Stretching, growing, experimenting and learning are the keys to my success as an artist. Always a student learning. Even if the only thing I take away from the experience is that I don't like the surface we worked on, well that is enough. Growing my art vocabulary is an exciting process and one that makes me vulnerable.
When big life changes happen how you adapt and emerge from the change reveals a lot about your character. Being stubborn to change isn't really in your best interest. Right now teaching is no longer a moving activity, it's very static. And my body is not used to that. But I have embraced the change. Challenging myself to find bits of time during the day to practice yoga. My mind is also become very restless with the constant screen time. To embrace this challenge I have opened up my work to include new materials.
Hitting it old school honestly. In college I loved watercolor classes. The fluidity of their movement on paper was effortless to me. I loved when colors collided and created new ones.
I bought from a friend these vibrant concentrated Watercolor inks by Dr Ph Martin's. I also bought some tubes of watercolor, a cake palette and a set of gouache. packed these up in my little caddy and brought them to school and played. Took an online course with Laura Horn, which totally opened up my mind to a new way of making.
I allowed myself plenty of room in my head to just make no matter the outcome. Some were blah blah like this. (I mean this is just terrible)
But then others I started to see some potential
So I kept at it. And this happened.
And then a light clicked! What if I were to combine watercolor with a layer of beeswax and then make the tick marks on that?
And well that worked!! And opened up another entire series of art for my collection. I am so excited about the future of this style. I'm pushing myself creatively and love it!
I have an entire series emerging from this tiny seed. Whimsical mixed media. My art is evolving. It's becoming more confident with every stroke of the brush.
In a world where so much inauthentic work is being made and sold (just look at Hobby Lobby alone) I want to be making marks that are honest and reflective of my personal story. I want you to look at my art and know it's a Jenni Horne. The techniques may be changing but my love for painting is not. Or my love of color. That I simply can not help.