Day 18 A Snail's Pace

 A Snail's Pace

Postcard Collage, 3.5 X 5.5

Today I'm traveling to Boca Raton Florida for the Florida Watercolor Society convention. It's something I look forward to every year. Each year it's in a different location. The artist's demonstrations and lectures are so interesting, full of new ideas and innovations. There is also a section of vendors that come and they sponsor artists to demo as well. We travel at anything but a snail's pace. The time goes very quickly and we're home, exhausted on Saturday night. 

This collage is done with altered magazine pages, and tissue, heat fused to watercolor paper, and sealed with acrylic medium.

Day 20 Musical

Musical

Postcard Collage

3.5 X 5.5

Day 20 means there are only 10 days left! When I look over all the marvelous paintings that are posted at the 30 Day Challenge web site I'm amazed at how good they are and how they are getting so much better. There are really so many that I could spend all day looking at each one of them. Being in the studio or wherever you create each day is so beneficial. 

I love using player piano paper in my collages for the slightly yellowed hue and the interesting perforations that are on it. The little dashes at the bottom of the collage are from that. The other papers are hand painted and decorated tissue and altered magazine pages. The wavy keyboard transfer is in reference to the player piano. 

Day 19 Blackbird

Blackbird

Postcard Collage

3.5 X 5.5

By itself this little collage just didn't seem to be very interesting. I looked through my transfers and nothing seemed to fit. Then I thought of the phrase from "Portlandia", "Put a bird on it!" Why is it that anything seems more interesting when it has a bird on it? 

PS, If you don't know about Portlandia, put it in your browser, I think you find some you tube videos. 

Day 17 The Sun Will Come Out

The Sun Will Come Out

Mini Collage, 4 X 4

Sometimes we have those "iffy" days, maybe the sun pokes out once in awhile. I'm wishing I had put my sun transfer a little more in the yellow section but once they are down, there's no changing it. It reminds me to not be too hasty in my decisions. 

Day 16 Stormy Day

Stormy Day

Postcard Collage

One thing you learn about Florida is that a rain storm can pop up at any time. You don't leave windows open or convertible tops down, especially in the summer. Today, for instance, it was bright and sunny until suddenly dark gray clouds rolled in, lightening flashed, thunder rolled. It will be raining buckets in one neighborhood while two blocks away it remains dry. Not like the area wide rains we would get "up north". So this little collage shows the blue skies and the thundercloud with the wind whipping everything around. It's made from tissue and altered magazine pages and heat fused to 140# watercolor paper. It is sealed with acrylic medium.

Day 15 Halfway 30 in 30 Days Challenge

Wine Time

Collage 4 X 4

I don't know about the rest of the many artists who are doing the 30 day challenge, but this is getting into the "challenge" part for me. The hard part is keeping the momentum of the theme going and keeping the work fresh. Some days I'm just lucky to get a collage or watercolor put together. At the same time I'm trying to keep it fun and not be too hard on myself. I'll be going to the Florida Watercolor Society convention at the end of the week so that's when things might not get posted. I'm sure I'll come back with lots of fresh ideas and creative energy to finish the rest of the Challenge.

Wine Time was made with hand painted papers and altered magazine pages. I like the subject and I would like to try to make a larger one.

Day 14 Transformation, Mini Collage

Transformation

Collage, 3.5 X 4.5

I'm back to my small collages; this is the size that is required for the donation to the Art League that I am associated with. They are matted and put in a clear bag, then they are displayed at our annual show and sold for $10.00. It's our major fundraiser for the year. I thought the organic shapes that the painted tissue made were perfect for a butterfly transfer. 

Day 13 Red Reflections

Red Reflections

Watercolor 9 X 12

For day 13 of the 30 in 30 Day Challenge I did another watercolor. It was the reflections on the water that captured my attention when I looked at this red sailboat. Red is like that isn't it? It demands to be noticed. I was at a marina outside of a restaurant where we were having lunch. The line in the background is the bridge over the Caloosahatchi which connects Ft Myers, FL and Cape Coral. It's a very scenic spot to have lunch looking at the boats on the river which flows into the Gulf of Mexico. This time of year the traffic is pretty sparse but in the winter it's very busy with visitors and snow birds. 

I used masking fluid to protect the white on the sailboats, dock and water, something I don't usually do but there's no other way to get around the light areas of railing and deck top. For the clouds, I dampen the paper and just paint around them, that way some of the edges are soft. We are almost to the halfway point in the Challenge, I hope I make it to the end.

Day 12 A Watercolor Day!

 Rainy Season

Watercolor 7 X 10

One neat thing about doing a painting a day for 30 days is that you can try things that you've always wanted to try but haven't. I've wanted to try to paint rain for a long time. Summer time is the rainy season in Florida, we see a lot of rain storms, usually in the afternoon. The wind will blow, there will be thunder and lightening and the rain will come down in buckets for 10 minutes to an hour. Then, it's done. 

For this little painting I painted the palms first and let them dry, then I made a big puddle of gray-blue paint and painted over the palm trees with a big brush with one swipe so that I didn't move the palm paint too much. Then I spattered and spritzed clear water to make the dots and drips. After that dried I enhanced the drips and drops with white and blue paint.

Day 11 One of My Favorite Subjects

Paris In The Fall

Collage, 10 X 10

Yes, I admit it, I'm one of those people who loves Paris. Something draws us back to that city again and again. I can stay a few days and I'm satisfied, although I often wonder what it would be like to be able to stay for a month and really be able to explore in a leisurely fashion. Our first trip to Paris was billed as a Christmas shopping trip, three days in Paris, three in London in November. We just got a taste and knew we had to go back even though we had a tiny hotel room, it was expensive, confusing, cold and rainy. We since have been back spring, summer and fall, each time to a different neighborhood. It's a wonderful city to explore, there seems to be no end to the interesting new place you can find each time. 

This collage is made with stamped and painted tissue, altered magazine pages, printed pages and acrylic paint. 

Day 10 One Third of the Way!

Lariats

Collage 10 X 10

This collage was made from altered magazine pages, hand painted paper and tissue, printed paper and acrylic paint. It has lots of texture that can't be appreciated in a photo. When you get into making collages you start to save interesting papers. The red in this piece was from an envelope of unusual paper that was sent from India. The hand made papers often hold memories of when and where they were made and who was there creating with you. Making a collage, like painting a painting, carries a piece of the artist in it. 

Day 9 Getting Bigger

Petroglyph

Collage 10 X 10

I've been saving this one because I wanted to show the smaller ones first. This whole piece is done with pages from the National Geographic that were altered with the Citrasolv. The organic quality of the pages lend themselves to a landscape format and with the layers I thought it looked like the side of a cliff. I found this giraffe transfer in my stash that just seemed to be waiting to be put on this piece. Is that serendipity or what? 

For those who are kind enough to leave comments, I'm sorry that I've had to reinstate the comment puzzle thing. I found that I had hundreds of spam comments in my spam box which I was unaware of until I stumbled upon it while looking for something else. I do love the comments and appreciate the time it takes for you to leave them. 

Day Eight, Before and After

Landscape, Day 8

Heron Lake, Day 8-revised

Collage, 4.5 X 6.5 in 8 X 10 mat

As I looked at this collage I felt that it needed something. So, I looked through my images for image transfer and thought the heron was just the thing. The size and scale was right and it fit the feel of the piece. To transfer an image I coated the printed image with several coats of gloss or gel medium and allowed it to dry. I cut it as close to the image as I could, placed it face down on my artwork and fused it with the iron. Then I rubbed the excess paper off with a small, damp cloth. What is left is the printed image on the layer of medium minus the paper. I first learned about the process in a Golden Paints workshop, I think they have tutorials on line if you want to know more. Just search "acrylic transfers".

Day 7 Abstract Collage

Writing On the Wall

Collage 4.5 X 6.5

I have one week down and three to go! I hope we all make it to the end. This collage is made up of altered magazine pages, stained tissue and printed tissue. All of it has been coated with gloss medium and heat fused, then sealed with gloss medium and UV varnish. I love this process because you can design your collage and fuse it without taking it all apart to glue the individual pieces down. Once you arrange it, it's practically done. I like the limited palette on this one; red, black and gray are always a good combination. Did you know the phrase "The writing on the wall" comes from a story in the Old Testament? You'll find the story in the book of Daniel, chapter 5. It's quite interesting. 

Day 6, Autumn Day Collage

Autumn Day

Collage, 7.5 X 5.5

The next few day's collages are a bit bigger, they fit in an 8 X 10 mat for framing. This one, with the orange and green made me think of the early days of fall when some of the leaves have turned and some have kept their green for just a little longer. The papers are painted tissue, water stained tissue, and an altered magazine page. Acrylic paint is lightly wiped on and wiped off in places to bring the piece together, then it is coated with gloss medium.  

Day 4, 30 In 30 Challenge, Postcard Collages

Caravan

Collage 4 X 5.5

This collage came together when I was looking for a piece of orange to place in my collage. I spotted this orange with camels on the back of some prepared paper  that had not been affected by the Citrasolv. I like to put in something that is objective now an then and people really like to see something recognizable in an otherwise abstract piece. I have gotten a very positive response to this collage and I think that's why. All the rest of the papers in this collage were magazine pages that were altered with Citrasolv and coated with gloss medium, then heat fused.

Day 4 Post Card Landscape 3

Moonscape

Mixed Media Collage

4 X 5.5

Here we are at day 4 and I have another postcard sized collage. The papers are hand painted tissue, jelly printed paper and magazine page with the ink altered with Citrasolv. The circular forms on this paper remind me of photos of the moon with the craters. I hope you are enjoying the 30 Day Challenge as much as I am.

Day 3 Postcard Collage 2

Sunlit 

Postcard Collage

This looks like a sunlit cliff shoreline to me, especially in the photo. You can't tell that the little strip of yellow is the gold acrylic that I put on the torn edges of the paper. That is what makes the cliff look sunlit as well. These are the same kinds of papers that I used yesterday. I'm loving experimenting with these little landscapes. Check in with me tomorrow to see the 3rd in the series.

Day 2- Post Card Landscape

Post Card Landscape A

Collage 4 X 5.5

I decided to make post card sized landscapes for the first part of the month of the 30 day challenge. It gives me a chance to experiment with differing horizon lines, colors and papers without having a large piece to agonize over. They go fairly quickly and leave me time to work on larger pieces which take longer to complete. 

This collage is made up of magazine pages altered with Citrasolv and colored tissue that has been altered with water. Everything is coated with gloss medium and fused together with heat on 140# watercolor paper.

Day 1, 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

I'm going to participate in the 30 Day Challenge again. I plan to do my collage "paintings" as well as some watercolor and mixed media. My theme is "My Neck of the Woods", mostly focusing on Florida scenes but I will be doing a lot of non-objective pieces as well so I'm not being ridged about it. 

Time Span 

Collage 3.5 X 4.5

I've been learning how to make papers with National Geographic magazines and Citrasolv, a natural cleaning product. It dissolves the ink and makes one able to manipulate it into interesting, random patterns. All the papers in this little collage were made this way, coated with gloss medium and heat fused to 140 pound watercolor paper. It was then enhanced with acrylic paint and coated with another layer of medium.