Day 27--Sunset Silhouette

Sunset Silhouette

Watercolor, 5.5 X 6.5

Yes, a watercolor for today, day 27. Watercolor is and always will be my first love and I can't go long without returning to it. It seems like there is always something to learn about it that's new or challenging. For this painting I was using a new set of Mission Watercolors. I only had the small 8 tube set so I limited my palette to those colors. I have so many different things to try since coming back from the Florida Watercolor Society last week end.  

I love the collages, too, so I know I'll be going back and forth between the two and probably combining them as well. Right now my studio is seriously in need of cleaning and organizing, the daily creation has not left much time for that. My home chores have suffered some, too, so when the 30 Day Challenge is over that will be my focus for a few days.

Day 26 Bye, Bye Blackbird

Bye, Bye Blackbird

Collage, 7.5 X 5.5

We are winding down to the last few days of the 30 Day Challenge. I must admit that the subject matter is getting to be one of the biggest challenges. I think I'm just about out of the collage ideas for this format. This one is not one of my favorites but I do like the bird flying by. It needs something else in it to tie it all together but so far my imagination has not helped me. Any ideas out there? I'd love to hear your comments and I so appreciate the comments I have had during this challenge. Thank you!

Day 25- Sea Grapes

Sea Grape

Collage, 5.5 X 7.5

The sea grape is one of my favorite Florida plants. The smooth, round, leaves change colors from reddish to shinny green and back to a deep red and brown. In the spring there are long clusters of small white flowers that mature as a grape like cluster of fruit. They get eaten by the wild life before I even get a chance at them. I'm told they make a good jelly. The downside to them is that they grow at an alarming rate and must be trimmed often if you don't want them to take over. 

This collage was made from painted tissue paper for the background and the leaves, stems and berries were made from altered and painted magazine pages. They are heat fused to 140 lb. watercolor paper and finally coated with UV varnish. 

Day 24 Sailing the Sound

Sailing the Sound

Collage, Acrylic 5 X 6

I can't let the month go by without doing a sailboat collage. The background is from a tourist brochure with a map of the waterways around the area, the sail boat is from painted tissue. The little sailor is painted in.

The water is pretty shallow, especially in the winter, so I don't think there is too much sailing unless you have a boat with a shallow draft. But I do see lots of sailboats that motor out to the deeper water through the waterways and on the river. It's a very lovely place to sail or motor or paddle a kayak or canoe if you prefer. A day on the water is almost as good as a day making art.

Day 23 I've Got Mail

I've Got Mail

Collage, 5.5 X 7.5

It's bound to happen; when you start making collages, you start saving things. In this case, a beautiful red envelope and stamp from Nepal. The envelope looked like it was hand made paper and such a gorgeous red I knew it was collage material. The other more unusual piece of material in this collage is a dryer sheet which is the red stripe on the left. The rest of the papers are altered magazine and reproductions of manufactured papers. 

Day 22- Favorite Things

Favorite Things

Collage, 5.5 X 7.5

I couldn't decide what I should call this collage until I realized that I used a lot of elements that I like to use the most; the checkerboard design, the snail swirl, calligraphy, gold and a touch of red. This isn't a particularly good design but it has the things I like so that makes it OK with me. What it lacks in balance it makes up for with fun. Now I must get to work on the project for tomorrow.

Day 21 Copper Canyon

Copper Canyon

Collage 5.5 X 7.5

Twenty one days down, nine to go! I'm really glad that I'm keeping up with this challenge. I feel like I've grown and I've gotten a lot of good ideas for future work, both in collage and in painting. I think I'll be incorporating some of these designs in my watercolor work and into larger collages. This collage has copper acrylic on it to blend with the peachy color scheme. I've worked in a horizontal format this time instead of vertical, I need to switch it up now and then. The papers are all altered and painted magazine pages. I really like all the textures and colors I can get working with these pages.

I just got home yesterday from the Florida Watercolor Society and I feel energized by all the creative "juices" that were flowing all week end. We saw some marvelous artist demonstrations, took lots of pictures and notes to keep the information fresh in our minds. The trade show was terrific and the vendors had artists doing demonstrations in their areas, too. Lots to see and take in. I wasn't going to buy anything but that resolve cracked when I saw that there were Gelli Plates for sale. I've wanted one for a long time but didn't want to pay shipping on top of the price. So, now I'm the proud owner of a Gelli Plate and I'm sure I'll have fun experimenting with that.