A couple of journal pages I did recently

It is pouring rain here and I find it very calming and restful. I'm also thinking, "Thank God, I mowed the lawn yesterday!" For my birthday, Mum and Dad bought me a brand new lawnmower so I tried it out yesterday and I love it! I've called it 'Herc' as it's a Hercules (Masport) brand. I know....not very creative, is it? lol

Anyhoo, I thought I'd share a couple more pages with you from my Life Book (Art Journal). The thing I love most about art journaling is that I can give myself permission to do crappy art though 'crappy' is probably not the right word. 'Messy art' may be more a more fitting term. On a You Tube video I watched recently, the mixed media artist said that being fast and messy is a way of being creative because you're not allowing time for the left brain (linear thinking mind) to step in and 'organise' the page. I have always found it difficult to loosen up artistically because I mostly paint realism so that generally means....detail, detail and more detail. With my journal pages I can just be messy without constraints and it really is a liberating process. Of course, I can still see I need to 'let go' a lot more in my pages but I'm getting there.

My Power Animal

Journal a flower

These pages are assignments from a SuziBlu. I discovered SuziBlu via a mixed media art blog and have watched several of her You Tube videos. I feel so inspired by her quirky and fun nature.

There are so many wonderful mixed media art blogs that I have found and loved that I will be adding some links to the right-hand column of this blog soon. Maybe they will inspire you too.

Happy Easter to All and Happy Birthday to ME!

Easter Chick - Matisse Acrylics - 2½"x3½" Art Card© Serena Lewis

I must admit it feels quite weird having my birthday on Easter Sunday for the first time I can remember but I have had a lovely day so far. We visited my daughter and her boyfriend, Alex, and they treated me to a beautiful vegan lunch. It was delicious!

I was able to see the Butterfly & Lily painting I did for Michelle's birthday hanging on the wall in their bedroom and it matches beautifully with their decor. I'm so glad she is happy with it. Michelle is quite the artist herself and she showed me a beautiful Oriental drawing that she is currently working on. I can't wait to see what she does with it.

Added March 25th - As a matter of interest, I found this link which says that the last time Easter fell on my birthday, March 23rd, was back in 1913! The next time won't be until the year 2160! I don't think I'll be around for that one ~ lol

Anyhoo, I hope you all have a magical Easter ~ (((Hugs)))

MY 100th POST.......and some painting talk

Yep.....my 100th blog post!!! I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all my wonderful readers who take time out of their busy days to visit my blog. It's nice to know that I'm not just prattling on to myself a lot of the time and I so appreciate your wonderful support.

Lily and Butterfly - © Serena LewisAcrylics - 24"x20" gallery-wrapped canvasClick on image to enlarge

I've been neglecting my blog a little over the past couple of weeks due to being snowed under with commissions, art projects, family stuff and books. I painted this Lily and Butterfly canvas last week for my daughter's birthday. The lily is Michelle's favourite flower and, of course, she's always had a strong connection to butterflies. I chose the colour palette to match her home decor colours. This painting did not go without its dramas because, after painting the border, I noticed when I held it in a certain light it would sparkle.

A closer inspection revealed.......GLITTER!!! SCREAM! Aaron, my nine year old, often uses my spare art table to do his crafty stuff and, of course, glitter is a given. After my initial panic, I carefully cleaned off the spare table, put down a new tablecloth, re-painted the brown border and VOILA.......all done just in the nick of time. Phew!


I'm currently in the midst of working on my 'Pay It Forward' gifts as well as trying to make head-way with the Zebra painting. So far, I've managed to squeeze in some time to tone the canvas.

Mother and foal Work-In-ProgressAcrylics - 30"x24" Gallery-wrapped canvasClick on image to enlarge

I'm quite stoked at the moment because, for the first year I can remember, my birthday actually falls on Easter Sunday! I don't know why I'm so stoked because I'm not into organised religion, however, I understand that it is also a Pagan holiday. I remember my brother's birthday used to always fall around Good Friday...his birthday is April 1st. I wonder why Easter has crept in earlier this year? Usually the kids have nearly two weeks off school at Easter time for their Autumn break but, this year, they will only have the Easter public holidays, then they will return to school for four days before they will get a week off for their Autumn break. That just feels weird to me.

Ah well, I'm off to get some painting done in the studio.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to You!

An Old Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.


As I'm half-Irish myself, I couldn't let the day go by without acknowledging it on my blog.

Nowadays, St. Paddy's Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds around the world and here, in Australia, the pubs usually serve green beer to mark the occasion.

Are you wearing green today?

Beachscape Finished

Michelle came and stayed for a couple of days this week and it was so nice! She has been so bored stuck at home for the past two months and her injuries are still preventing her from returning to work. The physiotherapy is helping but they have to take things slowly. Anyway, we were the answer to breaking the daily boredom for her.

Today I decided to finish the beachscape I started a while ago and, try as I might, I just could not manage a decent photo of it, sorry. One thing I have learned from this painting is that I'm not a beachscape artist. Maybe I just need more practice or maybe I should stick to animals. lol However, this painting is sentimental because my reference was a photograph I'd taken of three of my kids. Aaron, now 9, was only 2 years old then.
Look at the WavesMatisse Acrylics on 24"x12" gallery-wrapped canvas© Serena LewisClick on image to enlarge

I had so much fun with the Valentine's Day journal page that I decided to do a similar background for a mixed media piece I'm working on.
Mixed media on 12"x12" gallery-wrapped canvas© Serena LewisClick on image to enlarge

I think I'll get an early night tonight as I have a migraine hanging over me. Nighty-night to all.