"Feathers of Angel Wings"

(SOLD.....8" x 8".....Watercolor on 300 lb. CP Fabriano.......Presented on a 2" Cradled Board)

"The feathers of angel wings cover me with protection." Everyone likes the idea of being protected from the storms of life. The association of a feather image to angel wings rustles my imagination in a very good way.

Well.....this is the end of the angel series. It's time to move on. The position of these last set of wings came to me just before I woke up this morning. They are almost touching and seem to be enclosing an area....very much like a shelter. (Psalm 91 provides more connections with this thought.)

Of course the piece was created much the same way as the others so there's not too much to add to those comments. I guess my big take away from this particular design in conjunction with watercolor techniques was the idea of color bands and the surrounding shapes. In this case, I am referring to the stripes in the feathers, but it could also be bands of strong color with negative space in between. It might be fun to create a small piece with a wide range of different sized stripes. Paint the bands of color  in a fairly saturated manner with blank paper in between. After drying the bands throughly, take a brush dipped only in water and wet each band and the area in between and allow the pigment from the saturated color to bleed into the empty band shape. It will soften the edges of the darker color and break up some of the surface of an extremely saturated color.

Most of the time, watercolors are layered to create a darker area and in most cases that would be the preferred technique, but this also offers up some possibilities. Contemporary watercolor is a wonderful segue into experimentation and simply playing around with different ratios of pigment to water. Close observation of what happens when you apply the watercolor in various stages of wetness is also instructive. For instance....applying different ratios of pigment and water to totally wet paper....waiting until the glisten of the water leaves the paper, and "bone dry" paper.

These are some of the techniques that will prove to be useful when creating a piece. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Internal Combustion"

(sold)

"The internal combustion of the heart creates heat." This quote can be interpreted several different ways so I will let you decide.

The motivation to paint another snow scene from Flagstaff was inspired by our own weather here in Austin. It is not hard to imagine that we could see snow falling in the midst of temperatures in the 20's.  I will go with the odds. It probably will not snow so I will paint it and pretend. Of course, those who live in it all winter would probably like to trade places with those of us who live in the South.

In this piece, it looks like the snow was falling after a previous snowfall since the foreground has little or no snow. Once again, I am vitally interested in the foreground since it creates depth and interest in landscape painting. The shapes in this particular piece are very fascinating and contrast beautifully with each other. So it is worth repeating that all paintings are made up of shapes. And the more varied and interesting they are...the chances of creating a better painting will increase. 

Finding these kind of photos requires taking a lot of pictures...much more than you will ever need. You will also learn what types of compositions appeal to you personally. That's why it is important to paint from your own photo references or better yet...paint on location. A strategy that I have been using is to have a pocket camera in my purse. That way, you will always be ready to "snap" that special shot. My friend, Sue, actually inspired me to do this. I was always impressed to see her "whip" out her camera at the optimum time.

Beyond all of that, it is simply important to paint or sculpt, or create a mosaic, or mixed media piece, or anything else that you feel compelled to do and do it regularly. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Truth Remains"

($60.00.........6" x 6".......mounted on a 1.50" depth clayboard)

"Words may come and go, but the truth remains the same." Reality is a difficult thing, but no amount of words will change it in any area of life.

Many of my compositions come from inspiration in traditional document layouts or things I've seen in the book arts.

When I am creating pouring medium pieces, I consciously try to anchor the color with bands of darker color at the top or bottom of the color bands, and sometimes just the bottom. I find that the grounding color (for me, mostly black) weights the piece at the bottom which gives visual weight in the right place. In this piece, of course, the black band is at the top and bottom with a contemporary twist by having spontaneous shapes rather than the very straight and ordered decorative elements found in most graphic design prints.

By using touches of black with bright colors, I am also referencing my love for Spanish colors. Other grounding colors could be a rich brown such as raw umber, a very deep green, prussian blue (navy), or a very deep burgandy. For me, it is easier to establish echoes with my black line engravings, and black hand lettering than to be switching to other dark colors, so black remains my favorite "ground" in both my art and in my wardrobe. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.