Tag Archives: tree

Happy Holidays!

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Wishing all of you a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

I hope to do more blogging about my art process next year and I am really looking forward to creating, teaching, and collaborating in the new year! I am hopeful I will be able to teach some art workshops in person next year as well as share my art in-person. I have missed that in-person human connection! 🙂

This is a sweet painting named “STAR.” She reflects my feelings of simple hope that I have for the new year. I created her for a Holiday challenge on IG the first week of December and I wanted to share her with all of you.

I hope you are finding safe and fun ways to celebrate this holiday season. We are having a very quiet Christmas and New Years. I am so looking forward to 20201! As I am sure many of you are, too! 🙂

Happy Holidays and I wish you a wonderful, creative, day filled with JOY, Janell

A New Painting of Tall Trees

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painting of tall trees by Janell Mithani

“Growing Tall” Acrylic on canvas, 12″ x 36″

This painting of trees growing in the forest is inspired by the trees I have seen on my trips driving through California and Oregon to visit my family.  I used a narrow, tall canvas on this piece to emphasize the height of the trees.

I am busy working on three new paintings. Yes, I am working on them all at the same time. 🙂  I do this sometimes as one painting will need some drying time, so I switch to another one.   I also think I create more pieces when I work this way.

Do you ever work on more that one project at a time?

I hope you have a wonderful, creative, day, Janell

Green, Trees, Painting, a Few of My Favorite Things…

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I love green! I suppose then, it is natural that the color green just seems to appear in most of my paintings. In this painting, I was feeling the need to escape and relax. I love trees and painting them relaxes me.

Painting LUSH by Janell Mithani

 

The title of this painting is   “LUSH” 10″ x 10″, acrylic on canvas.  Thanks for stopping by my blog, I appreciate you taking the time to look at my art.

 

Have a wonderful, creative, day, Janell

MOSS Painting

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This is my first painting for 2015.  Can you tell I’m already thinking of spring?  🙂

Moss by Janell Mithani

Moss, acrylic on canvas, 24″ x 24″

I’ve been thinking a lot about the “WHY” I paint what I paint lately.  I’ve always loved fairies and nature.  I grew up out in the country and spent a good share of my childhood, hiking in the woods.  In my paintings, I reflect on those moments and feel that my feminine characters draw strength from the trees, wind, and nature that surrounds them.   One of the things that inspires me the most, is the strong stillness I feel when I am alone and surrounded by nature.

“Moss is a feminine character who draws her strength from the moss-covered trees that surround her. She came to me in my dreams, found her way into my sketchbook and inspired me to paint her with one of her beloved trees.”

Have a wonderful, creative day, Janell

A Tree Fairy Painting on Austrailian Paper Bark

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I love painting tree fairies and I have been experimenting with painting them on the bark of the Australian paper bark, Melaleuca quinquenervia trees.  We have a lot of them here in Southern California.  I love the organic shapes and the textures and feel painting on a natural piece of bark fits with my art.  The paper-like bark peels right off of the trees and it doesn’t hurt the tree to harvest the bark.

Tree fairy painting on paper bark tree

This is an ancient art tradition of the Aboriginal people of Australia.  They created wonderful dot paintings, often times telling the stories of their dreams.  I found out about this style of art a few years ago when I was researching the art of different countries to teach in my art workshops for teens. It is still a popular art style, and I found many beautiful paintings on the internet.  It has also become one of my most popular summer workshops.

I posted the sketch of my tree fairy a few weeks ago.  The tree bark can be really smooth on the back side, but I really liked the front side of this piece of bark.  Since it had a lot of texture, I decided to re-create my sketch to size, cut it out, and glue it to the bark as a beginning for the painting.  I also applied a coat of gel to seal and smooth out the bark.

Applying gel to the piece

I attached the bark to my easel with a clip and began painting.  I love the light  in this picture.  I have a wonderful south-facing skylight that lights my easel over my left shoulder.  It was my husbands idea when we built the studio and I just love it.

Bark painting and sketch on easel

Here is a picture of the piece against my wood floor.   I wanted to see different colors behind it.

Fairy bark painting against wood flooring

Now I need to figure out how to present and frame it. Hmmm….

Any ideas would be much appreciated!  🙂

Have a wonderful, creative day, Janell

 

Mother and Daughter in the Wind – A Tree Painting

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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