When we started this Dare to Create Challenge it was kind of a joke that Andy Skinner and I suggested at CHA.  Then the wheels were in motion.  I thought nothing of it and how fun it would be to collaborate with an artist I admire.  Soon the wheels were spinning faster and there was no turning back!  Then it came down to actually having to paint the piece and the panic set it.  I have always made it a practice in my Studio to enjoy the process, let it go, find me in every piece and see where the art takes me.  This time though I was self-doubting, comparing myself and soon a 12″ X 16″ canvas, 192 square inches felt like 192 ACRES of white space……

Serendipity1Last weekend I was determined to use this color palette Andy Skinner selected for me…..

traceys pallet

I was up for the challenge and I am excited to present my piece. I put aside the self doubt, fought the urge to compare, and decided that this collaboration was about stretching ourselves and using elements from our mutual styles.  Yes there are flowers and hearts…..but there is texture, crackle, a color palette I may never have put together myself, metal, gears!  The flowers and hearts are me….

Serendipity2

This painting took about 2 hours of video……enjoy this 8 minute VIDEO as I break it down….

and in photos HERE…….

The devil was truly in the details on this one…

Serendipity4

 

Andy it is your turn to present your work of Art………

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Before I start I would like to say a huge massive thank you to Tracy,  she has drafted all the posts and done much of the hard work and organizing in bringing you this challenge.

I can’t believe that we have only really known each-other since CHA this January, they say that best friendships are built on alcohol, sarcasm and inappropriateness and we do all three to excess 😉

I was determined at 3am this morning (which is when I started the painting)… long story!…  to get even more out of my comfort zone by not allowing myself to use any texture mediums, and I did not.  I would also try to complete the painting in an hour excluding drying times, and I did not!!  However I did manage it in 90 mins.

All was going well and I was really happy with it until it came to adding those dreaded flowers,  I had to fix myself another stiff drink before even attempting!

Believe me when I say this challenge was far tougher that I had ever imagined, that said I recommend anyone to take themselves way out there comfort zone on occasions, it’s very good practice.

andys pallet

Ok here is my finished canvas, just ignore the awful flowers lol!

Andy_Skinner

Here is the time lapse VIDEO of the process!

We want to finish this by saying THANK YOU to everyone!  There are no winners or losers. As someone nicely pointed out, the winners are everyone inspired to carry this on.  We plan on doing just that.  Sure we love to banter and tease one another but that is who we are as people.  As Artists we were both up for the challenge.  I know I enjoyed it!  The fun is not going to stop there.  In April Andy and I head to NAMTA in Denver, Coloardo with DecoArt.  We will both be demo’ing, teaching and you can bet we will be bringing the fun to you!  Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram:

Special Thank you to DecoArt for bringing our creative worlds together!  Make sure to sign up for their Mixed Media newsletter HERE: http://decoart.to/medianews where you can find more of our work.  And YES, we will award prizes this week so stay tuned!!!

Feel free to leave us a comment!  WE LOVE hearing from you.