"An Experience"

(unavailable.....4" x 6".....watercolor on Rives BFK....mounted on masonite)

"Tasting is an experience of seeing with eyes of the heart." This quote was inspired by a segment from Psalm 34: 8...."O taste and see that the Lord is good!". Obviously "tasting" in this context means something different from the tasting of food. Tasting in this passage is an experience.

The image you see today is a 4" x 6" piece cropped from a larger piece. It was created with watercolors on Rives BFK...beginning with very wet paper and dropping in some very dilute neutral tint. After the glisten was off of the paper, I created some back runs by dropping in more color. This creates the erratic gray shapes and edges in the piece.

After the paper was thoroughly dry, I added some black gestural lettering and erratic lines with FW ink and a pointed pen. The next step was to brush on some bands of color going edge to edge in two directions with very dilute watercolor.

Last came the final quote with Moon Palace Ink and pointed pen. I left the paper unprepared for lettering, so any mistakes would have ruined the piece. It has now been sprayed with Spray Acrylic Coating (3x). It will now be mounted on masonite and spray varnished. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Wait and Listen"

(unavailable...4" x 6"....Watercolor on Fabriano 140 lb. CP....mounted on masonite)

"Wait and listen to go deeper." This is true in many decision making situations, but especially true in spiritual matters. Waiting is a matter of shifting down to first gear and perhaps placing your activity on "pause" until hearing the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. That's when the very best things happen.

This small piece began as a larger mono print. And what a fun and relaxing technique this is to just loosen up and let yourself go with your favorite colors. Of course, black and white plus one other color works every time it's tried. (In case you have trouble making a decision.)

You can tell that the mono printing was created on dry paper because of the hard edges and the stark white of the paper creating smaller shapes. And I cropped this particular section because I love it when a shape touches three sides of the design space.

I also had some neutral tint that was placed on the glass and not completely mixed before the print. That's how the circles were created. There is also some lettering that was written with a bamboo pen while the blue print was still wet. The amount of pressure used to write those words determines the subtlety of the mark.

After the initial print was dried, I used masking fluid to create the lines and gestural writing in the lower corner. I glazed over it with a dilute portion of neutral tint...blotted the upper line with a kleenex....let it dry and removed the masking fluid. 

The quote was inspired by the look of deep water and the lines. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Psalm 103" (draft 2)

(draft 2)

Psalm 103 is still center stage. I am going particularly slow with my steps this time to completely show how to combine elements to create opacity, translucency, and transparency. My love for glass is meshing with my love of mixed media. In just a few weeks, I will have completed 800 postings and what I have learned about my own artistic voice is helping me now to completely focus on the above mentioned elements as the core of all my work.

Yesterday's posting was completely easy to do because very few decisions needed to be made. Today, I have cropped that larger section of 300 lb. HP down to a 6" x 12" size. It has not been adhered to the 2" depth clayboard yet. When there are three dimensional inclusions, it is best not to adhere those to the support until the piece is mounted on the clayboard.

My decisions about where to crop had everything to do with the title of the piece. The glass has areas with no darker powders fused so I was careful to make sure that Psalm 103 could be read through the glass. It was also important to include as many of the tabs which create that half moon shape. (A wonderful thing to look for when purchasing very old bibles for this type of work.) It creates a repetitive shape, which in turn, creates rhythm.

Even though you cannot see it clearly in my posting, I also placed some metallic leaf where the glass will be mounted...being careful not to cover all of the text. I also have a piece of plain rice paper which falls underneath the glass to further heighten the value of some of the letters in the glass. So you can see that the process now slows down a bit and becomes much more deliberate.

There will be more plain rice papers added, but I stopped with the sections of metallic leaf and one layer of rice paper to show you the translucent effect that one single sheet of rice paper creates. (Remember that it will not become translucent until sprayed with Krylon Spray Acrylic Coating.) The metal leaf, of course, is completely opaque and covers up everything.

You will also notice that I overlapped some of the plain rice papers over the metal leaf to create interesting values, shapes, and edges. The choice of placement for the metal leaf was based again on edges. I tend to frame things out with my elements (loosely) unless I choose an all over grid format arrangement. Almost all of the metal leaf is position on an edge of the perimeter.

Even though there were not too many additions today, there were many choices made. As I move forward, I will be choosing what part of the text I want to remain translucent and what part I want to cover up completely. And the choice of transparency has already been made with the glass. One other thing...if you are not into glass fusing, you can also use stained glass. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Psalm 103 (draft 1)

(draft 1)

Today's posting is the first draft which is centered around Psalm 103. The first verse is a well known chorus and sung throughout many churches. It reads....."Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name." I hope you enjoy watching the process of how it comes together.

It still feels very awkward for me to post things that are incomplete, but the response has been enthusiastic and apparently helpful, so I will put aside my feelings and carry on. The truth of the matter is that I cannot create small works for posting and also have the time and energy to do larger pieces as well. Having said that, I have already determined that this piece will be a 6" x 12" with a horizontal orientation. Which means that by tomorrow, you will see a lot of this background cropped. And there will still be some sections left for at least one 6" x 6".

What you see laying on top of the text pages is a 6" length of kiln formed glass with letters fused into the glass. So in this case, the length of the glass determined the size of the piece since I strongly believe that with few exceptions, the glass inclusion needs to go from edge to edge, especially when combined with mixed media. Since the glass has a tremendous amount of detail, my plan is to include plain rice papers and mono printed rice papers that have very little detail or none at all. This will also allow me to layer some lettering in those areas and include some that is free and expressive. It is crucial to keep the areas free of detail when included other elements with tons of detail.

My support for this piece is a section of 300 lb HP Watercolor Paper with (2) coats of black gesso. You can see that I left slivers of the black showing through to create some erratic lines which give rhythm to the piece. The old text pages were then cut or torn and adhered to the support with gel matte medium. By laying the text page on a section of wax paper and applying the medium with a palette knife, you will have less chance of your text adhering to whatever else you might have considered to lay it on. (i.e....Old telephone directories or newspapers have printed matter that could stick to your text page. Wax paper resolves that issue. This is especially important when adhereing rice papers which are much thinner and will stick to other materials.)

So now that the text pages are adhered, I will let it dry thoroughly and at some point during the day, I will add my rice papers. I may even consider added some metallic leaf. My first step, however, will be the decision to crop what you see posted today. Then I will have a better idea of what to do next. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Alive and Active" (Draft 3)

(unavailable)

"Words become alive and active when they take root in the heart." The quote is now becoming a part of the piece with the word "active" written in  pencil and pointed brush lettering. Tomorrow I will be posting the final.

After posting yesterday, I did crop this piece to its final size of 6" x 12". The paper is 300 lb. HP but I have yet to adhere it to a 2" depth clayboard. This is the beauty of working on paper or canvas that is larger than the final cropping and before it is adhered to a board or placed in a frame. (The lettering is much more difficult to achieve on a board 2" off of the table.)

In addition to cropping the piece, I also added some more pain rice papers to cover up more of the black gesso in the background. By doing this and by mounting the initial metal leaf and papers in a very erratic grid format, I now have some energetic black lines that give some definite shapes and structure to the piece.

After adhering more plain rice papers, I sprayed the entire piece with stray acrylic coating and left it to dry overnight. This morning I prepared the surface for lettering with (2) parts water to (1) part gel matte medium with hair dryer in left hand and brush in the other hand. Three coats were applied and dried thoroughly with a hair dryer.

The last thing today was some gestural writing with a pencil and then a pointed brush. It was an empty Pentel brush using burnt sienna and bit of gray gouache. Initially, it was too prominent, so I dipped a paper towel in water, squeezed out the excess and blotted the lettering to make it look aged and lighten the value. By choosing the burnt sienna, I have created an echo with the aged papers. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Yellow Rose"

($50.00.....6" x 6".....Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"Yellow roses express Texas love." There are several reasons why I love yellow roses. I am a native Texan; I carried them at my wedding; and they're beautiful!

Unless you are painting a still life with the flowers lying on their side or in a vase, the other option is to allow them to take up most of the design space. All of this got me to thinking once again about positive and negative space. If the image takes up most of the space, the result is a very dramatic painting. If, on the other hand, the negative takes up most of the space, the result is a quieter and much less dramatic piece. My natural inclination is to allow the image to take up most of the space because I like drama (the good kind!)

Of course, cropping the image so that parts of it are completely running out of the design boundary will also create drama. These are very important considerations when choosing how to compose your piece. My motive in painting this piece took into account that roses are much easier to paint with a palette knife if they're large. I simply didn't feel like putting myself through the kind of agony early in the morning that required painting several of them in a vase.  

You can also experiment with your camera to see check out positive and negative space arrangements without having to actually paint each one. Either way, it's a good thing to think about these things and try all of the options. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Abbreviated World"

(unavailable....water soluble oils)

"We live in an abbreviated world." The arts often reflect contemporary culture. The most descriptive word for me is...abbreviated. We all expect others and ourselves to accomplish everything in a very short time period. Sometimes it works, but more often than not, the steps to become skilled cannot be abbreviated.

My mixed media has come back with full force. This piece began on a 9" x 12" piece of linen canvas using water soluble oils. So the very abstract background was done first, followed by a tree limb and some leaves. By placing a layer of cad.yellow light over the entire surface first, I was able to reveal that layer as I wrote and created gestural strokes in the wet paint. My goal was to be able to crop the piece to give myself more options. However, the canvas cannot be cut to size until the painting is dry so I actually did the cropping after bringing the image into iphoto.

It's an interesting way to work if you can follow my convoluted thought process. But it is worth the effort to have more options when beginning the work with total abstraction and not knowing where additional images will be placed. Even with all of this montage of color... shapes and division of space were still in my decision making. The tree limb goes edge to edge as well as the red-orange color. And by working with a limited palette, the colors are harmonious. 

There is also a lot of freedom involved by working in oils which stay wet for several days and even longer with thick paint. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"The Birthplace"

(unavailable)

"Solitude is the birthplace of great thought." This piece is a "sneak preview" and a cropped portion of an 18" x 24" piece in an upcoming exhibit. It seemed appropriate today since I'm feeling like a monk in a monastery! The Opening Reception is this coming Friday. Click on to our website for details. pactofaustin.com

Strange things can happen in a studio late at night. I was preparing to do a collage for today when I spotted the cropped off pieces of my larger piece. The imagery and division of space was compelling, so I made one piece out of two remnants from the large piece. It's quite "funky" looking, but also compelling, so without hesitation, I mounted them to a board.

When your internal critic is not screaming in your ear, things like this can happen. The truth of the matter is that I was too tired to listen to any critic, especially the one inside me. I hope this will give you a desire to just go with those odd "quirky" things that can happen when you least expect it. It doesn't always work, but you will know when it feels right. Trust those instincts. My new motto is.... "Go bold or go home!". And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"The Vellum"

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

"The vellum stretched over our hearts contains the most emotional inscription." There are some events that are more deeply etched on the vellum of our hearts. To be emotionally healthy, we must treat some of them as old friends, have a brief visit, and then enjoy the creation of new memories.

I drifted into a mono printing "frenzy" yesterday and this piece is one of the results. Glass is my favorite surface for this technique. I began by adhering some text and other ornamentation on my rice paper that gives a "nod" to the book arts. The very next step was to lay out some wax paper to lay the mono printed rice paper to dry.

The actual mono print began by brayering on some Speedball Printing Ink onto my glass. I then took a slice of a credit card and made expressive marks in the paint. The rice paper was laid on top of this texturized paint and I then used a clean brayer to press it into the paint. Lift with a palette knife and lay aside to dry. The fun part of this is making lots of different sheets and then cut and tear them and attach to 140 lb. HP. (For a medium to large size piece...switch to 300 lb. HP.)

All of this was quite spontaneous, but cropping was the thing that really brought it together. By working larger, you give yourself many different ways to crop and will end up with a division of space and shapes that you would never have come up with by carefully planning all of your moves.

Of course, the papers had to be sprayed with spray acrylic coating before adhering to the support because they're water soluble. I simply laid them into a foam core tray to spray them.  And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Caffeine"

($40.00.....5" x 5".....mounted on a 3/4" depth clayboard)

"Color is the caffeine of art." On a Monday morning, you might need more than coffee to wake up. If so, try some color. I call it the caffeine of art!

Cropping is a spontaneous process. It is so much better to work larger than the intended size so that the option of "cropping" is fully on the table. It is a spontaneous process because of the many choices and placement decisions that happen as a result of cutting something off in an unusual place that you might not have thought of if working from a predetermined size.

The piece today was cropped on a diagonal of the larger piece. I was able to decide to allow more blue to show and cut off the red running along side of the blue vertically. By cropping in this way I was able   to create a corner pattern which acts as arrows pointing to the decorative element in the right hand corner. The black showing at the top also acts as an "echo" of the other black areas and completes a framing out of the three strong colors.

The one other thing that was done to create a black + white + color scheme is to pour the colors with enough space in between to allow the white to show through. (White plus pouring medium was applied to entire sheet before colors were poured.) This creates an alternating effect as well as some softly diffused edges. In mixed media, design is the name of the game. And there you have it, just a few more things to think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Bridges"

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


"Bridges of thankfulness are the connectors to life." A bridge is something that connects one thing to something else. And so it is with thankfulness. Being thankful for every small thing and deleting a spirit of complaining is a bridge to the abundant life.

In this pouring medium piece, I did some very effective "cropping" by placing my mat (with a 5" x 5" opening) on the diagonal over several areas of my larger sheet. This allowed me to have more options than I would have by keeping the mat straight in front of me.

To me, cropping is a spontaneous technique because it is unplanned...meaning you cannot possible know the outcome ahead of time. So it is very important to work larger if you want as many options as possible.

Because of the quote, I was happy to place the ornate "B" over two color blocks as a another bridge or connector in the piece. The large red and black color block is the visual bridge that connects to two sides and slightly to a third side to create a dynamic division of space. This particular red was created with Quinacridone Magenta and Quinacridone Burnt Sienna. These would be two colors to have in your repertoire of Golden Fluid Acrylics. The Quinacridone colors are extremely lightfast and when dealing with reds and magentas, that is important. They are synthetic colors originally created for the automobile industry and they eventually creeped into the fine arts community. (Praise God!)

Some of the other colors that I have as a basic palette in Golden Fluid Acrylics are.....Raw Umber....Titan Buff....Titanium White....Carbon Black....Raw Sienna...Hansa Yellow Light or Cad. Yellow Light...Green Gold...Viridian....Cobalt Blue...Cerulean Blue...Cobalt Turquoise...Napthol Red....Quinacridone Magenta...Quinacridone Burnt Sienna...Light Lavendar...Iridescent Bronze. These are my basic colors and if you keep a "sharp eye",  you can use coupons from Michaels or other sales to receive the best price. Dick Blick is also a good source and often has a good sale. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Insight"

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


"Insight is often packaged in ordinary thoughts." Brainstorming sessions are important because you will often make connections in your thinking that lead to extraordinary insight. Take time to think and enjoy your new insights.

Cropping is one of the most important tools in your design toolbox. Whenever possible, it is a great idea to work larger than your finished piece to allow yourself several cropping options. Such was the case in this piece.

You can see how important it was for me to make sure I included two white areas where the quote could be written. Cropping also allows you to think about division of space and making sure your corners are all designed. If it is not possible to crop (like in a mosaic), you can still take advantage of this tool by creating a drawing of your design larger than what you intended and then cropping it to your desired size.

Becoming skilled with this tool will set you apart from others because it creates such dynamic compositions. You will discover diagonals, allow images to run off of the edge, learn to be bolder in your work. Just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Colorful Dreams"

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


"Colorful dreams are hidden in the folds of my mind." Everyone has dreams, visions, and goals of doing glorious things. I like to think of them in bold sweeping color with a never ending hope of becoming reality. It's a grand thought! Embrace it and have a glorious day.

This, of course, is another pouring medium piece. (You can reference other postings for details of how it is done from beginning to end.)  In this piece, there is no external manipulation of the paint whatsoever.

The piece was created on 140 lb. HP. (It is my experience that the hot press papers give the best results with this process.)  Before doing the pour, I made erratic and gestural marks on the paper with a pencil which can be seen in the upper left hand corner underneath the quote. As mentioned before, I have discovered that it is a good practice to coat the wet paper with white or a very pale color over the entire piece before pouring on the other colors. It creates a base for the color to move better. In this case, I used Metallic White. When the other colors were poured onto the paper, side by side, some of the base white mingled with the Pthalo Green to create a "backlit" effect. So you might want to give that a try.

And as a matter of review, you can notice that every corner is different...that some of the paper was left untouched by the bright colors...and that the cropping played up the diagonals. Don't be afraid when cropping to move your mat around at an odd angle to take advantage of every possible dynamic. It is also wise to place your piece while very wet and with the base color applied on the wax paper in a shallow box where it will be left to dry. Pour the colors on the paper at this point and do nothing else until it dries. Don't move it or touch it. It will automatically move on its on and create phenomenal color. So there you have it. Just a few more things to try or think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Rich Conversation" (sold)

(sold)


"Rich conversation between friends produces a wealth of satisfaction." After looking up the word satisfaction, I knew it completely described the conversations I've had with many dear friends. There are several "nuanced" meanings, but the one I like the most is..."nothing left to be desired." Interestingly enough, it is a word that also refers to Christ's atonement..."a thing that settles an obligation or pays a debt." Either way, it is a deeply satisfying word.

Besides the colors used in the pouring medium, my good fortune in this piece was being able to crop it in such a way as to have white in all four corners. And of course, the lettering makes another connection with the white. It is so true that artwork is all about connections and repetition is the best principle of design to use to create those connections.

However, it is also true that an artist can have repetition and connections without having a cohesive piece. And one of the best ways to have cohesiveness is to keep the main thing the main thing. If two main concepts are introduced in the same piece and both given equal attention it's like two people having a conversation by both talking at the same time. It is chaotic and no one knows what either person is saying.

So if you look at your piece and and your internal voice tells you that something isn't quite right, try looking at your main image and seeing if something is competing for attention. By making a value adjustment, you will more than likely resolve the problem. Just a few more things to think about.

"Light Penetrated Darkness" (sold)

(sold)


"The light penetrated the darkness literally, figuratively, for all mankind...stretching into eternity." This pivotal moment in history gave us redemption. What a day of thanksgiving!

This piece has a different application of pouring medium. It was applied more like a watercolor with no marbling effect and also the use of gray which I haven't used as much in the past. I did work on paper at least twice this size which left me some interesting cropping options. The image could have been "dead center", but by placing it in the lower right corner, I increased the drama 100%. It is so easy to stay in the mindset of the same old formats, but my encouragement to you is to branch out and try some "riskier" options. There is literally something different in every corner which is so much better than a vignette. Remember that paintings are made up of shapes which is another advantage of cropping. Image and strong color, or both, should be touching at least two sides of the design space. You will lose the viewer much quicker by placing things in the center. It is simply not interesting enough.

The paper the image was printed on also creates a rectangular shape, but the color flowing over it onto the negative space (or background) binds them together yet the shape is still visible. This all sounds so easy until you are in the middle of the creation which is why it is important to practice on a regular basis. Just think about it and soon the corners and shapes will come into focus.

"Moving Color"

(sold)


"Life is like moving color...blending and moving with many surprises." Even the best laid plans can be interrupted with unexpected events. It reminds me of liquid color moving on a very wet sheet of watercolor paper. You can only control its direction somewhat, but never completely.

Control of a particular technique, even the spontaneous ones, requires patience, skill, and practice. One of the big advantages I give myself when creating a piece with pouring medium is to work on a larger sheet. If the paper is adhered to the support first, all cropping options are off of the table. I have heard the complaint that if the paper is expensive, (like 300lb. HP), it is very tempting to take advantage of every square inch. But I cannot emphasize enough that where the image is cropped is a hugh part of the design process. My rule of thumb is to work on paper at least 2 or 3x larger than my intended size. Buying more paper and being somewhat "wasteful" is the price that must be paid in order to achieve the maximum result.

Another control factor is the wetness of the pouring medium and the ratio of paint to medium. It you don't want very much movement, then cut down on the amount of medium used. If you want a lot of movement, add more medium. And if you want very diffused lines and a thinner, less dense application, then add water to the medium and paint before pouring. So these are some of the techniques that must be practiced over and over until you can achieve the results you want. Even so, it is much like life and full of surprises. That's why I write the quote based on the image, especially with this technique. Just a few more things to think about.

"Jewels"

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


"Jewels of insight are the reward of deep thinking." The skill of deep thinking may be a lost art, but those who stay the course and practice their thinking skills will have many jewels of insight. Select a quiet, meditative environment and think away!

This visual is a mental image of what I feel like when I am thinking. It's a bit contorted, takes many twists and turns and then the jewels of purple, gold, and green appear as wonderful insights, providing the reward of deep thinking.

The power of cropping is quite evident here. You can see two unequal white areas and then the diagonal band of moving color. That's why I encourage everyone who tries this to leave areas of white or light and very diffused color in parts of the design space. Covering the whole thing with dynamic color can be overwhelming and discourage the viewer from looking more than (5) seconds.

I did break my rule of having the lettering straight when there is this much going on, but in this case, it is a way of having the lettering "go with the flow" so to speak. There is nothing I like better than camouflaging the lettering within the piece and that is done by following the flow of lines or edges in the piece and using the color that is prevalent.

Even without lettering this piece could stand confidently on its own and be a dynamic visual in any environment. Just a few more things to think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Sunny Disposition"

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


"Lemons have a sunny disposition in all the seasons of the year." Isn't it pleasant to have friends who are always full of joy? I am blessed to have a few. They are like these lemons with a sunny disposition through all the seasons of life.

Theses lemons are the remains of the "bumper crop" from our lemon tree. It is an ornamental lemon tree with beautiful little white blossoms in the spring. You can imagine our surprise when it began yielding these beautiful lemons. The total crop was eighteen!

As most oil painters know, morning and evening light are the conditions most conducive to creating the most shadows, direct light, reflected light, highlights, etc. This photo was taken in the late afternoon light which adds to its drama. It's something to think about when drawing, painting, or photographing.

Cropping is the next most important thing. By allowing the lines of the image to go from edge to edge, very dramatic shapes are created. The more subtle shapes are created with pencil lines in the background. I've said it many times and will say it again, if you want spontaneous results, you need to use spontaneous techniques. Consequently, random placement of the pencil lines on the Arches Text Wove before printing the photograph will yield a spontaneous rather than a contrived look. Take a few shots today and practice zooming in and cropping. These are just a few more things to try or think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Stone Carvings"

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


"Words are like stone carvings...very difficult to correct after they're chiseled or spoken." Words have tremendous power to build up or tear down. They should be carefully considered before speaking.

Diagonals are a very powerful use of line that create a lot of energy in a piece. Another dynamic was created by effective cropping which left unequal intersections with the edge, making every corner different. The camera can actually give the artist a ton of practice with cropping and I highly encourage the practice.

This particular image was rather weak in values until I strengthened it with soft pastels and charcoal powder. My next goal will be to paint it. So at some point, I will be posting it again in oils. But I must say that manipulating the photographic image with other media and techniques is a wonderful study and gives me a bit more time to experiment with the lettering.  Juggling two very different disciplines of image and lettering can require two life times of study, but I do enjoy trying. Carrying a small camera around in your purse or brief case with a zoom lens can be a very valuable tool. Anything that helps improve observation skills is good.  Just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Poinsettias"

(unavailable....in the permanent collection of dee day)

"Poinsettias say Merry Christmas by their presence alone." This piece could have been dedicated to my mother if she were still alive. On second thought, I think I will go ahead and dedicate it to her anyway. She loved poinsettias at Christmas and they did extremely well in the tropical climate of South Texas. Enjoy looking at these beautiful flowers for a few more days. I am sure you will see some, even at the grocery store.

This piece is a classic example of the two most powerful complementary colors placed in a neutral colored pot. Notice that there is only a small bit of green. In fact, when using direct complements, it is best not to allow each color to take up equal percentages of space. It is much more powerful to let one of the two complements dominant.

Another point about using white lettering if there is no white in the image. In this case, I mixed titanium white (out of the tube) with Liquitex Pouring Medium. Some of the specks of white will stay suspended in the medium which gives you a random placement of white specks to tie in with the lettering. The flourish in the upper right hand corner also unifies the color scheme. The white lettering would not have been nearly as effective if these connections were not established.

Another point, also, about cropping. I originally wanted to include the entire container in my piece. It didn't have the "wow" factor and the insignia on the pot wasn't showcased so the entire problem was resolved by zooming in and cropping the image up close. The "rule of thumb" is to allow the focal point to take up the largest percentage of your design space. Just something to think about.