Getting Ready for Class

 Skinny Collage

3 X 9

Aquarium 

Collage, 3.5 X 10.5

I like the challenge of doing a composition on an irregular shape, in this case long and narrow. I did Skinny with odd pieces of this and that and then added the transfer at the end. 

I thought the painted tissue lent itself to a water like texture so I made the aquarium piece out of scraps of that. I may put this on a long skinny wrapped canvas that I have. 

I don't start out with a design in mind when I start these practice collages, I just pick the colors and papers that I want to use and let it build itself from there. It's very much like play and is very relaxing and freeing way to work. 

My collage class was supposed to start this week but a family emergency put it on hold for a week. Now I'm busy getting ready for the first class on Monday. 

Workshop- Day 3

Papa John

Watercolor 15 X 22

Just a quick post about day 3. We did a portrait painting of Papa John. It was very fun to do this man with the bushy beard. The strong light and shadow make it a delightful study. My painting on top, Maggie McClellen's below. Once again I had a heavy hand with the dark, I guess I've had too many teacher's telling me to "get the dark colors in!" 

Papa John by Maggie McClellen

Workshop, Day 2

Old Barn with Truck

Watercolor, 15 X 22

This was the second painting that we did in the Maggie McClellen Workshop. Once again, it was her drawing that we worked from. 

Maggie's Barn and Truck

I'm not sure if this is Maggie's final on this painting but it's the last picture I had. As you can see I had a much heavier hand with the dark colors and also changed the color scheme. I have to do something to make the painting mine, I don't want to just "paint along". There was no masking fluid used on this painting, every thing that was light was painted around. I much prefer this to applying mask then removing it and dealing with all the hard edges. 

  

One of the new things that I learned is the ideal color ratio. According to experts at color, the compliments should be in the following ratios; yellow to purple-10% to 90%; blue to orange-30% to 40% and red to green-50 % to 50%. I'm guessing that this is supposed to be more pleasing to the eye but I'm not at all clear how the ratios were derived. I'm not sure if I achieved a 10 to 90 ratio but it explains why my shadows and sky are to the purple shade. 

A Watercolor Workshop

On February 18, 19 and 20 I took a watercolor workshop with a wonderful watercolorist, Maggie Mc Clellen. Painting someone else's subject in their style and mode of painting is always a learning experience, especially when the style of painting is a little different from your own. I always enjoy it, even if it does stretch me. For a painter you can't complain about 3 days of doing something you love. The first day we watched Maggie's manner of painting as she demonstrated painting an old fishing boat. Then we attempted to do the same. At the end of the day I had my version, and Maggie had hers. And that's why she's the teacher and I'm not! Still, for a first time, it's an acceptable painting. If you are not learning anything, why attend a workshop?

My boat painting

Watercolor 15X22

Maggie Mc Clellen's painting

Watercolor 15 X 22

It's Always Exciting

First Place

It's always exciting to win an award. Today I won First Place in the Small World Category at our local art show.  A Small World painting may not exceed 25 square inches and must be framed no larger than 8 X 10. The subject must be 1/6 or less than actual size. All my little 30 in 30 Days collages paid off, the judges said they had a hard time choosing between the four that I entered. I feel blessed! 

The King

 King Fisher # 1

Watercolor, mixed media 11 X 11

This  was my first attempt at doing one of Karen Knutson's "wire drawings". See her work at www.karenknutson.com. It's supposed to be a combination drawing, zentangle, with added collage and paint. Well, I got the collage and paint part OK but I didn't like the busy background (permanent ink) behind the bird. I tried to tone it down with gouache, then naples yellow, finally I used white acrylic. See the next picture. I also modified the background colors.

 King Fisher #1 modified

I liked this one much better, I like the bird but thought the background could be better and I could do without the messy acrylic behind the bird.

The King 

Watercolor, ink, and collage 11 X 11

I'm happy with the way this one turned out. I left the circle behind the bird just the white of the paper. The viewer can decide if it's a sun or a moon. I used the "old fashioned" method of collage, just cut and paste for these. I used "Yes" paste to start with so whatever I didn't like could be removed. When I was finished I went over the pasted pieces with matte medium so they would be permanent. Other than the drawing done with ink there was no zentangle going on. I like the idea and I will probably do some more and try to incorporate some of the zentangle or wire drawing. 

Day 30 Over the Moon

Over the Moon

Collage 6 X 6

The last day of the Challenge! I made it! There were many who signed up but not everyone made it to the finish. It's not easy and I congratulate everyone who made a commitment to do a piece of art every day. It's huge! Even if you worked everyday but didn't complete a piece that day it's still a commitment to be in the studio and put the effort in. The real challenge now is to keep up the effort, do the work, and get better at what you do. Don't take the next week off, but keep on. (That's me giving myself a pep talk). 

I've done another little valentine for today. It's sort of says what I'm feeling about everyone who has been reading my blog. I'm over the moon for you! Thanks for putting up with my chatter and my collages. I'm blessed.

Day 29 Safari

Safari

Collage 6 X 6

The large patterns in the papers of this collage were made by stamping with a hand made stamp. The small ones were from a store bought stamp. The patterns and colors made me think of African textiles so I found a postage stamp from Zambia in my ephemera collection to add to the collage. That's how I came up with "Safari". The papers are all altered National Geographic pages. 

Day 28 Paris Memories

Paris Memories

Collage 6 X 6

My 30 day collage odyssey has almost come to an end. I'll be ready to put away the papers for awhile and pick up a paint brush. I do love the design aspect of collage making, some things work better than others. This one doesn't quite work as well as I hoped. Every collage is a learning experience. What could I do to make it better, what other colors could I have used are a couple of questions I ask myself. Learning good design helps in all kinds of art. 

This collage was made from a placemat, a French map, bleeding tissue and acrylic paint.

Day 27 Rainy Day

Rainy Day

Collage 6 X 6

We are having record rainfalls in south Florida this year. It's the wettest January that I can remember. In the last 24 hours we have had 5 or more inches of rain and it will rain most of tomorrow, they say. I keep reminding myself that at least I don't have to shovel it. As this collage came together it looked like the rainy day we are having, so I found a transfer of a girl with an umbrella to finish it. I'm looking forward to the sunny week end that is promised. 

Day 26 Horsing Around

Horsing Around

Collage 5 X 6

I made this one a little smaller to fit into a 5 X 5 opening in a mat and frame. It's made with hand painted tissue, altered magazine, security envelopes and a part of a page of a poetry book that has been painted. It was that scrap of poetry that sent me in the direction of finding a horse to use as an acrylic transfer. The marks were made with a watercolor stick then sprayed with fixative. Using watercolor sticks makes it easy to erase until I get the marks that I like, then I fix them before coating the collage with gloss medium.

Four more days to go...stay tuned!

Day 25 Why Not?

Why Not?

Collage 5.5 X 5.5

Day 25, Why Not? is colorful and a little whimsical. As I was putting this one together I was indulging in a little dark chocolate therapy, Doves Dark Chocolate, to be exact. They always have something written on the inside of the wrapper, mine said "Why Not?" I thought, why not put "why not?' in my collage. I finished it off with some stamped notes to go with the notes in the paper, a stamped circle to go with the circles in the green paper, and considered it finished. I think it's a fun one. The papers are hand painted, printed and the pink from an envelope. 

Day 24 Before She Flew

Before She Flew

Collage 6 X 6

The text that I found gave me the title. It's nice to have that taken care of because sometimes it's hard to come up with a title. This collage has some interesting paper sources. the image on the left was a copy of some paint left over on a disposable palette paper. It was interesting, so when it was dry I made a color copy of it and prepared it for collage by coating the copy with gloss medium. The lower brown piece is a cone coffee filter. I love the texture of the seam. Above that is some painted tissue, the music and more painted tissue. The bird is a copy of one that I found in my stash, the text from a book of poetry that was painted and the top piece from a Geli Plate print. The papers are made up ahead of time, most of them months ago, then I look through them to decide what will make up my collage. There's more to it than meets the eye. 

Day 23 Attitude

Attitude

Collage 6 X 6

While digging through my papers I came across one that I had made on a Geli Plate. I made a copy of it, not wanting to use up the original. It had this quote on it about attitude which is always a good reminder. Sometimes one must do an attitude check up and do some adjusting. I call myself Joyful Artist, not Grumpy Artist although some days the later would be more appropriate. Truthfully, I'm more joyful making art than when doing just about anything else. Like anything, it's a choice, any attitude is. 

Other papers used were painted tissue, altered magazine pages, packaging and printed papers; I also used acrylic and Inktense. 

Day 22 A Happy Place

Beach Palm

Collage 6 X 6

Whenever I need to get away either physically or mentally I go to "my happy place". It's usually a nice beach with a palm tree for a little shade, a gentle surf, and no crowds. Lucky for me I live a short ride from such a place except I'm likely to find it's not at all secluded, especially this time of year. It's OK, there's plenty of room for everyone. This collage is made from painted tissue and copy paper, the inside of a security envelope and acrylic paint and gloss medium. 

Day 21 Love Letters

Love Letters

Collage 6 X 6

It's getting to be that time of year again when I start thinking of Valentines to design. Of course they've been in the stores since the end of Christmas but that's not me. This one is different with the black lacy heart, but black lace is supposed to be sexy isn't it? I found an old letter from a friend that had in it, "I wept through the whole thing," It made me think of watching my grown children getting married. I can't say I wept but I may have brushed away a tear or two. The rest of the papers are from printed material. Everything is sealed with gloss medium and on a #140 substrate. 

Day 20 Breathe

Breathe

Collage 6 X 6

January is 2/3 finished and so am I! Only 10 more to go, I still have ideas and paper so I will forge ahead. In the meantime I have to remember to breathe! Stop and take a big breath, stretch and remember to have fun. Even when you love what you're doing you can tense up and forget to fly. Two butterflies are encased, one is flying free. Fly free and enjoy your day.

Day 19 Strata

Strata

Collage 6 X 6

This is another piece with a calm color scheme. It still has the hand painted copy paper and the altered magazine pages like yesterday's collage but this one also has a piece of painted and stamped tissue in the middle which gives it the translucent look. I added the blue-green stamping for more interest. As always with my collages everything is coated with gloss medium before it is heat fused to the 140# substrate. Acrylic is added to the torn edges and then the piece is sealed with more gloss medium. When it has had time to cure I will coat it with acrylic UV varnish. It can be mounted on a wood or canvas panel or matted and framed. 

Day 18 Organic

Organic

Collage 6 X 6

This collage is made with hand painted copier paper and altered magazine pages. I like the quiet neutral background of the hand painted paper and the organic shapes and patterns in the altered papers. I also like the contrast between the sharp cut edges and the fluid torn edges. I think this is going to be one of my favorites. 

Day 17 Under Construction

Under Construction

Collage, 6 X 6

While driving down the street close to my home I looked over at a building being constructed. The grey cinder block and scaffolding made a grid pattern with a cloudy grey background. The workers all over the building were wearing bright neon green or orange shirts. It was quite a contrast to the dull background. I thought I'd try to make a collage using that idea. I found I was rather limited in my selection of neon green but these book pages were close. It was one of those times when you say, "Why don't I have my camera with me?" But, maybe it's better to go with your imagination and memory. 

Day 16 Vortex

Vortex

Collage, 6 X 6

Vortex is done in the  confined space composition style. It's another type of composition that I don't attempt very often. These 30 day works give me a chance to experiment once in awhile with things that are not tried a tried and true. The background is brown paper bag on which I have rubbed some gold acrylic paint. The collage itself is made up of tissue paper that has been hand painted randomly with gesso, acrylic paint, and gloss medium. There are a couple of small pieces of acrylic skin as well. All things that I wanted to try and see how well they would heat fuse. Most of it did pretty well. It was a fun exercise.

Day 15 It's Party Time

It's Party Time

Collage, 6 X 6

I'm half way though the month and the 30 day challenge. That's one reason to party. It's Friday night, the sun came out after a 2.5 inch downpour with tornado warnings, somewhere it's someone's birthday, anniversary, or promotion. What are your reasons to party?  I think this collage has potential to be one of my greeting/note cards. I may jazz up the black, it looks a little somber for the message but otherwise I like the color scheme.

Party's over, it's time to get back to the desk and start another collage for tomorrow.

Day 14 Dance Like No One is Watching

Dance Like No One is Watching

Collage 6 X 6

I think this one will make a fun note card or birthday card. There's nothing quite as exhilarating as putting on your favorite music and dancing your feet off, even if you don't dance well. It releases anxiety, tension and stress and I, for one, don't do it enough. Children do it with abandon and don't care who watches or how good they are. As artists I think we need some of that freedom to express ourselves through whatever medium we choose. So, not only dance, but paint, color, cut and paste, or draw like no one is watching, looking or judging. 

Day 13 Ancient Message

Ancient Message

Collage 6 X 6

Day 13, It's a busy week but I am able to keep up and I'm enjoying the challenge. I started this as a type of composition known as "containment, contraction, expansion". The top is contained, there is a narrow area and then the bottom is expanded. That is an invitation to me to add little embellishments inside the expansion. I'm not sure why I chose 4 when usually there are an odd number of items in a good composition. I  think it works, I was going on intuition and not thinking about it too much. Hey, it's supposed to be fun, isn't it?

Day 12 Before They Hatch

Before They Hatch

Collage 6 X 6

The faint image of the egg in the left quadrant of this piece sent me looking for some images of eggs in a nest. The way it is placed reminds me of a package with a ribbon around it. A good thing to remember in the future. I can see how doing a piece every day is a learning experience. You are challenged to make art that is a little different each time and I'm willing to go out on a limb and try something different. 

I did a three hour class with some women who were interested in the process of making a heat fused collage. They had a good time looking through my scrap box and putting together 3 X 3 collages. Below is a collage of their work. The one on the lower left is my demo collage.

Day 11 A Red Line

A Red Line

Collage 6 X 6

The days are flying by. I hope I can keep up with my busy schedule this week. This collage has mostly the painted tissue in it so I coated it with gloss as soon as it was done so that I wouldn't rub away any with the shading acrylic. I did a little stamping with gold but you can barely see it because the lettering on the stamp is so small. In fact, I only see it because I know it's there. Can anyone else see it? 

We had a tornado touch down in town this week end. I'm blessed to be out of the area that was hit and our little art league is OK, too. I feel badly for those who were in the path; some homes are badly damaged as well as boats, cars and other possessions. I pray for swift actions on the part of insurance companies, repair people and contractors for the sake of those who were affected.

Day 10 Perhaps Another Night

Perhaps Another Night

Collage 6 X 6

Sometimes you just seem to find the perfect piece of paper like the one on top with the big round white circle and the blue streaks coming up. I have a moon already in the paper! Or is it a view of the earth from the moon? The viewer can make up his/her own story. 

Day 9 Dancin" To the Music

Dancin' To the Music

Collage, 6 X 6

It was the acrylic transfer of the figure that inspired this one. I'm not sure where this figure came from but I've wanted to use it for a long time. It's such a simple graphic but looks so joyful it needed joyful colors and some playfulness. Nothing serious going on around here. 

I also learned a good lesson. The painted tissue, which is what the dancer is on, is very thin and fragile. When I put the dark shading on the collage I wipe it away with a baby wipe. On most papers I can get pretty vigorous with the wiping; not on the tissue. From now on the tissue gets and extra coat of gloss acrylic before the shading so won't get rubbed away. I had to do a little patching on this where I rubbed to vigorously. 

A friend contacted me and wanted to buy the collage "Night", so I have priced them at $40.00 each, unmounted, plus shipping. 

Thanks for all the wonderful comments! 

Day 8, Cool In Blue

 

Cool In Blue

Collage, 6 X 6

The swirly blue paper is a copy of some paper that a friend brought to me from Italy. I can't bear to tear it up so I copied it on my printer so that I would feel OK using it. The green corners are altered magazine pages, the solid blue is painted and glazed tissue and the script is printed tissue paper, another favorite.

Thanks to everyone who has made comments on my earlier posts. They are appreciated!

Day 7 Gold Hills

Gold Hills

Collage 6 X 6

The inspiration for this piece was the yellow gold paper. It's a hand molded paper that was originally white and I painted it with quinacridone gold, one of my favorite colors. I really like all the texture in that paper! The blue, green and cream papers are commercially printed and the brown is a packaging paper. I find that I'm saving just about everything. Soon I'll need a warehouse. It's so much fun to have a variety of papers to work with. All of them have been coated on both sides with acrylic gloss medium and heat fused to a piece of 140# paper. All my collages can be framed, fused to gallery wrapped canvas or a cradled board. They are sealed with UV varnish.

Day 6, Night

Night

Collage, 6 X 6

The inspiration for this was the title of a poem that I had torn off. I looked through my papers for something that was dark but interesting. I found this tissue that had been painted with a gloss medium and acrylic paint mixture. I chose pieces of that for the whole collage and added the calligraphy piece and a gold moon as the only other papers. It leaves a lot for the imagination to work on.

Day 5 Nevermore

Nevermore

Collage 6 x 6

This collage and I made friends right away. It was one of those pieces that went together easily and told me what was needed. Some days I think there really is such a thing as a "muse". When finished, it made me think of the poem I learned in childhood; I don't remember much but the line, "Quoth the raven, nevermore". Was it Edgar Allen Poe? I think it was rather dark and spooky. Nothing spooky about this guy, he just likes saying, "Nevermore."

The collage is made from hand painted papers, altered magazine pages, printed papers and stamped paper coated with acrylic and heat fused. Finally, coated with UV varnish.

Day 4, Fleur de Lis

Fleur de Lis

Collage/Mixed Media 6 X 6

This little collage and I aren't friends yet. I'm a not sure about it because it feels unfinished. I'm thinking the fleur de lis needs to be black which will be hard to do because it is already fastened to the collage. I like the color combinations with the neutral grey in the middle, the strings from the string paper is interesting, perhaps they need trimming; but once I do that I can't go back. Maybe it needs more circles.

These are all the questions I ask myself before I let go of a piece I am working on. Some of them almost fly together and are done before I know it, others seem to take awhile; just like any other piece of art whether it's a painting or a drawing. These little daily works are good practice for me, I'm loving giving myself permission to make one every day. 

I used hand painted paper and tissue, printed envelope, altered magazine and a copy of Italian marbled paper. They have been coated with gloss medium, fused to a watercolor substrate and coated with UV varnish ready to frame.

Day 3, Grow An Old Friend

Grow An Old Friend

Collage/Mixed Media 6 X 6 

As I look through my collection of papers I look for things that spark the ideas that will make up the collage. One of my papers has different sayings about friends and friendships. This one was the spark I needed for another collage. "It takes a long time to grow and old friend." What else takes a long time to grow but a tree? Not only does it take a long time, for both but also patience, nurturing, and the investment  of  resources. Some of my old friends are still in my life, strong and steadfast as a tree. We've grown together and weathered storms and seasons. I am grateful.

I used altered magazine pages and printed papers fused to 140 lb. watercolor paper; all sealed with acrylic gloss medium and UV varnish ready for a frame. 

Day 2 of the 30 Day Challenge

Let's Eat

Collage/Mixed Media 6 X 6

This seems to be the theme of the last couple of weeks. Everything around the holidays seems to revolve around food and my waistline is showing it. It's time to collage instead of eat, which will suit me just fine. My husband may not like it very much, though. 

This collage has painted tissue, security envelopes, and printed papers along with acrylic paint, and ink. I think it would look cute in a kitchen. 

Keep the comments coming, I read and treasure every one. Thanks.

First Collage of the Year

In the Pink Collage

6 X 6 

I'm participating in the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. I'm choosing to "paint" with my papers. I may mix it up with some watercolors, too, in the future. There are so many things that can distract a home artist from making art, but when there's a deadline, I put the chores and distractions on hold and get into the studio. 

Today I was attracted to the hounds tooth check and thought that pink would be the perfect companion to it. The check is a printed paper, the solid pink and black are painted tissue, the script is from a printed paper, the poppy is copied from a napkin, and the grey crosshatch is a security envelope. Everything has been coated with gloss medium and heat fused to make a smooth piece of art. I did some outlining with a pen, shadowing with acrylic paint and coated the collage with UV varnish.

A Collage and A Goal

Code Red

Mixed Media Collage

12 X 12, Mounted on wood panel

This is my latest large collage which was completed before Christmas but was put aside because of all the activity of the season. My blogging this year has been spastic to say the least but my goal for 2016 is to post a blog at least once a week. I don't like resolutions, I prefer a goal, it sounds less daunting to me. 

In this collage I used manufactured papers, altered National Geographic paper, and a marbled paper which I made in a class a long time ago. Sometimes you find a hidden treasure in the piles of stuff that you accumulate as an artist. All of it was coated with acrylic gloss medium, and heat fused. It's been mounted to a wood panel with a 3/4" cradle painted black. It has been coated with satin UV varnish and is ready to hang.

I have signed up for another 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge which starts on January 1. This will be interesting since I am also teaching 3 mini collage classes in January, participating with my husband in a show at at local theater, and preparing for our annual sale in February. Nothing like starting the year out with a bang! 

A very HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2016; I pray for peace, health and prosperity for all. 

Small Collages

Seashell Collage

4.5 X 3.5

Our art association has a category called Small World in their annual art show in February. We are allowed to enter 4 pieces in this category so I am busy  making 4 new pieces. If I put it off too much it will never get done in the bustle of Christmas. I may enter this one along with the Oriental Expressions that I have already posted. I have several to choose from and will post more as I get them photographed. 

My next project is to finish designing my Christmas card for this year. Time is flying!

Mounted Watercolor

Plumeria 

Watercolor 10.5 X 10.5,

mounted on 12 X 12 gallery wrapped canvas

Robert Burridge sends out a weekly email letter called "Bob Blasts". This week's video showed how to mount a watercolor painting on a gallery wrapped canvas. I decided to give it a try. I confess I cropped an older watercolor, punched up the colors on it and found a canvas that would fit. I'm very happy with the results. I painted the canvas with a buff acrylic and gave the painting several coats of spray fixative. When the fixative was dry I coated the painting with a matte UV varnish. I used soft gel medium to adhere the painting to the canvas, cleaned the edges with a baby wipe (invaluable studio tool) and placed it upside down on a plastic sheet. I fit mat board in the back so that I could put some weights on it while it dried overnight. I decided another protective coat of UV varnish would be a good idea and I'm calling it finished. No frame, no glass, ready to hang! 

Mounting small collages

Oriental Expressions I and II

Since these collages are small, I decided to mount them on gallery wrapped canvas. The black background sets off the collages, I think. I used soft acrylic gel medium coated evenly on the back of the collage so that it would adhere to the canvas. I used a brayer to make sure they were firmly attached and the excess gel was removed with a baby wipe. Then I turned them over on a non stick surface and pressed them down with books. After drying everything was coated with UV varnish. The collages are 4 X 4 and the finished piece is 6 X 6, ready to enter into the next art show.

Playful Collage

Who-ville?

I made this little collage awhile ago. The houses are from a cutout stamp that one of my students made for me. She had one of those machines that makes cutouts for scrapbooking. We used a piece of self sticking craft foam and fastened it to some cardboard to make the stamp. This was the trial run, I haven't found a use for it since but perhaps I will in the future. It reminds me of Whoville from the Grinch movies. 

The Third Collage, Oriental Expressions

Oriental Expressions 3, Umbrellas

This is the third in the series where I'm using the Japanese papers that were given me. I've been trading off between making collages and painting watercolors. The watercolor painting I'm working on is taking more time than I planned mostly because I haven't planned it. Things go so much better when I have a plan and stick to it. It's another full sheet and I'm at the stage where I'm stuck and I don't know what to do next. It's a good time to put it away and let it simmer for awhile and get out the papers for making collage.

I went to the Florida Watercolor Society convention and show last week end. I enjoy all the artists who demonstrate their style and method of painting, the trade show with too many tempting supplies at sale prices and, most of all, the show with all the wonderful artwork that made it into the exhibition. I met artist friends and rubbed elbows with the winners. I think a week end of art immersion is a very good thing!

A Mini Collage Class

I taught a Mini Collage Class last Saturday in Sun City, FL. My long-time friend, Dixie, was instrumental in getting the class organized. There were 10 enthusiastic ladies in the class and they were a joy to work with. They got right into it and were eager to learn the process. I had the little frames that were a donation and made the paper substrate to fit each one so that the class would be able to get started right away finding their collage papers. For a warm up they all did 3 practice collages on index cards using glue sticks to fasten the papers down. That got their creative juices going so that they could put together their heat fused collages. A couple of gals had to leave early before I got a picture of their collage so there are only 8 out of 10, but they are all wonderful little compositions. The images are all between 2 x 2 to 3 x 3 inches.