Day 17 Fish Out of Water

Fish Out of Water

Collage on paper 4 X 6

At first you see the fish shape on top, which I emphasized with acrylic then you see the  stamped fish that I placed below it. The top fish just "showed up" in the altered paper that I used, the bottom fish was a stamp I made from Styrofoam, stamped on tissue and coated with gloss medium. Then I heat sealed it to the collage like I do all the other pieces. Usually I don't know how a collage is going to turn out, I just keep playing with the possibilities until I like what I have. 

Day 16, Hoot, Hoot

Hoot, Hoot

Collage on paper, 8 X 8

I started this one yesterday but I had to wait until today to finish it. Sometimes you set aside your goals in order to just listen to someone who needs to talk. 

It's nesting season again for the Burrowing Owls who make their home here. They sit peeking out of the weeds beside their dens and watch the world go by and keep a sharp eye out for dogs, cats, and preying birds. With all the dangers it's a wonder that they survive, but they do. Soon the eggs will hatch and there will be three or four more pairs of eyes watching me as I walk by.

Day 15 Tony's Market

Tony's Market

Watercolor 11 X 15

Day 15! Hooray, we're half way to the finish! 

This is the last painting we did at the Jack Nolan Workshop. When I saw the sketch and all the detail I was a bit overwhelmed. It's a lot in a small format but Jack took us through it step by step until we came to the finishing details. All of the subjects in this workshop were out of my comfort zone but sometimes it's good to stretch yourself and grow in what you love to do. I learned that even pictures that look impossibly full of detail can be broken down into bite sized pieces, like eating an elephant one bite at a time.

Day 14 Dragonfly

Dragonfly

Collage 7 3/4 X 6

Dragonflies are such cool creatures. They can fly, dart and hover. They are the sky's vacuum cleaners of other bugs. I'm so grateful for their appetite for mosquitos. They come in every color of the rainbow and in all sizes. Of all the insect world they rate right up there with butterflies in my book.  How could I not feature one that is between earth and sky with wings outstretched in flight?

I'm almost halfway through the 30 day challenge. It's a good thing that I had a few done ahead of time for today was a day for laundry, cleaning and shopping and not much time for being creative. Now that I'm caught up with the necessary stuff of life I can hole up in the studio and make art.





Day 13, Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

Collage on canvas board 4 X %

For day 13 of the 30 day challenge I decided to post a little collage I did for a mini artwork donation that is required by the Pine Island Art League every year. This is my first attempt to collage on a canvas board and it was not hard at all. I just coated the board with gloss medium like I do any substrate and then fused my chosen papers to it. If you look out at the Gulf from just about any beach in the Fort Myers area you see some barrier islands that are off the coast. The little black protrusion on the end of my island is a light house, maybe the Sanibel Lighthouse. Anyway, I think it will make a nice souvenir for someone.

Day 12 Boca Grande Lighthouse

Boca Grande Lighthouse

Watercolor 15 X 22

This is the second day's painting in the Jack Nolan workshop that I have been attending. We used the lesson on shadows in this painting with the dark shadows under the lighthouse and the cast shadows on the side of the building. It could still use a little tweaking but all in all I think it turned out well for a workshop painting.