2017 30 Day Challenge Day 28

 Bird Button 2

Mixed media collage

This is the second in the Bird Button series. I think this is my favorite because I like the tree and I like that I left the thread longer on the button. The whole series has a whimsical nature. 

The materials used are altered magazine pages, painted tissue, oven parchment, coffee filter, painted printer paper, cotton thread, acrylic paint, stamp ink and the button. It's sealed with gloss acrylic and coated with UV varnish. 

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 27

Bird Button 1

Mixed media collage 6 X 6

It all started on a shopping trip with a friend. You know those shopping trips where you are just out having fun and not really looking for anything in particular. I think we had wandered into a resale shop and I spied a rack of buttons. These buttons with the birds caught my eye and I thought how cute they would be on a collage. Here we are, months later and there were those buttons waiting for their place in the world of art. I had about as much fun putting together the collages as I did shopping that day with my friend.

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 26

JOY Triptych

Mixed media collage 6 X 12

Although I made this piece awhile ago, I don't think I have posted it before. Sometimes in these challenges you have to fall back on an earlier piece. The collages I was working on for the rest of the month still need some tweaking so it's good to have  an alternative. I love the colors and sentiment of this piece, joy is part of my on-line name and I hope that the joy I feel in my art is conveyed to those who see it. The three small pieces are "floating" on top of a white mat board and will frame quite nicely with a separator in the frame.

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 25

You Have to Kiss a Lot of Frogs

Mixed media collage 4 X 6

I'm putting together some pieces for the National Collage Society's Postcard Show so I've done a few that are 4 X 6. The magazine page that I altered didn't loose the orange frog in the picture although the other inks changed nicely. Sometimes this happens. When the collage was finished I thought of this saying for the title and put on the lip punch outs. Just a little bit of whimsy for the day.

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 24

Forever Takes Takes Time

Mixed media collage 4 X 6

I saw this word in my box of papers and thought about how it is used. We use it in exaggeration, when we say, "It took forever!", or "I'll keep it forever." But forever takes a long time. A lifetime of forevers adds up to a boatload of commitment. I look at the younger generation and don't think commitment is very common anymore. Life changes from one thing to another. Just committing to 30 days of art, posting your art every day, is too much of a commitment. It seems to go on forever! 

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 23

Buttoned Down 2

Mixed media collage 3.5 X 3.5

I think these two collages, yesterday's and today's, would look good together in a little  frame. Just the addition of a little blue tissue should tie them together. What do you think? Are they better together of standing alone?

Buttoned Down Diptych

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 22

Buttoned Down 1

Mixed media collage 3.5 X 3,5

When I give classes the first collage the class does is a 3 X 3 from scraps. They choose their composition and their colors and put together their first collage. After the first class, they have a finished piece of art to take home. They can frame it or mount it, I've even had some make a pendant out of it. So, to keep in practice every now and then I get out my scraps and make some 3 X 3's. It's just as much fun as the larger ones and takes less time. 

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 21

 

Cardinal

Mixed media-watercolor 15 X 11

I find that if I practice the techniques that I've learned in a workshop they stick in my brain better. If I go away and don't do that which I've learned for a week or two, I've forgotten everything. That is a waste of a good workshop! Here is my practice from Karen Knutson's charcoal pour class. There are some things I would change if I did it over again, but I love the bird so I'll keep him. Since every charcoal pour background comes out differently, every piece has it's own challenges. She also does landscapes on hers so I may try that, too. In the meantime, 9 days to go in the Challenge, I think I'll go back to abstracts.

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 20

Tea With Klimpt

Acrylic 15 X 11

This is a painting from the Karen Knutson workshop. We switched gears and learned what she calls, "Painting like Gustav Klimpt." We could choose our own figure to put in the painting and I found a picture of a woman in old fashioned dress having tea. For my first attempt I'm pleased with the outcome. Klimpt put a lot of little geometric details in his paintings in black and gold and I've attempted to recreate this look with acrylic paint. 

Early stage of painting

I don't have a picture of the start of the painting but the acrylic is dropped on and pulled to the bottom of the painting, some paint is lifted to make random white dots, then the figure is put in, more paint is removed and negative spaces are painted around the figure. It's fun to see the figure emerge and take the stage. If you like to doodle you'd love putting in all the little shapes at the end. It's very different style of painting and I enjoyed the process.

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 19

Beach House 4

Caribbean Blue

Mixed media collage 8 X 8

An orange sunset sky, the lovely aqua blue of the Caribbean and a swaying coconut tree; what could be better? Just add music and you are in a happy place. Making these little beach houses is pure fantasy. That's what makes them so enjoyable. What would your fantasy get-away look like? 

I used painted tissue, altered magazines, painted brown paper, spray glitter, printed papers, Inktense pencils and a metal bicycle embellishment. It's all heat fused with gloss medium and coated with UV varnish.

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 18

Beach House 3

Mixed media collage 9 X 9

I'm deviating from the abstracts for a day or two since I'm still working on my beach house series. It seems like I've done more than 3, I guess because I keep going back to them from time to time. 

I used hand painted tissue, altered magazine pages, geli printed paper, coffee cup holders and painted brown bags in this collage. It's all coated with gloss acrylic and heat fused to 140# paper then varnished. It can be mounted on a wood panel or matted and framed. 

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 17

DRUM ROLL PLEASE: THIS IS MY 500TH BLOG!

Thank you for reading and following!

Bird Watching

Mixed media and watercolor 15 X 22

I never imagined that I would get so involved with blogging. It goes to show you how you can do things that you never dreamed you would do.

Last week end I attended an art workshop with Karen Knutson as the instructor. She and I are fellow Minnesotans so I've known her for a long time. It was great having her in Florida to teach a workshop. 

Her first lesson was doing charcoal pours as a background for your painting. If you look carefully at the painting you see random black spray like shapes in the background. These are made by splashing water on paper that has been sprinkled with powdered charcoal. When it's dry, after it's been sprayed with fixative, you design your painting around the charcoal. It's a fun but messy process. The bird's wing has been embellished with collage papers, so it's right up my alley. Click on the image to get a closer view of the detail. 

Karen has very creative and imaginative paintings, you can see her work at www.karenknutson.com or read her blog at www.karenknutson.blogspot.com.

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 16

A Postcard

Mixed media collage 6 X 6

No birds this time, just a cute postcard embellishment. It has no particular meaning except that it was a complementary color to the oranges and yellow and seemed to fit there; also it repeats the shape in the upper right. It's all about finding what works. 

Thanks for the comments about my work, I really appreciate it. 

2017 30 Day Challenge - Day 15

Bird on a Perch

Mixed media Collage

Day 15! I'm half-way through the challenge. I've made it through an out of town family funeral, and a 3 day workshop and I have still managed to post a daily piece. I can be organized and focused when I want to be, and that's the challenge. Not so much that I make great or even necessarily good art, but that I focus on what I want to do and that's to finish 30 pieces in 30 days. Sometimes I know life is going to get in the way  of creating so I double or even triple up on some days to get ahead or to catch up if need be. 

I'm starting to love the lighter oranges and yellows. I don't think I've made friends with a true orange color, yet; perhaps as an accent but not as a dominant color. I have one more orange and then I think I will move on and start a new color series of abstracts.

2017 30 Day Challenge- Day 14

Bird on a Wire

Mixed media collage, 6 X 6

This collage is made up of the same papers as yesterday's collage. The envelope that I talked about is on the top, it's the inside of the envelope. Yesterday I used the outside. The glittery paper is on the bottom. You can make out the reflection of the glitter spray in it if you look carefully. The bird is an acrylic transfer. See you tomorrow!

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 13

As the Crow Flies

Mixed media collage, 6 X 6

Friday the 13th is not and unlucky day after all. I'm flying through the 30 day challenge just like this crow is flying though my painting. I'm still using oranges and getting more comfortable with it. This collage, and the next three, have parts of an interesting envelope. On this one it's in the upper right corner; I have painted and stamped on it. The paper on the lower right I put on gold glitter and glitter spay. I wish you could see the sparkle. The other pieces are altered magazine pages or hand painted paper. Everything is coated with gloss acrylic, fused with an iron to a backing and coated with acrylic varnish. 

2017 30 Day Challenge- Day 12

New Beginnings 2

Mixed media collage 7 X 7

Not only is this in oranges and browns, it is also a random or scattered composition so I'm really out of my comfort zone. I used a sponge roller with off white paint on the right side so that I could scribble in it. I also put some paint on the bottom and a little to break up the dark square on the top. I think the paint brought the piece together somewhat. I have a feeling I will be working on this one some more, it doesn't feel finished to me.

2017 30 Day Challenge, Day 11

New Beginnings 1

Mixed media collage, 7 X 7

I'm working in colors that I don't usually use in my New Beginnings Series. Browns and oranges are not colors that I use in clothing or home decorating. That is what a new beginning is to me; trying something new and different. I'm not quite comfortable with it yet, a little tentative and unsure with using these alien colors. I will keep trying to push through my usual preferences and go for something outside of my box.

2017 30 in 30 Days Challenge Day 10

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Resolutions

Collage, mixed media 6 X 6

Before I can have a new beginning I have to have some resolutions as to what my new beginning will look like. It doesn't matter what language you write them in, as long as they are written as a reminder of what you intend to do. I'm not good at this. My New Year's resolutions have usually been forgotten by now so I have stopped making them. You know the usual ones, loose weight, exercise more, eat healthy food, etc. Then life gets in the way. A family member dies, you get an illness, or an accident happens; the list can go on and on. But, the 30 day challenge is good because it's got an ending in 30 days. I can do 30 days! I'm already 1/3 done. So, away with the blues an on to thoughts of spring and summer, bright colors and positive thoughts.

This collage is made up of scrapbooking papers, coffee filters and acrylic paint. It's heat fused to 140# paper and sealed with acrylic varnish ready to mount or mat and frame.

2017 30 Day Challenge, Day 9

The Blues 4

Collage, Mixed Media 6 X 6

The last in this series, I hope the blues are gone and spirits have begun to be lifted. It's a new year, a time of new beginnings and planning for the future. This will be the theme of my next group of art work.