To Life!

Oil & Cold Wax "LIFE" 16x16

"Life" was a fun abstract to paint, As with most abstracts, I had no pre-conceived idea as to what this would become. 

Adding color here and there, removing a bit, layering more colors playing over the week until what I wanted to say was finally said... 

"This is Life!"

He says "up", I say "across"

I  had a 4x6 stretched canvas that was a little bit loose, & my normal hot water/shrink it remedy didn't make it tight enough to suit me. So this provided me with the perfect opportunity to play without the guilt  of ruining a good canvas experimenting.  This is done in acrylic with one strip of teal artisan paper.

The work in progress.  At this point, I really like it.  side notes} I protect my kitchen counter & stove top with a black vinyl tablecloth  I picked up at the dollar store,(they were out of white).   My palette is made of paper plates covered with foil, when finished I flip the foil over & have a clean palette.) 

I turned the painting vertically adding just a few more accents & then called this finished. ((OH and to my surprise, the acrylic mediums I used, seems to have tightened up the canvas!))

My husband likes this vertical & while I really like it that way, I lean towards  horizontal. I can see it both ways.  Would you please give me your opinion as to which way looks best? 

Expressing Les Mis

I love the movie Les Miserables! I cried throughout the film when i saw it in the theater & cried each time I watched it via Netflix (6 times in one weekend!)  The power & emotions of the movie Les Miserables were so overwhelming that I felt consumed by them; the only solution was to express them on canvas.  

 I created this  abstract mixed media collage, Les Miserables, with many many layers of glazes, plus paper, fabric, a photo transparency, washi tape & ink.

Speaking Abstractly.....

Genesis

Lately I have been drawn to abstracts, the freedom, the color and the movement of the art is exciting.
When I did the painting above I started with modeling paste as the base for texture &  my limited color palette of blue and brown. As the painting progressed, I got a feel of where it was going.  I kept thinking, " In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"  adding a bit metallic gold to represent the Divine touch or spark of God.  It's a small 6x6.

My husband left a note on the kitchen counter before he left for work saying he really liked this one. Encouraged by that I decided to make  a series like this only in a larger size. Sounds easy right?  well not really.  I made four attempts on 2 canvases during 3 days and was unable to recreate it. It seemed the harder i tried the more awful the results!

So I washed off as much paint as I could with the kitchen sprayer and resigned myself to the fact that i couldn't duplicate it.. at least not for the time being.

I painted glazes over the much abused canvas and came up with this

Taking a break from abstracts  I painted one of my favorite subjects, fiddleheads. But this time instead of the tiny 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches format in water colors, I did it in acrylics on 5x7 aquaboard. I had lots of fun with this one with it's warm & happy  color palette and it took away that sense of failure from the "Genesis" series I had wanted to do.

Celebrating FiddleHeads

Not wanting to give up entirely I yet again took the other abused canvas re-gessoed, added a bit more modeling paste, and began again with a much warmer color palette.... and this is the result

Bursting

Is there a lesson in this for me? I'm not sure but I think it's that I can't paint an abstract when I'm all tense, my better abstracts happen when I'm relaxed and just play with the colors. Perhaps one day I'll be good enough at this to the point that the paint will be subject to me and not vice  versa!

still feeling the love & lessons learned

I'm still feeling the love of the landscape.

Since I last wrote about the new direction for my art

I have painted four new landscapes.

"Green Mountains" 8x8

I did another, 5x5, that is on it's way to a friend 

who sadly moved away from Vermont.

That and the 8x8 were a joy to paint!

The one below was not! 

First i struggled with the size & shape. 

I have been so accustomed to working on a small scale,

that even though it was only 8x10, it threw me off.

I eventually  got my proportion & layout to suit me;

but I also struggled with the canvas itself. It was a different brand

and although it was tripple gessoed, 

it soaked up the paint like a sponge! 

Is there a difference between 100% cotton and "cotton duck"?

"Green Mountains" 8x10

and then there's this!

"Autumn" expressive abstract 8x10

I know it's a bit out there but I couldn't wait

for autumn to come to me, so i created my own autumn.

For this one I just let myself play in free loose strokes.

~

What I learned from these last two paintings is:

* there are differences in canvas

* and I need larger brushes for larger canvas! 

( I knew that, but i kept reaching for my favorite brushes 

which were too small- next time I will hide the smaller brushes!)

UPDATE 9/29/13:
 It's a year since  I wrote the post &  I have found i really do like the larger canvases... for me that is 8x8 - 12x12, they are perfect for mixed media paintings.  Oh i re worked that last painting... it's funny but i cringe when i look at that now!

~ the Lay of the Land ~

Since i began this art journey in July 2011

i've been

observing, experimenting, learning, stretching,  growing, discovering.

When i started, there were two things i  really wanted

* to become a GOOD, & i mean a really GOOD artist

and

* to discover my style and become the best i can in it.

But when i look over my shop,

well quite honestly  it's a mess!

i'm all over the place.

There is no cohesive style.

I have learned recently that i like mixed media more than watercolors

and that even though it was out of my comfort zone, 

being more loose and abstract seemed to free me.

~

this is an abstract mixed media landscape

i did that really excites me!

~

and this one....

changed everything!

When i first went back to art, i tried acrylics and hated the medium because i couldn't get it to do what i wanted. But now with thanks to God (yes i pray about my art) and being brave, all the little lessons have finally come together! What makes me SO excited is that this piece is totally paint (acrylic) and the composition, technique & feel is exactly what my vision hoped it would be.
 I still have more to learn but nevertheless i have passed a hurdle and have found myself!
~
The Inspiration Avenue Teams  Challenge, hosted by Jenn of Just Add Water Silly, was "zentangles"
and in keeping with my new favorite theme "landscapes"
here is my entry

i added a hint of color because quite frankly i love color :)

Blessings & Joy to you all!!

a Pair of Pears for Artists Play Room

Jenn McClean, IA sister, friend, artist, blogger extraordinaire, and now a contributing editor of the new art magazine "Featuring", has another challenge for  The Artists Play Room this week  ...  "Pears".

I thought I'd use this challenge to see if i could do an 

abstract collage of pears.

Pears 1

&

Pears 2

Here's how i did these...  

*WARNING, Don't try this at home!*

Because i have no idea of the "proper" way to do this and wouldn't want to lead any of you astray!

(also color and quality of step by step photos aren't very good 

as they were taken rather hastily 

on the kitchen counter where i work)

I made "sketches" in acrylic paint on 

Strathmore Archival Acid-Free Premium linen canvas 246 lb. paper

casually painted the backgrounds knowing a bit of those colors will be seen under the upcoming layers of paper and paint

then i begin adding torn papers

more paint and more papers

still more layers, 

sealed with varnish

& finally trimmed the edges of the finished pears

I wasn't that happy with the 2nd pear, it was too "warm" and drab.
I also needed better contrast
so i added blue and a touch more white.
~

I have noticed that my method of work has been changing.
It is more loose and free. 

i have a vague idea of where i want to go and

allow the painting to guide me... 

 i am loving this new freedom!

chucking the plans and the teapot challenge

Boy just when i thought i was getting the feel for abstract art,
this week happened!

I sketched a few designs in pastel pencils that
i thought were terrific.

But when i was painting them..... totally awful!

The more i looked at those mini sketches,
the more awful my work became.

So after working on the two paintings for a day and a half, 

i chucked the sketches &
 just did what i  thought worked for the piece;

 and when i was happy with what i saw,
i stopped! (lesson learned from last week!)

Life Circle

Abstract Landscape

Now i think in total honesty i should tell you
 that my much beloved hubby, 

actually laughed out loud when he saw the abstract landscape.

hmmm...... of course this wonderful man doesn't like abstract or expressive art & though he respects VanGogh, he wouldn't want any of his work in the house. So maybe, and this is my semi desperate way of coping, his laughter at this piece may just be a good thing!?

~~~~~~~~~~

And for the Inspiration Avenues "tea pot" challenge, time was a bit short this week,
 but i took one of my photographs and played around digitally
giving it a new look for Shel's challenge.

"Green Tea"

continuing in the abstract

In a recent post, "becoming Brave HeArted" I wrote how "i'm trying to be brave enough to listen  to the voice that's deep inside trying to get out, not to hold back and be safe.... & as i do, i see my art getting more expressive, bolder and more abstract!" here's my next piece.....

This mixed media painting is on the large side for me, 6x6 inches, box canvas with 1 1/2 in deep sides that are painted.
I re-learned  an important lesson the hard way with this one.  When i first did this, my heart was pounding wildly at how perfectly the painting captured my vision, and then i did what i told myself i would never do again.... i thought  "what if i add...."; and it wasn't bad, but then i had to add to that, and then by my third addition i hated it.
So after kicking myself, i started fresh & when my heart was happy once more i STOPPED! :)
i just hope i don't fall off the wagon & start doing the "what ifs" again!

And on a side note  Peggy Gatto was having a "Garden Cross Give-Away" and i was one of the winners!  What a wonderful way to kick start July!!  Thank you Bunches Peggy!!! :D

From exercise to art

 This began as a simple exercise in trying out some new watercolors, seeing their color & how they glaze. I was thinking of growing grass & sunshine as I was making this &  really  liked the abstract look that was developing. I added drops of acrylic paint, gave them little tails... sort of like little bugs, dont you think? The thick acrylic drops dried with an indentation in them adding even more texture.

I'm not listing this in my shop, but i thought it was so cool that even a simple exercise could become art.