Ornament Impressions

 

Tis the season for holiday decorating - and painting the magic!  It's so much fun to pull out the bold acrylic paints for these shiny ornaments.  Loose and free strokes keep the vibe upbeat and lively. There's so much beauty to paint this time of year, and I hope to make the most of every moment!  Painting number 4714 in 4714 days. 

Ornaments on Pink

 

I love getting wild and free with the bold colors of the season, and it seems I can't settle on just one style this year!  I guess that's what my Artistic License is for!

I truly am all over the place artistically this month.  I often narrow in on a theme for my cards as the time draws near, but not this year.  I feel like ink and watercolor birds are for sure the theme, then I switch completely to acrylic Santas.  No, wait!  I'll do Union Station in grand style, but then I have these amazing herefords - and now goats - that are begging to find their way into my paintings!  So, here I am, switching back and forth, letting the wind blow me wherever it pleases, and just allowing myself to roll with it until I land on solid ground. Painting number 5040 in 5040 days. 

Kelce in Copper

 

It wa so exciting to work "Kelce" into copper  during the Super Bowl!! Working metal is a great stress reliever, and boy was that a stressful game!  The sketching the image into the metal with slight pressure starts the process, then I work some masses from the back and others from the front, working until the metal stretches out a bit in 3D fashion.  Each time I work a piece, I learn my tools a little more, and find better methods to achieve the result I desire.  A little rubbing of the metal and antiquing the edges, and I'm done before I know it. I finished 4 different pieces during that game!  Painting number 3700 in 3700 days. 

Christmas Tree in Metal

 

Surprise! I'm working in copper tonight - and I LOVE how it bends to my will! When my plein air schedule winds down, it is lovely to pick up some old friends (neglected art supplies) and play a bit.  I will be making a few of these small copper artworks for Music Art Love in Sainte Genevieve, with a focus on the local icons.  This will be the first gallery to carry this work - and I can't wait to deliver it in March!  Spreading my wings in the is the very best part of not being on the road. Can't wait to see what all develops!  Artwork number 4396 in 4396 days. 

Spring Rain at Crestview

When the day started cloudy and gray - I knew I wanted to take my fountain pen inks!  Making dramatic shifts between masses, I dropped in ink with a dropper, then floated in water with a wash brush. I took a small glass dip pen and 3 other fountain pens with different colors of inks loaded. I was sheltered from the gusting wind, so those wet inky puddles could dry without being blown right off the paper!  So unpredictable, it was exciting to watch the ink do it's magic as I worked on the next mass.  I'm known for keeping everything clean, but tonight I'm sporting a little garland ink on my fingers from the dropper spurting erratically!  I may have to wear it off, or maybe try bleach next!  I know it's crazy for an event, but some days you just have to jump in boldly and embrace what drives you!  Painting number 3383 in 3383 days. 

Winding Sunset Creek

One just never knows what medium I will pick up on any given day.  If you are a regular on my feed - aren't you surprised by these bold ink landscapes?!  Each media seems to bring out a completely different style from me, and I LOVE feeling free enough to blaze that trail!  It doesn't matter if I end up with a masterpiece when the process and exploration are so much fun! The bonus is that a have a very large supply of fountain pen ink - so the possibilities are endless!  Painting number 3371 in 3371 days. 

Inky Sky

Another evening of ink exploration finds me playing with 4 different inks from last night. I had added Diamine's Ash ink for the base of the mountain layer, but it diluted almost out of sight, even with additional ink dropped in.  So, I abandoned it, switching to Stargazer instead.  I do find some interesting mingling between the blue and other inks, almost a drifting quality. Candle Light and Peach Punch are my other Diamine inks here.  I'm using very wet wash over the dropped ink to get this effect, and then it all has a mind of it's own!  I want to try a little bleach on this when it's dry.  Perhaps it will lift out something wonderful!  It's all about the process - and having fun!  Painting number 3369 in 3369 days. 

Daffodil Impressions

I am constantly picking up new bulb and plant varieties to add to my gardens, often times forgetting what I put where until they bloom!  This is the first bloom of these beauties, so of course I had to paint them before the rain!  With brush, I block in the color masses, adding depth with a knife and thicker paint to finish.  I like the loose impressionistic strokes dropped while squinting to really see where those highlights pop!  It's fun to get loose and fresh with such a subject!  Painting number 3019 in 3019 days.

Catnap

I'm working on a few gallery pieces this week, and this is one for an upcoming animal show.  I am working from an old photo of a favorite cat who is no longer with us, so the work is bittersweet.  First I paint in the masses using a brush, coming in with thicker paint on a palette knife.  I really do love painting animals, and the knife is perfect for adding texture to the fur.  I like the mood of this, I think I'll let it rest for the night, and look with fresh eyes in the morning.  Painting number 2970 in 2970 days. 

Baubles!

I really love getting expressive with the paint on these shiny, reflective Christmas ornaments!  There is something so liberating about grabbing full strength paint from the tube and dropping it right onto the canvas - to work in additional colors at will!  There's no right or wrong, only the marks as they land, sometimes with wild abandon!  After a very full day, it is just the art therapy I need to unwind a bit at day's end.  Love these stolen moments away from my duties!  Painting number 2912 in 2912 days. 

Monarch

I totally forgot about tonight's acrylic pour workshop until my phone reminded me 30 minutes prior!  In the zone with my oils, I was in the garden painting hollyhocks at the time.  I packed up without washing my brushes, and rushed to our Tri County Art League's event.  Oh my gosh!  What fun it was to choose colors, layer them, pour them, then use gravity to move the masses to and fro.  A whole new world has just opened up, and I'm standing on the brink of discovery!!  Painting number 2723 in 2723 days.

Pansy Joy

It seems that when I'm worn out - I abandon the direct watercolor challenge, and when I'm fresh and rested, I pick up the challis again.  In a more playful and contemporary way, I am painting these cheerful pansies who continue to flourish despite the heat!  Simply painting with my brush, wet on wet, my quick impressions of these lovelies!  Now we're off to welcome Michaela, Cooper and baby Casper home from the hospital!  Happy days ahead!  Painting number 2711 in 2711 days.

Sunset Glory

I'm trying to paint either sunrise or sunset each day, for 30 days, in an effort to improve my skills.  The bold colors seem so loud when I'm laying them down, striving to match what I see in the sky.  The masses change so quickly that nearly every time it is too dark to get a photo as I finish, and the color reads so differently in the artificial indoor lighting!  Each time, I find the painting lacking, tossing it aside to dry.  As I walk by it, doing those household chores, I begin to see something in each one.  A fresh eye is a calmer judge.  Perhaps I'll be a little more content in 30 days.  Practice can only help!  Painting number 2069 in 2069 days.

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Gray Day Trees

I am spicing up this overcast morning scene with my palette knives!  Every time I use them, I find a new way to pull the knife on a flat area, or a way to slide it to make the perfect branch.  I don't do this very often in the landscape - but it is super fun.  I did lay down a thin under painting with a stiff brush, giving me a roadmap for the knife work.  I actually cut into the sky for the tree shapes, I like the pushing of the paint.  It creates rough branches, as they are in nature.  I need to work on longer, smoother strokes for the sky - perhaps that knife that looks like one made for icing cakes would be the right shape?  I'll try that on the next painting!  Love that thick paint application - it really is like icing a cake!  Painting number 1879 in 1879 days.

Guitar Moment

Wanting to switch gears this afternoon, I grabbed my acrylics and jumped into a loose and impressionistic portrait in black and white.  This type of work normally rolls right off the brush, but not today.  I started by painting the masses with a dry brush technique, laying in the darks first.  Once the lights were in and the panel was covered, I started pushing and pulling the edges until the image emerged.  This was a bit of a struggle!  I've not painted in this way for a while, so it took a while to get comfortable with the paint!  I think I better do a few more of these just to get back up to speed.  Painting number 1509 in 1509 days :)

Wine Party Demo

Tonight's Wine and Paint party goes to support Michael's robotics team, as well as local projects Xi Gamma Phi donates to.  Our subject - a wine still life!  We set up glasses and bottles in front of the guests, and each could paint either what was before them, or from several paintings on easels.  Composition and paint mixing were on the line up - and each walked away with their own unique painting!   So fun!  My still life demo is my 1505th painting in 1505 days.

Wine for Three

For this afternoon's painting class, I set up this still life with wine bottles and glasses of three different heights.  Arranging them before me, I started blocking in all edges of the glass, overlapping them where applicable.  Next, with a large brush, I paint the masses I see, looking for central colors within the shapes.  Once the panel is covered, I start the palette knife work, breaking edges and dropping in thick paint. As I approach completion, I start to check that my colors are harmonizing, and bouncing off the varied surfaces.  With so much glassware, all colors should reflect off their surfaces.  I wanted quiet color today, so I chose a chardonnay for the lead wine.  If I didn't have such a full day, it would have been lovely to have a little wine for lunch!  Painting number 1503 in 1503 days.

Tallship Nocturne Batik

Hot wax, ink and watercolor on masa rice paper are my playthings du jour!!  Pushing into the contemporary and abstract, I choose a tallship in the night under the moon and stars!  First, I sketch out the scene with India ink.  Next, I paint my lightest values, letting the dry.  I then come in with a bristle brush and hot wax (I heat in a tiny crock pot), and paint these areas that I want to resist the next layers of color.  Then, I flood in my darks on the fragile masa rice paper, which I set on top of wax paper for full paint absorbency.  I am using my Daniel Smith translucent watercolors for this technique.  Once this dries, I wax the entire painting, allowing it to cool.  Now, this is the scary part.  I wad the painting up into a ball, crunching wax off randomly!  I then come back over this painting with a dark color, working the paint into all this creases I just created.  After this dries, I place the painting between layers of newspaper, and iron until all wax is removed.  I must keep switching out the paper to accomplish this.  The fun part is that this technique creates different results every time, so no two pieces will ever be the same!  This contemporary painting is the 1487th in 1487 days :)

Red, White and Blue

As I settle into watching the election results, I have gathered together a few of my friends for a little still life.  Since I have many wine glasses, the combinations are endless!  I didn't have long to wait to vote, and am happy I was able to do my civic duty.  Grandma Bessie once told me, if you don't vote, you can't complain!   This painting is the 1398th painting in 1398 days :)

oil on panel, 5x7
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Ophelia

This sweet little kitten has certainly been a challenge!  I have babied her like no other kitten, just to get her healthy.   She has finally turned a corner and is improving every day, so, today I paint her!   Once skittish, she now revels in attention and is constantly too close to paint!   As she settled down, I "ignored" her, so that she would stay at a distance that I could actually paint her from!  This quick painting is loose and rather wild, and is my 1397th painting in 1397 days :)

Oil on panel, 7x5
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