This Thursday It's All About Finding My Mojo

And that's perfect because I think I have. Last March I started on a a quest into Blogland to find my art muse. As you know, creating has been been my lifelong passion, but I did lapse into a long self-imposed exile from drawing and painting. I won't retell the whole story because you've probably read it here ad nauseum, but a trip to the Bennett Street Art Gallery opening for Kenson awakened an irresistible urge to pick up a paintbrush.I missed my art so much, and I was determined never again to let insecurity or lack of knowledge keep me from what makes me happy. Since March I've been searching the Internet, studying, corresponding, drawing, painting, cutting, and pasting like a madwoman. I've experimented with everything I could get my hands on: watercolor, acrylic, oil pastel, papier mache, pencil, ink, clay, wood, textiles, and collage. I've joined art groups, taken classes, and done on-line tutorials, but, best of all, I've met so many wonderfully talented generous artists who've been kind enough to share what they've learned and techniques they've developed. (Sharon, Suzan, Nancy,Mandy,, Violette) Because my dream has always been to illustrate children's books, I wanted to find my own style and develop my skills so that I could put put what's in my kaleidoscope head onto paper.

Today This Thursday's challenge is to visit various blogs to find my mojo, and, not surprisingly, many of the blogs of artists that have encouraged and inspired me are actually linked to one another: Barbara at Artiphy My Heart, Lisa from Faerie Enchantment, Suzi Blu, and Vanessa from A Fanciful Twist

"Are You A Good Witch?" is what I've learned from all my lovely muses. She's a 15" X 32" mixed media painting on a wood canvas. I started this piece in the pre-dawn hours last Saturday morning, after foraging under my basement stairs for inspiration. I used collage elements, acrylic, pretty papers, colored pencil, and stamping ( Wednesday Stampers' Open Theme and Craftaway Sunday's Sweet challenge) in her creation. She's the first full-sized painting I've ever done that I've been pleased with, and, now that she's finished, I have ideas for so many more paintings! I'm so excited, and I'm not at all afraid to paint any more. I even feel ready to tackle the beautiful magical story that Ava wrote for me about the little girl in the moon. So stay tuned for a new chapter in my art evolution. I'm sure it will be just as OCD as my art journal phase!