Finding inspiration for the Jewelled Ethereals

Today I just put on the finishing touches to the second of the two Jewelled Ethereals that I had been working on recently. It felt so therapeutic! It’s been a while now since I’ve done any of that kind of work and it certainly feels good! I like what I’m seeing in front of me and even more than that, the process of laying down the colored pieces of crushed glass is so gratifying to me, not to mention very grounding and centering. The crushed glass really helps to enhance the colors that are already there on the paper created by the watercolor paint and at the same time it creates such intricate patterns. I really love the effect!

Over the past weekend I even had my stepdaughter helping me with the crushing of the colored glass, which was a lot of fun for us both. I showed her how to make her own “Jewelled” masterpieces and she had a wonderful time doing that.

The Ethereals and the Jewelled Ethereals are so different from what I usually paint, as my “realistic” watercolor and oil paintings usually involve a game plan of sorts. The Ethereals on the other hand are far more spontaneous and have more to do with having a feeling in the moment and going with that.

This time with the Jewelled Ethereals to get some inspiration I used some mandalas that I had colored. This was a way to try something different and I liked the end results. The mandalas gave me a different color palette to work with which was really refreshing. I needed that lift and I think that I will probably be using this formula again as I go forward.

So even though I was afraid that there had been such a long gap since doing this type of work, I am thankful that I hadn’t forgotten the technique. Plus I have now discovered another source of inspiration for it that I believe only helps to add to the whole. Happy viewing Art Lovers!