"Crossing Barriers"

(unavailable.....4" x 6"....Color Block Presented on Masonite)

"Art crosses language and cultural barriers." You can see that the text chosen for these color blocks is Italian selected and cut from an Italian Design periodical. What I have noticed is that art, as well as music, speaks to every human being no matter what language they speak or culture they come from.Quite extraordinary!

This type of "color blocking" is tremendously fun, but before you begin cutting up all of your periodicals, I have learned a few things that will keep you out of the weeds (so to speak).

First of all, the piece looks more authentic and substantial if you adhere the magazine text to 140 lb HP first....with gel matte medium. And then you need to cover your collage with wax paper and brayer with a hard (clear acrylic) brayer....preferably on a glass or granite surface to make sure all of the wrinkles and bubbles are removed from the paper.

After doing this with all of your selected pieces, make sure it is dry by blow drying the front and back of the 140 lb. HP. You will then be ready to crop and fit all of the pieces to the support. In this case I used masonite primed with black gesso. It is also a good idea to choose different sizes of text and have a range of different sized blocks. This contrast of size is very important in this type of work.

After all of the pieces have "happy faces and are all in their places" (pun from nursery school days!)....spray the entire piece (2x) with spray acrylic coating. If you are not adding additional lettering, then the piece is finished.

If you are hand lettering, drawing, or anything else....prepare the surface with (2) parts water and (1) part gel matte medium. At least (3) coats are necessary to make sure you don't damage the magazine papers or have the ability to remove the lettering should you make a mistake.

Upon completion of the hand lettering, the piece should be sprayed (2x) and left to dry for several days. I generally spray it at least (2) more times before beveling the edge with sand paper and painting with black gesso. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Color Poetry"

(unavailable.....4" x 6"....Color Block on Masonite)

"Color has its own poetry." It also has the power to create a mood better than any other design element. It's a vast subject and the more I know...the more I realize how much more I need to learn.

That's why "color blocking" has an endless fascination for me. It's quite like adhering paint chips on a board. The piece you see today is comprised of remnants from a "color block" piece I did a week or so ago. The idea was to use very neutral colors with one bright color being the star of the show. I had two rules going into the process. One rule was to have the bright green form a shape from top to bottom. The other rule was to have a variety of different sized blocks.

By including several pieces with erratic lines and a circular blob of color on one block, I was able to offset all of the straight lines created by the blocks. The straight lines can also be countered by arranging colors side by side that are close in value. This type of work is also a good study in edges. It is absolutely necessary to have edges and erratic lines in some of the blocks to contrast with the hard edges created by the perimeter of the blocks.

For those who have created mono printed rice papers, there is yet another wonderful option. By covering some or all of the blocks with rice papers, the texture and line work of the print will create a very dynamic piece. And that's my plan for tomorrow's posting. I will create a another 4" x 6" using rice papers instead of heavy body acrylics. In fact, my postings this week will be a series of 4" x 6" blocks created with different materials.

It's all very exciting and I would encourage you to jump on in. The water's warm!! And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Gracias" (draft 1)

(draft 1)

Today's posting represents the underneath layer of a new color block piece. You can see that all of the colors are muted except for one large strip of bright green.  (It's much brighter in the original.)  The quote has not been written, but will appear in the final.

After creating several color block pieces, I have learned to paint the underneath layer to all of the pieces in one "fell swoop". It saves time. It also helps me to choose my colors and see how they work together. I am pleased with the color choices and this is an experiment in using all diluted colors except for one. And that one color is a WN acrylic called Green Middle. It was on sale. I cannot possibly imagine me buying such a peculiar color at this point, but it will be the star of the show in this piece.

These painted papers will need to dry all day and tomorrow morning I will apply the top coat and reveal part of the undercoat by using a sgraffito technique. I haven't determined the size yet, but an 11" x 14" is coming to mind. That decision will need to be made today so I can paint the cradled board with dark green. (It almost looks black, but it is actually a mixture of the bright green color plus black.) You cannot see the bronze effect on the computer, but the strip that is second from the end on the right is a Daniel Smith acrylic called Duochrome Desert Bronze. It has a green and bronze look and will add an iridescence to the piece.

Most of the decisions at this stage of the game are minimal, but that will step up dramatically by tomorrow. Some other directions for this type of grid design could also apply to photography or old book elements (especially the covers).

It is an inspiring way to work and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes experimentation. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. (Clicking onto the label called "color blocks" will bring up other pieces I've already completed.)

"Bravo" (Part 1 of 2)

(image 1)

(image 2)

There will be an original one line quote tomorrow. Today, you are looking at a detailed version of the process that has been streamlined since working on the very large piece.

This new way of accomplishing this type of color blocking has made it much easier. This whole process began last night. I delivered heavy body acrylic paint to the support and several larger pieces of the undercoat colors that I wanted to be revealed with the sgraffito technique of mark making or scratching into the top coat. The light gray pieces were remnants from the large piece I just finished yesterday. It takes about 20-30 minutes to apply paint to the pieces and support the night before. It greatly speeds up the process by having these pieces bone dry the next morning.

So this morning I began to cut and place the papers. I had a general idea that I wanted the bright colors from top to bottom with grays and black on the sides. After cutting each section, I used painter's tape to secure it to the support. After all the blocks were cut and taped down, I used a light and dark charcoal pencil to number all of them. I then took a photo which served as my map when determining how to reassemble after painting the top coat.

As I took each piece off of the support, I wrote the number and color of the topcoat on the back. This enables you to know where everything goes at the end. So what you see today in the second image is all of the pieces laid on the support, but not yet adhered.

I will allow it to dry all day and then determine if any color changes need to be made. And I can already tell you that the darker gray areas will need to go darker and probably to a black with the dark gray showing through. I left them as is so you can compare the image today with the final tomorrow. Values do make a hugh difference! And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"The Secret Place" (draft 8)

(draft 8)

All of the color blocks are now in their places. The entire text of Psalm 91 appears in various places three times and all text was cut from old bible pages. Tomorrow you will see the first verse written in one or two color blocks.

So much has been learned through this process. When I do another one, I will paint the undercoat on larger sections of paper (enough for the entire piece) and allow those to dry overnight. It will then be a matter of cutting up all or most of those sections and placing them on the support.

To prevent the dilemma of where to place the sections again after taking them off to paint the topcoat...I will number them on the top and back side and take a picture of the section or whole piece (depending on the size) and this will create a faster process.

Another thing that I did on this piece was change the value of a few of the blocks after they were adhered. I did this by taping off the surrounding areas and applying black with a palette knife. The brayer and alcohol were used alternately to lift the paint and create a texture that reveals part of the previous layer. In my case, I needed darker color notes sprinkled throughout the piece, but the reverse could also be true. This technique is good for any color change that's needed at the end.  And very often, it is impossible to tell until everything is adhered to the support.

I would encourage anyone to try this at least once. It is much fun and infinitely engaging. If a large size is way too intimidating and you prefer immediate results....try working on a 6" x 6" size or even smaller. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"The Secret Place" (draft 7)

(draft 7)

Today a familiar phrase comes to mind that all parents have heard..."Are we there yet?" And this is the challenge when working on large pieces. It is a long process. By tomorrow all of the pieces will be in their places.

It is very important as you work through the process of creating a piece of art to keep an open mind about letting the piece evolve naturally. Don't feel compelled to include an element just because you like it. If it's not the right thing for the piece, it really is best to leave it out. Forcing something to be included will cause the piece to look contrived.

The reason I know that is because I've created my share of contrived work and it is not a pleasant experience to realize it after the fact. Having said all of that, I wanted desperately to include a piece of kiln formed glass, but it really isn't going to work for this piece. Fortunately, I have the good sense to realize that. It's a good thing!

You can see that I have inched my way upwards with some more pieces. So far, I am pleased. Not all of the pieces are adhered yet, so I still might do some moving around. I really didn't notice until I saw the image on the computer. So taking photos of your work in process is a very effective way of seeing what you might not see while you're working. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"The Secret Place" (draft 6)

(draft 6)

I have already concluded that this piece will have (2) more drafts and then the final. So you can see that this is not a super fast way of applying paint to paper. My hope is that you find it as interesting as I do.

There is not a whole lot to add to the notes I've already posted about the techniques used in this piece. You are seeing the full palette in play at this point. For the greens, I am using Green Gold, Cad. Yellow Light,Cobalt Turquoise, and Viridian, plus the addition of white or raw umber to change values.

As far as process goes, I have discovered it is best to cut up a lot of papers at a time. And then it is good to decide what the undercoat is going to be on each one and apply that with a palette knife in the evening. That way, you are ready to go the next morning with the top coat. Otherwise, you will be standing a long time with a hair dryer in your hand.

Another key point is the way the papers and colors are arranged. I like to have some of them as long verticals and others as horizontals, plus a few squares. This really adds the drama to the piece after all is said and done.

It is also a good idea to save all of the scraps. I have changed my mind a few times and had to cut pieces to a different size after they were already painted. Those little scraps will make a nice 4"x 6". And there you have it...just a few more things to think about!

"The Secret Place" (draft 5)

(detail of draft 5)

(draft 5)

Today, I am posting a detail of the lower right hand corner. This is a large piece and the detail gets lost on the blog. It may also look like nothing has changed since yesterday, but indeed there are some changes. The additions you see today are plain rice papers, old book pages and soft pastels added to some of the existing pages.

Since posting yesterday, all of the pieces touching the left hand side have been adhered to the support. This will make it much easier to place the center pieces. So it is not feasible to wait to the end to adhere everything, but the placement of everything needs to be a done deal in your mind before adhering.

In today's posting I have included a detail which shows what happens when plain rice papers are overlapped and some of the gel matte medium seeps out around the edges. Now I always wipe the excess off, but there is still a residue. That residue will show up as a very intriguing shape once you brush on some soft pastels or charcoal powder. Be sure to dry the rice papers after adhering....spray with acrylic coating...dry again....and then brush on the pastels. You will then need to spray again before adhering to the support. 

Another decision I've made since yesterday is which pieces will have text and rice papers and which ones will not. None of the green areas will have text or rice paper. I have reserved most of the gray areas for text. By placing some boundaries on where elements will be or not be is essential to good design. It simply creates chaos to include everything you know in one piece.

In regards to the green color blocks, they will be creating a shape from top to bottom in between the neutral color blocks. That introduces a bit of alternation. If I chose to simply divide the piece into two major areas, I have eliminated a design principle that will actually make the piece stronger. Alternation always creates rhythm. 

I hope this is not moving too slow for all of you, but there are many decisions that must be made in creating a piece of art and it is my desire to clearly show that. In fact, I strongly believe that creating a piece of art will teach more than anyone can possibly learn in a workshop. Workshops are good to learn very specific techniques, but the real learning comes into play when actually making all of the design decisions associated with every single piece. In my mind, mixed media teaches this like no other medium can. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Gesture"

($40.00....6" x 6"....Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"The landscape is a study in gesture." Our creator is the ultimate in making gestural marks. You can see it every time you look outside. This is especially true in an untouched landscape where things are growing wild. Amazing!

In this piece, I did make some progress with my greens. They can be very difficult, but Pthalo Blue (Red Shade) is the secret to getting not only the dark rich greens, but the brighter ones as well. This piece took me two and a half hours to paint because there are a multitude of colors to mix and lay down.

However, I am now feeling as though too many dabs of paint without being smudged can become monotonous, so I took my palette knife and slightly blended in many areas (but not all) to create a more varied texture. It also gives the eye a break from too much broken color. 

I also tried to make sure there were different shapes and sizes of color blocks and enough diagonals to keep the viewer's interest. It is a challenge, but ever so much fun. 

The quote is inscribed into the paint vertically on the right hand side which adds another element of texture and interest. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. 

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Ordinary Life"

($40.00....5" x 5".....mounted on a 1.50" depth clayboard)


"Hope is hidden in the beauty of ordinary life." Observing the beauty in the smallest of things is a reminder of the hope and holiness of God and His creation. It is no small matter and this act of noticing and thanking is the way to live life abundantly.

It is especially important for the artist to develop the act of noticing and bring creations to the world that will inspire others at a deeper level.

Today's piece is a pouring medium piece with two pieces of collage adhered to blank paper before the pour. You can still see some of the lettering which is in Spanish. The word in the upper right hand corner is "caridad" which means "hope". It is simply another way of imbedding elements of design into the piece. Where a particular color will land and how much will settle over a piece of collage does require noticing and experimenting. My experience is that paying attention to how much pouring medium goes into an area will definitely effect the transparency. I have also had some success with placing a drop or two of pouring medium (with no color added) into an area which causes a dispersion of the color. You might want to test it on another scrap piece of paper before ruining your piece.

There was no external manipulation in this pour which is why there are solid color blocks with a variety of edges where the colors bled together. I did place a layer of White and Pouring Medium on the paper first before pouring the other colors which is why you see white coming through in several places. What I do like about this piece is the different shapes and percentages of color creating undulating horizontal bands across the page. So carry on with your own experiments and enjoy the process. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Second Look"

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


"Rich treasures are found when giving ideas and books a second look." Who can possibly know how and why the human mind thinks and acts the way it does. What I have personally experienced is that too often we set aside ideas and books that need to be revisited. The rich treasures are stored up for those who "mine" the depths of deep thought.

This pouring medium piece by itself does not contain even one hard edge. That's important to notice because it's very much like "cotton candy" art. You can look at it, but it seems to dissipate quickly just like cotton candy does. Once the large lettering with very hard edges was placed on the piece, it was immediately anchored. The script lettering adds a nice contrast with more hard edges. This is a perfect illustration of the importance of edges. All soft or all hard will give the viewer an unsettled feeling.

Even though there is clearly a distinction where the color changes occur...the values are so close together that it gives the "soft edged" feeling. It is the values and the technique used to lay down the paint that makes the difference. This becomes even more important when painting realistic imagery. Just a few more edges to think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Creative Power"

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


"Creative power erupts from the fire of passion." Try doing anything without a deeply felt passion and it shows up in the work immediately. It is the passion that compels us all to go that extra bit to make something as good as it can be. There have been many negative connotations to the word "passion", but today we are looking at its absolute necessity in the creative process.

This piece was created by laying down horizontal bands of color on very wet 140 lb. HP watercolor paper. I wanted to see what would happen if I laid the color down and did nothing else to redirect the flow of color. Just by virtue of the paper being more wet in one area or the table not being completely level...it went its own way. You can clearly see how pure the colors are when there is no external factor (like a marbling tool or plastic fork) affecting the flow of the paint. There is minimal blending of color. This is good to know if you want very intense color and very little gradated effect going on.

The shapes of color are also more defined with a more prominent display of hard edges. One line of lettering was all that was needed because the piece is so intense. It is still amazing to me how one line of lettering going from edge to edge creates another division of space and is an elegant touch to a dramatic piece. Just a few more things to think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Cowhide and Leather" (unavailable)

  (

"Cowhide and leather are happy companions." Sometimes my thoughts can be so serious, I scare myself!  When I've reached my limit on that path, painting cowhide makes everything better. It has a comforting presence and adds drama to everything. (This is a 4" x 6" piece to be given away this next Friday evening...pactofaustin.com)

What prompted the pairing of this quote to this background was the burnt sienna color block at the top. After randomly writing words and lines on a large parent sheet, I applied gesso...also in an erratic way. I "kicked it up a notch" by mixing Transparent Burnt Sienna with Pouring Medium (Liquitex in both cases) to achieve that "splotchy" effect that is so characteristic of worn leather. Other shapes help create a contrast of shape and size. By not painting over the entire shape of diluted Burnt Sienna where the cowhide is, I was able to create two additional shapes.

My hope is that my "die hard" followers who want all the details will begin to see how exciting it is to use color blocks, gesso, and pouring medium to create many interesting shapes. You then have the choice to simply leave as is or add a painted image, collage bits, or only lettering. These type of pieces pair up well with lettering because they're both abstract. Adding a touch of painted realism will also give you a strong contrast between abstraction and realism...which I have done often for this blog. Just something to think about and if you feel adventurous, you can try it for yourself.

"Connect the Dots" ($30.00)

(adjusted price....$30.00)

"Connect the dots you have to receive more numbers." I am sure everyone has completed a "dot to dot" picture or has a child or grandchild who has. This quote takes that concept a step further by equating what we know in any given area to the dots in a coloring book picture. If we act on the information we know...it will open the door to new insight...and we will receive more numbers.

The first thing you will notice in this piece is that I left a word out of the quote. Now I do know how to correct a mistake like this, but it takes time and tends to be tedious. I was very tired so I decided to add another dot and leave it as is.  These things happen!

This is a piece built upon geometric shapes making it totally abstract. It is part of my continuing color series. It has huge color impact from across the room because of the powerful contrasts. Three colors were used. The first color was applied on dry paper that already had lines and gesso applied in a random fashion. Using a sponge brush, I painted this dilute Turquoise in horizontal bands in two directions leaving white space for the other colors. I did the same thing with Quinacridone Violet , making sure I overlapped the turquoise in areas to create "grayed down" purple. The last color was Raw Sienna.  It, too, "grayed down" the turquoise and violet wherever it overlapped.

This method of paint application over paper randomly primed with gesso and leaving some portions untouched gives an array of colors and shapes that lay the foundation for total abstraction or the inclusion of a realistic image either painted on or presented as a collage element.

If you are in my upcoming color workshop, this would be a good way to experiment before the class begins. A wise instructor once said that if you really want to learn something, try doing it on your own first, and then find an instructor. By doing this, you will catch on right away. That instructor was Donald Jackson. Just something to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"A Shell" (sold)

(sold)

We probably all have memories of going to the beach. The very sound of waves crashing onto the shore has a rhythmic way of quieting the inner spirit. I spent many of my years growing up and living thirty miles from South Padre...before the high rises. Isn't it wonderful how memories can transport us to other places without ever leaving home?

Rectangular color blocks offer a perfect "niche" to paint an image like this shell. The softer edges of the color blocks can only be achieved by working wet into wet. The results look much more contrived if applying straight acrylic paint which is precisely why paste paper is such a happy choice. The paste also dilutes the color a bit and makes it easier to manipulate. One more technique in achieving transparent and ethereal looks. You might want to give it a try!