#the1y00daysofmakingartapractice

This morning I painted pretending that I was a child just wanting to paint with her watercolor. It was fun and light. It felt very good! Note to myself: practice this more often! 65/100 #the1y00daysofmakingartapractice #The100DayProject #mireillesketches #sketchbook

I am struggling these days with a question: I want to paint, it is as if my heart jumped in the chest when I think of painting. But, I'm terrible at it. Or to be fair, I am a beginner, very beginner. I feel uncomfortable in the choice of colors, in composition, in almost all the registers of painting. On the other hand, I manage in drawing, I feel more at ease. It's a natural place to be for me. A voice is telling me : shouldn't you rather deepen what you are comfortable with, rather than persisting in exploring new territories? Would it not be more rational, more effective or better: less frustrating? Maybe I should... But despite the discomfort, I have the willingness to make my way, to see what painting can bring to my practice. I want to paint for the only reason that my heart beats a little faster. However, the answer is certainly in the middle path: a balance between in and out of my comfort zone, in order to lean on my strengths and play with my weaknesses, in order to push my limits in a gentle way. 64/100 #the1y00daysofmakingartapractice #The100DayProject

What if relaxation was as important as work? What if relaxation was part of the work. I'm responsible to rest, to relax. This is the upstream work, the space in which my creative mind is shaped. Without this space, it has more trouble to flow ... Let thoughts and imagination breathe. So work and relax. Work and rest. 63/100 #the1y00daysofmakingartapractice #The100DayProject #mireillespainting

Experimenting and tying to see whether the idea of converting my drawing in stickers could be a good idea. I had quite a lot of technical issues but I love the idea of my doodle in a wall. This could be an answer to my question : how can I put my work into the world? What do you think? 62/100 #the1y00daysofmakingartapractice #The100DayProject #sticker

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves". R.M.Rilke This is exactly where I am right now. A little lost with my painting process, because I’ve got a lot of questions and a few possible solutions. I will try to love the questions and share them with you: 1. First, there is the great equation of color associations ... I do not always know where to start. I often feel overwhelmed. 2. And then there are the values, the contrast: I struggle to bring bright and light colors on the canvas. Everything seems dull. I’m probably looking for white, space, breathing in my paintings. 3. And then there is the line that I do not know how to bring In an acceptable way with the brush on the canvas 4. And then how to unify a painting, make it hold together There may be a bit too many questions here! I will maybe come back to drawing, the time that these questions make their way. I won’t rush the answer. My natural tendency would be to cling to it, to persist in it ... but I will let go for now. Go back often, but do not hang on. Some questions require time to find an answer and that can be ok. They may also find their way into the doing. I will try, follow an idea and then leave it for a while. And get back to what is working. Build on it. My moto could be : don't get stuck, keep going, keep doing. Show up and trust the process. This also shall pass…. (Ok, that’s a long one!) 61/100 #the1y00daysofmakingartapractice #The100DayProject #ifyoucandoodleyoucanpaint #mireillesketches

There are moments when everything seems natural: one thing leads to another, it's easy, everything rolls, everything falls easily on my plate, I know where I'm going, I know the road, I master it, its fun. And then there are "teenage"moments when I feel lost, not knowing what to do, where nothing finds grace in my eyes, where I doubt of myself, of what I'm doing, not even knowing where I'm going to. And this is very very destabilizing for my ego who can not tolerate this in my life. He would like just as well, stop the practice of art, do something useful and stop wasting my time. He is afraid in reality. Afraid of all that is unknown, with uncertain outcome. Art is a difficult thing to manage for ego. Impossible in fact. What if I trust? And if I believed in the process, the star that guides me, the muse that inspires me. To remind me that, yes, it is uncomfortable, that one prefers when the way is wide, that one sees the horizon, that the landscapes are magnificent and the weather good. But the road inevitably passes into more chaotic places and maybe, my job is just to take care of myself in those moments, to rest more. This is actually the practice of art, managing these movements in oneself and to remind me of this again and again. And again. 60/100 #the1y00daysofmakingartapractice #The100DayProject #ifyoucandoodleyoucanpaint #mireillespainting #bloomtrue

I had the need to come back to paper today. I wanted to experiment colors, composition, lines and shapes in a more easy and natural way, and paper is the best. A canvas can be daunting, a sheet of paper puts the pression off. I needed to be able to experiment on a small scale, just like that, on a sheet of paper and follow the thread of my ideas and my inspirations. Not a big deal! I will call it a Paper Day! 58/100 #the1y00daysofmakingartapractice #The100DayProject #atmydesk #mireillesketches #ifyoucandoodleyoucanpaint

How can I put my work into the world? I came back from Paris with this question in mind ... Because I felt inspired, because I suddenly thought it could be possible. I thought back to my Etsy shop, considered different medium. Over the years, I have developed several skills, such as sewing. So I thought of very simple t-shirts with screenprinting on it, of tote bags. So, with all these thoughts running into my mind, I started yesterday a notebook entitled: How can I put my work into the world? That's a big big question, isn't it? It can be a little scary, but I will trust it will be answered at the right time and at its own pace. For this question, I also want "more allow, more flow, less force". And trust the process. 57/100 #the1y00daysofmakingartapractice #The100DayProject