Paulette Insall ~ mixed media artist & mom

More progress pics

I'm off to bed, but I thought I'd post a few more progress pictures to show you how much I managed to get done on this new painting this evening. I would work on it more, but I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open and Aiden's getting up earlier and earlier these days so I'd better hit the hay. Please excuse the not so great quality of these pics....I didn't turn on all my lights here in the studio, so they may be a little blurry or grainy, but I just couldn't wait to share! :) Nighty nite y'all!! xo

Started another painting...

While Aiden was at the drop-in daycare for a few hours today, I decided to start another painting. This is one of the sketches I showed y'all yesterday....thanks for all the lovely compliments on them btw! :)  I had hoped to play with some new brushes I'd ordered, but they didn't show up 'til after I got back from picking Aiden up. LOL! Oh well, maybe later in the week.

Sketches...

Things are still pretty busy for me, so I've had no time to paint in the last week......but I have been grabbing minutes here and there to do some sketches for new paintings. Sometimes I have so many ideas in my head, if I don't get them out I feel like my head might just explode! LOL! These are just a few of the many, many sketches I've done in the past week....hopefully to be turned into paintings soon. :)

Better pics of work in progress

Just popping in really quick to post a couple of better photos of the piece I'm currently working on. Would love to hear what you think of her. I've tried a few new things while working on her face and I'd love some feedback.

Well I'd better run. Aiden's got an appointment with the speech pathologist at the elementary school down the street and we need to get going in a few if we're actually gonna be there in time. Much love to y'all! xoxo

Studio time.......finally! :)

Finally back in the studio...

Mixed Media Portrait - Episode Three (new video series)

So finally.....here's the last installment of my "Mixed Media Portrait" series. First I'll show you the finished painting since the pics at the end of the video don't give you much time to really look at all the details. Be sure to check down below the video in this post for close ups. Thank you all sooooo much for all your support and comments! I read each and every comment and email and haven't had time to respond to each one individually...but please do keep leaving comments and sending emails. I truly appreciate each and every one! Each time I get a new comment or email it makes my day a little brighter and all the work on I do on these videos worthwhile!! Y'all are just the best!!! :D

Oh and both this original painting and prints will be available in my Etsy shop in the next few days, so be on the lookout. I'll be sending info on the exact date and time of the next shop update to my mailing list subscribers, along with a chance to reserve and buy items before they go live in the shop. There will be at least two new original paintings (including this one) and several new prints in the next shop update. :)

Use the link if you can't see the video above
YouTube - Mixed Media Portrait - Episode Three.

Art journal....page in progress

New page in my art journal done with Caran d'Arch Neocolor IIs and pencil...just didn't want to pull out all my acrylics and stuff, so I decided to see what I could do with just the artist painting crayons. Still in progress, but almost done...just need to add some words/quote, I think. This page is about keeping your eyes on your dreams....to never stop dreaming and continuing to move forward towards your dreams. This is a theme that keeps reoccurring in my work....guess it's something that I need to keep reminding myself of when the pressures of day to day life get to me. I need to remember to not let anything push those dreams down....I need to keep stiring them up, keep growing and learning, and to quote a line from one my son's favorite movies right now "keep moving forward" (from "Meet The Robinsons").

I've been in the mood to do some really fun girly art (been loving what Marla, Jenn, and Suzi have been up to lately) and my art journal is the perfect place to play with new ideas. I'm really just a kid at heart....still love to watch cartoons and color in coloring books...good thing since I have a little boy who loves these things right now as well. :)

I'm thinking that this might be something that would be perfect for a little girls room (or someone who loves fun and sweet girly art like me)...what do y'all think? Is this something you'd like to see me add to my art offerings? Each would have stories behind them, like my other paintings...a story about what inspired the painting. I'd love to hear what you think. You can either leave a comment here or email me. :)

P.S. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is video day, so don't forget to check back in sometime tomorrow afternoon for episode three of my new series. Oh and I found a wonderful mixed media challenge website that this journal page was perfect for today....check out Mixed Media Monday. :D xo

Mixed Media Portrait - Episode Two (new video series)

As promised, here's the second episode in my new series.....and actually on Tuesday this time!!! Yea!! ;) The last episode will be posted next Tuesday, February 5th. Oh and I'm planning on posting detailed info on my online classes later on this week, so please do check back in if you're interested in learning more....or you could join my mailing list to make sure you get the info as soon as it's available. Once you enter your email addy, you'll have the option to sign up for my "Online Class Information" list, as well as my monthly newsletter. :) I keep my lists private and I don't send out a bunch of emails, so rest assured that I won't be filling up your inbox. ;)

Thanks soooooooo much for all the comments y'all left for me on the first episode!!! And I'm so tickled to hear you guys are excited about the classes too!!! Y'all are awesome!!! I decided to keep things as simple as possible, so I will be setting up a private blog where the classes will be conducted from. This is where you'll have access to all the class info, videos, handouts, etc. once you've sent your payment and the classes begin.

Oh and I'm gonna try my best to get caught up on emails/messages this week...I'm waaaaaaaaaay behind. Thanks for being so patient and understanding. Love you guys!!! xoxo

Link: YouTube - Mixed Media Portrait - Episode Two

New Video Finished...Mixed Media Portrait - Episode One

Well I finally managed to get the first episode finished and uploaded to YouTube....which was no small feat this evening, let me tell ya! Aiden probably woke up like 20 times tonight and didn't want to go back to sleep. So I had to keep going upstairs and getting him back into bed. Then when I went to save out the finished video, the file size was too large for YouTube with my normal video settings in iMovie. So I had to play around with the settings and by trial and error finally got a video file size small enough to upload. Hallelujah!

Now y'all be sure to leave me some comments and let me know what you think. There will most likely be two more episodes to this new series. The next one I will post next Tuesday.

Oh and also I included a little announcement in the end credits of the video that I'm hoping you'll all be very excited about. So be sure to watch it all the way through okay? :) G'nite! xoxo

Edit: And I meant to tell y'all that if you want to grab the embed code to post the video on your blogs, please do! Spread the painting love!!!! :D Just click on the "Menu" button on the video player and click on the "Copy to Clipboard" button under the "<>embed" section. Happy painting to everyone!!! :)

Mixed Media Portrait - Episode One

Painting...where I am today

Well all the packages that are going out in the mail today are waiting at the door for our sweet mail carrier to pick up (hi Kay!). The rest of the orders will go out on Thursday. Thanks to everyone who's been visiting my shop and purchasing my art!!! Without your support, I wouldn't be able to stay home with my son....it just means the world to me!!!

Speaking of Aiden...I'm about to go make lunch for me and the little man, but afterwards I'll start to edit all the footage I shot during the progress of this new painting for my next YouTube video. Yea! So the wait is almost over ya'll! *hee, hee* I know you've all been patiently waiting and I really appreciate it...it's so hard to get all I want to do done....just not enough time in a day, especially with a little one to look after.

Here's some better pics I took with my "real" camera so you can get a better idea of the stages of the painting...

Painting progress so far today...

The colors aren't quite true to life in these pics 'cause I'm using my iPhone for these quickie progress updates. :)

Back to work...

One more peek...

Okay one more peek before I call it a night. :) I really want to work on her more, but with it being 11pm already I know if I work on her more now that I'll be up half the night....not good since I gotta get up early for Aiden's speech class in the morning.

And below is how she looked when I started working on her this afternoon. Only managed to get a few hours off and on to work on her today. It takes me many, many hours to finish a painting. Most take me at least a week to finish because usually I only get, at best, a couple of hours a day to work on a piece. So.....I'm hoping to get a few hours over the next couple of days to work on this painting and if all goes well, I hopefully will have a new video ready by the first of next week.

Today was the first day I've painted since mid December. With the holidays and Aiden being out of preschool, I really wasn't able to wrap my brain around getting into the studio. It felt so good to paint today! I have a feeling I'm gonna sleep well tonight!!! :D

Oh and something fun that I'll hope you'll join me for....tomorrow afternoon (Thursday) at 5pm pacific time (8pm eastern time), I'll be joining in on a live group chat with Miss SuziBlu. We're hoping to make it a weekly thing. She's thinking she's gonna do it over at Stickam and create a private chat room for the group (to keep the creepy guys out that like to ask inappropriate things), which means you'll have to join Stickam and add her as a friend in order to join the chat. So be sure to tell her you heard about the chat from me and she'll add ya. :) And while you're over there, add me too. She and I (and hopefully a couple more artists) will be live on our webcams, so it'll be almost like talking to us in person. :D Be sure to check back in here tomorrow (Thursday) just in case the location changes...if it does, I'll post the new location/info asap! Nighty nite!

New video sneak peek

Taking a break from the studio to go play pirates with Aiden and thought I'd post a sneak peek of the video footage I've been shooting today while working on a new painting...I'm such a tease, aren't I? *hee,hee* Well I'm off for some playtime with Aiden....Arrrrgh matey! :D

Videoblog - Art related stuff I've been up to this week :)

If you can't see the embedded video below, please click here to see the video on YouTube. :) Please excuse the background noise...Aiden was playing in the next room and sound carries big time in our house. ;) If I waited until he was quiet, I'd never do any videos. *hee, hee*

The oil pastels I mention here are called Portfolio and they are water soluble (I realized that for some reason my video image is appearing mirrored and you probably couldn't read the package).

The artists I mentioned during the video with links to their sites are below...

Suzi Blu
www.youtube.com/user/suziblutube
www.suziblu.net

Lisa Albinger
www.lisaalbinger.com

Well I'm gonna go heat up some leftovers...my hubby made some yummy turkey tetrazzini the other day with our Thanksgiving leftovers and since he's working late tonight, I'm gonna keep things simple....simple's always better I say! :D

Cherish painting...work in progress pics

I finally got Aiden to bed and am posting really quick so I can watch the new episode of "The Office" before heading to bed. The pics below are the stages the painting went through yesterday. I feel she's finished, but I always like to let a newly finished painting sit for a few days before I make a final decision...so she'll go up on the mantel in our family room so that I can gaze upon her in the meantime.

And this last picture is how Aiden occupied himself on the floor in my studio while Momma painted...

"See The Beauty" painting on Ebay & progress pics

This painting, entitled "See The Beauty" is up for auction on Ebay. For more info on her and more pics, please visit the listing. Here is the story of the inspiration behind the painting...

Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you I’m a worrier. Much of the time I worry about things so much, even things beyond my control, that I miss the beauty in the everyday things of life.

Lately, I’m trying to remind myself to take time to enjoy the little things…a cool autumn breeze blowing through the trees, the smell of the air after it rains, my sweet little boy’s infectious laugh, his amazing smile…just a few of the million little things to get lost in the beauty of…every day.

And I just love sharing progress pics with you guys, below are a few that I took along the way of this piece...I wish I had taken more, but I got so caught up with this one that I forgot to stop and take pics while I was painting her face and the details.

I was hoping to have more pics of the painting from last week, but alas best laid plans don't always work out. Just as I was sitting down to finish her on Friday, I got a call from Aiden's preschool telling me that he had a rash on his face, neck, back, and chest. Well of course I dropped everything and got there as fast as I could.

He was not happy about leaving school early and I pretty much had to pry him away from the door leading to the playground where he'd happily been playing before I arrived. We were all afraid that it was super contagious so I had called his doctor on my way to pick him up to try to get him in. Thankfully he didn't think it was anything serious, but was quite baffled as to what had caused it.

By the next morning, the rash had miraculously disappeared. Hallelujah!!! I was sooooooo relieved!!! I was dreading having to tell Aiden that he couldn't go to his friend's birthday party on Sunday and I'm so thankful we never had to go down that road! Aiden loves birthday parties and he would have been so heartbroken.

So the pics below are first of the background, then with a couple of collage elements added, and lastly the drawing of the girl before I started painting her. I really want to start filming while I paint again, but I have to get a longer firewire cable for my camera first. Ever since we got our new iMac, I've been in need of it, but keep forgetting to pick one up. Hope I can bribe my hubby into picking up one on his way home.......hmmmmmm.....:)

Painting progress pics

Here's the state of my painting table this morning after working on the painting in the foreground yesterday. Think a cleaning is in order before I start back up. LOL!

This is the sketch for the new painting...

And here's where it was last night when I had to stop because of a bad headache...probably from staring at this painting too long. LOL!

Hoping to finish this while Aiden's at preschool in the morning. I'll try to post more pics as I'm finishing her up. :)