Poppies for Jazz

Posted on August 20, 2014 by janellmithani

I just finished a painting for my daughter. She is returning to college in Chicago in a few weeks, and will be sharing an apartment instead of living in the dorms. She wanted a painting of poppies to remind her of home in sunny California. So… “Poppies for Jazz” it is!

I painted a good portion of the piece at the Montrose Art Walk in July. I always like to work on a painting in my booth when I do art fairs.

Here is my progress at the art fair…

Then it sat on my easel in the studio for a few weeks while I finished up my July art workshops.

Here is another look at the finished painting. I love it so much I am making prints of it to sell at my next art walk in September.

So glad I had time to paint today! 🙂

Have a wonderful, creative day, Janell

Storm, A New Painting

Posted on July 9, 2014 by janellmithani

I finished a new painting in my Fae and Nature series: STORM.

Storm, 16″ x 20″, acrylic on canvas.

Have a wonderful, creative day, Janell

Mixed Media SHE Art = FUN!

Posted on June 25, 2014 by janellmithani

I have been wanting to do a piece of SHE art for a while. (I have a board full of them on Pinterest.) I was teaching a mixed media collage workshop this week, so on Sunday afternoon, I created this piece as my sample. It was so much fun!

She Art mixed media by Janell Mithani

Drawing and cutting out things that I love and adding them into the piece was a fun process. I used my Golden gels as “glue” and even played a bit with symbolism in the piece. It is interesting how you can add little items, almost hidden in the piece as little surprises. Prints of my paintings I had made for jewelry pieces were just perfect for the collage. Just as I was about done, I noticed the easel seemed too clean for my studio (HA!), so I added all the little paint spots.

The class went great and I had a full house. (Yippee!) I am going to make some of these for my girlfriends as gifts, too. I love all the details and how you can make them personal or themed. How fun is that!

Have you ever created one? If so, add a link in my comments. I’d love to see it.

Have a wonderful, creative day, Janell

My Latest Painting … Returning to an Old Friend

Posted on January 24, 2014 by janellmithani

She raises her eyebrow and, with a slight shake of her head, she pulls me towards her.

Her lips part, “Tsk, tsk, you have been away from me long enough. Return. “

I nod, and slowly walk through my landscape.

“Well, maybe just for a while.”

I raise my brush and return home.

After a three-year pause from portraiture,

the ever intriguing face draws me through my landscapes into her knowing eyes.

She beckons to me and my brush.

Once again, she has captured my attention.

—-

I have been sketching a lot lately and I have noticed an interesting difference between my sketches and my paintings. My sketchbooks are filled with the human and fae faces and of my dreams. Yet landscapes, nature and trees are what come from my brush. I wanted to start a new series and spent some quiet time over the holidays with my journal — Writing, sketching and thinking about how to merge my paintings and sketchbooks. I want them to share the space of my paintings. I wrote the above notes in my journal and then this is the painting that emerged.

Now, I am sketching with the intention of a painting. I still sketch to just relax and record memories and dreams, but now I feel a connection and “full circle” pattern in all of my art.

Well, I better get back to my easel so I can finish this painting. 🙂

Have a wonderful, creative day, Janell

Painting in Cambria

Posted on January 7, 2014 by janellmithani

While we were at the beach over the holidays, I got a chance to paint the view from the deck from the house we were renting. I just about finished the painting on site, now it is sitting on my easel … patiently waiting for a few finishing touches. I just loved the beautiful view we had and the peaceful sound of the ocean as I painted.

Oh, and here is a visitor that showed up to watch me paint. 🙂

Have a wonderful creative day, Janell

A Caribou Painting – Because I love Reindeer!

Posted on December 5, 2013 by janellmithani

November and December are busy months. We have eight family members that have birthdays between November 1st and Christmas. I always say I am going to get ready for Christmas early, but by the time I get done with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and all our birthdays, it is the middle of December. And when it comes to sending out Holiday cards… well, I always have great intentions, but usually get about five sent out.

But I LOVE getting holiday cards! I look forward to hearing from friends and family so I want to send out cards and keep in touch. I am just like my grandmother, I count all the cards I receive every year and I hang them up and display them as soon as they come in the mail.

Well, this year I have a plan. I decided to take a break from creating my regular body of work and create a painting just for me. I have always loved Caribou (I fondly think of them as gentle reindeer) and I really miss the snow from my childhood now that I live in Southern California. So I painted “Gentle Reindeer” to hang in our home during the holidays. It reminds me of the wonderful snow filled days I spent as a child. I grew up in a small town of about 80 families. The sledding hill was right next to our house and my mom made the best hot chocolate for all of the kids in the neighborhood. My sister and I would stay out all day sledding and playing in the snow.

Once I finished the painting I realized I could photograph it, add some text, and make it into our Christmas card. (And I could even share it here with all my blogger friends.)

Yippee! I have the painting and the layout for the card finished and now, all I have to do is get the cards printed. Which I am doing today, right now, this very moment…

I wish you a wonderful holiday season and a spectacular new year. Thank you again for taking the time to stop by my blog during this busy time of year. I so appreciate it. Have a wonderful, creative day — Janell

Sunflower Painting

Posted on November 21, 2013 by janellmithani

It has been a really busy month, but I was able to get out to the studio to work on a painting yesterday. I love sunflowers and I have photographed them a lot, so I thought it was time to start working on a sunflower painting. I used three of my photographs as a reference.

I am just about finished, I just have a few more details. As with all my paintings, I have this “sitting” period when I have it “sit” on my easel for a couple of days. This is so I can walk by it a bunch of times and get a fresh look to determine the final details and any changes I want to make. I love the heavy texture and of course, the green background. You know, this Irish girl loves her green! 🙂

Here is a close up of the corner where you can see I continued the painting around the edges as I used a gallery wrapped canvas. I like this style of canvas best because the back of the canvas is double wrapped with wood for a nice clean look.

I will post the final painting soon.

Have a wonderful creative day, Janell

A New Painting – Sisters

Posted on October 2, 2013 by janellmithani

A few months ago I posted about how I was thinking of adding these two little girls to a painting. I had created a sketch from a picture of my sister and I when we were children. Well, before I got a chance to start working on adding us in, I received a couple of inquiries about the painting. So, I decided to create a new painting with the two girls and give it to my sister for her birthday. SistersforBlog

While I was painting, I had a lot of time reminiscing about all the fun walks my sister and I shared while we were looking for wild flowers. We were fortunate to grow up in a small mill town called Hilt, located in Northern California. We spent a good amount of time roaming around the countryside. We had the best swimming hole!

Have a wonderful creative day, Janell

New painting: Serenity in the Daffodil Meadow

Posted on July 14, 2013 by janellmithani

I finished a painting this weekend. Another one for my cottage series… Serenity in the Daffodil Meadow. This reminds me of my childhood. My sister and I grew up in a small mountain town in Northern California named Hilt. One of our favorite things to do during the summer months was go for long walks in the woods and meadows and look for wild flowers. Oh, it was such fun!

I even came up with the name Jasmine for my daughter on one of these walks. Well, I was going to name her Jasmine Wildflower. Wildflower didn’t quite get into her name 20 years later, but she knows she is and always will be my Wildflower.

The painting is Acrylic on canvas, 16″ x 20.”

Have a wonderful creative day, Janell

Mother and Daughter in the Wind – A Tree Painting

Posted on May 8, 2013 by janellmithani

Here is a painting that I finished recently. I was thinking of my daughter and that Mother’s Day will be here soon.

Mother and Daughter in the Wind painting by Janell Mithani

Mother and Daughter in the Wind, 8″ x 10″, Acrylic on canvas

I love trees and how they blow in the wind and how leaves sometimes just blow off in a group from a tree in a wind gust. I have been thinking of this painting for a while…how trees and people connect and how things in nature become representational of emotions we feel for each other. I have a feeling this is going to turn into a series as I am itching to do another one already. 🙂

I have been working on a new website dedicated to just my paintings. It is coming together and it is almost finished. I am so excited about it! I will post a link when I get it done.

Have a wonderful creative day, Janell