reworking older paintings, and giveaway winners.

i wanted to share this photo of my sister in law liz. she was inspired by the recent paintings that mati and i did together and asked if she could come tinker with paints in my studio. the two paintings she made were a result of her tinkerings. pretty cool, eh? she’s never painted before and i’m thinking perhaps she should do it more often.

while liz discovered her painting bliss, i worked on reworking an old painting. here’s what it looked like before (published in the jan/feb 09 issue of memory makers magazine):

and here’s the reworked version:

loving her new colors, hair, and updated face (painted with these this time around). i notice more and more how much i love taking an older piece and making it new again. it’s a fun and easy trick worth trying (you should totally try it).

also, i’m finding the less attached i am to a painting in progress (or an older finished painting), the more i love it when it’s all said and done. if i’m too attached, i don’t have the courage to rework it completely (like the painting above). or, with a painting in progress, i often reach a certain stage where i’m afraid to do anything more to it out of fear that i’ll mess it up (i’ve become attached). but what i’m learning is to push past that point. to be less attached. to be okay with potentially messing it up. because there really isn’t ever a true mistake or messing up. one thing leads to another, perhaps a string of happy beautiful accidents (leading to a pretty painting) that would have never otherwise occurred had i not pushed past the i don’t want to mess it up phase. as i’m writing this, i’m realizing that this whole paragraph could be a full on metaphor for life itself. hmmmm. bottom line: there is potential and possibility everywhere if we’re willing to push thru the part where we think we’ll mess it up. right? right.

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okay, now for the lucky winners from my last post:

artgirly wins the clutch (her word was seek).

laura stewart wins the signed book (her word was tissue).

winners, please get in touch with me so i can get your goodies out to you!

and thanks again to talented force + inspiration alisa burke for the generous giveaway!

Hi, I'm Kelly Rae Roberts!

Before I picked up my first paintbrush at the age of 30, I was a medical social worker. I followed my whispers and started playing with paint and everything changed.

Now I’m a full-time artist, author and Possibilitarian, who helps women explore and nourish their creative souls.