JANUARY 2017:

Demo by Sandra Muzzy The Art of Nature Journaling

Sandra Muzzy focused her demo on why she paints the subjects she paints. She paints the “Story of her Life”. She picks subjects that tell the story of places she has been and loved. She incorporates symbols like empty nests, maps and fortune cookie messages.

She began by showing us a large collection of her journals. Some were accordion style with watercolor sketches of plants and nature. Others had different covers, types and sizes of papers, bindings and subject matter organization. She even had a collection of sketches done in sharpie pen on white handkerchiefs. All were beautiful. About eight years ago she changed the way she paints. In order to be able to exhibit her work and enter shows she realized she needed to create a bigger format.

She showed us how she creates a large painting made up of smaller paintings, each helping tell a story. She composes the painting with blank pages being careful to use good composition in her format. She showed different types of background, and painted one with rocks using negative painting. She showed how shadows needed to be consistent even is each smaller painting has a different style. Her approach is inspiring, suggesting we concentrate on why we are painting a subject, not just how to paint it!