"A Distant Melody"

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


"Hope is a distant melody that becomes louder and more distinct with time." Hope is essential to survive the difficult places in life. This quote is dedicated to several of my dear friends and family members who are going through a hard place. May hope work its way into the deepest recesses of you soul.

The foundation of this piece was created with large gestural strokes on a prepared paper. All of the acrylic paint I used was first mixed with a bit of molding paste, retarder, and glazing liquid. This allowed the paint to stay wet longer and have a smoothness and more body than simply applying acrylic paint out of the tube. The ability to make gestural marks into the paint was also enhanced by mixing this combination.

So the paper (Rives BFK) was toned with Raw Umber + Unbleached Titanium by brushing on with a sponge brush and then rolled over with a large brayer until the color was smooth. After that dried, I created the gestural strokes with a sponge brush followed by the removal of some of the paint with various sizes of shaper tools. Gestural marks were also included at this stage. The fun part was cropping this piece from a larger sheet...paying close attention to the division of space and having the color blocks touch at least two sides of the design space.

It is a wonderful surface to write or draw on because the paint has been applied thinly in most areas. My desire is to hone this in such a way as to create a look of transparency. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Antiquities"

(unavailable)


"Articles of antiquity anchor us to the ebb and flow of history." There are a lot of us out here who like to rummage through old things with interesting patinas and shapes. After thinking about it for a long time, I have concluded that the ongoing interest in antiques anchors us into history and securely places us in the timeline. It makes us feel secure...that all is well.

A few days ago I talked about creating a series. This piece is the third in a series created from the same parent sheet of paper. Alas, this is the last for it is all gone.

The background colors are very conducive to all environments, but this one could be categorized as a library piece. It has a look of history and much of that is because of the colors. This robin egg's blue (Cobalt Turquoise + Raw Umber+ White) is a favorite to use with umbers and other earth colors such as raw sienna. If you like this palette, I strongly encourage you to give it a try and experiment with the percentage of space that each color occupies...vary that...and do a series. It's quite instructive and yields a great study in neutrals.

The collage elements, of course, are the focal point with a contrast of translucent, transparent, and opaque pieces. The dark collage piece at the bottom right was positioned over three different surfaces to create different values and shapes from the one image. The same is true for the ornate letter with all of the flourishes. And that's the charm of transparency and the depth that can be achieved.

It is not necessary to include collage over the whole piece, but rather to keep it in one area and going from edge to edge is a good idea. Also make sure to include contrasts between straight and erratic edges as well as transparent and opaque sections. Both types of contrasts are needed to achieve this kind of look. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Seize the Moment"

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


"Seize the moment before it flies away." I'm sure we can all think back on a moment of opportunity that slipped through our fingers. Sometimes there is a second chance to revisit something, but most often, it is gone forever unless we suspend what we're doing and seize the moment.  Seize a moment today before it flies away.

You may notice that the colors in this piece are the same as yesterday's posting. That's because they were cut from the same parent sheet of paper. There is the same emphasis on diagonals, but the shapes are quite different in this piece.

If you ever want to work in a series...one of the best ways to accomplish a seamless transition from one piece to the other is to work on a much larger sheet of paper and then crop two or more pieces from that larger sheet. A series can also be created by using the same materials and colors with each piece having a different composition.

Working in a series and presenting them all together is an excellent way of keeping the viewer engaged. The eye is always looking for connections, so by having several pieces that connect visually, the viewer will have much to consider.

One more interesting way to create a series is to use the same palette, but not necessarily use the same colors. Rather, a series can be united thematically. This could also be an open door for collaborative work with each person taking a part of the theme and then all of the pieces presented together. We did this one time on the art team at Open Doors Gallery by assigning 12 persons to take an element of the Last Supper and create a 4" x 4". The pieces were then presented together in the same piece.

Just thinking about a series can offer up many hours of creative study and fun for yourself and others. So think about that and perhaps you will be inspired to get started today.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Unfolding Dreams" (sold)

(sold))


"The reward of the diligent is the unfolding of dreams." The steady and focused attention on a particular skill is the essence of diligence. Steady means "on a regular basis"...like everyday. It is a steady observation and self critique as you work on your work. Go for it!

The foundation of this piece is acrylic paint. There is no gesso. I did add molding paste to the raw umber and retarder to all of the acrylic mixtures to extend the working time. My desire was to experiment with gestural strokes with a broad sweep across a larger sheet of paper.

The texture was mostly created with shaper tools and credit cards. I also used a brayer and alcohol to remove and soften the lines in several places. It's another exciting approach to mixed media and surface texture. The butterfly was printed on silk tissue paper and as you can see the raised texture shows up right through the paper to create a total integration with the surface.

I enjoyed writing the quote with a Mitchell #6 and Walnut Ink. It is the movement created by the diagonal sweep of color that gives this piece drama as well as the butterfly positioned so that it looks like it's in flight. And there you have it. Just a few more things to think about.

"Enjoy"

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


"Linger awhile and enjoy the process." It is often difficult to "linger" over anything because of the schedules we all keep. To really make progress in any area, it is essential to make time and space to linger over the process. My definition of "linger" is to stay in the process as though time were standing still. Enjoy!

The piece today is texture to the extreme. I began with molding paste and texturizing with gestural marks and glass beads dropped into the paste. This was left to dry overnight. This morning, I applied black Speedball printing ink with a brayer. After drying it with a hair dryer, I rewet it and blotted it in areas to create some grays.

The silver leaf was applied over a base of gel matte medium. As I pressed it into the paste, I began to remove small areas with my fingers to break up the surface. After applying the ornate capital, I realized I wanted some color. I used Venetian Red gouache which is brighter than burnt sienna, but not quite a red. It was applied with my finger and water applied to soften the edges and also to break up the surface a bit. Breaking up the surface is important to keep it integrated with the rest of the piece. Also, by placing the color in four corners, it gives the illusion that there is another piece of paper underneath the black.  (Gouache is not permanent when dry and is also opaque, so it is the perfect choice for this type of application.)

This may be too much texture for you, but it is always good to experiment. I learned that the glass beads really do best when painted a dark color and then applying another color skimmed over the top of them such as the upper left hand corner. And there you have it....just a few more things to think about.

Contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Wind in Your Sails"

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


"The wind in your sails is continuous prayer." There is a natural inclination, even among skeptics, to pray when threat of life or calamity enters a person's life. The big secret is that we can all have that supernatural wind in our sails when we pray to a Living God on a daily basis.

This is another collaboration between myself and Sue Costa. She prepared the board with molding paste and a bit of color and I took it from there. I revisited some of my old lino cuts. The one in this piece was originally used in a piece for a Shakespeare Exhibit.

There was no way to achieve a print on this textural surface so I turned to my silk tissue paper. Using Speedball Printing Ink, I mixed up blue, white, and a bit of brown and covered the lino cut using a brayer. The silk tissue paper was placed over the lino and gently pressed into the cut with a clean brayer. The paper was then sprayed with Spray Acrylic Coating. It was adhered to the surface by applying Gel Matte Medium straight from the jar onto the textural surface. The silk tissue was laid into the medium very carefully and gently pressed into place. Once again, this tissue paper molded right into the texture and the gray backgroud shows right through the paper.  It is completely integrated.

Placement of the ship and additional color gave me an edge to edge shape. I then used White Speedball Printing Ink to lighten the values in a few areas, creating another erratic, but edge to edge shape. The beauty of this printing ink is the ability to go back into it and blot with a damp tissue and remove parts of it to break up the surface. So it's actually a two step process. Brayer on the printing ink...dry...and then blot with the damp tissue. The surface can then be sprayed again with acrylic coating and then prepared to receive lettering. And there you have it! Another way to use silk tissue paper and a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Limes"

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


"Limes are a refreshing summer fruit." Friday is a good day to be lighthearted. Enjoy something as simple as fresh fruit with all of its color.

Today's piece is actually a collaboration. Sue Costa applied the molding paste and the stamped imagery of what became the limes. She also applied a bit of color. It was then my job to finish the piece and get it posted.

Apart from the limes, the shapes are soft and defined by color alone with no hard lines. However, when there is this much texture applied in this way, there are many smaller shapes created. After determining that her circular stamped shapes were going to be limes, I applied some newsprint with a lime green followed by some pencil lines. I then prepared the surface to receive pastels by brushing on some Liquitex Clear Gesso. The aqua and lime green pastels then formed a block of color running down the right and bottom edge. The placement of lettering was then easy to locate. It needed to be at the center of interest and connect the fruit shapes.

Working on a collaboration with another artist is a wonderful design exercise and will teach you how to give up control. I had to build this piece based on someone else's choices. Now it is my time to return the favor and begin a piece for Sue to finish and post on her blog. We'll see how that goes. Chances are it will be exciting and fantastic. So there you have it. A few thoughts about collaboration and what you can learn from this process.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.