Joanne Sharpe: WHIMSPIRATIONS...Artfull, colorfull, soulfull, whimsicall inspirations

painted pages...

It's my honor and privilege that you take the time to come to my blog. I hope that when you come here you are inspired.  Inspired by the illustrated words, perhaps something touches your heart when you stop here to enjoy the art.  Each post in "Whimspirations" includes soulful whimsey to make you smile, make you think, make you happy and make you want to come back!

I will continue to put this art out in the universe so that it finds the place where it is to go!

This page, painted with Golden acrylics, is one of my favorite Picasso quotes,

"Everything you can imagine is real"........

shining star....

...You are a bright and shining star".....

..i wish i could be brave enough to write and journal on these pages.  Do you ever feel like you will "ruin it" if you keep adding??  That's what i think.  So i will leave it for now.

doodle hearts...

Still getting lost in my doodle journal these days....swirly hearts, winding vines and my watercolor-like Copics color illustrate this "whimspiration"...."say Yes to that which is burning in your Heart..."

Short and sweet, find that which makes you bubble over with passion, say yes and go....

 

coloring therapy...

Another page from my "coloring journal" of illustrations.  I get so lost in clean crisp pages and linear drawings, it becomes my therapy. My coloring journal becomes a form of meditation for me, to first draw with my black fine tip markers. (Copic multiliners, Sakura microns)  Enter my piles of Copics.  Using the brush tips of the Copic sketch markers is like painting, blending shades and filling in the sketches with layers of color.  

 

I have notebooks and journals of thousands of quotes that i have collected since high school.  Choosing words that "speak to me" is also part of the the coloring therapy process.  So apparently this is telling me something:

..."some things have to be believed to be seen"...

Try it!  Go find a quote that speaks to you.  Grab a journal and black pen, and just begin to draw what flows from your heart to your hand.  Lines, doodles, patterns, images.....grab your Copics, colored pencils, and then color!  It's so good for your soul.


 

...but here's what i've really been doing!!!

Painting signs, painting signs and painting more signs!!!  I have a great wholesale business selling original artwork to a few hundred shops and retailers all over the county.  My product line called "Whimspirations", consists of handpainted whimsical signs with fun and inspirational quotes.   The canvas panel signs are all made to order based on what the store's niche or regional market might be.  

In the past four weeks, i have painted over 800 pieces for shops in Virginia, Massachusetts, Florida, Idaho, California, Alaska, Hawaii (wish i could have hand delivered those!), Arizona, North Carolina, Maine, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan to mention a few.  Today i got orders from Texas and New Mexico.  It's always a thrill to see where my pieces go! 

Here are some of the bestsellers in my very sophisticated sorting area.  So, if i seem to disappear for a while, i just might be underneath piles of colorful canvas with writer's cramp!

waiting for words, it's all about the process.....

Here to share, are some of my lonely little paintings and journal pages works waiting for "heart spill"...words and wisdoms to fill the colorful collaged and painted pages.  Quite often, i just like creating the base, with all the layers, dimensions and experimentation, only to save the inspirations and writings for another time.  It's the creative A.D.D. that i have had all my life.  When i create, i get to a certain point, am satisfied with the process and result, and then move on, even if there is more that can be added for completion.  Most of the time, i eventually get back to the piece and finish.

Painted layers, handmade embellishments, all of this was made from plain papers.  I will paint large sheets of my own colors, patterns, and then punch, die-cut, tear and collage.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This creative process is equally fulfilling as having a finished work.  Having been trained as an artist my entire life, it's difficult for me to just "play" and experiment, and not be critical of the results.  Most of the time my artwork is for licensing, publishing or creating for clients, where specific results are expected.  So, to play in pages, without a deadline or expectation is a really good thing... it helps me grow......