A Little Series

I do believe this might be my first successful series, I start out thinking I'll do more along a certain theme but the next one just doesn't seem to happen.  Go figure.  They are also the smallest thing I've ever painted.

These are a series of backgrounds done on watercolour paper, always love doing these because I just have at it with lush colour, various spray and texturing techniques.  While these dry, I lay out some wax-paper and rip up random pieces of tissue paper that I lay on the wax paper then out comes my watercolour and acrylic inks and my water bottle sprayer.  It's always a delight to see how the colours bloom and blend and bleed.  When everything is dry I can then take the painted tissue paper and begin to weave them onto my background paper creating the loose effect of mountain ranges in this case.  The most challenging part for me is to then get them cut and glued onto my canvases!  Straight lines and careful matches will always challenge me :-)

Today I start the painting process on a couple of mixed-media pieces that I have prepped this week.

Happy Canada Day celebrations to my fellow Canucks! 

A Little Foiling

Took time out from practicing my brush strokes on the door casings and painted this small abstract.  I had prepped it last week and finally got around to working some paint onto the foiled surface.  I'm down to the finish and find it helps to snap a picture or two as it gives me a better perspective on it overall.

"To create from intuition, you need to free yourself from the demands and expectations of product. These pressures strangle your potential to create and prevent true enjoyment and passion. Inside you lives the worst judge and the most tyrannical ideas of what you should do and how your finished product should look. The amount of freedom you experience is always a function of how much permission you give yourself."   Michele Cassou, Point Zero

Brush Work & Celebrations

I've been practicing my brush strokes this week. Trying to get more wrist action and then using just the sweep of the arm.  Created some interesting drips, textures and varying brush strokes.  Only problem is, it's on the trim around our doors!

What can I say, a 'house' painter I'm not, in fact I'm not a detail, neat as a pin kind of painter of any sort.  Perhaps that's why abstract has so much appeal for me, aside from some finish details, I'm free to let loose and just paint, I just don't have the aptitude for anything else. That's why I admire those who can work in amazingly accurate detail, I applaud you!

It's good to know just what kind of painter you are, simplifies things and gives you direction.  Besides there are dozens of ways to vary things no matter what your style or preference.

Celebrated my Mum's 88th birthday last weekend with family, but her birthday is actually today. (yes I call her Mum, what can I say, I'm a Canadian and our connection to England is still strong :-)  She's an amazing lady, still going strong, caring for herself, still driving though she limits where and when, and still cooks for all of us. Nothing like our Mum's home cooking/baking.  She's a woman to be celebrated and the glue in the fabric of our family.  Love You Mum!

Mountain Theme

Been working on something a little different this week.  It began when my sister Kellie asked me to create a small piece for her to hang in her work space, using the idea of sunsets and mountains.  Kel and I have a thing for mountains and sunsets so it was something that intrigued me but I had never done anything as small as she would need to fit the space.

Longer story short, I often like to play on large sheets of watercolour paper, they give me a great opportunity to play with colour and just splash paint around.  Sometimes I've used pieces in mixed-media canvases or created bookmarks that kind of thing.  Anyhow, I decided to try my hand at adhering select pieces to small canvases, wrapping it down over the sides of the canvas as well.  Then I had fun flowing inks down over tissue paper on waxed paper, once dried they created my mountain effects as I glued them onto my canvas pieces.  Even the waxed paper got used on the the tall slim piece, the inks had dyed it creating some wonderful effects.

I've ended up with 3-4 smaller pieces all with an abstracted mountain theme.  There's still some detailing to go, along with some things I want to try out, but thought I'd share what I have done for now.  They along with others will probably be included in the Dooryard Art Festival in August that I'm taking part in.  This will be my first time participating in an Art Fair.  I've not attempted them before because of my health issues, but felt I wanted to at least try as this is a great festival and I'd love to be a part of in some way.

"If anything can be dangerous in painting, it is what you don't paint." Michele Cassou

Working At Finishing

This has been a week of working on finishing up some pieces or at least moving them further along the road to finished.  You may remember this Opal piece, I came back in with more crackling and inks, as I wanted to break up the sea of blue/green.  This time I used a beautiful pearl jade ink over some of the new crackle.  There are so many more things I can think to do, but the question is 'should I?'  That's the hard one often, knowing when to stop.

Abstracts are difficult that way,  you don't have a reference photo that tells you when you've gotten it to where it needs to be, although I expect that realistic painters struggle too.  It's pure gut reaction! Does it feel done, does it work, is it time to stop?  Or is it time to scape it down and begin again!  This is something abstract artist, Jeane Myers talked about in her video from her 'Painting Shed' this week.  The woman makes me smile, we have a similar mindset when it comes to art, our art.  Do visit her blog and check out the new video she has posted on the right hand side bar, it was a fun half hour visiting Jeane in her shed!

'Eclipse' In The Studio

'Eclipse' Mixed-Media on Gallery Canvas 20x24"

"I think trying to create a painting as you're learning makes the learning process more interesting." Pat Dews

The lady knows what she's talking about, this was one of those off the grid learning curves and I had a blast just splatting it up!  (NOTE: Photo colour is showing darker than actually is)

"Truly some of my very best paintings have come from total failures. If it's already ruined, go for it! Try anything, experiment and make your own discoveries. Having a mess to work on give you courage." Pat Dews, Creative Discoveries in Watermedia

Right on Ms. Dews! This has certainly been my experience, love her attitude.  I have a few artist/authors who's books I am constantly dipping into for inspiration. Pat's books are among them along with Mary Todd Beam's.  There are others but these are the ones that I have laying around the studio ready to dip into for a little creative juice and re-read over and over again.

Hope all your messing find you feeling courageous!