I MESS THINGS UP

 

Quite recently I was talking with a friend who said - you've messed up quite a few times in your life haven't you?  I agreed this was sadly true, and also that it was highly likely to happen again, because its what we human beings do. You try not to, and you do get better over your life at making fewer mistakes, just as you grow in self-knowledge of what you are and aren't good at.  Some of the most important things I've learned have come through the painful lessons of getting stuff wrong, but I choose to embrace that rather than allow myself to be forever haunted by my mistakes.

I must acknowledge a very strong Teesha Moore influence here - these flower garden shapes were outrageously copied from a piece she did, and I was impressed enough to give them a go.  I still like them but don't think they'll find their way into my journals regularly, they're just not authentically "me" somehow, but you only find that out by experimenting.

The flowers (or are they cactii?) are done with Promarkers, as is the background below.  The markers aren't the best medium for covering a large area, but they sort of workm and I wasn't too worried about getting a perfect finish on the page because I knew I was going to write over this.  I do absolutely love lime green and blues together but maybe that's just me?

So then came the writing - which as I've explained came directly out of a conversation with a friend.  Then as ever I laid down the basic lettering before going back and fancying it up.

And all that was left to do was add doodly dots and so on ....  which of course, I did!

The result is interesting but as I said, probably not something I would revisit just because it owes so much more to Teesha than myself, and that's not the way I want to make art.  Some techniques - like the wormhole doodling also learned from her - become part of you because it instinctively feels right and/or you just LOVE the effect.  This process of self discovery and sincere imitation is all part of learning and growing, and you have to try things out in order to know what works for you.  I'd be pleased and proud if anybody copied something I did - as long as they credited me with the original idea!

Anyway, like I said, we all mess up sometimes, some more than others, but the main thing is to LEARN from what we do, right or wrong.  And I have.  Just don't ever think that I can't make lots of new mess-ups because I can and do .....

PS My stats show that 260 visitors looked at my last post, yet only a handful commented.  This is just to say that it means a great deal to me to know that you're out there and that my blogging is helpful to you .... especially on the days when it seems like too much effort to keep going with it.  So please, say hi now and again just so's I know I'm not talking to myself.  Tell me what you like or what you might want to see more or even less of!