To Only, If - A New Mixed Media Painting

TO ONLY, IF. Original available here. 11 x 14" on Canvas Panel.
Prints in my etsy shop.

Sometimes I leave a painting for too long, and then I just cannot get back into it. That's what happened with TO ONLY, IF. 

I was loving the direction at first and having so much fun experimenting with new art supplies. I had just finished painting an owl and a lion and felt like I could really let myself go and experiment.

For me that often takes painting something I'm comfortable with like whimsical animals before I can really bring out something new. 

I'd experimented with black india ink beside pastel acrylic hues, added layers of book pages in long strips beside gelli plate prints on deli wrap.

But then I left the painting like this for a few days.

And I needed to bring something new and different out of the canvas. So, little by little, I began to cover her up.

TO ONLY, IF. Original available here. 11 x 14" on Canvas Panel.
Prints in my etsy shop.

I added triangles cut from lotka papers, more layers of tissue and spray painted stencils.

I tried to keep certain shapes that I loved, but when the tower wasn't working anymore, even though I liked it and its colors, I had to cover it up with teal oil paint.

And from there, this character really came out of the canvas.

Her name comes from the book pages glued upside down at the top of her head.. Like a crown they express her truest dreams that sometimes feel so far away and near impossible... TO ONLY, IF.

Yet the moon is there as a reminder... everything she needs is already there.

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ps. My new online course, SERENDIPITY - A Year In Mixed Media begins in one week!

This is the class where we'll be painting a little bit of everything for an entire year... owls, girls, imaginary creatures and so much more!

If you've been wanting to experiment with mixed media, find details and register here.

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