More Art

Tapestry 

mixed media painting on 11 x 14 inch wrapped canvas

There's a lot of texture in this piece - different papers of different thicknesses and layers of paint. In the end, the richness of the color, the gold and the texture reminded me of a tapestry. And then there seems to be a big bird. Daniel asked if I had painted a duck...

I'm working on two more art journal entries and on my next painting already. And I hope to visit you all in the next couple of days!! I must find out what you've been up to...

A New Painting

Untitled
Mixed media painting, 11 x 14 inch stretched canvas.

Do you remember the canvas I had prepared with some torn paper? (Click here to see it again.) Well, this is the end result. I couldn't come up with a name for it. Any suggestions?

I worked a lot with torn paper and acrylic washes that I sprayed with water and allowed to drip and flow.  I love the painting - somehow it feels energetic, passionate and calming all at the same time.

Thanks for all your great comments on my bird from yesterday. I loved painting it!

And there's more art... Tomorrow! I promise!!!

P.S. Remember to enter my giveaway if you haven't already. You have until the 18th. Just click on the picture in my sidebar and leave a comment on the post that comes up! And if for some reason you are unable to leave a comment (I know some people are) but still would like to be entered, just e-mail me.

"Echos from Times Past"

Echos from Times Past

14 x 18 inch mixed media painting on canvas

Another new favorite of mine! She turned out so differently from what I had originally planned, but I love all her layers - and there are many of them: molding paste, collage papers, acrylic paints, tissue paper, an image transfer of a graveyard photo Daniel took in Ireland, and pieces of a letter written by my favorite great uncle. He was a Franciscan priest and married Daniel and me in Germany 20 years ago this week.

As I get ready to visit my family in Germany later this month, I find myself thinking often about those "times past," and I am sure this painting was much influenced by that.

"Echos from Times Past" is available as a 5 x 7 inch print in my Etsy Shop.

"Fear No More"

Fear No More

6 x 8 inch mixed media painting on canvas

I really like my latest painting! It amazes me how I am returning to my old loves working in textures, layers, collage, image transfers - and how they have a totally different feel from my earlier work.

On this background, I transferred a beautiful photo Daniel and I had taken in Ireland a couple of years ago. I love how it ended up being very abstract, but you can see some of the branches at the top.

"Fear No More" is available as a 5 x 7 inch print in my Etsy Shop.

P.S. The crow is from Milliande's Printable Blog, and the butterfly the lovely Anne shared with me! Thank you!!

"New Beginnings"

New Beginnings

8 x 10 inch mixed media painting on canvas

Here my latest painting: "New Beginnings." This was the strangest process yet. Let me explain!

When I was visiting galleries last week with my friend, the paintings that truly made my heart skip a beat were all very layered and mostly abstract. It made me realize how much I love layered paintings, even if the layers are no longer visible at the end.

So, I sat down at this heavily textured 8 x 10 canvas intending to paint a very intense (think bright reds and blues), very abstract and layered painting.

I started and allowed myself to just go with the flow and this is the end result. Very tender colors, a very introspective and a little bit sad woman, collage elements, and a little stamping - not at all what I had had in mind. The handwriting is that of my sweet grandmother's and the flower in her hair is a dried hydrangea flower from our garden.

When I look at her, I can see not only the many layers of my painting (there is an entire finished portrait underneath this one), but also the layers in her personality ... and in my own.

She is available as a 5 x 7 inch print in my Etsy Shop.

Series Continued - Hope

2.5 x 7 inches, mixed media

Somehow, she turned out to be my very favorite one - and the last for now - of this little series.

Thank you all so much for your well-wishes for Daniel's surgery. All went very well (although I think I was more of a nervous wreck than he was) and he's now back home recuperating. That means physical therapy, keeping his leg up and iced for a bit and having me wait on him hand and foot (or rather knee). ;-)

I am hoping to sort through our photos this weekend and show you some of my faves before our trip seems like a distant memory. It always amazes me how quickly that can happen as life just keeps speeding on. Sometimes I want to hit the pause button so I can catch my breath. Alas, instead I try to go with the flow...

And in that, I hope to float by your blogs and visit this weekend!!

Series Continued - Inspiration

2.5 x 7 inches, mixed media

Series Continued - Pride

2.5 x 7 inches, mixed media

Series Continued - Comfort

2.5 x 7 inches, mixed media

Today is my dad's birthday, so from the road (Williamsburg, VA today): Herzlichen Glueckwunsch zum Geburtstag, Papa! Happy Birthday!! And many more...

Series Continued - Patience

2.5 x 7 inches, mixed media

We are still on the road, but I look forward to checking in with all of you this coming weekend! Thank you for continuing to visit and leaving me your comments! It means so much to me!!

Series Continued - Trust

2.5 x 7 inches, mixed media

Series Continued - Gratitude

2.5 x 7 inches, mixed media

Thank you so much for visiting. I am on the road at the moment, so I will answer any questions you may have and visit your blogs whenever I get a chance (make that Internet connection) or after we get back.

Series Continued - Love

2.5 x 7 inches, mixed media

Still on the road and having fun!! Hope you are all doing well! I sure miss checking in with you on a daily basis...

Series Continued - Care

2.5 x 7 inches, mixed media

Thank you so much for visiting. I am on the road at the moment, so I will answer any questions you may have and visit your blogs whenever I get a chance (make that Internet connection) or after we get back.

New Series - Joy

This is the first image in a new series I've been working on, which has been quite fun and very meditative to paint. A little cuter than is my "normal" style, but it was really enjoyable for a change.

All images are 2.5 x 7 inches small and painted with mixed media on 140 lb cold-pressed watercolor paper.

I hope you enjoy them!

P.S. Thank you so much for visiting. I am on the road at the moment, so I will answer any questions you may have and visit your blogs whenever I get a chance (make that Internet connection) or after we get back.

A New Background

I started this background a while ago with some beautiful papers I had recently bought. After that it sat in the studio waiting for action.

Until the other day, that is, when I cut out a sewing pattern and right away decided to use some of the leftover pieces of that very fine tissue paper on this canvas. After I crumpled up the paper and then glued it on, I gave the whole canvas a wash in blues and oranges.

Now it is waiting for just the right woman portrait to appear on it...

Illustration Friday - Ahead

Go ahead! Spread your wings and fly!

Tag (5.25" x 2.625") - front & back

Collage, image transfer, stamps, stencils, & acrylic paint.

I hope you all had a great weekend. Ours was rainy both Saturday and Sunday with visions of the summer's humidity awaiting us...

Because of the rain, I did get to work on my art a good bit, and am almost done with another women's portrait. It just needs some background work. I hope I can show it to you tomorrow!

In the meantime, I wish you a great start to your week!

ATC - Time to Recharge

I decided to try another collage since they are a bit tricky for me. I remembered this little yawning girl I had printed out a long time ago - she just makes me laugh (and want to take a nap!). I had fun with this ATC and it came together very nicely. I find that if I go with my instincts rather than overthink it, I do much better!

Speaking of overthinking... I played a little more with this tag and I think I'm going to call it done. I didn't change a whole lot, just added a little contrast around the edge and actually took off some of the color on the newspaper collage element. It's not my favorite, but it's alright.

I'm working on a new tag as well, which is looking really nice! I like to paint both sides of my tags, so I still need to finish the back before I can show you. It sure felt great getting into my studio again.

And, yes, I have carpeting in my studio (I had a couple of questions about this), but I put down a thick drop cloth so I can sling paint around to my heart's content...

Wishing you an excellent Friday. I'm hoping to have time to visit you all this weekend!!

The Tag That Just Wouldn't...

Sometimes, an art project comes together easily, and sometimes it just refuses to. That's how it was with this tag. The side with the woman I painted quickly - her little face was done in a few minutes and I like how much it looks like a sketch. This side I love.

Then, there is the other side. Yikes! Can you say busy? Can you say cluttered? Can you say just not working? I started with some molding paste and stamped into it. So far so good. Then I thought I'd add a collage element ... and another ... and one more for good measure. Then, a stamp, another stamp, paint, more paint, and because it just wasn't working, I slapped on some more paint. AND outlined the big leaf stamp with a gold pen. I just couldn't help myself at that point!

Even now, as I look at the scan of it, I'm sort of stunned by what I did there... I almost didn't include it in this post, but when I first started this blog, I made the promise to show you the good, the bad AND the ugly, so here it is...

Sometimes I think it's funny that the portraits are so easy for me, but with collages or abstract forms, it can really take me a long time to have it all balanced and look cohesive. And sometimes it just doesn't happen at all.

I think I might just paint over that side and start again. If I do, I'll show you the results...

And now a great big thank you for all the good information on ATCs and ACEOs. Finally I know what they are all about!! And I know what goes on the backside. Not lovely thoughts, but information. Makes sense if you are collecting them! I'll have to check into the trading part of those cards. Do any of you do that?

Adding Color - Painting Background continued

Well, I started adding the first layer of color, which I did in one afternoon. I looked at the colors of the paper collage and decided to add a very light wash of pink and blue acrylic paint and see what that looked like.

Not bad, but...... I decided to spray the painting with water from a spray bottle and blot off some of the color, simply because I like to work that way. That's when I ended up with this. Pretty good, but...
...it still needed something, and I decided to add a little gold in spots. I know many shy away from metallics, but I like them in moderation. And this needed a little sparkle.
That looked and felt good and finished to me (for now) and created some really pretty areas.




Now, what to do next? I don't have any idea. So, in the meantime, I go and stare at it and turn it upside down and sideways and even touch it - the texture is great! I'm not sure if should apply more color, this time more opaquely, or if I sketch in my subject. I don't know how you work, but when I'm not sure, I wait until I have a thought as to what's next. I hope it comes soon...