When art just happens

I always keep a piece of butcher paper covering my work space, and I'm embarrassed to admit, that until I did the Documented Life Challenge this year and was challenged to use my "under paper", I always just threw it away

Today, instead of throwing it way I cut up into pieces and was amazed by the results. I love some of the new color combos that turned up in my scraps-colors I would probably never intentionally put together. Each piece was like it's own individual mini artwork--and I didn't even try! Gotta love that!

I used a couple pieces in my journal entry today. It pushed my a bit out of my comfort zone to add theses to my pretty pastel pages, but I loved the results

Merry Christmas!

Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour fourth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4)

I love the song "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin. The lyrics to his song inspired the painting above. 

"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

I am so thankful that God continued to pursue me, even when I choose to do life my way. He is faithful even when I am not. God has gracefully taught me that I am in desperate need of a Savior.

     "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”  

Luke 2:8-14

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:15-20

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:22-23

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. " John 3:16

^"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve." 1 Corinthians 15:3-5

"For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed." Romans 8:19

"Even the sparrow has found a home,

    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
    Lord Almighty, my King and my God." Psalm 84:3

Revelation 21: 1-6 says, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. 

Thank you Lord for sending Jesus. Thank you for teaching me your truths, and lighting my path. 

If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, I pray this Christmas you will discover the risen Christ!

Painter's Block

If you've ever heard of writer's block, or heard of it, then you will understand what I mean when I say I've had a bad case of "painter's block". My goal this summer was to dedicate one day a week to painting, and every time I've tried to paint, I can't. I've taken a ton of inspiration pictures this spring and early summer with every intention of painting some fun new subjects, but every time I get in my studio, my heart's not in it. I start a new piece and can't even finish it because it never comes together.

I'm sure there are lots of suggested methods to help cure "painter's block", and I'd love to hear what some of you out there do when you have painter's block, but I finally painted four times this week. I loved how my pieces turned out, and once I got going, it was hard to stop, just like old times. The ideas were flowing, it was fun and exciting, my creativity was at full intensity. 

So I've been thinking about what happened this week that that was different. First, it was the first time this summer that I took some intentional "me" time. I had lunch with a girl friend I hadn't seen in awhile, I had dinner with another friend, walked with a friend, and enjoyed coffee with another. Spending time sharing and laughing with each of them renewed my soul. I also noticed that when I went down to my studio, I did a couple projects to "warm up" first. I've been making some hand-paintsd cards from recycled paper, so I worked on those first. It was a great, stress free way to get my creative juices flowing.

As an artist, my moods are expressed through my paintings, and I guess lately I've been too busy to stop and enjoy life. Of course, I enjoy my kids activities too, but it's just different than taking time for yourself. 

I remember cat-tails being such an intriguing thing as a child. I haven't really noticed any in years, but lately I keep running into them. I've noticed them on trips, on walks and even on a visit to the new Children's Library here in town. I decided to limit my color palette because I'm in the process of redecorating my living room and master bedroom, and I'm hoping to end up with at least one that I can hang.

I'll be taking the rest to display at Scallions and Massage Envy.

I also got this "Country Cow" painting done to enter in the Arkansas League of Artists Fall Show. I took a ton of cow pictures this spring, so you will probably be seeing a lot more cow paintings :)

I painted all of these this week, with exception of this crab one. I started this around two years ago and just finished it up. 

Remember to visit my website if you want to see more of my art. It's www.stacyspanglerart.com

Be A Painter Workshop

Just wrapped up week two of summer camps with a four day "Be A Painter" workshop.

We learned about mixed media and painting with acrylics.

We practiced drawing skills by looking at shapes and lines.

We learned about horizon lines and symmetry.

We learned about perspective and warm and cool colors.

Look for details on each project in the weeks to come!

What I learned at Summer Art Camp!

"I learned how to make the right brushstrokes..."

Yes! We learned how to paint the correct way and use brushstrokes to get certain effects.

"I learned how to draw a fish..."

Yes! We had so much fun using our imaginations and designing our own fish.

"I learned how to draw a crab..."

Yes! We learned how easy it is to use lines and shapes to draw objects!

"I learned about colors that look good together..."

Yes! We learned about complementary colors and the color wheel.

"I learned about how landscapes can be oceans, forests, or other things..."

Yes! We learned about finding our horizon line and how to paint a landscape.

"I learned how to use texture to make your painting look neat..."

Yes! We learned what types of products to use to build up a texture on a canvas before we paint on it.

"I leaned how to paint in a dry brush method..."

Yes! We learned various acrylic painting techniques.

"I learned about making things look bigger and smaller in a painting..."

Yes! We learned about perspective and how it can impact our paintings.

We laughed, made new friends and had a blast! Great first week of art camp!

Check back in the upcoming weeks as I post pic tutorials of how to do each painting.