"For Her" Mixed Media Floral Painting

"For Her"
acrylic on canvas
8" x 10"

I bought a multi-pack of canvases recently so that I would have plenty on hand. Unfortunately, I'm discovering that I might actually prefer painting on wood panels to canvas. I painted a layer of modeling paste on this canvas before painting to create more texture, and as you can see, it creates a beautiful texture and depth in the painting. I used masking fluid to create the design in the leaves, and I am thrilled with how they turned out. Since I love collage, I couldn't resist adding a tiny bit to this painting and that is how I came to the title for this piece.

Pointillism in the New Millenium

Another Strange Garden
Acrylic on Canvas
8" x 10"

I didn't think I would ever try pointillism. I am a patient person, but the thought of doing an entire painting using little dots of paint has never appealed to me. But Diane Culhane's wonderful online class "Paint Your Garden: The Language of Paint" has showed me a way to use this technique, more as an accent, or a way to add interest and texture. And now that I've tried it out a bit, I really like it!

One thing I've found it is very useful for is balancing color. If I use a color in one part of a painting, I'll make some dots of color elsewhere to help the colors make sense overall. I love it when you can see dots of color under glazing. It also is a way to adjust value by adding more light or dark without changing the base color. And, even though it seems like it would be tedious, I have to admit that it's kind of fun to do.

Have you ever tried pointillism? If so, how did you like it?

Welcome, Paint Party Friday Visitors! Thanks so much for visiting, and commenting.

Painting my Garden

Hello, long neglected blog. It's been a while! But summer is here, and I'm on vacation until September which means I have time for my art once again. For those of you that don't know, I teach ESL part-time at a local college when I'm not doing art. I squeeze in time for art whenever I can, so even though I haven't been blogging much, I have been painting, collaging, and drawing quite a lot this year. I'm focusing more on my painting skills these days and recently took Diane Culhane's wonderful online class "Paint Your Garden: The Language of Paint." Using a garden theme as inspiration, Diane teaches various painting techniques in this class such as pointillism and masking.

Lucifer and Becky

Inspired by the Crocosimia Lucifer and Daisies (Leucanthemum × superbum 'Becky') now blooming in my garden

acrylic on canvas

8" x 10'

I used a lot of masking in this one, both with masking fluid and masking tape. Can you tell where I used the tape? I might go back in and do more line work, but I don't want to lose the spontaneous feel I have. Diane uses the liner brush a lot in her paintings, but so far, I haven't been happy with my results. Like anything else, it will take practice.

Which brings me to another question -- How do you learn from an artist that you admire, but at the same time, keep your own 'voice'? I love Diane's style, but I don't want to copy it (and indeed, I am not able to copy it, at least at this point in time)?

Thanks for visiting today! I appreciate your comments.

Tea Time with Tracey

Today's post is dedicated to Tracey Fletcher King, a wonderful artist and storyteller who shares ups and downs of everyday life in beautiful color at her blog. I first learned about Tracey through Paint Party Friday and look forward to her lovely artwork and laugh-out-loud humor every time I visit her blog. In fact, I secretly wish that not only could I paint as well as her, but that I could also be even half as funny, (OK, even a quarter as funny would be nice).

Sadly, this year has been a challenging one for Tracey, as she is battling cancer. So today the Paint Party Friday community is having a virtual tea party in her honor. My contribution is a still life painting in acrylic that I started while taking Table Top Drawing and Painting with Diane Culhane and finished(?) earlier this week. I decided it would fit the tea party theme nicely and hopefully add a bit of cheer to the party! Something about painting in acrylic sets my inner critic in high gear, but I am determined to get better at it. I find that using color is not always so easy, nor is striking a balance between realism and whimsy as I was aiming for here.

Thank you for being such a wonderful inspiration to us all, Tracey! I hope that you enjoy the holiday season with your family, and that this coming year is full of renewed health and energy for you.

Thank you also to Kristin and Eva for continuing to host Paint Party Friday and provide the opportunity to share our art with such an amazingly supportive and inspiring group of artists.

A week of table top drawing and painting

Three Vases
colored pencil drawing on black paper

Do you ever set limits for yourself that you later realize are somewhat arbitrary and perhaps more than a little silly? I seem to be good at that one. Case in point -- for a long time, I've had the idea that I am not interested in still life drawing and painting. Maybe it's because I had to do so many still life drawings of boring subjects (cones, balls, cubes) in drawing classes long ago. Anyway, because I enjoyed Diane Culhane's Between Speech and Silence Class last summer, I couldn't resist signing up for her latest class, "Table Top Drawing and Painting."

We've been drawing what's on our dinner table in our sketch books, gathering up fun items to draw from around our homes and in general having a fantastic time with what I used to think was boring. I'm seeing more things around me every day to draw and paint.

This painting, done in acrylic on gessoed watercolor paper is giving me hope that I am making progress with acrylics. Diane is teaching us to glaze, using gel medium, leading to some beautiful transparency and luminosity.

I'll be sad for this class to come to an end, but thrilled with the new inspiration it's given me to have fun with drawing and painting the things around me in my everyday life.

Thanks for stopping by! I always appreciate your comments.

Cityscape, Wabi-Sabi Style

Partial Clearing
mixed media on 8" x 8" canvas

In the wabi-sabi style, textures are rough, colors are subdued and mystery is admired. That's what I had in mind while working on this painting. For texture, I pressed wire mesh into modeling paste. I hadn't used modeling paste previously and was surprised at how long it takes to dry! But the texture is great. I also have some wonderful, gauzy paper that looks so beautiful in collage. I'm not sure if I'm finished yet with this one or not -- I'd like to build up the layers of paint toward the top, but I don't want to over do it, or ruin what I already am liking about this piece.  

Thanks so much for stopping by -- I always appreciate your comments!

Face #14: Abstract Portrait

 Realistic faces are not easy to do well, nor are abstract faces for that matter! I really want to be able to do abstract faces. I'm not sure why. It's just what I want to do. So here is an attempt at an abstract face. I used a thick sharpie to outline shapes and then began painting, first with watercolor, then before I knew it, the acrylics were out again. I was keeping in mind the concept of suggesting dialog by having two figures in the painting as I learned in Diane Culhane's excellent between speech and silence class, hence the bird. I added a bit of collage again at the end, because I love collage, especially bits of text like this. I love languages, reading, poetry, and words, so I enjoy having bits of text in my pieces that give some interesting visual texture and hopefully create a bit of mystery as well.

Face #13 - Mixed Media Portrait

This is turning out to be one of those paintings that looks better on the screen than in real life, maybe due the reduced size. I focused on creating a multi-layered background before adding the face, still continuing to learn how to paint with acrylics and not go completely mad in the process. I think I'm getting the hang of it. Each time it's a little easier and more natural, and yes, fun!

White-faced woman -- mixed media portrait

I've been participating in Ayala Art's 29 Faces Challenge this month. At this point, I am quite sure I will not make it to 29 faces this month. This is face #11. I drew and painted, drew and painted, ending up with a rather crazy, or shall we say expressionist palette. I am still finding my way with acrylics, alternately loving then hating them, but hopefully getting better as I practice more. Today's painting session was very enjoyable. I opened up my container of little collage scraps and found some fun pieces to add for some additional interest and fun.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog! 

Face #10: Mixed Media Portrait

This is a mixed media portrait on a wood panel that I started recently. I'm experimenting with drawing and acrylic together in this piece. So far, I'm happy with the lines, collage, and colors, but less happy with her face. The nose is better than some I've done, but her eyes aren't matching so I want to go back in and work on them some more. 

Twilight Smile -- mixed media portrait

Twilight Smile
mixed media on paper
9" x 12"

  

This is one of the faces I painted for the 29 faces challenge (Face 7).  My obsession in this painting was creating layers - layers of stenciling, collage, stamping, washes until I was ready to draw a face. I did use a reference as I drew this woman, but I didn't worry too much about getting an exact likeness. I've doodled faces for most of my life, but I find that sometimes looking at real faces when I draw really helps me with getting the details and expression right. This woman's crooked half smile really appealed to me!

I'm also sharing this with Paint Party Friday.  Check it out to see some wonderful art and join in the fun. Thanks so much for visiting!!!

29 Faces 2013 - 1,2,3

It's halfway through September, and I've decided to join in Ayala Art's 29 Faces challenge. I participated in this challenge last year, and really enjoyed it! Since I'm waaaaaaay behind, I'm cheating a bit by posting some faces here that I actually did last summer. These are small semi-abstract mixed media doodles done in ink and acrylic.

Thanks for stopping by! 

"In the Distance" a Wabi-Sabi Landscape

In the Distance
acrylic on 8" x 10" canvas

In 2011, I had the good fortune to take a workshop with Serena Barton in Portland which focused on her interpretation of the wabi-sabi concept in encaustic. I blogged about my experience that day in an earlier post. At the time, I was completely enthralled by the wax, and yet as time has passed, I find myself thinking about wabi-sabi again and again. I even have a journal I started after that workshop that I use specifically for contemplating wabi-sabi.

According to Serena, "Wabi-Sabi is an aesthetic, a state of mind, a mix of emotions, and a way of perceiving life. It embraces cycles of change, including life and death. Wabi-Sabi values the seasoned, well-worn, accidental, and imperfect. It includes the sorrow of change and loss, as well as the acceptance of these." Wabi-Sabi colors are muted and textures are rough. If you think of a flower as it is just beginning to turn brown at the edges, you can get a feel for Wabi-Sabi. To me, it includes beauty, longing, mystery, and depth -- all things that appeal to me in art and life, and that I hope to create in my work.

I did this painting after reading Serena's new book, Wabi Sabi Art Workshop. It was actually an unsuccessful painting I'd started earlier, so I decided to paint over, creating more layers and textures in the process.

I'm linking this to Paint Party Friday. Go check it out and see all of the wonderful art that's been created this week. Thanks so much for stopping by! I always appreciate your comments.

Evolution of a Painting

Earlier in the summer, I took a wonderful online class from Diane Culhane, " Between Speech and Silence." I'm planning to blog more about that course in a separate post. In this post, I'm going to show how two of the paintings evolved during the creative process.

Our goal in the paintings was to suggest a story or dialog by including figures. The beauty of this concept is that story is open to interpretation by the viewer. I love creating mystery in my work and this is a fun new way to accomplish that goal. Here is an early version of one of my paintings.

After setting it aside for a few days, I decided that the face was OK, but too big and heavy for the rest of the painting. So instead of the face, I added another bird. It's much more balanced and whimsical to to me now. I wonder what these two birds are saying to each other, don't you? 

This is another painting from the course, again following the idea of creating dialog with figures.

The more I looked at this one, the less happy I felt about it. I decided I didn't like the girl so much, and I wanted to create more interest with the tree. It felt like a children's book illustration to me, which isn't a bad thing, but it wasn't what I really was aiming for. I added some more collage and replaced the girl with an image transfer.

It's so much different now! Overall, I am very happy with the tree, but still not so sure if the bird and face 'go together.' But it's been good to try out the idea of creating a story in my work -- definitely a new concept for me, but a fun way to push myself in a new direction.

Identity Crisis

We all know adults who who still don't know who they want to be when they grow up. In fact, I find myself in that category from time to time.  When it comes to my art, I seem to be the artist who doesn't know what she wants to do, or conversely, I'm an artist who wants to do it all! At some point, though, it's time to focus more, to settle down and choose my own style. Or is it? I've been painting a lot lately, which is great. But a quick look at what I've worked on over this past week shows that I am clearly all over the place with my art!!

This is a page from an altered board book I started last spring while taking Carla Sonheim's "Flower Crazy Class." The technique involves using collage, gesso, watercolor and pencil. I love doing flowers, watercolor, drawing and feel like I could just keep doing these crazy flowers for the rest of my life and never get bored! 

Then I decided to try out the same technique, but with a different subject, resulting in this whimsical piece.

I really love integrating collage with my drawing and painting skills, but I also still love doing 'pure' collage. Before I knew, it, I'd done this little collage.

And then, to further complicate things, I've been working on this abstract acrylic painting! 

So, as you can see, I really am not very focused in what I'm doing. Following my whims is certainly fun, but is it wise? Is it important to settle on one style?

Thanks so much for stopping by! Your comments are always appreciated.

A Difficult Subject and a Happy Ending

These past few weeks I've been busy doing a lot of small collages, using bits of painted papers (read more about this process here) and other elements. Here is one I'm calling "A Difficult Subject."

I used some charcoal in the background, then used clear gesso, followed by the collage elements, and finally, some watercolor. (really not so difficult, and definitely a whole lot of fun)

While we're on the subject of fun, this past year has been one of creative frenzy for me as I've rediscovered my love of creating and making art. One thing I've become very good at is starting a lot of paintings. Sometimes my work just flows and comes together easily into a finished piece, and others, well...let's just say I've got quite a few of those! I can't make myself throw them out, though. I put them away for awhile, hoping that I'll figure out how to finish them someday. Here is one of those paintings. I can't even remember how I started this one. I think I was probably using up paint that I'd put out and didn't want to waste. I know I worked on it at several different times. The other day, I took it out again and decided I kind of like it, just as it is. So, here is my newly finished painting of the week, "Sunscape". 

Which leads me to a question. How should I frame small pieces such as these? Some are standard size, and others are not. The small collage is actually on mat board. How do you all do it? Do you know of sources for economical (but nice) frames? Do you make your own? Thanks in advance for your advice! 

Rhapsody in Blue: Experimenting with Acrylics

Over the years, I've had a love/hate relationship with acrylics. Well, to be honest, probably more hate than love. I first experimented with them long before I ever tried oils and really wanted to love the medium. The easy cleanup was a huge bonus for me. But the paint always dried so fast and my end result never seemed to look the way I wanted it to. Along the way, I did try oils, and then watercolor, which stole my heart. There is just something about the way the water flows on paper that keeps me coming back for more. But about a year ago, as I began experimenting with mixed media techniques, I kept hearing about the new fluid acrylics, so I finally decided I should give them a try. So here I am, once again experimenting with acrylic painting.

When I started out with these two paintings, I wasn't sure if I would use the painting as background for collage or just paint. I ended up liking the colors and shapes enough that I decided to just paint and see what happened. This is also part of my ongoing challenge to learn how to do abstract compositions.

I doubt that acrylics will ever become my primary medium, but they have some useful qualities for mixed media art. Their colors are more intense than watercolor, and the fact that they dry fast and are permanent is very nice for working with layers. The fluid acrylics also lend themselves to some interesting paint effects that I love in watercolor. So, I'm sure I will continue to experiment with them and use them to a certain extent in my artwork.

I recently discovered the Creative Color Challenge  on Flickr and posted my paintings there for the March color theme of tranquil blues.

Thanks so much for visiting! I really appreciate your comments.