"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.

"Light As A Feather"

(SOLD......8" x 8"....on 300 lb CP Fabriano....Presented on a 2" depth cradled board)

"The spirit is quiet and as light as a feather." To hear the spirit of God within us, it is quite necessary to be quiet. The Spirit does not speak where there is loudness and chaos, but in a still, quiet voice. It is another way of looking at the verse from Psalms....."Be still and know that I am God."

You probably noticed that I took three days off from blogging. There were other more pressing issues to deal with and I really do need to sleep....so there you have it!

This is the second in my trilogy with the feather. These are (8" x 8"'s) and will be displayed together in a fall exhibit called "Poetic Collections". What I am noticing is that the more I paint the same image, the more abstract it becomes. So if you want to learn more about how to abstract an image, this is a good way.

I have begun both pieces the same way with a very wet surface....getting rid of excess water with a sponge....and then dropping in some pale yellow with a mop brush. All the other colors were glazed on dry paper and losing most of the edges with a brush dipped in water and dragged over a sponge cloth to get rid of the excess....and then touching the edge of the color just glazed. The paper, of course, was thoroughly dry before adding a new glaze.

The dark stripe shapes in the feather were painted rather dark and solid and then allowed to dry. I then got a water brush and brushed over those stripes and into the neighboring shapes to deepen the value and soften the edges of the stripes. It can look contrived and rather stark to paint dark shapes with  hard edges around the perimeter. The problem can also be resolved by paying attention to the color and value immediately surrounding the dark shape.

Another tip is to test your values on a scrap piece of watercolor paper before applying it to your piece. It is very difficult to judge the darkness and lightness of watercolor when mixing it on the palette. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Feather My Soul"

(SOLD.......8" x 8".......on 300 lb. CP Fabriano Paper.....Presented on a 2" depth cradled board)

"Feather my soul with declarations of your love." I have developed visceral feelings about this feather so this is one of three in a series. The quote today came from my own heart and has a spiritual meaning, but it could also be referring to the love of your life.

Today's posting is an (8" x 8"). Squares still hold a special attraction for me because of possibilities of space division. It can have a horizontal or vertical feel depending on the image. This, of course, is an abstracted feather, but not so abstract that it is unidentifiable. The colors and shape are the elements that had me at first glance.

Any natural image from our created world has numerous possibilities for abstraction and playing with shape. By noting the elements of design (line, shape,size, direction, color, value, texture).....and what they are doing, you have the opportunity to abstract the image by altering any of these elements. And how much these elements are altered is totally up to the artist.

Even though I love color with all my heart, neutrals still beckon me frequently to come back and visit them again. These are the kinds of continual "returnings" that give you the most obvious clues in what comprises your art voice. And I seem to have a new found love for watercolor since its characteristics contain some of my longings for transparency contrasted with opacity and especially the luminosity.

So on it goes, the daily listening for the spirit within that originates the longing for particular techniques, moods, and all the other elements that comprise visual communication. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.