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.