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exploring creativity

by estella mai

who am I?

As I entered my 30s, I realised that something has been missing from my life recently - fulfillment, meaning and fun. I've been working an energy-sucking job for many years now, and it made me realise that I want to experience more, do more, and travel more than I have been. So I have some new goals for my 30s, and I hope you'll join me in creating the future you want to be in.

my goals

My goals are to explore creativity, be outside in nature more often, and build a future for myself that I can thrive in.

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from the journal

Summer Art Project: Week 8

August 28, 2024

Summer Art Project: Week 8

Summer Art Project: Week 7

August 18, 2024

Summer Art Project: Week 7

Summer Art Project: Week 6

August 11, 2024

Summer Art Project: Week 6

Summer Art Project: Week 5

August 4, 2024

Summer Art Project: Week 5

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estellamai.creates

I'm holding on desperately to the idea that summer

I'm holding on desperately to the idea that summer can't be over, even though it's been rainy and grey for many days now...

This collage took an unexpectedly long time… I was having a very slow day with this one.

Overall, I changed the reference photo a little bit - in the background of the photo there’s a fence, and instead of doing a metal fence I decided to try a wooden lattice…

I think this collage turned out well, and definitely one I would have spread out over a couple of days if I wasn’t pushing myself to finish this challenge.

What do you think about this one?

#natureart #summerart #arttherapy #collageart #collageartwork#colourfulcollage #naturelover #summerartchallenge

#botanicalart

This is a Goldfinch - my first European bird so fa

This is a Goldfinch - my first European bird so far! These pretty birds come into the garden sometimes, their distinctive red faces on display.

This collage took me almost all day, for some reason. First of all, I hadn’t painted a background colour that I liked so I did paint a couple of extra sheets, so I had to wait for those to dry.

I also changed the brown colour on the bird a couple of times, so that took a while.

And then adding all the details took a bit of time on top of that.

Overall, I’m quite happy with this piece, even though my super critical eye still doesn’t completely like the shape of the bird. But it’s not too bad for a first try.

What are your thoughts on this one?

#natureart #summerart #arttherapy #collageart #collageartwork#colourfulcollage #naturelover #summerartchallenge

I created this before my summer collage challenge

I created this before my summer collage challenge - I did a couple of tests of collage to see if I would even like it, to see if I wanted to do more of it. I didn’t really have a reference photo for this, other than the fact that I made this in June and the flowers were starting to come out here in Germany.

I wanted to make lots of different shapes as an experiment, which was really fun and I’m glad I tried this. I really like all the colours, and all the shapes that pop up in the background. What are your thoughts on this?

#natureart #summerart #arttherapy #collageart #collageartwork#colourfulcollage #naturelover #summerartchallenge
#botanicalart

Pink and White Flowers! I took this photo (swipe

Pink and White Flowers!

I took this photo (swipe to the right) of some flowers in Konstanz, Germany, a while ago.

Bushes or fields of flowers are starting to be in my comfort zone, I’ve realised. I really like making them, I’m happy when they’re more abstract… they’re fun, and lower risk. I think the outcome is nice - though in this case I feel like they’re more Christmasy than summery! Do you get that too?

#natureart #summerart #arttherapy #collageart #collageartwork#colourfulcollage #naturelover #summerartchallenge
#botanicalart

Day 25: Bay in Croatia I took this photo in Croat

Day 25: Bay in Croatia

I took this photo in Croatia a few years ago now, and I just love the colours. The colour of the water was stunning, and I’m actually happy with how this collage has turned out! I had to change the boat because I was struggling with the angle of it - so far this is another one of my weaknesses with collage.

Overall this week, there were a lot of new things again and I had a great time making these, even though it was tricky. Animals and boats are a struggle for me. Something I’ll have to practice in the future.

What is your biggest struggle in your art? What do you think about this one?

Day 20 of collaging: Butterfly on cornflower I to

Day 20 of collaging: Butterfly on cornflower

I took this photo out in the fields (there are a lot of fields around here) and definitely wanted to try and collage it. So far I’ve been having trouble with things that are white or light grey… But I think overall this collage turned out nicely.

I tried to put some texture in the background with some differently shaped cut outs of fern-type leaves… of sorts. I think it turned out quite well.

Let me know your thoughts below!

#natureart #summerart #arttherapy #collageart #collageartwork#colourfulcollage #naturelover #summerartchallenge
#botanicalart

This didn’t entirely turn out in the way that I

This didn’t entirely turn out in the way that I envisioned… But oh well. I want to practice doing underwater scenes more. I think this is okay, but I reckon I would need to practice this a lot more to make it better.

I actually added the white spots to the whale shark digitally using Procreate. I didn’t know how else to make the spots stand out, and I wanted some practice runs first - it’s safer to do this digitally.

Onto the next one!

#natureart #summerart #arttherapy #collageart #collageartwork#colourfulcollage #naturelover #summerartchallenge #sharkillustration #fishart

I took a photo of a sunflower field nearby when I

I took a photo of a sunflower field nearby when I live a few years ago, so I had to try making this as a collage. I’m really happy with how it turned out; I always seem to be happier with the flower fields that I make!

There was also so much more carnage around this piece - so many little bits of cut paper! Swipe to see the carnage, and the reference photo.

#natureart #summerart #arttherapy #collageart #collageartwork#colourfulcollage #naturelover #summerartchallenge
#botanicalart

I had painted papers for this collage. But I didn’t like them… and I didn’t want to paint more, so I used what I had already… That’s why the composition is wonky, but I don’t mind.

I’m still learning. I really like the subject matter for this one - inspired by a photo I took at the Freiburg botanical gardens some years ago. Water Lillies and Lilly pads - just beautiful (swipe for the photo).

I really liked making the Lillies for this one. It was a new challenge, and again something different.

#natureart #summerart #arttherapy #collageart #collageartwork#colourfulcollage #naturelover #summerartchallenge
#botanicalart

For this one, I created a background first that di

For this one, I created a background first that did not turn out well, so I re-started. I like this one better. This was a fun one to make, though there were heaps of little details, lots of glueing very thin strands of paper.

This was inspired by a photo I took in the fields again (swipe to the right) - I love the wild flowers that are blooming at the moment!

#natureart #summerart #arttherapy #collageart #collageartwork#colourfulcollage #naturelover #summerartchallenge
#botanicalart

I had trouble with this one. I’ve tried before t

I had trouble with this one. I’ve tried before to distinguish the sea from the sky - or in this case, the deep sea from the surface of the water.

At the moment, I can’t seem to make them very different from each other, so it all just looks like the same giant blue thing.

So I must admit I didn’t try to represent both. I played around with pieces of paper, with different textures… for a while, but nothing seemed to work. I need to build my skills in this area first. I added some crayon detail in the background and on the whale to finish it off, because I thought something was lacking. I’m happy with the result in the end, which is just a bonus :)

#natureart #summerart #arttherapy #collageart #collageartwork#colourfulcollage #naturelover #summerartchallenge #whaleillustration

Bird of Paradise Flower: Another new subject matte

Bird of Paradise Flower: Another new subject matter for me. Anything tropical reminds me of childhood, which I think is why it's the subject matter that I'm my own worst critic about...

... again, the leaves aren't my favourite, but I was just thrilled to be trying something new. I really enjoyed the process of making it - cutting out a bunch of tiny shapes feels quite daunting until I’m able to finally glue everything down, and an image comes together.

There was a lot more trial and error in this collage - I made a bunch of leaves for the background, and then I made the flower… and the flower turned out WAY too big.

So then I made different, bigger leaves. This turned out to be a happy mistake because I made the leaves form the background, which was the first time I had a differently shaped background!

Yay for small mistakes for this one - I really like this summer project, it's a time for experimentation, and it's going well so far.

#natureart #botanicalart #birdofparadiseflower #arttherapy #collageart #collageartwork

This is such an over-simplification of the referen

This is such an over-simplification of the reference photo I was following - a photo of a beach walk in Spain that I took in May. The path was following the beach, and it was going up on rock faces and things, which is why there’s no actual sea in this image. (Swipe to the right for the reference photo and a bit of a laugh at how far away my collage is from it)

I felt very out of my depth with this reference photo, because I didn’t know how to get the texture and all the details right … and in the end I think it’s just a generic path with a fence and some greenery along it.

Overall, I’m glad I stuck with this and didn’t quit, and I think it is a cute (albeit simple) collage, even though it seems quite generic.

This summer art project is all about the process of creating for me, and less about the outcome - obviously if the outcome is nice, that’s a bonus! But I’m still learning about this process, and I’m enjoying making things with my hands so far.

#natureart #collageart #summerart #arttherapy

It’s butterfly season! The reference photo I u

It’s butterfly season!

The reference photo I used for this showed such a deep black on the wings of the butterfly that I thought I’d try using black paper, even though it wasn’t painted. I’m actually happy with the result - I really like the contrast of the butterfly against the background.

For the first time I also started experimenting a bit more with the background by changing it a bit and adding my own details. I think the contrast within the background itself is a bit lacking, but I think it’s overall not bad for a first butterfly attempt (well actually it’s my second butterfly… but we won’t talk about the first one…).

#natureart #butterflycollage #collageart #colourfulcollage #colourfulbutterfly #naturelover #arttherapy #summerartchallenge #summerart

I added lines...! I really liked all the shapes an

I added lines...! I really liked all the shapes and lines that turned out, so I doodled over the top. I still wanted the lines to be loose and sketch-like.

Which version do you like?

#collageart #lineart #arttherapy #natureartwork #natureartist #natureart

This was based off a photo I took in the fields ne

This was based off a photo I took in the fields nearby where I live. They were these lovely purple flowers, and I thought it was a great place to start for my first collage of the month…!

I had great fun making this. There is an element to this that is similar to my usual style of black and white lines - some of the smaller details, the tiny bits of paper in this collage… Well, they required some patience from me!

I really like the colours here, even though I’m not suer there’s much contrast here.

This summer project is all about using my hands and CREATING something different… I am focusing more on the process rather than the outcome.

Do you ever create things for the process? I would like to do this more often. There’s so much focus on the final product all the time, but most of the fun for this piece came from MAKING it.

#collageart #arttherapy #natureart #colourfulart #flowerart #flowerartwork #natureartwork #celebratenature

So... I've given myself a summer art project! I go

So... I've given myself a summer art project! I got really hooked on watching collage vlogs by @art_with_em_, whose work is so beautiful, and I really wanted to give it a try.

It's not my usual style at all... but I hit a bit of a slump again and I wanted to try something new, and to be honest - I wanted to try something with colour.

I thought collage looked like a fun accessible way for me to play with colour in a more abstract way. I also love the idea of using my hands in a different way.

It also helps that I have a LOAD of acrylic paint lying around from my last foray into painting...!

My plan is to create a piece every weekday for July and August, and I have already started, so I'll be posting more about those soon 🔥

#summerartchallenge #collageart #arttherapy #natureart #natureartist #funwithart

Two weeks late is about right for me… July’s c

Two weeks late is about right for me… July’s cover page.

#lineartwork #lineart #doodleart #doodleartwork #arttherapylife #bulletjournaling #bulletjournalart #birdlovers #birdartwork

I completely forgot to post my June cover page…!

I completely forgot to post my June cover page…! I’m definitely struggling to keep any kind of schedule… time keeps getting away from me…

I drew this a couple months ago but somehow I predicted that this would be an incredibly rainy month, unfortunately…. But the theme matches the month! Hopefully soon we won’t need snorkels to go outside.

#doodleart #lineartwork #lineart #tangleart #finelinerart #arttherapylife

This was the drawing I did for May which I already

This was the drawing I did for May which I already stuck in my bullet journal 😅 it’s a bit late but that’s okay. I’m loving the beach vibes this month as it had been ages since I had been to the coast.

#bulletjournalart #doodleart #bujoart #lineart #arttherapyjourney #monthlydrawing

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