Wendy's Creativity >> November

[Wendy]

Hello :)

On a roll...so I don't want to stop now!

[jane]

hi wendy - yes she is back to looking more of a "saucy little minx".. its going well... Good that you have resuscitated the mouthpiece book too.... what a busy girl you are x

[Wendy]

Hee-hee...I like the "saucy little minx" phrase :) Hopefully, she will look less scary...just up to no good!

[Wendy]

Interesting. I'm actually "playing" around creatively – something I rarely do – with some color options for voodoo girl. I'm thinking of going in this direction. It's by no means finished (or even started really). This is what I was imagining in my head for color...

What do you think?

[jane]

hey wendy - congratulations! you have taken the leap into colour... i like them - suitably spooky and ominous... and not too much..

what happens next?

[Wendy]

Thanks for asking. Now I work for a long while (weeks?) at refining it all, lol. I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing...going blind. Now I realize this is to be expected...soldiering on :) The paintings I've done so far seem to enter an "ugly" phase now, 'til it's close to be finished. This is because each step changes small areas only - and sometimes other parts need to look strange until the following step. Confusing ;) Just don't feel obligated to feel/say that it looks better with each post ;)

It should all come together towards the end. I hope!

>>

[DJ]

Oh, Wendy, I love the color scheme you're experimenting with...you're so talented with a computer!
Lovely.

[jane]

she is radiating now! I would never feel "obligated" to comment, am sure everyone here feels the same, genuine interest (and in awe-ed-ness) of all the talent here.

I am going away for a while, so when i get back no doubt she will be finished.... i will have a lot to catch up on i am sure.

take care wendy - keep going! xx

[Susan Hosken]

Wendy, I like the lady all lit up. Looking good.
lots of love from susan in australia

[Wendy]

Wow...a week has gone by since I've posted. Actually, I did try to post twice and BOTH times the electricity in our house went out due to high windiness...both times, the same post..different days! Bizarre.

I have been in a bit of a slump this last week, creatively speaking. I'm not sure what's going on! I noticed that, on my mouthbook piece, I was tempted to take shortcuts that I know would be less...hmmm....beneficial to the final work – I just didn't feel like taking the long way. So, I stopped.

I have been working on my voodoo girl painting on most days. I submitted it to the professional Computer Graphics Society, because one incredible artists will do what's called a "paintover" to show how he would resolve issues you are having. I'm having a lot of difficulty understanding light and his paintover will help me immensely. He also refined the throat and shoulder areas, which I also struggle with. His version is very low resolution, so I can't plop his into my own painting. Instead I can use t as reference. Also, our styles are very different, so it will be interesting to see how mine looks when complete. It is an amazing way to learn (I've posted it below.)

I think I might just be...tired. I've had a very intense two months of creativity and I might just be fried. I fear my creative energy will never return and it's hard to know when to push forward and when to rest and revitalize. I've been focusing on some other areas of my life in the meantime, areas I've neglected while focusing so exclusively on my creativity. Still...the fear lingers...

.......

[Dan Goodwin]

Wendy, amazing to see how your art evolves... Balance is one of those core concepts in life of course, and it's just the same with creating. Much as we might like to spend all day every day creating, there are other areas of our life that we also value and also need attention and time. I hope you can readjust a little and find the balance you need to carry on with your creative projects as well as giving those other important areas of your life the attention they need.

Keep us posted!

Dan

[Wendy]

Thank you VERY much, Dan. I knew you'd have some very helpful words around this issue.

Just to clarify, the painting on the right (above) is the pro-artists version of my piece :) I hope to get back to working on my own very soon (today?)

Last night I set the timer and did something creative for 15 minutes. I figured that even the minimum requirement might help. Interesting how 15 minutes is my minimum – before the monthly creative challenges, I wasn't even doing that, lol!

[Dan Goodwin]

Balance is vital, and it's something I personally struggle with in many areas! There's a great exercise called a Life Balance Wheel that I came across a few years ago and developed for my own use and for coaching clients.

Check it out here (it's part of my Explode Your Creativity workbook, see pages 10-16):

coachcreative.com/products/explodeyourcreativity.pdf

I love that you've recognised your progress and that now 15 minutes is a bare minimum, and other times you create far more, when before you were not doing the 15 min. Great to see you evolve, and your artwork evolve Wendy, you're a very positive and inspiring presence here.

Dan