"Transformation" (sold)

(sold)

As the metamorphosis of a caterpillar takes place, the metamorphosis of a human life takes place in the mind. Our internal desires always guide the actions of our lives.

The lines created in the background of the first layer of paste paper help define the division of space in this piece as well as leading the eye directly to the butterfly. Even though I still like to use light molding paste and sometimes hard molding paste and even plaster... paste paper has become my medium of choice for creating texture. My love for the subtle textures that can be created in paste paper is unequaled because it can be manipulated into a thin or thick texture like no commercial medium I've used. By using palette knives, credit cards, shaper tools or any unconventional tool, the look can become much more contemporary and erratic than the traditional combing techniques and patterns. I say it's time to blow the lid off of the same old techniques! Morph your artwork into the unexpected world of paste paper.


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"Set the Rhythm" ($30.00)

(adjusted price.....$30.00)

Rhythm in music, in a visual repeat pattern, or the repeated observances of our lives individually or collectively sets the stage for joy in our lives.

Repetition is mesmerizing and worth our attention. This piece has bold and clearly defined repetition. However, it can be a bit more understated and create an elegant underpinning in any work of art. ("Creative Energy".....posted on March 18th has a subtle use of this important design principle.)

The way to learn the many ways repetition can be used in a piece is to observe repeated elements in nature, in other artwork, in architecture....in images of every kind. Begin your study of repetition today and see for yourself how it can influence your own artwork.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Through" (unavailable)

(in permanent collection of dee day)

Words that have a double meaning are my favorites to include in a quote. The word "through" gives us two distinct choices when faced with a challenge. I hope we can agree that "working through" the process is better than "being through".

I continue to be amazed at just how many ways a square can be divided into shapes. The first time you paint over a background that may have some expressive marks you like...you might have some fear. Push through your fear and work through the process. Shapes are the "bones " of the painting whether you are painting abstractly, realistically, or a combination of both. By beginning with a dynamic background and revealing parts of that first layer, you have an opportunity to be very creative with your piece and give the viewer something they haven't seen before. You can then "echo" some of the marks that are in the first layer by repeating or continuing them in the newly painted shapes. This causes integration of the new shapes. Don't put a mark somewhere just for the sake of doing it, but "echo" something already there. The yellow repeat in the upper left hand corner is a case in point. That one mark made a huge difference in the mood of this painting. Think about it.

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"From a Distance" (sold)

(sold)

If you've ever gotten too close to a cactus plant or been on the receiving end of someone's bad thought, this comparison makes perfect sense. Hopefully, you haven't experienced either one...at least very often. Anyway, I wanted to paint a cactus and this quote came to mind. It's kind of funny!

Of all the complementary contrasts on the color wheel, red and green are my favorite and the most powerful. Throw in the fact that Johannes Itten makes the case in his Elements of Color book that the optimum percentage of space for these complements to occupy is a 50 / 50 ratio and this image is feeling very happy! This little 6" x 6" definitely carries a power punch, even from across the room. It is still a fun and instructive exercise to look for the approximate percentages of space that colors occupy in a photo or image, but then to take it one step further and create a piece based on your observable percentages.

Using the contrast of complementaries is still the most powerful and direct way to capture the viewer's attention. Make a note!


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"Don't Sit Yet!" (unavailable)

(unavailable)

As you have probably noticed, I love to take quotes that have been around for awhile and give them a new "twist". Such is the case here. The original, time honored quote is..."Don't put off 'til tomorrow what you can do today". I wanted to inject the word "suffer" because I have suffered much by not getting something done that caused great pain later. Doesn't the porch slider say it all?

I have gotten a lot of mileage out of graphite and I used it in a new way to help adjust the values. The upper left hand corner was way too bright with edges that were too hard. My first inclination was to brush on a bit of powdered charcoal or soft pastel, but since I had already written the lettering with a pencil, I scraped off some shavings from a 5B and brushed it on. It allows the base color to show through while toning down an area and softening the edges. Give it a try!


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"No Problem" (unavailable)

(unavailable)

This is a phrase most of us use or hear on a daily basis. It took on an entirely different meaning when my friend, Cindy Tanner, replied in an e-mail that she was fine with my reply..."no problem"....unless I used those words separately. The quote was born and here it is.

In past days I've gone on and on about integrating the lettering in a piece so that the division of space whether it is realistic or abstract can be seen across the room. Today it's all about the lettering. Some of it is embedded in the piece with stamped words, but the main two letters are prominent and can be read from across the room. There are some quotes that might be better with all of the focus on abstract shapes of color with no realism whatsoever.  This is one of those quotes, but  there's no reason to simply slap the quote in the center of the page. By thinking and planning shapes, this simple quote became a painting with lots of designed interest. Note that the choice to write the quote in white Neuland was to stitch the two areas of white together and create more shapes. Just something to think about.


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"Water of Life"

Enjoy and have a glorious Easter!

This piece was created for an Easter Exhibit at my church. It is a 12 x 12 using many of the techniques as in the daily 6" x 6" postings. The over riding goal was to create an image that looked like water in motion.

Since the first post, I have been using liquid graphite in my work. I am using it in a more subtle way now and it comprises the first layer which is the gray area in the center. The white and black areas are gesso applied with a credit card. The blue is acrylic with the exception of the lettering, which happens to be gouache. The lettering is written in blue to give it a better integration into the whole piece. You could call it the "Yves Leterme Efect" which I explained in yesterday's post. Never the less, the point is that a decision to write the text in black would have defeated my goal here of integration. Using the right values in the right place is the essence of integration.  ( This piece is not listed on ebay so contact me
through a comment or e-mail of any interest you might have.  It is for sale for $200.00)

"Colors and Textures" (sold)

(sold)

Color is the most expressive of the design elements and can be showcased with an endless stream of techniques and applications. In this piece, the focus is on a particular selection of colors, textures, and imagery representing the flavor of Mexico.

The most noticeable change (to me) that has taken place since I first started posting on Feb. 1, is division of space and creating a visual impact that can be seen and felt from across the room. It has happened so gradually that I've had to really stop and think about it to understand it. The quote is still readable, but only up close. This is by design and probably due to a strong influence from the Yves Leterme Workshop in February. The bottom line is that division of space, strong value contrasts, and mood have become the focus. The readable text is for those who are actually interested enough to get up close and read it. Otherwise, it is simply a piece of fine art.

The word Mexico running up vertically on the right hand side was created by Sandy Odom in a Leanna Fay Workshop years ago. It was created initially by cutting out geometric letters from construction paper and then rearranging them on another sheet....sometimes using the positive space and sometimes the negative. It is great fun to do and would make a very interesting workshop or program. Thank you, Sandy!

"Estad Quietos" (sold)

(sold)

Today is Good Friday. In remembrance of the Lord's crucifixion for our sins, I am posting this piece I created for the Easter Exhibit at my church. (The title..."Estad Quietos" means "Be Still" in Spanish.)

This particular scripture from Psalm 46:10 has been the single most requested passage for me to do. This is my fourth version. It is a 12 x 12 with the background created with acrylic and paste on Arches Text Wove.

It took more than one layer of paste to create the kind of depth and movement seen here. Unfortunately, the paper was created before the piece was envisioned and I did not have enough paper to cover the entire clayboard. My solution was to use my leftover bits to cut individual blocks going down the right hand side with random letters written on them for interest. This is just one of many creative solutions any artist has to come up with to make things work.  I simply had to use this background because it went so well with the verse. It reminds me of a long forgotten one-liner...."Where there's a will, there's a way"! (There is a slight distortion in the image because it's a photo not a scanned image.)

"Splendid" (unavailable)

(in permanent collection of dee day)

This bold and wild display of background color was a great place to drop in some calla lilies. I am enjoying seeing them everywhere. I hope you are, too.

I did have someone ask me why I made the lettering blend in with the background which makes it harder to read. That's a good question. My goal is to have readable text up close (so click onto the image if you have trouble reading the quote.) My other goal is to see an actual image from across the room without the text competing too much. That's why I've chosen in most pieces to have a bold division of space from edge to edge. There have been some more subdued pieces, but the "edge to edge" rule still stands even in those.

Notice that the pot and calla lilies go from top to bottom. And even though there is a half inch negative space at the top, it is close enough to have the eye close the gap for you. I do like the unequal divisions of the blocks of background color, even though it's quite bold. It would not have worked well if the edges between these colors had been hard edges. I save those for the center of interest...and even those edges have either been slightly blurred with water or blend into the background color. Also note that once again, white and neutrals calm down and create a counterpoint to very bold colors. I might just go out and buy some lilies today!

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"Color" (sold)

(sold)

The profusion of color in the spring is especially noticeable right before Easter. Colorful displays in every store lift our spirits. It is also a reminder that every spring as God renews the plants, He also sent His Son to offer us a renewal of life.

Layering can create "special effects". That's what has happened in this piece. The first layer is soft colors mingling together with paste (recipe for cooking flour with water to create a paste that can be added to paint)

The colored paste was applied to wet paper with different colors overlapping to create the colorful and diffused background with no hard edges. The tulips were given to me by a dear friend which provided the image for me to draw and paint. Gouache was the medium...and even though it is an opaque watercolor, you can still see the background peeking through. The special effect was spontaneously created by layering in this fashion. You might want to try resurrecting some of your scraps of paste paper, getting our your gouache to see what happens. You'll enjoy the process!

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"Encouragement" (sold)

(sold)
Everyone who has an encouraging friend is a blessed person. If you don't have a friend like this, become one to someone else. It won't be long before you do have one.

As you have probably noticed, I like to include images that imply a human presence. The reason I do this is because I want to leave that part open to the viewer's imagination. You can imagine whoever you want to be sitting at the table with you. I also like the form of a chair.

In yesterday's post I talked about the contrast of extension. In plain English...it is the percentage of space a particular color occupies in the piece. Johannes Itten in his book, The Elements of Color has come up with the most harmonious percentages of the direct complementary colors. For instance...yellow should occupy no more than one fourth of the space while violet would occupy three fourths. Orange would be one third to blue which would be two thirds...etc. Of course, this is a guideline. Most of us extend a color to occupy as much space as we personally like. A wonderful experiment to try is to select a photo or image with colors you like and roughly figure out what percentage of the space each color occupies. Create a completely different abstract painting using those same percentages. It's fascinating and gives you an excellent jumping off point for your color scheme.

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"Good Things" (unavailable)

(unavailable)

It is possible to wait so long for something that the desired opportunity passes you by. Learning to wait is very important but it is equally as important to seize the opportunity when it comes. It's a balance.

If I was forced to reduce my library down to only five books (perish the thought!), Johannes Itten's book on The Elements of Color would be in the top five. Without going into a dissertation over the contents of the book, the main feature is his analysis of the seven color contrasts.

This piece clearly brought that home to me. At first there was only blue and black. The textures were great, but I had a tremendous sense of being alone in an ocean of water with darkness and coldness overtaking me. This was definitely not the feeling I wanted to convey. The dilemma was resolved by introducing the direct complement of blue which is orange. (A very good reason why we all love sunsets!) By careful placement and thinking about the contrast of extension...I was able to bring about a happy outcome. The definition of extension from Itten's book is helpful. "Contrast of extension involves the relative areas of two or more color patches. It is the contrast between too much and little, or great and small."

"Gifts" (unavailable)

(unavailable)

We most often need to look to someone more powerful than ourselves to bring about the circumstances that we desire. Our Creator God has that power. There is really nothing else to say...just believe.

To make any piece work well you really need a representation of light, medium, and dark values. In abstract work, I love to use black or the darkest value of one of the colors. However, if you need to bring warmth into a dominantly cool painting, brown is an excellent choice and more subtle than black. This happens to be raw umber in the form of a soft pastel. Yes, and I did spray it with Krylon Acrylic Spray Coating because it will end up being varnished after being mounted on a gessoed masonite panel. Chalk pastels will not work...you must use soft pastels. After Georgia Deaver came, I threw my chalk pastels in the trash. That's how useless they are!


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"Barbed Wire" (unavailable)

(in permanent collection of dee day)

Cattle and barbed wire are part of the Texas landscape. You can barely travel five miles in our rural areas without seeing it. In fact, I can look out my studio window and see it. We are not cattle ranchers, but we do have five steers. One of them keeps thinking that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence...so up went another strand of wire this week. Those of you who live in our fine state know what I'm talking about!

To many of my friends, this piece would be considered too "cliched". And it probably is, but I like to do these very graphic, bold pieces anyway. I'll get back to my traditional abstract / realism style tomorrow!

Whichever style I'm doing I still think about the key points that give a piece interest and keep the viewer engaged. Division of the space is the first point. In lettering art, there is a tendency to gravitate to a "vignette" format....image or lettering in the center with space all around. There is nothing wrong with this at all, but it does fall more into the category of strictly lettering rather than lettering art, with the emphasis on ART. Good division of space means that your edges extend from edge to edge...touching at least two sides...in an unequal divide.

The second point is to design the corners. Make sure there is something different in every corner. (I learned that from Leanna Fay. She was a prominent lettering artist with a fine arts degree....passed away several years ago.) Remember to notice what the corners look like when cropping. These two main points must be considered if you want the viewer to look at your work more than five seconds. Observing how other artists handle these two points will immediately help you understand why you're drawn to some artwork more than others. Just something to think about.


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"Daffodils" (sold)

(sold)

We should not need an invitation to take a walk and enjoy the flowers. Often we do, though, because we are all so busy. This is a sketch created at a friend's house. It was a great afternoon sitting on the ground and drawing daffodils.

Playing around with lines in a background can add a lot of energy to a piece. It is especially effective to do them in pencil when the focal point is a pencil sketch. It helps to subtly divide your piece into shapes. (Since paintings are made up of shapes.) Line work with a pencil is simply a way of doing it without entering the world of visual overload. There are also three larger shapes of color in the background that add some visual weight to a simple sketch. There are many ways to experiment with division of space. It can take you places you've never dared to go!



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"A Trace and Testament" (sold)

(sold)

This age of technology can leave us yearning for something other than printed matter created on a computer. That's probably why many of us want the lettering arts to continue on. Whether it's a prescribed hand or one's own handwriting...the person who wrote it has created something that no one else can create. Your own hand is yours and yours alone.

Hazel Dolby was the reason I sent in my check, bought an airline ticket and headed for Sonoma, Calif. The class was a week of creating artwork and lettering on primed and gessoed surfaces. We painted and lettered on fabric, paper, and MDF board. It was grand! A good white and black gesso is worth its weight in gold.

You can cover your entire surface with gesso or thin it by adding water to create a "veiled" effect. The effect in this piece was achieved with a credit card dipped in gesso and scraped across the desired area...but don't stop there. Dip the same credit card in water and go over the same area again and again until you achieve the desired transparency. I also chose to add more gesso by dipping the credit card into gesso and touching the damp edge. There is really no end to what you can do if you just experiment. Also remember that white cools down a very warm piece. Enjoy!


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"Inquiry" (sold)

(sold)

Being a person of inquiry is necessary in order to progress in any area of life. The first step in becoming this kind of person is to ask yourself questions. It is not only a fun exercise, but it will open up thoughts that might never have come to mind otherwise. Just think about it and see where it takes you.

I have long been using sponge brushes (I still have the good ones as well!) for many applications of paint. This piece was created with a sponge brush except for the nautilus and the thin edges of paint (edge of a credit card). The medium is acrylic paint, thinned with water and used like watercolor. You can achieve a softer , lighter touch with this brush and by pressing down..."charge in" extra color into a wet area. I am quite certain you will enjoy many applications of paint with the sponge brush. Buy the best ones you can find. I buy mine at a paint store such as Sherwin Williams or Glidden etc.



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"Ounce vs. Pound" ($40.00)

(adjusted price....$40.00)

You probably recognize that this quote bears a resemblance to one you may have heard your mother say..."An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". If my mother said it once, she said it a thousand times! She was trying to tell me that my actions had consequences. The quote today has a similar meaning. Save yourself some time and sit down to think before you work.

As I've mentioned before, my goal is to learn well how to combine abstraction with realism. It is no easy task because if you include a piece with "hyper realism" in a piece as abstract as this one, it looks odd and doesn't work well. There is an artist (Sherry Loehr) who creates very real still lifes with enough abstraction in the background to give movement and energy to her work. I have concluded that the two can be combined successfully only if two things are understood. The more realistic the image...the less abstract marks or shapes can be included. However, if the image gives a nod to realism..(doesn't include every tiny detail or every value)...more abstract marks and shapes can be included. (To date, my piece from March called "Cotton" has been the most successful with this.) Just something to think about.


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"Interesting Lines" ($30.00)

(adjusted price....$30.00)

Believe it or not, this piece is based on a close up shot of a saguaro cactus. It was not green like the others, but was extremely interesting. That's the way I am viewing the etched lines of my face now. They're not wrinkles but interesting character lines!

Much of this piece began with white gesso, especially the cactus. I used a shaper tool and stylus to move the gesso around to create the texture. Acrylics and pastels provided the color.

The thing to take away here is the abstraction found in nature. Whipping out your camera and taking extreme "close-ups" of anything can yield some rather abstract images. I took a cue from a friend of mine and bought a small pocket size camera for my purse with a zoom lens just to make sure I was always prepared to take a shot of some abstract shape or texture. It's kind of fun, too!

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"Fusion" (sold)

(sold)

My glass kiln is programmed to go up to 1450 degrees to fully fuse three layers of glass. When all is said and done those separate pieces of glass literally become one piece. The image here reminds me of fused glass and the energy behind this process. To me this is a visual of what happens when we pray. Being fused to God's heart is a spectacular thing!

In this piece I used soft pastels for the first time in my posted pieces. Before I could apply the pastels...I prepared the surface with clear gesso (Liquitex) to give it the required "tooth" to receive them. I then scraped the pastel onto the desired area and pressed down with a palette knife to cause it to grab the surface.

This technique bears a heavy resemblance to glass powder (frit) that has been fused into glass. Because my surfaces are exposed, I sprayed it with acrylic coating (2x). I might add that pastel artists do not typically spray anything on their work because it diminishes the intensity and texture a bit. However, I will do anything and everything to have my finished work presented with a final varnish that makes the piece impervious to moisture or touch. Just a little side note....soft pastels come in over 500 different sticks of color. Amazing! If you don't like mixing paint, this is your medium.


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"An Onion" (sold)

(sold)


Everyone has heard the quote...."An apple a day keeps the doctor away". I applied that thought to an onion in a humorous way to give you something to laugh about today!

This piece was created with transparent watercolor rather than gouache to capture the translucent color of the onion. The choice to make it large and very close to the edge was to make sure the image landed close to the corners. ( I actually cropped it to land there since I work on a larger piece than the final so that I have that option.) Designing corners by making each one different keeps the piece dynamic with a more interesting division of space and shapes.

The one line of lettering was done with a very sharp pencil. (A mechanical pencil sharpened on a sandpaper block.) Spencerian Script is a very delicate hand that requires a thin line with very few "weighted" strokes. Using a pencil also makes the lettering less prominent and the image the focal point. Those of you in my upcoming class have this to look forward to since we will begin with a pencil.

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"Cafe Mocha" (sold)

(sold)

Life has many challenges, some of which can be relieved by a meeting of the minds at Starbucks! It seems to be an American tradition now and that's just fine with me.

The background of this piece is, of course, a "cropped" section of paste paper with liquid graphite (from a tube...Derivan brand) mixed with the paste. The textural marks made for some interesting shapes on the right hand side. With a few additional lines and by making a smaller mirror image (the yellow) on the left, it appears to be an interior setting. I even like the expressive mark going from edge to edge at the bottom that appears to be a moving liquid. The thing to take away is this...when introducing a new shape of color, line, or texture...consider "flipping" and creating a repeat of what is already there.

"Cup of Suffering" (sold)

(sold)


Today I have chosen to depart from my 6 x 6 posting to give you a "sneak preview" from the Easter Exhibit ("I Am") that is opening tomorrow evening at Hill Country Bible Church NW in Austin, Tx. This is one out of six of my pieces.

If you are planning to attend you will also see ninety other pieces of artwork created by the thirty-six artists who are participating. One of these includes C. D. Weaver, artist in residence at the Presbyterian Seminary. He works primarily in forged steel and has created a beautiful cross in steel, a carved wood sculpture with an inlaid cross, and a beautiful fused glass bowl with the head of Peter.

It will be well worth your effort to view this stunning display of work. To view the invitation with all of the details, go to our website at (pactofaustin.com).

Two of the techniques I used in this piece were expressive marks in white gesso which were the first thing I did on the piece. Gesso was also used for the bowl to give it some dimension. It was then painted with magenta acrylic, followed by gold orange acryl gouache and then topped off with black gesso. After the glazing of the blue and the lettering was complete, I used charcoal powder and a hake brush to apply more black to the center of the cross. Charcoal powder is very potent so If you ever choose to use it, you will need to practice on a workoff sheet. It is wonderful because it adds mystery and an ethereal quality to works like this. I have also used it many times in the 6 x 6 works to softly darken the edges and corners of a piece. (There is a bit of distortion of this image because it was photographed and not scanned....making some of the lines of lettering look crooked.) One thing I learned from Denis Brown is that a scanned image is always better than a photo, no matter how good the camera is.

This piece will not be on ebay.  It must stay in the exhibit until the second week of June. Any interest in purchase or knowing how it is presented should be directed to me by leaving a comment.

"Flowers" ($40.00)

(adjusted price.....$40.00)


The focus is on spring in this piece and how refreshing it is to see the landscape punctuated with color again. It reminds me of another quote..."There is material enough in a single flower to build a score of cathedrals." (John Ruskin)

This is the last piece in a series of four with a similar background and different flowers included. There is another way to do a series that's beneficial. Those of us who attended the Georgia Deaver Workshop this past weekend were encouraged to work with the same subject in different ways. For instance, you could paint or draw a bell pepper to look the way it actually looks, and then paint or draw it in a color not typically associated with its true color to learn more about values. It was fascinating to see purple bell peppers, for heaven's sake! It's fun and also entertaining.

Just a reminder to those who live in the Austin area. I am the coordinator for the visual arts team at Hill Country Bible Church NW and we are having the Opening Rerception for our Easter Exhibit this Friday evening. The invitation with specific details can be found on our website.....(pactofaustin.com). Hope to see you there!

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"Four Stars" (unavailable)

(unavailable)
So often there is a misconception about the amount of work it takes to achieve a particular outcome. It is always wise to ask those who have achieved a goal you would like to achieve just how much time and effort it took. The four star results do not happen without the right amount of work and effort.

This piece is a classic example of a very active background requiring very straight and simple lettering. What makes the expressive marks work on their own (even if there was no lettering) is the variation in size of the marks and also a variation in values from light to dark. There is also a nice contrast of hard and soft lines made by applying more pressure on one side of the "cut up" credit card as the mark is being made. The lettering has taken the back seat in this one. And again we see that black, white, and gray plus one other color works every time it's tried.


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"Cowhide" (unavailable)

(permanent collection of dee day)


Being a native Texan has responsibilities. One being to keep all things Texas on the hearts and minds of everyone...even those who weren't born here. Now if they got here as fast as they could, we won't hold it against them because they did eventually do the right thing!

Working with an overall pattern is not easy, but there is something uniquely interesting about cowhide. The spots are quite random and have a lot of contrast of size. Plus, they have a lot of texture. It took several experiments to get the texture right, but I finally achieved it by running a "broken up" fine tooth comb through gesso. (You can also achieve it with paint alone, but in a piece this small it is not convincing.) Notice, the direction of the combing needs to follow the same direction of the hair on the hide. Fortunately, we have five cowhides in the house to study. We also have the state of Texas carved into the saltillo tile. We're not being prideful, we're just being responsible Texans!!


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"Renewal of Spring" (sold)

(sold)


There are certainly signs of spring in Texas. Even though that may not be true in every area....it's right around the corner. This piece is about the renewal of creation that happens every spring. The form and stunning color of the Bird of Paradise is a spectacular display of God's creation!

Old credit cards have become my favorite tool...at least for now. Those of you who know me well understand that I often make declarations about something being my absolute favorite until the next thing comes along! But for now, it's the credit card or any other similar card...i.e....room keys from hotels. They can be cut in different widths and used to make expressive marks in gesso, paste, or paint. They are much more flexible than a palette knife, allowing you to be very free as you express away. It's a "free tool" so why not try it out!


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"Light" ($30.00)

(adjusted price.....$30.00)


Oil painters in particular are very aware of the effects of light. They live to catch the early morning or late afternoon light when the cast shadows are at their best. A spotlight in the studio on a subject also reveals highlights and shadows at their optimum. In the abstract, light represents truth and reveals the deeper and more subtle things of life. In a spiritual sense, Jesus referred to Himself as the Light. There is no escaping the profound influence of light in our lives.

Just a few more thoughts on daily paintings. After two months of doing this, the most important thing I've learned is that the time constraints force me to go deeper into myself to bring the quote, the image, and the techniques together to form a whole. Some, quite naturally, have been more successful than others. I am particularly struggling right now because of larger works for an Easter Exhibit. I am constantly reminded of a statement from "Art and Fear"...."You can only begin your next work where your last one left off." In other words, your own work tells you more about where you need to go than anything else. It reveals your strengths and weaknesses. The best way to improve is by doing your work.

Please visit my ebay listing to bid on original art from Dee Day Art Journal Painting a Day.
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"In It To Win It" (SOLD)

(sold)

It is so easy to think about past failures or even things that might have been out of your control, but the race called life is not won that way. The focus always needs to be on positive goals called the finish line. Even the Bible encourages us to forget those things that are behind and press on toward the mark of the high calling. The "Finish Line" is where the race is won.

This is a rather simple layout but shapes still make up the painting. It's all about keeping the main thing...the main thing. Trying to communicate too many things in one piece is akin to a traffic jam in an intersection. Even simple layouts are made more interesting NOT by adding more different elements or "bling" that have nothing to do with the one main thing. It is better to focus on contrasting shapes or texture for interest. Visual overload results when there are too many competing elements.

Please visit my ebay listing to bid on original art from Dee Day Art Journal Painting a Day.
Dee Day ebay