My Daylight 6.15.11

Hello! A lot of people ask me where I get my inspiration when I paint and 'What does it mean?' so I thought I'd spend a minute on my own process. First of all, I am a very happy painter. I think painting is a great way to release emotion and to express agony or frustration, but for me, I paint the best when I am happy and light. So my paintings usually reflect a lot of positive emotion, whether it be in the palette, the brush strokes or the patterning, it's always optimism that I hope comes through the most. As far as where I get my inspiration, it comes from all over and in the things I post here everyday, I just soak it all in like a sponge and then see what comes out. Often I have no plan of attack when I start a painting at all, but sometimes one item will catch my eye and I just can't wait to translate it into my work. And this week, I was inspired by Free People's April catalog.....

I have always loved Free People but this year their look has been so completely up my alley I just can't get enough of it. I love the bold hues, abundant accessorizing and of course the heavy plumage. They mixed Southwest with West Coast in such a beautiful way. So I ripped out some of my favorite looks and mixed a palette...

The great thing about taking this approach is that you end up using color combinations and dividing up space in ways you may have never thought of. Its been a while since I used the color red but I love the way it accents the palette. And as you can see I updated my blog header to better reflect my own work after receiving my Bamboo tablet and stylus and am now able to literally draw and sketch in Photoshop! Anyway, just a peak into my own crazy little head, I hope you're all having a wonderful week full of inspiration and optimism...Enjoy!