In my absence, I started painting!

lunes, 28 de septiembre de 2015



This Summer in Madrid we enjoyed one of the worst heat waves in recent history, the kind of heat wave that makes you spend all day long sitting down in the shade drinking ice water.  So for the first couple of days of July I did just that, nothing, and then, I became restless, I needed to do something creative.  Working on my jewelry did not seem very appealing, my studio is located in the attic and in Summer that room is like a big oven and I did not feel specially like going up and down stairs several times a day in search of whatever supplies I needed.  I also needed to find something I could do with my children who were on their Summer break and watching way too much tv and so, one fine day, I suddenly felt the urge to start sketching, doodling, whatever you may want to call it.

A funny looking poppy

After searching frantically through the whole house for my watercolors and not finding them I decided to use my kids watercolors instead (you know that feeling when you want to do something and it has to be done immediately...), so, I took all the materials to the patio, gathered my 3 kids around the table and we all started playing around with the brushes and the paint and unknowingly started a new Summer "ritual"  that brought so much joy to all of us.  

The view from our house in Munilla

Every afternoon we would set up "art camp" and spend about and hour painting together. My kids drew flowers from the garden, fruit, robots, whatever! I loved seeing their own personal style develop and flourish.  As for me, I had not done any watercolor painting in years and this time, instead of doing the more "academic style" paintings I used to do years ago I opted for more informal, quick sketches and what can I say, I had not had so much fun in years (makes me wonder why did I stop doing it in the first place??).

Tomato from our veggie garden

Sometimes a change in routines can be a very positive thing. I discovered a new family activity  which was hugely enjoyed by all of my three kids at the same time (due to their age differences and different tastes these kind of "group" activities don´t always work so well).  As for me, I have rediscovered a long forgotten love which is always very nice.  If you want to see all the little paintings I did this Summer you can hop over  to my instagram.

Have a lovely Monday.



15 comentarios on "In my absence, I started painting!"
  1. Love your paintings! It made me want to do the same....

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  2. Respuestas
    1. Thank you! that's what my sisters tell me, that I make "happy art" :-)

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  3. oh I love reading about creative happiness! :) glad you found your painting love again!
    And you should make this a weekly routine :)

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  4. Much better than watching TV :) love your style!

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  5. What a great idea to start an art camp with the kids! I must do this when it's foggy and raining in autumn!

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    Respuestas
    1. It is great fun, easy to organize and very unexpensive too (we had a lot of supplies at home already and when we run out we bought more from Tiger Stores which are really cheap, I think these stores are all over Europe now

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  6. Love your drawings and I can imagine the fun you had... you and your children!

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  7. Love the idea of 'art camp' you did with your children. Great inspiration vibe! Thanks!

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  8. Wow! Great paintings! My son loves paint with me together :)

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  9. Wonderful! I wish I could paint like that!
    Great to include the children in the activity too!

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  10. Ah! Kids are the best inspiration as they are not inhibited by rules, conventions, and 'how it should be done'. Lots can be learned from them. Most of their creativity will be gone by the end of high school, I think it is very important to try to retain that innocence in art, and looks like you had the right idea. You don't need archival paper and the best paints, sometimes a wall and some crayons are enough :-)

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    Respuestas
    1. It's true! They are so creative!! And they are not afraid of failure, they try to do everything which I found very inspiring... and yes, it was all very unexpensive (when we run out of supplies we bought more from "tiger stores" which are just so, so cheap) sometimes the simple things are the best

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  11. Painting together with the children is so much fun! - I can see some of your paintings and postcards….

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    Respuestas
    1. Thank you Eva! Maybe I will make postcards in the future, there is still plenty of room for improvement ;-)

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