Day 10/30 + Giveaway winner announced!

IT'S TIME TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNER OF MY GIVEAWAY!

Congratulations, 

You've won a complimentary, original artwork from Martice Smith II - Illustration!

Please email me your shipping info as soon as you can, to claim your prize.

THANK YOU to all the participants who entered my first giveaway!

OK, now onto today's project...

I've been going back to my art journals more often than I have before. I've been creating various backgrounds {see yesterday's post, here, to read my process}. 

Have you ever had a feeling where you just HAD to do something for yourself? Maybe it's going back to a hobby you loved as a child or maybe it's getting back into the groove of playing a musical instrument (I definitely need to pick up my bass guitar, again!)...whatever that feeling is, I truly believe that it's worth doing. 

So, for today's project, I picked up my paints, brushes and mark-making tools to create very textural and abstract backgrounds. 

I'm aware that the paintings from DAYS 8, 9 and today's are not my usual "style", which you may be familiar with. Well, if you read about my "free-falling" technique, you'd understand why! {Read about it here...}

Remember, these are not finished pieces- I have plans to incorporate them in other projects. I'm going to use them as cut-out, collage pieces to make additional artworks. And yes, you will get to see that process, too! (They would look great as book covers or even decorative shapes! Oh, just think of all the possibilities!)

These photos are detailed shots of the whole painting I did today, for my DAY 10/30.

This vibrant painting shows a variety of techniques- ranging from finger painting, stamping and collage to build the dynamic and expressive layers. 

{This playful method can be achieved by artists of all levels.}

There are many areas in this intuitive painting that I really like! Each detail pic is strong on its own- that's a great indicator that this is a well-balanced and harmonious abstract.

 Here is the finished painting:

 I glued down multiple layers of ledger paper and bits of newspaper onto watercolor paper to build up this abstract painting. Top layers are created using cardboard stamps and scribbles from a brush handle and sealed with gloss medium.  

When I stepped back from this painting, I could see a cityscape! Whoa! What else can you see??

You'd be surprised what's laying dormant in you...let go of your fears and embrace the possibilities of creating with 'wild abandon'. Here's how to get started:

  > Be attentive to your heart's desires; be willing to have a goal to live your life with as few regrets as possible. 

  > Strive to find courage within yourself to try new things, even when they seem difficult or out I reach. 

  > Share this feeling with someone else who will support and give honest, yet gentle, feedback. 

Down in the comments box, please share what has been beckoning YOUR spirit, lately. Go on, I'm listening... :)

Days 8 and 9/30 {WEEK 2/THEME: Surface Design & Textiles}

Days 8 and 9/30

Hey y'all! Welcome to WEEK 2 of my illustration challenge!! I'm so happy and thankful that you've been leaving me so much feedback and offering suggestions on future projects. Keep those ideas coming!

The theme for WEEK 2 is: {Surface Design & Textiles}

Very few people, and I mean *few*, have seen the process I'm presenting to you today. I call it "free-falling". Free-falling is a term I came up with a while back, during my Undergraduate studies as an Illustrator and while taking self-study, graphic design courses. In simpler terms, this word means 'to let go of ALL fear/inhibitions; be in the moment with no regard to time; appreciate the discovery process and revel in the possibility of whatever it is I'm doing. But, most importantly, the objective is to HAVE FUN! Sometimes, there is nothing specific that I'm trying to create- it's mostly experimentation + imagination + being silly and enjoying every moment of it!

Here's my process...I implement my 'free-falling technique' every time I want to create a unique texture to use as a background in my traditional and digital mixed-media illustrations. 

The first collage pic was created using acrylic paints, sewing pattern tissue paper, white china marker, white modeling paste and gloss medium.

This picture shows another variation of my technique. I love creating markings that resemble tribal markings and, of course, adding LOTS of textures using a variety of mark-making tools such as pen caps, sponges, ends of brush handles, etc. Sounds like fun, right?!

Well, those are DAYS 8 and 9 as promised!

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Important News: 

The WINNER of my giveaway has been selected! Yayy! Think you're the winner? Well, there's only one way to find out...that's right- you gotta come back, here, tomorrow, Sunday, November 10th! 

Do you ever work intuitively when you create or do you always plan out exactly what you want to do? Talk to me in the comment section, below!