"Paz" (draft 3)

(draft 3)

Almost there. The script and Spanish Round Gothic is to come. The lettering you see today is "paz" (peace) written with black enamel paint from a bottle with a tip.

I must say that I am quite in love with enamel paint now. When it dries, it is very shiny and smooth. Of course, now I am anxious to add white to my repertoire. It is a wonderful counterpoint to the lettering written with gouache or Fluid Acrylics. The surface was prepared for lettering with (1) part gel matte medium to (2) parts water mixed together with a palette knife and applied to the surface with a chip brush.

You can also see that I altered the edges of the fiber and adhered the silver leaf to the canvas. Edges are very important in any piece and the edges you see today are far more interesting than having the same amount of silver leaf coming down the entire length of an equally straight piece of fiber. By removing some of the fiber on both sides, I created some interesting shapes with the silver leaf peeking out rather randomly. And random is a word that is closely aligned with spontaneous. To quote myself...."It takes a spontaneous technique to create a spontaneous result."

The edges created by the chevron stamp are also important. By sanding part of the stamped image, I have created lost and found edges and a gradation with the color of the fiber with a "fading in" and "fading out" effect. The other random technique used was painting black gesso on the back side of this fiber. The sanding produced a deconstruction of part of the fiber and that black gesso then seeps through to the top side. This is much more effective than trying splatter specks in a random fashion.

So the "take away" for today is a study of edges. Try looking at lots of other artwork and see how different artists deal with their edges. It can truly make or break a piece. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Paz" (draft 2)

(draft 2)

You are viewing the deconstructed fiber piece laid over the support which is a 16" x 20" canvas. There is also some silver leaf behind the fiber peeking through. The final will contain the text from Psalm 29: 11.

Today, I will set this piece on an easel where I can see it from across the room. It also looks good in a horizontal format and viewing it from a distance will determine that decision. There is also silver leaf that has yet to be adhered, and my decision now is whether to tear the fiber a bit more and have some silver showing around the edges as well.

Since yesterday, I applied Super Heavy Gesso with a palette knife. The same chevron stamp was used, but I applied a thin layer of the gesso so you don't see a solid imprint of the stamp. Another little trick about stamping into this type of "gooey" texture is to spray the stamp with cooking oil with each stamping. This keeps it from pulling the gesso up and creating an ugly texture. Once it's dry, alcohol will remove the cooking oil and then you can proceed to paint. This also works if you want to imbed a texture like a "key" just to get the imprint into the medium. Once the medium is dry, the key or other object can be removed. Clean the surface and paint.

Another tip if you want the first layer of black gesso to show when lightly sanding the final top layer of paint is to mix the black gesso into the Super Heavy Gesso before applying to the support. You will then see nothing but black when sanding the top layer to reveal some of the texture.

Again, I made a sample of this fiber with the color mixtures to go into my journal.  The color vibration is particularly appealing to me and I know I will need to jog my memory by looking over my notes should I ever want to do this in a different format.  And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Paz" (draft 1)

(draft 1)

The Spanish word for peace is "paz". The quote you will see in the final is from Psalm 29:11. There is nothing quite like soothing blue colors to capture the spirit of "peace".

The previous couple of postings with a tighter weave (muslim) did not yield great results. That piece of fiber is now in the garbage and I returned to my lightweight linen type fiber with a looser weave. And for those who say..."You could have saved it; why did you throw it in the trash?"....that is not always true.

To create these very textural kinds of looks by deconstructing fiber, it is very important to have a fiber that is deconstructable. Otherwise, you can "beat a dead horse", but it will not be revived. It's dead!

So I began this piece with black gesso on one side and allowed it to dry thoroughly over the weekend. This morning I sanded it, and the deconstruction yielded some nice frayed areas and a few holes. And that is excellent, because I plan to adhere silver leaf to the area of the support where this will be placed and that silver will come shining through.

The next step was to spray the fiber with Palette Wetting Spray (Liquitex). The spray is different than simply spraying water because it consists of a polymer emulsion that is designed to keep the acrylic paint wet for a longer period of time, but it also helps blending and moving the paint around. (I have found that "chip brushes" are the very best brush for applying fluid acrylics to fiber.)

The mixture used for this base color was Cobalt Blue, a bit of Raw Umber, and a lot of White. (Fluid Acrylics) This dilute color causes a color vibration with the more intense colors stamped over this background. Cobalt Blue (straight from the bottle) and Cobalt Turquoise + White are the colors of the chevron pattern. (Color was brushed onto the stamped with a chip brush.)

And just in case you haven't noticed, chevron patterns are the rage right now. So let me take this opportunity to give a "shout out" for my daughter Alice, who is creating some fabulous wrist bags and tote bags, and also makes custom t-shirt quilts.

Check out her products at http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChevronBagsUnlimited. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Fiber Preparation" (draft 1)

Today's posting is a "process piece" in preparation for a 16" x 20" canvas. I know from my own experience that it is instructive to see some of the very first steps in a process. It doesn't look like much today, but by tomorrow it will have full blown color. Never despise small beginnings...just keep going. 

My desire at this point is to move away from too much uniformity with horizontal bands. So in this piece I am shaking it up a bit by having random patterning and color. This is also a tight weave and lightweight muslim. I brushed black gesso on one side followed by drying it with a hair dryer and then sanding. To give it more stability, I repeated the process on the back side.

And then I began to ask the "What if..." question which led me to swiping some Super Heavy Gesso on a portion of the fiber. If you look closely, you will see a chevron pattern stamped into the gesso. The gesso is receiving the stamping in different ways depending on the thickness of the gesso. By tomorrow morning all of this will be "bone dry" and ready to paint. There will be a marked contrast in the way the fiber without the gesso and the fiber with the gesso receives the paint. 

In the meantime, I am continuing work on two other large works. It takes many days for layers of paint to dry and prepare the fiber. And that is the beauty of working on more than one piece at once. While one thing is drying, you simply go to one of the other pieces. 

My large journal will now have another addition (with notes) after I finish the piece of fiber you see today. And then I will switch to the actual piece, select the text, allow for drying time, and post the process as it goes along. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Work It Out" (3) (Process Piece)

It is quite amazing how much preliminary work has to happen in order to create a large piece. Today's piece is my color selection for a 30" x 40" which will eventually have this type of fiber treatment included. Text will be from the Bible, but I haven't made the final decision.

Today's process piece tells me several things. Do I want to paint the back of it with black gesso and take a chance of too much of that black color seeping through the fiber? Probably not, so I will need to be selective in where the black gesso is placed or do it before the exposed portion is completed.

Another important thing I was wanting to test was lettering done with fluid acrylic and an #6 Automatic Pen. It holds a lot of pigment and the writing is done on the corner much like a ruling pen. I did find out that the fiber has to be sealed on the back and prepared for lettering on the front.

The other techniques on this piece were created by writing into the dull brown color with a mop brush dipped into the yellow green color. I then cook a commercial stamp and dipped one end of it into the paint and stamped onto the background. These are textures that are now recorded and will go into my large journal as a reference.

My hope is that I've convinced others who like to do experimental work the efficiency of making notes. Another favorite way of notating "work off" pieces is to cut up some watercolor paper into a small size (i.e. 4" x 4")...glue the sample on the paper....punch a hole in the corner and place on a binder ring. It takes up very little space and provides a ready reference for all of your future pieces. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Work It Out" (Process Piece)

The text for a large piece I'm working on is from Proverbs. The particular verses have not been decided yet, but today's posting is a "work off" piece created on the same fiber as in the larger work. You're just getting a glimpse at how I work things out. It's similar to rehearsing for a performance.

My goal in creating several "work off" pieces is to see how different instruments of writing and mediums respond to the surface on a 24" x 30" canvas that is ready for lettering. There were several others, but the one you see today is the one that informs me as to how the surface must be prepared to receive gouache and a new medium I'm experimenting with....enamel paint.  (Rust-Oleum from Home Depot)

So the first bit of information that I gleaned from this morning's work is that the back of the fiber must be painted with black gesso. The fiber side where the lettering goes must be prepared with at least (2) coats of (2 parts water to 1 part gel matte medium). If these steps are not taken the gouache bleeds a bit and the enamel paint bleeds a lot. The enamel paint (in black) that you see today was written by dipping a mop brush into the paint and writing by allowing it to drip. It is the perfect medium for this surface to create some expressive lettering.

I also used a ruling pen (the white larger lettering in Spanish) with limited success. On the next "work off" piece, I will be doing some brush lettering loaded with gouache. I also know from yesterday's posting that the Speedball C series works very well on this surface.

And this is the way pieces are put together...especially when they're experimental. The studio then becomes a laboratory to see what works and what doesn't. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Bienvenidos" (draft 1)

Today's posting is in a very rough state, but I thought it would be good to show it anyway and see how I resolve some of the chaos. I also plan to have a one line Texas quote harkening back to my roots.

I began with Super Heavy Gesso which I applied last night so it would be dry by morning. It was texturized by placing a strip of a mesh grid into the gesso and then lifting it out. After that, I wrote into the gesso with a bamboo pen really fast and not caring whether it was readable. It is simply there for texture. (It is important to apply the gesso with a palette knife as thin as possible to do this type of texturing.)

The small stripes might be gone by tomorrow or at least two rows at top and bottom close to the fiber. I would like to keep a few rows because of the texture created by the writing. And if you like that effect, it is important to paint the dried gesso with black gesso. After it dries, use fluid acrylic, but with very little paint on the brush and held at a low angle so that the paint skims over the sgraffito type lettering.

There will also be a bit more sanding after the paint dries on the fiber piece. This is an important piece because I am using this technique on my 30" x 40" canvas. I already know that I will need to have a hugh contrast of size between the bands of color based on what I've done so far. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Su Camino" (final)

($180.00......12" x 12"....Mixed Media on Stretched Canvas)

"Wait for the Lord and keep his way." (Psalm 37: 34 NIV) The Spanish Gothic and Spencerian Script combination remind me of lettering on signage and labels in Mexico. This is also one of my favorite chapters from the Psalms.

The only thing left to do now is spray the fiber piece with acrylic coating (3x) followed by (3) coats of spray varnish and then (2) coats of brush on varnish. All of this requires drying time, but I have plenty to do since I just created the same background texture on a 30" x 40" canvas. However, it will be a different color.

One of the looks I particularly like is the high gloss of acrylic paint that has also been textured like the background of this piece. It has the look of rusty metal. So sandpaper and sanders are definitely a part of my studio equipment.

If you like this background, all you need for experimentation is a canvas or clayboard.... heavy gesso or molding paste that has been texturized...some black gesso....fluid acrylic...and sandpaper. Finish it off with acrylic coating and varnish and you will have a metal look.

The only other thing that might be noteworthy is the fact that there are actual holes in the fiber as well as some of the background color which create total integration between the background and fiber. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"South Texas Vibe" (first draft)

I haven't written the quote yet, but it will probably be spiritual in nature and I am thinking 1st century versals in black on the fiber piece. This posting is a small microcosm of what is happening in my studio on a much larger scale on canvas.

The inspiration comes straight from South Texas and the Hispanic culture. Call me a "valley girl".....or at least from the Rio Grande Valley in the southern tip of Texas. The tropical climate, along with the Hispanic culture is feeding right into my art journey. It doesn't take long after living there, to realize that the Hispanics do love bright color and also striped sarapes, rugs, and bright and colorful pottery.

My direction for the large scale works is to show the extreme contrast between the aged fiber art, peeling paint on pots, walls, and fragments from tiles......and the bright and shiny colors that are interspersed among all of this. It is completely natural for me to go in this direction and now I am embracing it with all my heart.

The techniques involved in aging something, whether it's fiber or paper is effectively done with a sander. (variable speed is useful) So you can see that there is a huge contrast between texture, color intensity, and erratic edges vs. smooth edges. And the larger the piece, the more these contrasts create a dramatic effect.

So I'm having great fun in this return to my past and the nostalgia of all that is in South Texas. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Orad Sin Cesar" (draft 1)

(draft 1)

Today's posting is the beginning of two new pieces based on Psalm 119. I have yet to decide on which verse(s) to use and so there will be a variety of verses from this longest chapter in the bible. It's also a new process in combination with some older techniques. This is a very exciting approach!

What I will be posting over the next few days is an 8" x 10" size, but I will also be working on a 24" x 36" size concurrently. They will both have the same elements, but just a bit different arrangement. So as I share the steps, keep in mind that I'm working on both pieces simultaneously.

I began by painting the gessobord with black gesso. Today, it will be painted again with Black Heavy Body Acrylics applied with a palette knife. While all of that is drying, I will be cutting up squares and rectangles of 140 lb. HP for both pieces. Some will have all straight edges and some will be torn.

In today's posting, you can see (3) pieces already painted. I painted black acrylic on each section first and dried with a hair dryer. I selected three colors to alternate with on my smaller pieces. (Each section might be painted with titanium white...unbleached titanium...parchment (Liquitex)...etc.) After applyimg these colors over the black paint with a palette knife, I dried them....sprayed them with alcohol...brayering until satisfied with the texture and then repeating this over and over again. I then took the sharp edge of a cut up credit card and wrote a few words and then sprayed with alcohol and brayered again.

All of my palette knife painting will be done with undiluted heavy body acrylics right out of the tube. And unless otherwise noted, all of my acrylics are Golden with few exceptions. Some of my squares and rectangles will also have old bible text from Psalm 119 and also some rice paper. I may even include some mono printed rice papers if needed. I have decided on a horizontal format for both pieces with a black, white, yellow, and blue color scheme with white and yellow dominating.

There may also be some raised areas by mounting some of the shapes onto balsa wood. I also might be including some kiln formed glass pieces. The sky is the limit in this type of work. Hopefully, your mind is already whirling with the possibilities of this approach.

Just to sum it up, I am basically covering the entire support with these squares and rectangles. This allows me total freedom in what to include, leave out, or rearrange. Nothing will be adhered to the support until all of the separate pieces are done to my satisfaction. I will then have the option to write my selected verse(s) at the end after everything is adhered. This technique should take the "fear" factor out of your head since you can discard or rework any paper you don't like. This is taking collage to a whole new level. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Psalm 100" (draft 4)

(draft 4....18" x 24")

Psalm 100 is a psalm of praise so my idea from the beginning was to have lots of energy, color, and diagonals. Today you see a very changed piece from yesterday. I am almost finished, but need a couple of days to complete the final lettering, and fire a piece of glass. In light of that, I will not be posting again until Tuesday.

Hopefully, you will then see the final. Before I left the studio yesterday, I sprayed the entire piece with spray acrylic coating so it would be very dry this morning. Today I prepared the surface for lettering and then added some dilute white gesso to the focal area. I used a 1.50" broad shaper tool to apply the gesso...sprayed water and blotted some areas, and scraped off the excess gesso. I dried this thoroughly with a hair dryer and then brushed on some light gray pastel. (soft pastel) Of course, I then needed to spray that area again with spray acrylic coating (1x), dry thoroughly, and then again prepare the surface for lettering.

It took me approximately 2 hours to write Psalm 100 in Spanish with a Leonardt Principal Nib in Spencerian Script. After completing that, I then sprayed that area with spray acrylic coating (2x) and then once again prepared the surface for lettering.

Once again I applied dilute white gesso to the same area....followed by blotting, and removing the excess with the shaper tool. (You could also use a piece of mat board or cut up credit card.) This area was dried thoroughly and then again I applied gray soft pastel with a hake brush.

While I was doing this, I was studying the border and my prominent "L" shape and stopped what I was doing to cover up most of the outside area surrounding the "L" shape with black gesso. It immediately change the piece (for the better) and gave the very area around my focal area a chance to be appreciated. I especially like the way the bottom left hand corner shows off the ethereal quality of layered rice papers.

I ended up today with a bit more charcoal powder in the focal area. (The light gray was not completely doing it for me.) Today and tomorrow I will be studying the piece and removing part of the gessoed areas in the focal area to reveal a bit more of the Spanish lettering and the area where the kiln formed glass will go. So I deliberately waited to spray with spray acrylic coating so I could have this option. I will remove parts of the gesso with a stiff brush and rubbing alcohol. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Line and Color"

(unavailable.....6" x 6" collage created on 140 lb. HP)

"Let your eyes pass through line and color to give thanks." This quote is inspired by my obsession with transparency. It is also a metaphor for living a life of thanks and letting our eyes pass through the beauty of a thing to the Giver.

A strong graphic look is achieved here and in many of my other mixed media pieces by painting the background with black gesso first. The shapes are then determined by where the old book pages and rice paper are placed to create positive and negative shapes.

In some of my past postings, I did leave more black showing, but I think it looks more integrated and subtle to allow the slivers of black to create a strong division of space rather than a large or equal amount to the text pages. There is a larger black shape right beneath the pumpkin which I like very much and that actually helps the eye to go directly to the center of interest. 

Without deconstruction (adhering and then removing papers), this type of work becomes too static. It is a technique which truly helps with the back and forth that needs to take place between shapes or color color blocks. It marries the different areas together. It is also called breaking up surface tension.

If you want to include personal drawings as I did here, it is best to draw the image about twice as big as you actually need and then reducing it and printing the image on silk tissue paper. This gives the illusion that the drawing was actually done on the original piece. Again, this is all about a contrast of transparency and opacity to create depth. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"White and Purity'

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


"White and purity have this in common...the power to lift the human spirit." The color white has long been associated with purity. This association has deep spiritual significance and just seeing the color white has a calming effect. Walk into a room with white accents or white being the dominant color in the room and you will feel peaceful.

The power of line work to effect visual space is a wonderful design element to play around with. There may be a misconception among some lettering artists to shy away from using line work in fear of encroaching on someone else's style. I would like to dispel that fear by saying that artists have been using line work from the beginning of time. There are some artists outside the realm of lettering that base their entire body of work on lines.

Line work has the endless potential of dividing the design space into infinite shapes. There is a Spanish artist (Juan Iribarren) who uses line and color to create the most fascinating depth perceptions. It is instructive to see how other artists in all kinds of media are using line. Even beyond the elementary drawing of a line from edge to edge...all artwork consists of line because it takes a line to make a shape, although most of the time, it eludes the casual observer because the line is implied with the representation of an image rather than seeing an actual line. The point of all of this is to focus on what line work has the power to do in dividing the space.   Just a few more things to try or think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Everyone Likes It" ($40.00)

(adjusted price.....$40.00)

"Jazz music is much like gestural writing...everyones seems to like it, but few can figure out how to do it." Some skills in life look very easy, but in reality they require a lot of observation as well as practice. That's exactly what I thought about gestural and even expressive lettering. It looks like something any person off the street could do.  (Oh, contrare!) I think that is true of many skills in life. For instance, the art of conversation and simply getting along with people in general looks so easy, but it requires a lot of wisdom, self control, and simply looking at things from another person's point of view. Perhaps I can get started on that today because it is one of the most necessary skills in living successfully with others.

This piece was whittled down to some very angular shapes by painting over some areas with black gesso and using a commercial stamp and Speedball Printing Ink to add some interest. Black and white can literally anchor any piece and calm down some of the more chaotic parts. Besides, black and white are two colors that come to mind when thinking of any kind of music. Color alone can inspire thoughts in any area when the associations with that color are present. Everything does not have to be literal in abstract art.

Another thing that came to mind as I started thinking about the lettering is whether or not to follow the lines that were already in the piece or make the lettering straight. And then I remembered a great teacher who said to always make the lettering straight in the design space when there is a lot going on in the background. It works. Viewers can only take in so much detail before they get tired and give up looking. As much as we would all like to write expressively and gesturally to the point that it deteriorates into unreadable text, the average person does not want to stand on their head to try to read the text. I believe that a happy compromise is to be as expressive as you like in the background, but keep the main thing the main thing by making it readable to those who expect to read anything that looks like text. Of course, that's only my opinion. But it is something to stop and think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Gold vs. Wisdom" (Sold)

(sold)

"Wisdom weighs more than gold, silver, or rubies, and is far more valuable." Of course, wisdom does not have a measurable weight as gold does, but the value of wisdom cannot be overstated. My favorite definition of wisdom is from J. I. Packer..."Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose the highest and best goal with the surest means of attaining it."

I did not want to be so visually literal by including an actual balancing scale in this piece, but I did try to divide the space up in two distinct divisions to give the idea of a subtle impression of comparing gold to wisdom.

To add a couple more subtle shapes and add more atmosphere to the mood of this piece, I brushed charcoal powder (using a Hake brush) across the top and then removed part of it with an eraser to create a softly diffused line. It's really a neat technique to tone down a particular section.

The bowl was defined with black gesso applied with a small palette knife and then texturized with a comb. Gold orange (Acryl Gouache) was solidly applied over the black, followed by random layering of 22k gold leaf. I then took a small brush dipped in water to removed part of the orange gold and reveal the black underneath. This action also removed the excess gold leaf. Just something to try or think about.

"A New Contract" ($40.00)

($40.00)


Sometimes we just need to have a "heart to heart" with ourselves! Negotiate means to find a way through or over a difficulty or obstacle. Maybe it's time to set a new goal and a new habit. In other words, negotiate a new contract with yourself. (But also be realistic and not too hard on yourself!)

The architectural element in this piece is from a photo I took at the "Biltmore" in Ashville, N.C. It is a portion of the railing on the portico off of the main floor. It is the largest home in America....built in the 1800's by George Vanderbilt. You should go there if you're ever in the area.

So much for the history lesson! This piece is a good lesson in harmony and values. There is the high value contrast between black and white, but also a range of gray values and variation of edges between the stamped images in the background (soft edges) and the hard edges in the drawing and lettering. By creating all of these elements with liquid graphite and pencil, there is wonderful harmony. Even the two letters done with bleedproof white are a subtle contrast. The huge drama is created with the black gesso and white paper with one other color. (Remember that black and white plus one other color works everytime it's tried.)

Just in case you've noticed my compelling need to inform anyone who will listen...take note that I am a teacher. My degree is in music education, so I am not deliberately trying to treat everyone as if they know nothing. I simply have a need to inform. If you have teachers in your family...you know what I'm talking about! (They always tell you more than you want or need to know.)

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Habits and Patterns" (unavailable)

(unavailable)


It is fairly easy to do anything for one day, but to do something long enough to make it a habit requires at least twenty-one days...or so they say. Something interesting happens when we commit to doing anything more than once or twice. A beautiful pattern is created!

I hope you are noticing how many different ways a square can be divided into positive and negative space. In this piece, you can clearly see where your eye wants to go immediately. Any part of the design space where there is a lot of detail and more color compared to other areas is going to be an "eye stopper". In this case it is the patterned area with (6) different colors involved. It would not have been as effective if the pattern had been over the entire design. (....or as interesting) Wherever there is extreme detail automatically becomes a center of interest.

"Solitude & Silence" (sold)

(sold)


Most everyone has a place either in your home or some other place where you go to be alone. Hopefully, it is a place away from people and audio input where you can pray and meditate on the deeper things of life.

Believe it or not, I am deeply satisfied playing around with extreme positive / negative space. It is a very direct approach and the way I would describe the way I relate to others.  So for now, it feels like me. This approach is also well suited to a square format without having to deal with a strong vertical or horizontal orientation.

Just a few words about the advantages of daily blogging. In just two weeks time, I have made observations about design and technique that would have taken me (6) months to learn going at a slower pace. This is one of the huge benefits of not only playing around in my studio everyday, but bringing that 6 x 6 to a conclusion...completed and ready to post! In other words, design decisions must be made and techniques implemented at a fairly rapid pace. (Every (24) hours has a way of repeating itself like clockwork!) If you are up to the challenge, pick a particular size format and try this for a week or so. You will be stunned at what you learn....IF you don't opt to skip any days. You will notice that today's piece has the same blue as yesterday's piece. And the reason for that is time. One of the first things I learned was to work on more than one piece at a time...to save time. (pun intended!)

"Sitting" (sold)

(sold)


The first person you call to share a joy or sorrow is probably a trusted friend. If you are blessed to have more than one, you are a rich person indeed!

If your received a "jolt" when this image appeared on your screen....it's because you are viewing my wilder side! Black gesso is the star here. Notice the division of space. The white space has the same stamping with graphite with a bit of the cobalt blue bleeding through. The blue was applied first and dried. The black gesso followed and then several areas of blue again. After each application of paint, I softened the edge by touching it with a brush loaded with clean water. Edges are a huge deal...especially with so many straight ones. If the edge is left hard, with no feathering, the eye will go directly to that edge and the piece will be less integrated. You will see this right away when you try it yourself. Also, if you are working on a larger piece and the paint dries too quickly...just dip your brush in alcohol and scrub the edge. (Alcohol breaks up acrylic paint.)