Christmas Cards, Already!

Holiday Nest

Watercolor 5 X 7

Holiday Decorating

Watercolor 5 X 7

Holiday Lights

Watercolor 5 X 7

There's nothing like a deadline to make you get down to business. Our local art group is having a holiday card contest with a deadline the end of this month. I put my ideas on paper the last couple of weeks but I can only enter one. The consensus has been for the top painting, Holiday Nest. I rather like the Flamingo card, Holiday Decorating, because it's so colorful. If you have a favorite, let me know. I will probably offer them all on Fine Art America if I have the time to get them posted, and also at my local art gallery, so even if I don't get chosen in the contest, it won't be a wasted effort. I usually paint a Nativity card for my personal card sending. I still have that yet to come, although it is started. 

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".

Mixed Media Heron

Mixed Media Heron 11x15

I'm finally back to posting. Not only was my bout with the crud long, I had a 4 day workshop in the middle of it. I didn't want to forfeit my payment for it so I dragged myself into the studio and did what I could. There was a day of sort of messing around with acrylics on fresh paper and old paintings. We learned different ways of getting a variety of textures on the paper which would be our under painting. After that there was a lot of emphasis on composition and design. It seems like that has to be drilled into my head on a regular basis because I get these neat under paintings and then I don't know how to develop them into art that really works. I think I work more intuitively but that is so unreliable. I'd like to be able to make a plan and stick to it. Anyway, this heron painting was one of the paintings that came out of the four days. This was done over an old painting and coat of "gesso juice" (1 part liquid gesso, 1 part matte medium, and 2 parts water), textured with a plastic card. The dark blue background is thick watercolor, the heron is gesso juice and watercolor. The workshop instructor was Kathleen Conover. www.kathleenconover.com Look her up, she does very interesting work and I found her to be a wonderful teacher.

Sea Shore Heron

I'm determined to get my mini paintings done for next year so that I don't have to scramble to get them handed in on time. I have some good photos that I took of a heron walking on the beach so he's my subject this year. People were asking for more bird pictures this year so I hope that's what they want in 2011. This is the first of four that I finished. It's done in acrylic on a 4X5 canvas board. It's pretty small by my standards but that's the size we are required to do. I find it easier to paint that small with acrylic as opposed to watercolor. I guess it's easier to correct mistakes by painting over them.

Something New

I found a new product to try while looking around my local art store. They are like watercolor pencils but when you wet them and they dry, they are permanent. They are called Inktense by Derwent. You can work over them and add to them and the color underneath will not move. I did my intitial drawing with them and when the first layer dried I went in with watercolor to get the depth of dark that I wanted in the wave and water areas. I think I'm going to enjoy doing watercolor sketches with them; so far I have a tin of 12, enough to have some fun for now.