Paintings With Soul

Intoday's #journalthroughit class, students made spirit animal totems using mixed media and inspiration from treasures found during a visual scavenger hunt.

Don't know about the online experience called #journalthroughit? here's the Cliff Notes version: art journaling lessons, all ages, all levels (from non-artist through to accomplished), no special materials needed, family friendly, and free (donations welcome). Content is live streamed via Facebook (mineandArdith Goodwin's), will be archived for a week, and is delivered Monday-Friday. We are two weeks in, but you can jump in at any time and do the lessons in whatever order you wish.

Additionally, I challenge you to takethe stencil/templatesfrom today's class and do something totally unexpected and creative with them. Puppets (and a videoed performance), 3D dolls, other layers in your journal - use your noggin and come up with something really, really good.

Next session will be Monday and Ardith is hosting -check h…

Credence, 18" x 24", acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper (will need to be framed and set behind glass), $599 plus s&h when completed. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans - inquiries may always cometo me, and thank you so very much.

I struggled with this one, quite a bit.She's been around for about 2, maybe 3 weeks now. She started out all pink and happy, and then about a week ago got very, very dark. This morning I thought about setting her aside until our world seemed a bit brighter, but then I thought, nope. It is my job to paint what I'm feeling right now, and if I did that, set everything aside to finish at a later date, I'd have no visual record of these week. So this is it, peeps. Yes, the palette here is different than my norm, but we aren't living in any sort of norm, so there.

She really is wonderful. She'll be gorgeous on someone's wall.

Thanks so much for following along with my art journey.
Warmly, Kim

IN PROCESS Resilience (working title), 18" x 24", acrylics and graphite on stonehenge paper (will need to be framed and set behind glass), $599 plus s&h when completed. There is a little bit of paper buckling and glare from the studio lights in the upper left - the paper is pretty wet, but ultimately this piece will dry completely flat. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans - inquiries may always cometo me, and thank you so very much.

I finally made it to the easel today, and painted something (that wasn't a journal page) that I feel pretty excited to share. The past couple weeks have rocked me to my very core, which I'm sure is a feeling many of you can relate to. Here in Michigan we are on our first full day house arrest, and today I seriously limited my exposure to the media/newsfeeds and focused instead on the things that make me happy. Rabbits, line, flowers, color, pop tarts.

I taughta #journalthroughit sessionthis morning using collage (t…

Above is a peek at some of the loose pages I've been journaling on while at my desk this afternoon.

Ardith Goodwinand I have kicked our online journaling project, #journalthroughit, off with live streamed contentyesterdayandtoday. In our introductory segments, Ardith and I talked about our own journals, some favorite tools, and what the process could encompass. You also got a quick little tutorial on making your own book signature to journal inside.

The fun continuestomorrow morning with Ardith at noon eastern, and I'll step in onThursday at 10 am.Each of us are doing our very best to adhere to this timeline, but as you well know, life may throw a curve ball or two.

A reminder that the videos will be delivered via Facebook livestream on either Ardith's page or my own, depending upon that day's host. We are hosting content on our respective websites, adding active links to the videos as they are published. If you cannot tune in at the scheduled time, do not worry - all th…

When I stress, I may pull out my yoga mat and light a candle in a darkened room. I may eat an entire canister of Pringles and get nasty if someone suggests I share. If it's really bad, I resort to obsessively picking my cuticles until they bleed.  But I always, always reach for my art journal. I have been art journaling for about 18 years. What is art journaling, you ask? It's a combination of diary and sketchbook, where anything goes. The creator decides the balance of text vs art, and can bring any media they wish to it's pages. Journals come in a variety of sizes, shapes, bound vs loose pages. It's all about using what you have to express what you feel. Really, the only rule about journaling is that there are no rules about journaling. What do I put in my journal? I am a compulsive list maker, so there's plenty of those. I press flowers and tuck them into tiny folded envelopes of wax paper. Stickers from my morning banana. An overhead view of the route I walked…

"Vestry," 16"x20", acrylics and graphite on a flat panel, $599 plus s&h. I accept paypal, venmo, personal checks and payment plans. Inquiries may always come to me. I think we can all relate to this image of gathering loved ones and standing watch.

Also, wash your hands. And batman cough, people.

Thanks, as always, for following along with my artwork journey,
Warmly, Kim