Seaside Rocks

I've spent a lot of time at the beach this year and I always enjoy looking at the rocks. There are so many different colors, and depending on the lighting, different colors will stand out on different days. This weekend, I did some watercolor sketches of a few pretty rocks I found for my journal.

Expansion

This is an updated version of the abstract I was working on yesterday. To add more depth, I added a transparency left from an image transfer of a shell. Since the nautilus shell symbolizes expansion and renewal, I decided to title this piece, "Expansion." It's an apt title for the piece in more ways than one, as I am expanding beyond my comfort zone in my artwork.

Work in Progress: Abstract Collage

I'll admit it; although I love abstract compositions, I find them hard to do well. Letting go of the representational means working harder at at color, line and texture to create interest and balance. Here is a small mixed media collage I've been working on today. I was working at creating interesting layers in the background, which I'm pretty happy with, but I may still need to work more at unifying the composition.

Encaustic Painting

I had a wonderful opportunity to try my hand at encaustic painting today in Portland in a fabulous workshop by Serena Barton at the Art and Soul Retreat. Here are two of my paintings from today.

This one was very well received by the class, including the instructor! I was somewhat surprised because it wasn't at all planned and is in fact, a simple doodle, much like I do on my notepads every time I'm on the phone, or sitting in a meeting. But somehow, it works here, with a muted palette. We were supposed to be striving for a "wabi sabi" aesthetic, using a muted palette, and embracing imperfection.

Here's another one, in which I used more collage elements.

I think this is my favorite one of the day. I'm happy with balance of collage elements, paint and texture. It was fun letting these paintings evolve, without worrying too much about the outcome. The process of encaustic painting definitely suits my approach to my artwork. So now I'll need to think about whether it is worth the trouble to try this at home.