Right now I have no classes on the agenda. Feels a little weird, and a lot liberating. I needed this break.

My studio is a disaster area. Right after I decided to take a break from classes, six cases of canvases pre-ordered from Opus arrived. I will be doing mixed media classes, but not for a while.

Yesterday I started a painting; actually, I hesitate to call it a painting because the word evokes ideas of art galleries and framing, and what I really need is to be free to experiment without the pressure of a positive outcome.

What I like: The expressive feel of this exercise.

What I don’t like: Needs more variation in value and a more developed composition.

What I want to do: Find my “zone,” released from expectations and rules.

I also have done a little combining with painting and scrapbooking. Check out this page:

The background is Prima canvas, which has a pattern printed on it in beige. I painted it with watercolour paint (see my video tutorial here) and then used markers to outline and doodle and did a little stamping as well! Just love it.

I did some sorting and I now have a full portfolio of paintings I’m not going to frame but don’t want to throw away, and a box of stamped cards that I will be donating to a worthy cause. Any suggestions? Many of them are too girly to give to Operation Write Home.