The Collage

Well, I fooled around with PicMonkey for about an hour yesterday and gave up. I could not find the way to make my own grid. Whenever I hit the "make your own" button it came up with one big square, when I tried to add another picture it went underneath the first one. No way was I getting a grid! I may look in another program for the collage feature but right now the frustration level has me feeling quite negative. 

One the other hand, my abstract class this morning was fun. We worked on Fauve-ism. Everyone in the class came up with wonderful pictures, I will post mine when it is ready. 

February 30 in 30 Days- Day 30

Sail at Dawn

Watercolor 15 X 15

30 days completed! Hooray! I'm very happy that I did this, it's a good kind of discipline. Sometimes I haven't been giving myself "permission" to paint because of other things I think I ought to be doing. I could now set that aside, I had a deadline to keep. 

This painting was started as a wash a long time ago, I don't remember what I had in mind when I did it, but I had an iridescent coating over the whole thing. I decided to put sailboats in it and define the horizon line and clouds a little more. Maybe I'll put in some seagulls as well. It was a fun find to work on. It was difficult to photograph well, maybe the iridescence interfered. 

February 30 in 30 Days- Day 29

Speckled Rooster

Watercolor 5.5 X 7.5

I took a picture of this rooster at a friend's house. She lives in a rural area on a few acres and has a few chickens. It's a hassle to keep them safe from the coyotes and other wildlife but the reward is wonderful, fresh eggs. 

It's the second to last day of the 30 in 30, it's been quite a challenge. I think tomorrow will be a collage of all my paintings if I can figure out how to do it. I remember getting very frustrated with the process in the past, I hope it will be easier for me this time. 

February 30 in 30 Days- Day 28

Lacy Flowers III

Watercolor 11 X 7.5

Of the three lacy flower paintings so far, I like this one the best. I love the purple and green combo and the way it makes the white of flowers just glow. It goes to show you that doing one thing over a few times leads to improvements. These are great fun, if you are into watercolor do try them. The flowers are made by dipping a sea sponge into masking fluid and dabbing it on the paper. When it's dry, try different combinations of watercolor, the darker the better. When that is dry remove the mask and put in a few details on the stems and flowers. 

February 30 in 30 Days- Day 27

Sky Windows

Acrylic on paper 18 X 24

This is a departure from the norm for me, although I get into it from time to time. I'm always learning, something I love to do. I'm taking an abstract class every Saturday morning for at least 4 weeks. I want to get better at making abstract art and learn what makes a good one. I'm finding it's fun and easy to throw on paint, something else to make a good piece. I've always loved the cruciform design so I fall back on that. I want to stretch myself to try other designs as well. There is lots of texture and movement inside each window. Click on the picture to see more detail.

February 30 in 30 Days- Day 26

Lacy Flowers II

Watercolor 11 X 7.5

I wanted to try another example of the lacy flowers with lighter colors. They are not as dramatic as the ones done with the darker colors but I do like the soft, delicate approach. I may try them again with a bit darker palette. They are fun and easy to do, a great lesson for a beginning watercolorist. Because watercolors dry so much lighter that when they are wet, you have to go in with much darker colors than you think. 

February 30 in 30 Days- Day 25

Robin-Is It Spring?

Watercolor 11 X 7.5

When I was living in Minnesota it was always encouraging to see the first robins of spring, even if it was far from spring-like and you really wondered what they were doing there. I miss their cheery morning and evening songs but I don't miss the cold, damp, dreary weather that March often brought. Here's hoping my friends up north have an early spring. If not, here's a robin for you!