The original is available HERE

This week I planned to do something different. I was struggling with an idea and was really feeling the winter blues.

The weather where I live has been so harsh and cold. We haven’t seen the sun in about a month. First rain, then snow, then freezing ice… ugg. Not to mention the after-holidays calm down or let down.

I just felt like I was on autopilot. All the plans and ideas I had for the first months of my year of adventure… came to a screeching halt. But…..

This morning the sun came out! It’s still freezing cold… but the snow looks like diamonds, flickering, twinkling, and oh-so-beautiful. It’s amazing how something so simple as the sun, can change everything.

And of course, it got me thinking about how I can shift my thinking and feelings by noticing the beauty all around me even in the yuckiness of winter. And how this can apply to all parts of my life, whether it is actually winter or just the winter season of my soul.

So I came into the studio with renewed excitement and decided to throw sparkles around and in my paint so that this piece would sparkle like diamonds too.

I’ll share more about my journey to this piece and I might even share a video of making a snow angel :)!

Have fun watching and always know that you are loved!

Supplies used:

1. 12×16 wood panel
2. Liquitex white gesso
3. Acrylic paint – Titan Buff and Unbleached Titanium
4. Grumbacher raw umber
5. Golden paynes gray
6. Liquitex Acrylic ink-Prussian blue, Cyan Blue, Muted grey, deep violet, Neutral Gray, raw umber
7. Daler and Rowney acrylic ink – sepia
8. Golden high flow – Iridescent silver, Titanium white
9. Arteza mica powder set
10. Zing embossing powder silver
11. Soft pastel sticks and soft pastel pencils
12. Generals charcoal pencils and stabilo all pencil, mechanical pencil
13. Extra large palette knife, regular palette knife, Credit card, dough scraper, brayer