Friday, October 22, 2010

Willowing & Friends!

"Thank You"

I'm so happy to be a part of Willowing's online course, Art, Heart & Healing. Not only am I meeting some wonderful new artists (there are almost 1,000 people participating at this point!), but I'm also learning new tips and techniques for painting faces, something which is very new to me. Week 1 (of 4) challenges us to create a journal page expressing our intentions. My journaling (underneath all the paint and gesso) was the repetition of an old Hawaiian statement (Ho'oponopono) meant to help clear the mind and heal the heart. It reads, "I love you, I'm sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you." Therefore, my single chosen word/phrase (found in her hair) is Thank You. . . .

I took a few pictures along the way in case you are interested in seeing the page come together:

Pencil sketch on 12 x 18 cold press watercolor paper
Applying color
(unfortunately I did not have the proper supplies, so I fudged with acrylics instead of the suggested Caran D'Ache crayons)
 Beginning background
Initial stamping
Completed Page

By the way, if you are interested in learning more about Ho'oponopono, consider picking up a copy of the book, Zero Limits by Joe Vitale and Ihaleakala Hew Len. It was an incredible read that I highly recommend. Thank you for looking! I'm SO looking forward to next week's lesson . . . 

Kristin xo

22 comments:

Dawn said...

Great Work!
Loved seeing how it came together through each step!!
Have a wonderful weekend!

indie grrrl said...

beautiful pages and nice improvising... I will be working on my gal this weekend, and I too cant wait to see what Tam has next. LOVING this workshop and learning sooo much! xo

martha brown said...

Your faces are looking great, Kristen!

IdaDown said...

She looks lovely. I wondered how you got such intensity of colour with the crayons. Now I know :) I think you have done a really fab job -especially love her eyes.

Michelle said...

Lovely lovely, but I wouldn't expect any less! I love that you're following and enjoying the course! ♥

Mandy said...

oh...beautiful...i am so loving this course too...who woud have thought i woud be able to do something ike this......thanks for the heads up on the read too...xxx

Nicola said...

WOW!!!!! Kristin she is gorgeous! I can't believe you are 'new' to this!!! I love the way you draw and paint, so nice to see it in stages too! I'm so happy that you're exploring your art it seems to me that you have a natural talent! I look forward to seeing more of your work, how exciting! :0)

Carin said...

Wow Kristin, your face is stunning!

I just need to add the wording and the concelealement over the botched eye, then I'm done too (although seeing this makes me want to start over from scratch!). Has definitely made me want to paint a lot more faces!

Unknown said...

fabulous fabulous work Kristin! :) i really love her facial expression and you know what, when i get really down about the state of the world and judge all the 'bad' in it, i go to Ho'oponopono - it's my way of somehow trying to heal all the painful stuff that's out there in the world. i feel somehow empowered when i think if i can heal a part of me, a part of the world is healed also. thanks for the reminder. x

JaN's ArTy JouRneY said...

WOW, Stunning portrait!
Love the vibrant colours that you have used! :)
I'm enjoying the course so far too.... managed to write my negative thoughts down and gesso them over (quickly LOL), and have drawn my portrait.....but I didn't have the correct supplies either, and I'm soooooo impatient (one of my worst traits!!) so, I drew another portrait in an old journal and coloured it in with promarkers and used white acrylic to distress it! ...but I will have another go with the crayons on the original when I get some.
Jan x

brandi said...

~oh kristin...everything about your page is beautiful...the hawaiian language and their beliefs are quite magical...there is definitly a way about them and how they chose to live...and your background so gently around here...l♥♥♥ve! warm wishes and brightest blessings~

Joanna said...

Krisitin this is stunning - I LOVE what you've done here. I ADORE the colours you've chosen and the style.

I noticed the comment you left on Jan's Arty ATC Journey blog about the crayons and you said you only had the wax ones. I got some this week and they state that they are water soluble wax crayons, so you may still have the 'right' ones! Just thought I'd mention it in case it could save you buying more.......

I've just coloured my symbolic portrait and I'm now working on the background. It's been a great exercise hasn't it?

x

Joanna said...

Oops, typo on your name, sorry Kristin!

x

E Makes Art said...

kristin, this is beautiful! Seeing this makes me very excited about the course, but I'm sick as a dog right now (I'm sneaking in some visits to a few blogs real quick) so I haven't had time to even watch her video...do you know if the 1st video will still be up next week?

xoEsther

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

you amaze me again...
so beautiful art.

K said...

Hi, I came here from Willow's class and I've been reading your blog for the past hour - I like your art :)

Unknown said...

oh wow Kristin!!! this is spectacular!!! what a wonderful piece....I love it and your art always makes me smile!!!

Kaz said...

This is beautiful and I just love the colours in her hair.I'm another newbie to doing faces, doesn't Tam make it seem easy?!
I'm off to have a mooch through the rest of your blog x

Unknown said...

I may have already said this on the Willowing site, but I LOVE the hair on her. It's so BRIGHT. I love how it stands out, and also how you used several colors in it...gotta learn this!

Amy said...

I'm really blown away by this..I've been missing so much (dang I hate working-LOL)!!! No, I don't..I don't mind work...it = money! LOL...

I just missing seeing all the new pieces on a daily basis..but it's nice to look back at posts..I love that you are taking a new class-VERY FUN!!!
I would love to take a class someday..I know I need one.
Hugs to you..I'm loving this new journey of yours

JessiVille said...

Kristin, she's gorgeous! I really liked your choice of the Hawaiian statement - very nice! I am so enjoying Tam's class! I haven't finished my first page yet but I'm almost there. Rather than finish the page I have sketched out 2 more. It's been a busy week and I'm looking forward to the second lesson.
Thanks for sharing your lovely work!

Kim Padden said...

Kristin I am LOVING your blog! I also love how you did your face and the skin tone you achieved. I also don't have the right supplies that Tam uses. Would you mind sharing what color acrylics you used to achieve your skin tone? I'm having a difficult time getting a good skin tone and yours is so vibrant. Love it!