I love having a studio in my home.  Sometimes i can't sleep, so in the middle of the night i sneak into my studio (my daughter Meghan's old room) and putz around with my markers, paints, inks, pens, journals.   For years, when the kids went to bed, i'd create my art licensing assignments into the wee hours on our dining room table.  I've been very fortunate to work as a full time artist, and to also have a teaching studio outside of my home since 1998.  But nothing beats the home studio.       

Here are the FOUR painting, journaling, lettering projects i am working on right now.  A.D.D. much???!!  It's so freeing to leave everything out in my work space, work until my eyes won't stay open, then just close the door! My husband just  rolls his eyes. 

   

 There's no place like your creative space.  

So very true.  Whatever we want, we can have if we work hard enough, and visualize its reality.  We hear this all the time, that we make our own luck, our dreams can come true, we are the creators of this life we have.  But, when you are finally just where you "want to be", do you realize that you once dreamed, imagined or destined yourself to "be there"?  That is designing your own destiny, and it's a beautiful thing.

This i know.  To create is my passion, my purpose is to share it……….. 
 

More art journal experimentation, another creative adventure… full of light, textures and my signature inspirational words.  This journal spread was created with layers of paint, and goop, gel mediums, distress inks,  grunge fonts, gesso, stamps, my drawings and pencil sketching…..pure play.  I like.

  

 

…zoomed in really close to see the delicious textures and glass bead reflections…..

You saw the beginning sketch of this journal page earlier this week.  

Here is the completed piece,"Just Be…"

 
 And now for something completely different!  Here is my soft sided ipad case. Love my new ipad!  But this pathetic bag was just too "plain jane" for me, as shown below: (starting the base painting with gesso.) 

 So, of course it had to be a drenched in Golden Paints*!  I painted my signature "painted posies", and  (those are not white painted dots on the bag)  I smothered them in Golden's Glass Bead Gel!  Now that's some cool stuff, bring on the bling!  It adds sparkle and texture and loves how it catches the light.  The coverage is thick, rich and so bright.  (*Brought this to Golden Paints with me, and had the thrill of sharing it with the company owner, Mark Golden)  

 I had such fun painting my own, i made another one for my good friend Jen, who owns a new toy company, called Zwirlz.  The bright colores stars and bead gel bling, it fit her energy just perfectly!  

It's a HAPPY THING!!!  (you know how Martha Stewart has "Good Things"?)  Well, along that thought, I have "HAPPY THINGS"… fun stuff, joyful things that just make you happy…….and these painted posies cases……"IT'S A HAPPY THING"…..

Been totally absorbed in the journal doodles, and decided to manipulate my art a little, on my Mac.

 So i started with this:

…and got this print in black and white!!!!!  

…it's not a photocopy, it's a newly defined altered image! 

 I love it!  It had as a different feel than the original page.  This is how i started to color the print, partially finished of course!  Love that I can print (color) my image over and over again, play with color stories, use different markers, pens, pencils and paints, etc.   Happy dance!

Here's another one…..you've seen this journal art piece before.  Love how it transformed.  Now what else can it become??
 

Here is the new banner i made for this blog.  Now i have to figure out how to display it.  How long do you think that will take me??

  In the meantime, finding it good for my soul, drawing, lettering and copic marker creating in one of my art journals.  Here is the progress of "Just Be"…… to be continued…..

Find your passion, tell your story, seek deep for the life things that set your soul on fire…….

…from my "ART DOODLES JOURNAL" PAGE

Sometimes we are so busy planning, scheduling, tasking and juggling, that we forget about "right NOW".  The very moment that is NOW, right this second as you read this is what makes up your life moments.  So take a deep breath, and appreciate all the "right nows", because that's what you have, and it really is plenty.

©joanne sharpe 2010