

My first watercolors

I like to try nearly everything that is related to arts and crafts. Some things I try once or twice, and then let go... and some other things I take up again every now and then. The mediums that came back the most often for me are probably acrylics, drawing pencils and polymer clay.

However, watercolors also recently entered my life, and I tend to believe it will remain in my favorite box for a good while, along with the 3 I mentionned above.

I, of course, heard about watercolors before, but for some reason always stayed away from them. I was never that attracted to the results I saw, and it seemed rather difficult to manage and control. I like vibrant, slightly unrealistic colors, for one thing, and watercolors didn't seem to allow this sort of color expression.

I was wrong.

I decided to explore the medium a few months ago and though I felt very clumsy with it, I was surprised to find out that I actually liked the feel of it. I tried a few techniques and I liked the way colors mix together and the role water plays in the creation. I discovered a whole new way to put my abstracts together.

And then I was lucky. I received a watercolor kit as present (thanks mom and dad!), and I only very recently got to try it. Here are my two first "real" creations with watercolors.

This one with the trees started as an abstract background.  I was experimenting with mixing and using water to play with the colors on paper. The lines and shapes it created made me think of trees... so I continued from there. I do often use vibrant colors in my creations. I find it gives them a hint of fantasy and a tone of deep happiness and warmth.

This next one was also an exploration of colors and water mixing directly on paper. The abstract result reminds me of a dense forest leading to a source of light, or opening into a warmer place.

What do you see in this abstract watercolor painting?

:)