Paint Time with Simgirl- Loose Mermaid

Hello Paint Time Fans! Today I have a different type of painting for you.

It is a long story, but cut short I'd say it falls into the #snookmademedoit category.

I was painting along with Aham Art... as planned, and #snook posted about, Neurographic Art.

This video, Neurographic Drawing - Art Lesson, unlocked a new rabbit hole in my You Tube suggested videos list.

But before I get too far into the longer story of my journey, let me say... I did very much like the Neurographic drawing. It was a very calming exercise. I did wonder if there was some way to do it with paint.

Instead of trying, I broke out my markers and started making some random shapes. I rounded off the sharp edges as instructed, and then colored the shapes with different colors.

Here is the result of that process.

Next, I spent days scrolling through a new category of videos that included meditations, and positive thinking, along with my art videos.

Somehow the algorithm put together positive thinking and painting, and I found this video: Shift Your Mindset for A Creative Breakthrough by The Danish Painter.

This video did shift my mind set, and this "Loose Mermaid"... is my creative breakthrough.

The artist spoke such logic about the painting process, and told me that my problem was that I was trying to control too much.

I don't see how that's possible given my personality...

She said, not only are you trying to control the process, but also the outcome, which is making you frustrated. When you paint loose, you allow the painting to create itself. The painting doesn't have to be perfect...

The painting doesn't even need to be detailed. In fact, there's no way to make a mistake in this style of painting, which is what I liked the most about it.

I watched a few of her videos, and the way she moved the paint around the canvas amazed me. It was a lot like the Neurographic drawings but with paint, which is what I was looking for. The painting strokes are random and expressive.

There's no need to think too far ahead. Just enjoy the moment of creation.

The process for the loose painting, is to start out with 3 colors plus black, and white. I picked blue grey, light green and gold for my colors. I painted this on watercolor paper since the artist used water on the canvas to start.

You begin with the sky by adding the 3 colors, and making marks on the canvas where you think you might want to place an object. I decided that I would do a seascape, and I placed 2 rocks in the water.

Then you go back and smooth any harsh lines so that the background is faded.

I wanted a mermaid on the rocks, so I began making the shape of the tail. Once I decided I liked the background, and the colors, I used a pencil to make random marks on the canvas. (After it dried)

I mixed different colors to make new shades, and then tried my best to cover the pencil marks with the different colors. I was doing good up until this point.

But, as I was trying to control the outcome of the mermaid; wanting her to be pressing her arms up on the rock, with a curved back, I was becoming frustrated. I kept painting and it looked like she was growing a belly.

I said ok it's a pregnant mermaid...

But, when I tried to fix her head and shoulders, and removed the wet paint with water and a paper towel, it looked like the back of her head. Then what I thought was a big belly, was her butt sitting on the rock.

Once I realized this, I had no problem finishing the painting.

I have a couple more videos with Aham Art to share with you, and then I will be using this loose painting technique on my BIG canvas!

Stay tuned for more!

I hope you are enjoying following along as I learn to paint.

If you are painting along with me, or the artists I am painting along with, please leave a pic of your creation in the comments.

Also be sure to subscribe to my You Tube channel, and hit that bell if you'd like to be notified when I upload a new video!

And now... it's Paint Time!

Paint Time with Simgirl- Loose Mermaid