We survived Irma!

I have no images yet, I just wanted to post that we survived the mega storm, Irma; our property is OK, we were among the fortunate ones that didn't loose power for any length of time. We evacuated, as we were told to do, and by the grace of God and a persistent son were able to stay in a safe, comfortable hotel in Orlando. My heart and prayers go out to those who have lost so much and have so much to do to get their lives back together. We were just connected to internet yesterday afternoon so this is the first time I've been able to send out a blog. Thanks for all the prayers and support for those impacted by this storm.

Vacation Painting

Red Flowers

Watercolor 9 X 6

Red Flower Card

Watercolor 4.25 X 5.5

While visiting Minnesota I tried some cheap pan watercolors just to see what kind of results I could get with them. I also had some watercolor paper that I hadn't used before. I've been practicing a looser type of watercolor after watching videos by Jean Haines and reading her book, Jean Haines World of Watercolor. As always, things are more difficult to achieve than they look! Especially when you are working with not so great materials. I have this theory, though, that a good artist should be able to paint with and on anything (because I've seen it done by good artists). Considering all of that, I'm not too unhappy with my results. I wouldn't have them framed but the card would please a non-painting friend, I think. 

Now that I'm home again, I'm painting with my usual materials and paper, still trying to achieve a similar look to Jean's paintings. I Hope to have time to post them later on. Until then, check out Jean's work on the internet.

Playing Around

Brusho Sunflower

Watercolor

I started playing with a product called Brusho a few weeks ago. It's a dry crystallized watercolor that comes in little plastic bottles. If you poke holes in the caps it can be shaken out like salt. That's what I decided to try. If you wet the area you want to paint and shake the colored crystals out they dissolve when they hit the water. Sometimes you get  a speckled effect. Some colors like orange and purple are a combination of primaries so if you leave them alone, they will stay unmixed on your paper. You can also use a brush to mingle the colors together. 

I've looked at some tutorials on line since this painting and have seen some interesting things to try. One of them was using spray starch. 

Summertime is a good time to try new things so I've been watching some Jean Haines Videos too. I love her loose, watery style. She makes it look so easy but it really takes a lot of control and practice to get the mix of water and pigment just right. If I get a practice piece that looks like anything recognizable I'll post it. I find it hard to carve out painting time in between summer travel and activities but I get a little in here and there. 

Travel Postcards

Scenes Along the Rhine River

Two weeks ago we were on the Rhine River in Germany. We tried a river cruise for the first time and I loved it! Most days we were at a port city and we were out touring or exploring, but one of the days was a cruise day so that we could see all the picturesque towns and castles from the river. It was a glorious day and when I had my fill of castle picture taking I got out my little travel paint kit and did some very quick postcard sketches. I had to take a mental picture and work quickly because there was no time to think about details or perspective. I think they keep the trees trimmed so that a view of the river can be seen, thus the cute "lolly-pop" trees. I used a postcard pad, Intense pencils, waterproof pen, and a  Winsor and Newton watercolor travel kit. 

Out of Sight

Handsome Rooster

6.5 X 9.75 Mixed media

"Out of sight, out of mind" the saying goes. It was true in my case. I grabbed and old painting block from my art closet on my way to an open painting session at our local art league. When I opened it, there was this rooster staring at me with unfinished eyes and beak. Poor thing has been languishing for so long I don't even remember starting it. I laugh about getting old and forgetful, I guess this must be proof. His lovely red comb and wattle has collage as well as some collage on his white feathers. He is drawn with ink and painted with watercolor. I finished the piece with a light yellow-green background. 

Small things

 3 X 3 Collages on canvas panel with easels 

 4 x 4 collages on canvas panels with easels

Postcard prints

and 

collages on canvas

I worked most of the month of May getting together some small things for the gallery where I show some of my work. I had all those collages from 30 day challenges laying around so I used the best parts of them to make small canvas works for travelers to easily take home with them or to give as gifts. Some of the small pieces I put on card stock to make original cards. It was fun but time consuming to pick out the best areas then measure and glue to the canvas boards. Some needed a few extra touches to make them special, a little bling. We'll see how well they sell, it's sort of late in the season but there are still tourists coming here well into July. 

Featured Artist

I was asked to be the Featured Artist at the community theater for the month of May. The wall space is limited but is a good, visible space. I chose to hang my series of three mixed media paintings of birds on the charcoal pour background. It's nice to have my paintings in a public place besides an art show. 

The Third in Bird Series

Green Heron

Mixed media 11 X 15

This is my third bird on a charcoal pour since learning the technique in Karen Knutson's  class a few months ago. Getting a good charcoal pour is trickier to achieve than I thought. I got a good photo of this bird while waiting for a tour boat to take us out to Cabbage Key one day last spring. Don't ask me why he's called a green heron, I don't see any green on him either! Except for his beak and eyes he is all collage paper attached with acrylic matte medium. The post he is resting on is also collage papers. I used a variety of printed papers and napkins and even some birch bark in the post. It's a different style from the heat fused collages that I do. All the rest is watercolor and, of course, the charcoal that remains on the paper after being splashed with water. 

I wanted to make the technique work on a Florida scene and I think I've accomplished that. I look forward to trying to paint and collage some more birds from my area using this method. 

The Woods

The Woods

Mixed Media Collage 8 X 8

This little landscape collage was one of those experiments that turned out well. The landscape foreground of hand painted and altered papers came together quickly and easily. I knew I wanted the feeling of woods on the top but couldn't find or make any paper that worked. As I wandered through an arts and crafts store I came upon a stamp of woods that would fade in the background. I used the stamp on thin tissue so that if there was a background it would show through. The stamped piece was laid under the adjoining piece which was also an altered tissue. I like the effect very much. I painted the bird and a few leaves so that the scene wouldn't look too forlorn, like it had been burned. 

Bird Buttons Revisited

You may recall that during the 30 Day Challenge I posted these two collages that had bird buttons on them. They were OK but they nagged at me that they were incomplete. Sometimes art and serendipity collide, and that's what happened with these two pieces. A friend sent me a note with a beautiful cut out of a tree. The wheels turned and I thought, "What would happen if I used this as a negative stencil"? Then while walking through a craft store I saw a tree stamp on sale; "hmmm, I wonder if..." 

See the results below and let me know if my instincts were going in the right direction.

Painting a Landscape on a Charcoal Pour

Farm and Fields

Watercolor on Charcoal 11 X 15

Although she didn't teach this in her workshop when I took it, I decided I could look at her paintings and try one for myself. I borrowed a farm photo from a friend and tried to find a good size and place for it on my last charcoal pour that I had from Karen Knutson's workshop. When I was finished, I thought that the barn was a little small and overwhelmed by the rest of the painting so, once again, I'm thinking of cropping it.

Farm and Fields 

8 X 14

I think this makes the barn stand out a little better. I'm thinking I may have used too many colors as well but it's hard to get away from colorful paintings for me. I think it's because it's always so sunny and bright here in SW Florida. Also, I forgot to leave white spaces. I will try this again, I don't usually do landscape paintings but this was really fun to do.

Thoughts of Spring

Bobbin' Robin

Mixed media 11 X 11

After a very successful show and sale last week end it was time to get back to painting and collage. This time a robin on a charcoal pour. I painted it 11 X 15 which is a quarter sheet of standard watercolor paper but as I was adjusting my photos I decided I liked it in a square. I like doing squares a lot anyway. Instead of just putting the collage papers on the wings and tail I decided to put them on the colorful breast as well. Only his feet and head are painted with watercolor. 

I'm wondering if my friends up north have seen some early robins in their backyards yet. I know that the weather has been unusually warm for this time of year and this brings the migratory birds back. It's that time of year when you think that winter is over, then it comes back and bites you. For now, enjoy the little signs of spring. 

Here's the rectangle format. Which do you prefer?

Post Challenge Syndrome

Love Notes

Mixed media collage 6 X 6

My post title would be a good title for a painting, don't you think? There is a little bit of a let down after being so focused on your art work for 30 days and coming to the end of the month. Then everything that you have been putting off has piled up and is crying for attention. Our big art show and sale is this week end so I've had to get in gear and get the art that I'm going to exhibit ready for the show. Thanks to the 30 day challenge I have much to choose from.

I have one companion piece to the last piece in the 30 in 30 days challenge that I completed. It's another little valentine made from the same or similar materials. This one has music on it so it's title is Love Notes, a play on words. I think I will make these up into some cute valentines to send to my family.

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 30

Love Letters

Mixed media collage 6 X 6

The last day of the challenge! Whew! That was a challenge indeed as there were a lot of thing going on in my life. It shows me that I can carve out time for art even if life wants to get in the way. 

I love this last collage. Who doesn't like to get a love letter? It's a love letter to me for getting through the challenge and for all of you who followed me along the way and for all of the others who attempted to keep up with the 30 days. Hooray for us!

Thanks for the encouragement and the comments, it really kept me going.

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 29

Bird Button 3

Mixed media collage

This collage is the third and last in the series. Sadly I have run out of bird buttons. I love the paper on the bottom of this collage. It was made by painting multiple colors of fairly thick paint and gesso on tissue. The colors were swirled with a texture tool. It's tricky because the tissue is fragile and will tear easily when it is wet so you have to move quickly and gently. When it dries you can use either side of the tissue because the colors soak through the paper. This is the front, tomorrow's collage will have the back side. One more day!

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 28

 Bird Button 2

Mixed media collage

This is the second in the Bird Button series. I think this is my favorite because I like the tree and I like that I left the thread longer on the button. The whole series has a whimsical nature. 

The materials used are altered magazine pages, painted tissue, oven parchment, coffee filter, painted printer paper, cotton thread, acrylic paint, stamp ink and the button. It's sealed with gloss acrylic and coated with UV varnish. 

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 27

Bird Button 1

Mixed media collage 6 X 6

It all started on a shopping trip with a friend. You know those shopping trips where you are just out having fun and not really looking for anything in particular. I think we had wandered into a resale shop and I spied a rack of buttons. These buttons with the birds caught my eye and I thought how cute they would be on a collage. Here we are, months later and there were those buttons waiting for their place in the world of art. I had about as much fun putting together the collages as I did shopping that day with my friend.

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 26

JOY Triptych

Mixed media collage 6 X 12

Although I made this piece awhile ago, I don't think I have posted it before. Sometimes in these challenges you have to fall back on an earlier piece. The collages I was working on for the rest of the month still need some tweaking so it's good to have  an alternative. I love the colors and sentiment of this piece, joy is part of my on-line name and I hope that the joy I feel in my art is conveyed to those who see it. The three small pieces are "floating" on top of a white mat board and will frame quite nicely with a separator in the frame.

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 25

You Have to Kiss a Lot of Frogs

Mixed media collage 4 X 6

I'm putting together some pieces for the National Collage Society's Postcard Show so I've done a few that are 4 X 6. The magazine page that I altered didn't loose the orange frog in the picture although the other inks changed nicely. Sometimes this happens. When the collage was finished I thought of this saying for the title and put on the lip punch outs. Just a little bit of whimsy for the day.

2017 30 Day Challenge Day 24

Forever Takes Takes Time

Mixed media collage 4 X 6

I saw this word in my box of papers and thought about how it is used. We use it in exaggeration, when we say, "It took forever!", or "I'll keep it forever." But forever takes a long time. A lifetime of forevers adds up to a boatload of commitment. I look at the younger generation and don't think commitment is very common anymore. Life changes from one thing to another. Just committing to 30 days of art, posting your art every day, is too much of a commitment. It seems to go on forever!