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.