"Toying with New Ideas"

You know the feeling, you get into a routine and you start to go on autopilot and feel a little lack of motivation from time to time.  It's in those times that it may be a good idea to try something new.

For me when I have a moment of let's try something new,I turn to abstracts.  Over the last several years, I've done quite a few abstracts and I just love love love them. I always seem to do well with them professionally, too.  Maybe it's because of the odd colors I choose or patterns...who knows. Sometimes I don't even know what it is! When you create, you just create and enjoy the process.

 Last month, I spent the weekend at the Art of the Carolina's trade show which is sponsored by Jerry's Artarama.  For the last two years, I have had the good fortune to be one of their demo artists on the trade show floor.  During the trade show, my job was to feature their Soho watercolor paints and I did so on Yupo paper. It was sooooo much fun! Very inspiring! Because again, typically I do more illustrative type of painting or funky portrait painting so taking a 180 and doing something new felt very fresh.

You need that every once in awhile (a change in direction), it helps spark new ideas, new directions, and it can fuel your fire for what ever else you do creatively or otherwise.

I still stuck to a limited color palette like I normally do, but just went to town playing with shapes and layers, as well as, unique marks with pastels and crayons.  Total fun!

Yupo paper isn't for everyone because it's harder to be precise and easy to loose details.  But if you are into the beauty of the mystical wonders of flowing watermedia painting, and wanting to try something that is a bit unfamiliar but yet intriguing....it may be just the right thing for you.

So whatever it is that you do, if you are feeling the need to toss things up a bit--go out and play for a while with something different. It just may inspire you in ways you never imagine and open up doors that you only dreamed of.

As I was creating these funky paintings and other demos, the executive owners of Jerry's Artarama stopped by my table tons of times during the show and just really were taken with my work.  They liked it so much, they asked me to meet with them in December to discuss opportunities with the company doing other projects! See...so doing something new and different can lead you down paths you hadn't previously considered..you just never know!

So keep your fingers crossed that our meeting in a couple weeks turns out to be fruitful in new ways. I'm nervous and excited at the same time!

In other news, if you are interested in learning a bit about Yupo paper but don't know exactly where to go....try checking out my upcoming class in January over at Luminarte!  We will be using mostly twinks but I will also demonstrate some of the abstract paintings I did above to show you the full scope of the paper.  The end result of either the "Twinks on Yupo" and regular watercolors are brilliant contemporary water media artworks that are unlike any others you've seen before. With this class you will also get a 30.00 coupon to buy your twinks! Yay!  

This would make a great creative gift to put on your Christmas list.  Sign up now to have plenty of time to get your Twinks! (I'll have the supply list up on Tuesday which will be visible after you purchase.....honestly I'm taking the day off today and cleaning the house..this is my break to blog..lol).  

Alright so get out there and toy with new ideas that inspire you!  

You just never know where they may lead!

Jodi