Finding My Flow

Art Inspired by Stitch the Magpie

Let me take you behind the scenes of my creative journey right now. I've reached a point where I'm shifting gears with my art – no longer creating with sales in mind, but simply following where the process leads me.

I've started noticing something interesting. When I find myself procrastinating or feeling stuck with a piece, I'm taking it as a sign that I'm on the wrong path and need to change direction. This little insight has been freeing.

Currently, I'm drawn to artwork that shows movement. I love detail, but I'm equally captivated by looser pieces that convey a sense of motion – art that feels alive rather than constrained and suffocating. The question I'm exploring is: how do I combine both approaches? That's the creative puzzle I'm trying to solve.

I'm fortunate to have been invited to exhibit alongside other artists this October. For this show, I'm developing a series exploring the exhibition theme of "Inspiration." And my muse? A magpie that hangs around my place.

Finished Art

…unless you are asking my husband, then he says it isn’t finished. He wants to see me add a little more detail to the magpie’s head at the top of the page.

Yes! I think he might be right, but I am so proud of this one.

As they say… this one just fell out of the brush.

Work in Progress

Another one that just “fell out of the brush”. This artwork isn’t finished but now its time to add little hints of detail and then exaggerate the swing of the wings.

YIKES!

Maybe I got a little arrogant with the other two artworks thinking I don’t have to plan and start with preliminary sketches… but this shows I obviously do!

If my end goal was to make these magpies look like a pot plant , then I succeeded. Needless to say, this one will end up on the art room floor and it’s time to cut my losses and start again.

I used to call him Elon (yes, after that Elon who's gone completely off the rails), but I've quietly backed away from that name. He's now "Stitch" – a fascinating little character who sings to me and shows remarkable curiosity. While I don't feed him human food, I do share any worms or grubs I find while gardening. They're all his anyway since I'm not exactly adding grubs to my diet!

Since Stitch is a constant presence around my house, I've captured countless photos of him. He's quite the little supermodel! I'm enjoying creating artwork of him that captures his movement and energy.

Right now, I'm just experimenting and seeing where it goes. I've completed one artwork and am halfway through another that I'm really liking. I also started a third piece that completely bombed – but that's perfectly okay. That's the whole point of creating art for art's sake rather than thinking every piece must be sellable.

So stay tuned! I honestly have no idea where I'm going with this, but you're welcome to come along and see what happens. Sometimes the journey without a destination is the most interesting one.