A Sadness in Late Summer

Let me begin by saying that I am not a poet. But this came to me on my morning walk a few days ago, so I decided to write it down. (warning -- it's a little depressing)


There is a sadness in this late summer day,
A brown leaf crunches underfoot,
An unsettling breeze stirs memories of cooler days.
Still, the hazy sunlight shining bravely through the trees
Soothes and envelopes
As I consider my father's failing health.
This glorious summer will come to an end.
Nothing lasts forever.

Index Card Art: For the Birds

There are many wonderful materials  that can be used to make art, but sometimes it's fun to just use humble, inexpensive materials we have on hand to challenge our creativity. That is the spirit behind the index card a day challenge I've joined for June and July. I'm thinking of these little cards as my sketchbook for the moment - perhaps they'll inspire larger, more serious pieces as I go along, or maybe they'll serve as useful practice for drawing and trying out new ideas. Unlike a lovely new sheet of watercolor paper, or new canvas, there is little pressure involved in working on an index card. In these little pieces, I was practicing bird sketches.

I'm finding that these cards are a great way to use up those little bits of leftover collage scraps! If you're interested in joining in the fun, visit the index card challenge for more information.

Where the Wild Flowers Are

Where the Wild Flowers Are
mixed media on 8" x 8" panel

I can't seem to stop painting these crazy flowers. My family and I watched "Where the Wild Things Are" recently and I loved the monsters in the movie. I've always loved Maurice Sendak's illustrations in his beloved children's book. Somehow, my strange flowers here in muted colors remind me a little of those monsters, which is totally weird, I know. But these are not the dainty flowers that beckon you to smell them and cut them for flower arrangements. No, these flowers are different - a little scary, maybe, as if they were from a slightly scary flower nightmare, with a happy ending, of course. Or maybe they're on their way to an audition for "Where the Wild Flowers Are" not coming any time soon to a theater near you!

Trio
mixed media on 4" x 6" panel

I don't really know where these flowers are coming from, but they sure are fun to paint! For both of these paintings, I began by adding some collage before gesso and then continuing with watercolor and pencil. I love seeing glimpses of the collage underneath. As I've mentioned in other posts, I learned this technique from Carla Sonheim. It's helped me figure out a way to combine my new love of collage with my old love of drawing, and watercolor. I may have to stop doing these flowers at some point, but I'm sure I'll be exploring this technique for a long time. 

B is for Bowl

B is for Bowl
Mixed Media page in hand made journal

Sometimes pieces come together so quickly. This is a page in my handmade cereal box/junk journal that I made back in January. I loved the background collaged with a variety of hand-panted and scrap papers, but every time I looked through my journal, I wasn't sure what to do with it. The simple bowl shape seemed like a good choice for an otherwise busy page. I chose a muted palette for the bowl, and used a box to make a more interesting and focused composition. The 'B' (upside down at the bottom) just happened to be there -- a happy coincidence.

Spicing up a Drawing with Collage

I've been participating in the Sketchbook Challenge off and on over the past year as a way to stay motivated with my drawing and develop a more regular sketchbook habit. The May 2013 theme was bowl. I don't normally draw bowls, so it was fun to do something different. Here is one sketch I did over a previously painted background.

Yet, the more I looked at this bowl, the more I thought it needed just a little something to give it some pizazz So, I sat down and added a few bits of collage. 

Bowl with Collage
mixed media
4" x 6' on paper

Now, that's more like it! I often begin with collage, and then draw, but it's quite fun to do the reverse and see what happens.

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

It's been a flower crazy spring for me, ever since taking Carla Sonheim's wonderful online class in March. I've been doing more work with the gesso and watercolor technique, sticking primarily with imaginary flowers.

This one is actually a close up from an altered board book I've been working on. I've been doing collage before the gesso layer and I love the way it looks.

And here you can see the complete spread of crazy flowers.

I really love drawing flowers. I always have. But today, I decided it was time to branch out with this technique.

And before I knew it, this little bird stopped by for a visit. 

Another Day, Another Flower Painting

For the last few weeks, I've been immersed in painting imaginary flowers in Carla Sonheim's online Flower Crazy Class. This is one of my favorite paintings. It started as a purely abstract piece on a square piece of birch board.  In the class we learned how to use gesso to create wonderful texture and then paint with watercolor. The flowers gradually emerged as I added layers of watercolor, sanded, rubbed and added more paint. I love watercolor, but had never used it over gesso, nor on wood. It's amazing to me how beautiful and rich the results are. 

In this painting, perhaps my very favorite of the month, I  started with a collage layer before adding gesso and watercolor.

This one is also on an 8" x 8" wood panel. I am definitely going to continue use this painting method because it's so much fun to do, and I love the results!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today. I always appreciate your comments.

Flower Craziness

Hello, my long neglected blog and lovely blog readers!  I seem to have taken an unplanned break from blogging but the good news is that I've been doing a lot of painting. I signed up for Carla Sonheim's Flower Crazy Class and have been going flower crazy (in a good way) all through the month of March. It's my first online class and I am loving it. Carla is such a wonderful teacher. Beginners and experienced artists alike can learn a lot from her playful and practical approaches to creating art. 

One of the great ideas I've learned from the class is to look at other objects for inspiration. for example, in this exercise, I looked at pictures of gears online for flower shape ideas. Pretty cool, huh?!

And in this painting, I was inspired by a sea anemone.

It's amazing how this takes the pressure off when you're drawing, at least for me. 

Can you guess what my inspiration was for this one? 

I'm amazed by how many completed paintings I've done this month. It's definitely been a worthwhile experience to take this class. 

New Collages with Old Spanish Papers

I recently decided to push myself to open a shop on Etsy. As I am one to take baby steps and let the process of selling my art gradually unfold, I am not expecting overnight success there! I'm sure I have a lot to learn about what will sell, and how to sell it. There's a good reason I didn't study marketing or business in college. Anyway, I'm really enjoying surfing the shops there and discovering all of the wonderful items for sale. I do have to limit that activity, though, because it is easy to be tempted. I did buy some interesting 'vintage' papers from Spain there that I'm having a lot of fun with in my collages.

"Especial"
mixed media collage
4" x 6" on paper

"I Will Touch a Hundred Flowers"
mixed media collage
4" x 6" on paper

Many years ago, I spent some time in Spain, teaching English. It's fun for me to bring a little Spanish into my collages in this way. An old pink receipt brings in a beautiful splash of color, and the lovely words are from Edna St. Vincent Millay,

I will be the gladdest thing under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.