Day 17- Alcohol Ink Note Card

Wish I Were Here

Alcohol Ink Notecard

It's one of those days where I wish I were somewhere warm and sunny on the beach. It's a little cool for me today but I'm sure there are plenty of tourists who are loving the beach today. 

This alcohol ink painting was done on transparent/translucent Yupo so you can see the color of the card through the painting. It's fun to try them on different colors to see which one enhances the painting the best. 

Day 16- Drama Queen

Drama Queen

Acrylic on paper, 9 X 12

I was working on a collage and I didn't like the direction it was going or the results I was having. This morning I saw a picture in the Wall Street Journal that just inspired me to get out the acrylics and see what I could do with it. This isn't even close to the detail in the original picture but I was just going for the shapes and the colors which were so dramatic. I think I'll try it again, usually that doesn't work for me but I'll do it anyway, just to see what happens. It was really fun to paint and though you can't see it there is iridescent gold in the yellows and oranges. 

Day 15-Butterfly Kisses

Butterfly Kisses

Collage, 5.5 X 7.5

Now we're half-way through the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. I think we're getting into the swing of painting everyday, but getting them posted everyday seems to be the hardest part of it. 

This collage is altered magazine pages, painted papers, printed papers, acrylic transfer and acrylic paint and medium on 140# watercolor paper.

Day 14-Balance

Balance

Collage, 3.5 X 5.5

We were at a beach in Maine last year where there were many stacked rocks. Some people do them as a type of meditation. The rocks are irregular in shape and it takes concentration to get them to balance. You need to breathe and be patient. Not unlike balancing life; breathe, be patient, put things in order, the big stuff first then add the smaller stuff. Some days the pile is short, some days it's tall. 

This collage was made from altered magazine pages, art paper, hand painted paper, acrylic paint and medium on watercolor paper.

Day 13- Upper Level Disturbance

Upper Level Disturbance

Alcohol Ink on Yupo 4 X 5.5

I think this is a weather term, or, I made it up! But on days when the weather doesn't turn out exactly as promised and it rains (or snows) on your picnic or parade, it seems like the forecasters like to use the these weather terms that sound really good. "It rained because  of an upper level disturbance over Montana." So this is my version of what an upper level disturbance would look like. What appears to be white and light gray is really a metallic silver ink that doesn't show up in a picture very well. 

Day 12- Kitty's Picture Window

Kitty's Picture Window

Alcohol Ink, Acrylic, Stamping and Pen on Yupo

I ended up using a studio full of media for this little 5.5 X 4 painting. The background started out as an alcohol ink which I've been playing with to see what it does. I thought it looked like trees in the distance then decided to make a kitty looking out of a window. She needed something to look at so then came the tree and the little bird stamp. To define the window sill I used black Sharpie, and to make the kitty opaque I ended up using white acrylic and Sharpie outline. I'm learning a lot by painting and experimenting every day.

Day 11- Messages

Messages

Collage 10 X 10

This collage is made mostly from altered magazine pages with the exception of the paper with script on it. I love putting script in my collages, it's unreadable up still recognizable for what it is. It lends a human touch to an otherwise abstract piece. It is all coated with gloss acrylic medium before being adhered by heat to the paper underneath. Acrylic is added to the torn edges and there are touches of red from an Inktense pencil. If you look closely you can see some dragonflies which were added last. 

Close up of dragonflies