"Life and Music"

($40.00.....6" x 6".....mounted on a 1/8" depth clayboard panel)

"Life is like music and can be a crescendo or decrescendo." And isn't this the truth! Sometimes we're up and sometimes we're down and also in between. If you could have seen this piece before the lettering was in place, you would have noticed more chaos. It is only when the straight leveling line of the lettering was in place that everything seemed to be okay. Just stay calm and carry on.

Establishing a mood is always my first and most important step in selecting colors, technique, and division of space. My intention from the very beginning of this piece was to establish a Spanish mood and feel to the piece. In fact, that's very much where my heart is going these days. I love the Spanish language, colors, and their courtyards, haciendas, etc.

By being very careful with your pouring medium and colors, it is possible to have some very intense color blocks by simply NOT disturbing those colors after pouring them on the paper. It is so tempting to grab a plastic fork or toothpick and create some external movement of the color. But if you resist that urge and choose only ONE area where you allow yourself to disturb the line between two colors, you will be rewarded for your efforts. If you are taking the "Symphony of Layers" workshop this weekend, this is one of the techniques we will be doing. You can think about the mood you want to create.

The large ornate "L" is an old letter from one of the Dover Publications which was compiled for artists and others to use in their work. It was printed on "Gampi" silk tissue paper which is totally transparent and looks like it's written directly on the piece. Another thing that enhanced the mood of this piece was the inclusion of some soft pastels in the red-violet and also a bit of charcoal powder in the upper left hand corner surrounding the "L". So there you have it! Just a few more things to explore or think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.