A Colorful Mixed Media Vase Of Flowers Painted In My Sketchbook!

I used to have a fear of creating in my sketchbook, and now suddenly I am just as happy as can be creating in a large 8 1/2 x 11″ book, and being possibly more brave since I am telling a story about my creative journey within the pages. Every good story has its ups and downs as should every creative journey! And funny enough, since the most recent vase of flowers painting is snug in my journal, I don’t have to worry about what to do with it! Truthfully I am considering printing a copy to hang in the succah, wouldn’t that be fun, as well as a step forward in my plans to start producing posters. (I have some in the works, stay tuned for that!) In case you are wondering, this is technically “mixed media” as a paint pen and waterproof black fine liner were used as well as acrylic paint. I will post the steps involved in painting a vase like this in the near future, in the mean time, take a look at the adjacent page, which I painted as I was painting the flowers….something completely different and a very lively companion to these flowers, not to mention a very simple way to make a vibrant abstract page of color, or dare I say painting?

Ta da, bet you weren’t expecting that, were you? As a stand alone painting, well it needs some work, as a pattern, it could be great, and as a companion to the vase of flowers, it may be a bit too busy, but I’m loving the direction. I am wondering if the blue table is a bit too empty, and whether I ought to have left the dark blue color on the table, that exhisted prior to this photo……getting the composition just right without detracting too much from the vase, but keeping the eye happy is always a challenge.
In the photo I’m leaning towards liking this one, though in person the dark blue was a distraction. Hmmm, these are the challenges of creating art and knowing when to just stop!

I hope this little look in my sketchbook inspires you to start a journey, or at least stay on track, it is truly wonderful and life enhancing, and if something in the journal turns out realy well, you can always photograph it and make copies to share!