Reeling, Through Endless Summer Days

Is it really September already? Where has the summer gone? August flew by in a blur and now, the kids are back in school, which means some peace and quiet and time to paint!

This piece is a combination of collage, image transfer (the sunflowers) and acrylic. The pattern in the lower part of the painting comes from a gel printed piece of sewing pattern tissue that originally looked like this:

The beautiful pattern in the print is from a crocheted doily. It was fun, and challenging to try and get the abstract and representational elements to work together in this composition. While I painted, I focused on layers of glazing to add depth and texture and I actually ended up painting over the flowers quite a bit to enhance the color.

 I started this piece, I'd been thinking about these words from Emily Dickinson's poem "A Liquor Never Brewed":

 Inebriate of air am I, 
And debauchee of dew, 
 Reeling, through endless summer days, 
 From inns of molten blue. 


 Lovely, don't you think?

I'd also like to remember my grandmother who passed away at the end of August, at the age of 102, quite an amazing woman! One of my fondest childhood memories is of her taking us to see the wild crocuses blooming in the spring. We lived pretty far north, so often the crocuses would be poking up through the snow! For her 101st birthday last summer, I made her this mixed media collage (blogged about here) to thank her for the beautiful memory.

I miss her, but I'm so glad she had such a long and healthy life, and that I could have her in my life for so many years.

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

Encuastic Image Transfer Fun

I am sure loving my encaustic class. This week we learned how to do image transfers into the wax. It's quite easy and I love the effect! First you place a photocopied image into warm(not molten)wax. Then you dampen the paper to gently rub away the paper and the ink magically stays behind in the wax. Of the image transfer techniques I've tried, this definitely ranks up there in ease and speed. Of course by now there is a very good chance you're scratching your head and thinking image transfer? What image? Well, in this case, I transferred some text for some visual texture. I'm secretly amused that it comes from a handout that I used in my day job as a teacher. Perhaps on some level this bridges the gap between the competing interests in my life. I also used stencils for the leaf design and for the circle (my first, and possibly my last, homemade stencil).

Thanks for visiting! Happy Paint Party Friday!!

Gesso Image Transfer

I love the dreamy color scheme in this painting. I started with a gesso image transfer and then added texture with collage and paint elements. Someday, I will look up the name of this beautiful plant, when I'm not busy working on another collage!

Deja Vu!

Meadowlark, Fly your Way Down...

This meadowlark might look familiar to those who saw my earlier meadowlark collage this summer. I happened on an extra inkjet printout of it today when I was going through some papers and thought it was too good to waste. Plus, it gave me a chance to try a gel transfer with the gel medium I bought recently. I'm trying to integrate more of my own drawing and painting into my work. In this collage, I scribed leaves into gesso along the lefthand side and aimed for watercolor effects the in the background. I'm pretty happy with it as it is, yet it may be a work in progress, as I look at it and think about whether it needs anything else to feel finished.

Fly Away?

This bird seems so pensive as if thinking of flying away, but not quite sure. I used an inkjet image transfer, then enhanced it with pencil and paint. I happened to find the "middle of nowhere text" in an old magazine ad and thought it fit perfectly with my theme of escape.  An old musical score adds interesting visual texture, but also suggests the beauty of a bird's song, as well as music's powerful ability to transport us to another place and time. I'd made the butterfly stamp used in the top right corner awhile ago, and thought it would go nicely with my thoughtful bluebird.

Another Bird!

This is a larger collage, still following the "Hope" theme as in my earlier series of mini-collages. I used a 9' x 12" gesso board, again with a combination of collage, image transfer and fun paint techniques. My first image transfer attempt failed, so I painted over it with acrylic paint and did an acrylic paint transfer. To get the droplets and texture effect in the background, I sprayed dishwater suds into the wet paint. I love the effect it creates!

The first photo shows the partially completed collage, with the image transfer in progress. I used an inkjet print, painted the collage surface, and the surface of the image, then pressed the image down into the paint to dry for a few hours. 

Next you can see the completed collage, with the transferred bird image. I used a meadowlark because I often saw and heard their beautiful song in my childhood. 

I love the paint image transfer technique. It's quite easy to do and the end result is not too perfect nor is it immediately recognized as a photographic image. To me the effect is quite interesting and visually pleasing. The vine and leaves to the left of the bird were stenciled on a page from an old book, then enhanced with drawing. I also drew and painted, as well as collaged some other similar, but not identical leaves to balance the composition.