Hi and welcome back to the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. I’m going to share what I did for the Expressive Challenge for June (called “Straight Lines”) with you today.
How are you going with your challenge? Don’t forget to use the hashtag #CMDExpressiveChallenge so we can support and encourage you. I can’t wait to see what you’ve made! Let’s look at what I was trying to express as I was making mine.
Now before we go any further – I have a disclaimer I’d like to share. I have recently signed up to be an Affiliate for Amazon Australia. It means that I get a small percentage from the sale of anything you may purchase through links I use in my blog. Just want you to know before we get into today’s post.
The Expressive Bits
What inspired me to create this tile called Straight Lines?
I don’t know about you, but I tend to think of straight lines as rigid and stuffy 😬 When it comes to creating, I struggle to express myself as freely as I’d like with them and I don’t like how that makes me feel.
It became apparent to me that I had a belief that was “limiting” me creatively. As a spirit filled believer, I refuse to be limited creatively. The Lord wasn’t. He created the heavens and the earth without limits, and I am made in his image. So I decided the belief needed to change, I needed to embrace straight lines!
What techniques did I use for the Straight Lines tile and why?
I’ve seen a tonne of videos of people masking off a canvas or paper with painters tape, laying down some colour, then removing the tape to get a geometrical design.
This really appealed to me and I thought it might help me to embrace straight lines! And ultimately, this was the technique I used.
I applied the painters tape then laid my colour with a mix of various distress inks. Once dry, I removed the tape and voila! Straight Lines!
What does it mean in terms of my artistic work as a whole?
Being able to freely express myself creatively is paramount to me. It’s one of the foundational principles I hold to as an artist.
If I cannot express myself freely as I create, I must be being influenced by something other than the Lord. As I shared above, when the Great Artist created the Heavens and the Earth, he was not limited or influenced by anything. It was PURE creativity, PURE expression.
Being made in His image, I am capable of the same. So any time I sense otherwise, my radar goes off! This Straight Lines tile is incredibly important to me as it smacks the deception of limitation in the face! It brings me back to a place of purity and freedom in creative expression.
How can you take this idea and be more Expressive?
How do you feel about Straight Lines? Can you create freely with them? Or maybe swap straight lines for acrylic paint or grid patterns….. Is there a medium, a technique or a pattern that you tend to stay clear of because you feel limited by it?
Try embracing it. These Expressive Challenges are a great place to begin. This month it’s about straight lines, but there’s nothing stopping you from adding to it and embracing the thing you feel limited by. And don’t you think a challenge is the best time to do something like that?
The Factual Bits
The materials used
- Strathmore Artist Tile (6in x 6in)
- Painters Tape
- Distress Inks in varying colours
- Uniball Signo Gel Pens in varying colours
- Grey Copic Markers in W4,W5 and W7
- Prismacolor Premier Coloured pencils
How big is the Straight Lines tile?
It is 6 inches x 6 inches.
Want to be more Expressive?
Join the Expressive’s List to begin to learn ways you can start to express yourself creatively. With the Lord there are no moulds or limits, just possibilities, and the promise of unearthing who you were created to be.
Expressive Subscribers receive an email each month that contains creative inspiration and ideas, links to helpful resources and a month’s worth of journal prompts to stimulate creative expression. These prompts are a great way of learning to express yourself when you’ve never really tried it before. Fill in your details below to sign up.
Until next time, listen to your heart and sharpen your coloured pencils. A masterpiece awaits!
Bless you my friend
Chrissie xx
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