Free Bird - Mixed Media Hippie Art

Hi everyone!   I have a fun new piece to share with you that I just completed today.

I'm calling it "Free Bird".  (Let's see how many of you get it.) This is just a really fun canvas don't you think?!

For this canvas I set out to just play.  The base colors are new ones that I just bought and wanted to try out.  If you follow me on FB then you saw them.  They were a crimson and navy blue color.

I treated this canvas like an art journal page and just started to doodle.  I did my favorite tangle/mandala flowers and then added beautiful vibrant colors.

I really wanted this piece to be free.  Does that make sense?  You know, very organic.  At one point I thought, "what the heck am I doing, this is a hot mess" but I just kept at it til it made me happy.  I think that's really important when creating.  You have to trust yourself enough to let go and follow your instincts.  Especially when you think you've made a mistake or ruined your piece.

In the end it came together perfectly.  I love the vibrant colors, doodles and birds.  It totally reflects my mood when I started :D  I hope you love this one as much as I do!  I'll be adding the original and prints to Etsy soon so please keep an eye out for that.  Thank you for stopping by and have a beautiful day!!

You can find the original HERE and the print HERE

El Mariachi - Dia De Los Muertos Mixed Media Canvas

Hi friends!  I hope this finds you all well.  Today I have a new canvas to share with you.  I'm very excited about this piece because it's a first for me. Recently I was asked to do a custom piece featuring men and you all know I've only painted women right.  This piece is very important to me because it's for a family member so I wanted to get some practice in before starting their canvas.  I set out searching for images of men that inspired me and I found some great Dia De Los Muertos and mariachi photos to help me get started.  So here is my very first canvas featuring a man:

Meet "El Mariachi", this is a 30x24" canvas and it is for sale so if you're interest message me on FB or shoot me an email (artist.normagomez@yahoo.com).

I started out by stretching my sketching muscles in my art journal.

Then I moved onto building the background.  I used all types of acrylic paints and Crafter's Workshop stencils with Dylusions spray inks to create layers.

Once I was happy with the background I transferred my sketch to the canvas.  I used a projector for this part but I think I would have better off just sketching it again.  It was kinda hard to see my projected image and I ended up having to make lots of corrections to my sketch.  So I think it might have just been easier to sketch it on.

With the sketch down, I slowly began painting my mariachi.

Here's a side by side progression of my mariachi.  It's fun see the photos next to each other.  You can really see what it took to get to the finished piece.

Can I tell, I love the way he turned out!  I think he's very handsome and mysterious all at the same time.

Here's a closer look at the detail on his sombrero.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this guys so don't shy.  Good or bad, either way I wanna know what you think so please share.

If you're interested in a print, I'll be adding them to Etsy very soon so keep an eye out for that.

Thank you for stopping by and have a beautiful day, Viva El Mariachi!!

Prints now available on Etsy!