aprillej

[aprillej]

A Gift to Bring You

I’m at a loss as to what to write for tomorrow’s (today’s) post. I started something and put it in the draft drawer, my “kill the darlings” file. No …A Gift to Bring You

[aprillej]

How to: The Magic Watercolour to water ratio

Water in your paint comes from three different sources: wet paper, a wet brush and/or your palette. And water affects the value of your colour. Here's what you need to know about controlling that ratio.

Sorry, there actually is no “magic formula”. I can’t even give you a definitive answer about how to achieve the right mix of paint and water. Everything depends on your paints and brushes, the techniques you’re using. Even the weather plays a role. And practice. Lots of practice. So let’s start at the beginning. Water in your paint comes from three different sources: wet paper, a wet brush…

[aprillej]

How To: Playing with Salt

Salt can be used in all kinds of interesting ways in your watercolour paintings. Here's a simple exercise to add this fun resource to your own creative toolbox.

Salt can be used in all kinds of interesting ways in your watercolour paintings. I love using it to create texture in my rock paintings but it does so many things! Here’s a simple exercise to add this fun resource to your own creative toolbox. Select some of your favourite pigments. Be sure to include any favourite mixes (I like Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna). Create a grid on a piece of…

[aprillej]

The Second Half

A close call at a busy Toronto intersection changed my priorities. On the Prosperity Place podcast, I talk about how that lead me to where I am today.

I was recently a guest on The Prosperity Show where we talked about reinvention. At some point in everyone’s life we take a moment to assess where we are and if it’s really where we want to be. I used to tell people that climbing the ladder of success means nothing if you’re on the wrong ladder. A close call at a busy Toronto intersection changed that ladder for me in the second half of my life.…

[aprillej]

Inspiration and Expression

Inspiration is the oxygen of our creative practice. Expression is the connection.

I love playing with words, looking up definitions and origins. Recently while reading The Awen Alone by Joanna van der Hoeven, I came across this statement – “The word inspiration means to breathe in.” Yes but something connected in my brain. Something I’d actually been thinking about for quite awhile regarding how breathing and making art are similar. So here I am, trying to organize those…

[aprillej]

Sketching Bleeding Hearts

It’s spring and the Bleeding Hearts are popping up in my studio garden. Ink and watercolour sketch. Ink and Watercolour Sketch

[aprillej]

More than just a pretty picture

Beyond admiring the work of another artist, they can also challenge us in ways that contribute to our own growth as artists.

Browsing through Instagram set me thinking about how other artists inspire me. Beyond admiring their work, they also challenge me in ways that contribute to my own growth as an artist. Sarah McKendry I finally trusted those voices rising from the depths of my soul telling me that it was time to shed the mediocrity and start living a life that challenged me on unimaginable new levels. It was…

[aprillej]

Takes My Breath Away

We don't all have access to the big wonders of the natural world but there can still be moments that take our breath away if we pay attention.

[aprillej]

Sleepless? Might as well make art...

Like words can be formed into prose or song, the language of art can be used in many ways. I'm still learning to express who I am through my brush.

“Just say what you want to say . . . and say it with all your heart.”Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear I couldn’t sleep Saturday night and normally I’d toss and turn. I’d consider getting up and going out to the studio but, up to last night, talked myself out of such foolish notions. I finally asked myself “Why not?” I’ve been wanting to play with a more abstract style,…

[aprillej]

The Gift

My husband gifted me with an easel this week for my upcoming birthday.

My husband gifted me with an easel this week for my upcoming birthday. Actually, it’s a milestone birthday and when he asked me for ideas on what to get me I knew just what to ask for.  I wanted a real artist easel. It’s something I’ve always wanted but always thought they were really really expensive. Turns out you can find them for a pretty reasonable price. Silly me.  My New Easel I’m also…

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Walking the Talk

The label "Eco Artist" lines up with what I try to say with my art. “This deserves our attention. I want to share it with you."

Some of you know I work in fibre as well as paint. This week I opened the current issue of “Stitch” where the editor wrote about an art project called Fifty Bees by Lydia Needle.  Lydia creates 50 individual works, each featuring a bee and puts them in vintage containers. Then she invites 50 other artists, makers or musicians to make a companion piece in response to one of the bees to highlight…

[aprillej]

Mission Accomplished

I once believed that making a living was making a life. As I grow older, I realize that's not true. Making a life is about answering the call of your heart's mission.

It’s so easy to fall off the blog bandwagon. I missed a couple of weeks posting because of travel and now suddenly posting on the blog seems like it keeps going to the bottom of my to do list. That gremlin crept in and whispered in my ear “ You don’t have anything to say.”  But I know it’s important because it helps me put my own thoughts in order and understand priorities. Writing( and making…

[aprillej]

Discovery

I find so much joy and connection in the sketch-y ink and watercolour work. The energy of the pen work and colouring outside those lines makes me feel like a kid again.

[aprillej]

The Joy of a Comfort Zone

It's fun to experiment with other mediums and try other things but it's also very satisfying to come home and work with what's familiar, tried, and true.

For the last while, I’ve been playing with oil paints and enjoying it. I’ve learned a lot and been happy with what I’ve done but it doesn’t feel like ‘home’. I began a portrait in oils, which you can see here. While I’ve drawn other portraits successfully in pencil I had told myself I couldn’t paint one. (Silly me. I made up a rule and hadn’t questioned it.) It turned out just okay because it…

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The rhythm of winter and creativity

Winter may be time to get a lot done but it's also the season for things to lie quiet below the surface until spring calls them back to life. The creative cycle has its own seasons and rhythms. 

Except for the weather, it’s been a quiet week. Here in Nova Scotia, it seems like we’re always in the middle of a storm or recovering from one and that has kept me from getting to my studio on a regular basis. I’ve been finding some interesting things to do in the house but it looks like winter is going to force hibernation on me whether I want it or not.  I suspect many of us who call…

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Growing the Seed of an Idea

Seeds need soil and water, a place of nurture to trigger the process of growth. So do ideas.

First, thank you to Hilda Rogers who reached out with a comment on last week’s post. She suggests that ideas start with emotion. Before her comment, I was all set to jump into choosing a photo and sketching but this made me take a step back. I began to think of ideas as seeds that grow into something more. Seeds need soil and water, a place of nurture to trigger the process of growth. This…

[aprillej]

Where do ideas begin?

“Where does an idea start?” An intriguing question. It reminds me of conversations where you stop and wonder, “How did we get on this topic?”

Everything begins with an idea.Earl Nightingale Lately, I’m reading blogs by other creators over my morning coffee rather than the news. Starts my day in a much more positive way, plus I discover some very interesting, like-minded folks out there. In addition, I follow and interact with those speak to me to create connections and community.   I recently came across the question “Where does an…