creative jewish mom

A Make 100 Oil Pastel Paintings Challenge!

Back at the end of February I decided to embark on a journey of using oil pastels to hone my landscape painting skills, and took upon myself to create 100 5" x 7" pieces! There is a huge benefit to creating 100 of something, and there are many 100 day art challenges out there that folks do regularly on instagram. 100 is enough to really sink your teeth into something, and yet not too much that it becomes overwhelming. I have to say, that making 100 was a much greater task than I had imagined even though the pieces are small, and it has been so helpful to have the support of my followers on instagram @sara.rivka.dahan and to be accountable somewhat to the task I took upon myself! As I write this I have 9 to go, and starting to plan my next steps to develop my art.

What else can I say? Most of the pieces I created ended up being shared on instagram, while a small portion, maybe five or so, went into the garbage, as should be expected. Truthfully some of the pieces were a good three paintings in themselves and would have gone in the garbage if not for my dedication to just keeping at it, even when it seemed hopeless! Additionally, most of the pieces were intuitive, or started off with inspiration of some kind but then veered to something else altogether, which makes the process much more time consuming and at times frustrating, but in the end rewarding when the end result comes to life.

What is the lesson here? If you dream of honing your art skills, of being able to call yourself an artist, of really creating something you could be proud of, you have to invest in it, and for most of us that means investing in it big time! Make art, make art, make art! Make art that you don't show anyone, make art that gets painted over, make art that gets torn up, make art that is made for the sake of the making, not the result, and THEN you might just be ready to start making art that you can give as gifts, hang on your walls, and who knows? In case you are wondering, I certainly have done all of the things I've listed before starting this oil pastel challenge, so do keep that in mind.

Okay, want to have a closer look, come along with me........

Simple Geometric Color Swatch Art

Looking for an interesting way to learn about color combinations with results that are just so satisfying? Looking for a fun art project for all ages? This just might be the one! These bars of color are so simple to create, either in a sketchbook, or on paper, or even canvas, you just have to give it a try! You can use oil pastel, acrylic paint, colored pencils, watercolor or a mixed media combination. Do thick bars with acrylic paint and then go back and fill the bars with doodles or marks, note to self! Or choose to do squares or any combo of geometric shapes. Choose a set palette of 5 or 6 colors, plus white, and then have fun placing one color next to another. How did I get those bars of color to be so crisp? Keep on reading, I even took a process photo, imagine that!

Watercolor Blue And White Vases With Flowers

Summer is the perfect time to delve into something new, and if you can take it with you, all the better! So friends, consider starting a sketchbook, keeping in mind that it is about creative growth not perfection, and I can promise you, it is a very very worthwhile journey, and so very satisfying, trust me! This watercolor paper sketchbook of mine was started two years ago on a vacation in Sweden, and I have been slowly adding art to the pages, most recently, art created with watercolors, ahhhhh. And guess what friends, if you don't like the results, so paint an acrylic paint painting over it, and voila, that watercolor painting gone wrong is old news. The main thing is to use your sketchbook to tell the tale of your creative journey, which can be so many things! If you'd like to start but not sure where, how about some sweet blue and white vessels filled with flowers, or not? This is a perfect subject for beginners, because wonky vases and flowers with interesting shapes might be that much more interesting! Okay, lets get started!

A Festive Painted Cut-Out Bouquet For The Front Door!

The Jewish holiday of Shavuot starts on Sunday night, and our front door is ready! I just love painting flowers and cutting them out, as with the water color poppies cut outs, and am also really pleasantly surprised by how wonderful a bouquet of painted flowers can be as well, especially when you free it from the confines of the paper! Of course a bouquet of flowers drawn and then painted, like this one, is all about planning, and execution, so after all that effort, you will want to use it again and again, or even hang it somewhere in a frame, and you should! The more flowers the better, and painted ones add so much joy where ever they are hung! There is still time to make something similar for Shavuot, so get started, loose a little bit of sleep over it if necessary (that is the type I am, don't do if it is isn't you!) and most of all, have a wonderful holiday! Okay, lets get some more info regardng how this paper bouquet was created, shall we?

Simple Watercolor Leaves To Paint For Shavuot!

As you know, I love to create with a wide variety of media, and recently I've been devoting just a tiny pocket of time to filling my watercolor paper art journal with simple watercolor paintings. Check out my watercolor carrots, watercolor feathers and watercolor ferns. It is true, I'm loving the watercolor exploration as it is a relief from the intense oil pastel paintings I've been doing, though to create the kind of art I love with watercolors I'd need to combine them with acryla gouache and also get some liquid watercolors with intense colors, ah yes and huge pieces of watercolor paper! That said, my little travel watercolor palette is just so cute and fun to use, and there is something about the simplicity of watercolor that is just so very very wonderful, not to mention all the cool results one can achieve by letting the watercolors move where they like, on paper to which you've applied water first. And when the time comes to travel once again, I'm all set! Especially since I treated myself to some travel watercolor brushes, that come apart and form their own little protective case, lucky me!

Right now, as we approach the holiday of Shavuot for which we decorate our homes with greenery and flowers, decorating with watercolor paintings of greenery is certainly a wonderful way to go. So take a look at this layered watercolor leaves idea, do it on sheets of paper, and then hang them for wonderful and artful greenery! Keep on reading for a few helpful tips!

Watercolor Fern Paintings For Shavuot!

I am taking this one out of the archives, as we could all use a simple yet great looking craft project right about now, right?There is something so accessible and wonderful about watercolors, so give them a try!

Shavuot the Jewish holiday that celebrates the receiving of the Torah starts in 2 weeks on the evening of May 16, so now is a great time to whip up some gorgeous watercolor leaf paintings and learn about practicing your brush strokes a win win crafting experience! As part of my creative journey I'm in the process of exploring creating with different media, including watercolor painting. It turns out that the first step is learning brush control, using a round brush, and leaves like the ones used in my fern illustrations are created with just one stroke. Pretty great I must admit, and so relaxing to paint. A friend was over the other day and she thought I had stamped all these little leaves! Of course there are so many designs one can make once you master the one stroke leaf, so give it a try and enjoy!

Simple Watercolor Feathers To Paint Today, For Lag B'Omer!

Tonight we welcome the festive holiday of Lag B'Omer, so why not carve out a tiny window of time to paint some watercolor feathers? It is true Lag B'Omer generally brings to mind images of bonfires and bows and arrows, but I'd say feathers, which are used to write the Torah, and certainly the Zohar, originally, are a perfect symbol as well! Plus, feathers are just so fun to paint, and I ended up filling two pages in my watercolor journal with them, and can't wait to paint more, next time in a mix of rainbow colors or pastels, we'll just have to wait and see! If I had the time I'd paint some of these on watercolor paper and cut them out to hang anywhere, so lovely! Wishing everyone an amazing Lag B'Omer! Keep on reading for simple painting instructions!

Paint A Simple Pink Owl For Lag B'Omer!

After a really relaxing and beautiful few pages in my sketchbook filled with hebrew letters, I decided to start exploring creating on top of those pages! I had seen an owl painting tutorial by Tamara Laporte, as a part of sketchbook revival 2021 (now expired, sorry) and while I didn't follow the tutorial, as it was with water color, I did draw an owl that looks just like hers....thanks Tamara! There is such a fine line between copying someone else's work and creating something that is truly yours, and is this case it is some of both, though for the sake of an exercise in my sketchbook, it is certainly just fine. Would I sell a poster with this owl on it, no, can I enjoy it and share it, yes! And when to enjoy it, exactly, well I'd say an owl is actually a really fun thing to paint or draw for Lag B'Omer, as who is watching from the tree tops as we light bonfires, and certainly when 1/2 million people (on a normal year) visit the gravesite of Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai, in the very woody spot of his gravesite in Meron, Israel? So my friends owls for Lag B'Omer I say, and while you are at it, a whole group of woodland creatures is great too!

Check out all my previous owl themed projects here, to get inspired. A stand up owl or two at the bonfire would be just the cutest!

Paint An Old Shoe With Graffiti Hearts!

This has to be one of my crazier ideas, but I just couldn't resist and it was relatively quick, so here's to whimsical upcycled art! And while this might seem like it is coming out of left field, just a bit, this could also be a craft for Lag B'Omer, you know just in case you've already made more bonfires, caves, and arrows than you can bear. Because my friends, Rebbi Shimon, whom we celebrate on Lag B'Omer was all about ahavas yisrael, Jewish unity! And what more fitting than a bunch of hearts that together comprise a wonderful lively piece of well, funky decor?

And honestly, who couldn't use a graffiti hearts shoe in their life? I apparently needed one, and will sometime soon fill it with succulents or a flowering something. Or maybe not, or maybe yes, to get it out of the house! Then again, this is one special shoe, as unknown to us it was living under our kitchen cabinets for ten years or so, and we only discovered it when we removed the baseboard in order to long last clean under there......and lo and behold my son produced a single shoe that apparently went missing a good ten or so years ago.....I do vaguely remember something like that. In any case, I was feeling so very nostalgic about this shoe from when my boys were little that I just had to save it, and then the idea of painting it with hearts came to mind. Even better, I actually did it! That in itself was a huge victory! (Check out my Diary Of A Hoarder In Recovery posts on my instagram @sara.rivka.dahan for more discussion on that!) Okay, love the idea of painting lots of hearts on anything, keep on reading, I've done this a few times on flat surfaces.....

A Simple Counting The Omer Journal Page

Today is day 22 of the Omer, and I might be behind on this journal page! It is true, I embarked on a counting the omer art journal project last year, which is wonderful and so interesting, but sometimes you might just want a really really simple way to count the omer, even if you are doing something else more complicate to boot. Or not? A very simple painted pattern that you then fill in with numbers as the 49 days progress is a first for me, but I plan to do this every year, as it is just simple and gets the job done, in a creative way! And when you do it in your sketchbook, maybe you'll be inclined to fill up some of the other pages as well? I can't recommend a sketchbook practice enough, whether it be watercolor, collage, doodling, lettering, pick one, or all of them and do it, you'll thank me!