"Gray Feather" (final)

($125.00......6" x 12".....Watercolor on Fabriano 300 lb. CP.....Mounted on a 2" Cradled Board)


"I wrote it down and my heart was healed." This quote succinctly describes what happened after our ten year old son was killed. Sometimes the only way to process something that painful is to write down the wound along with the scripture. It is often the only way that healing comes.

This piece is actually the same color range of an earlier one having to do with noticing, naming, and writing things down. I now have a desire to do a third one to make a collection. Working in a series is an excellent way to look at a similar topic or image and create it with a variation. It is much like a melodic line in music that is repeated with embellishment as in a Mozart Sonata.

For those who don't know my background, my degree is in Music Education and so the idea of comparing the two disciplines has always been fascinating to me. The parallels between music and art are stunning!

Since the first draft of this piece, the values have changed in the feather. The background mono print is darker than the first draft because of the photography. Today's image looks exactly like the original and the grays are the big attraction.

In the meantime...in between doing small works like this...I have begun some larger works. It is quite a challenge to do all of this simultaneously, but I'm always up for a big challenge. I have decided to do some palette knife oil paintings with no lettering just to focus my attention completely on the technique and colors of the Texas Hill Country.

So my encouragement today is to try working in a series and see what happens. The landscape will soon be changing dramatically and offer up some opportunities to really go neutral. And that really excites me! And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Gray Feather" (draft 1)

(draft 1)

Unfortunately, I did not have time to finish this piece this morning. I do love all of the gray with a very complimentary gray feather. It was one of those treasures just lying on the ground.

The background of this piece was a perfect set up for my gray feather....and it was very easy to do. I began with a small piece of Fabriano 300 lb. CP paper. I then created two mono prints...one on top of the other.

A mono print of this type is best created on a glass surface. By mixing up some watercolor and water and sloshing it around on the glass with a brush, the dry paper is then pressed into the paint. When pulled off, you have a mono print that is totally spontaneous. If you like the dark spots in the piece, I left more saturated color in several areas on the glass. After this first print was partially dry, I mixed more color and did a second print. This created a couple of back runs and several hard edges. This was a perfect contrast to all the soft watercolor areas.

The palette was the key for these beautiful grays. It was two colors....Neutral Tint,  and Alizarin Crimson. (Daniel Smith Brand) It is so easy to overwork watercolor but this is a surefire method of keeping it fresh and luminous, since none of your brushes or hands ever touch the painted side of the print.

There is another very creative option of finishing off a watercolor like this. If you create the mono print on Arches Text Wove....you can then print over it with your printer and favorite photo. It creates really nice effects. (Arches Text Wove is light enough to run through your printer and available at Jerry's....Dick Blick....or Daniel Smith.) So this innovative process is the result of two different kinds of printmaking in one piece.

You will then, of course, need to mount it on a cradled board after spraying (3x) with spray acrylic coating or spray varnish. After mounting the piece, you will then be able to truly secure the surface by brushing on liquid varnish (Liquitex Gloss) (3x). 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.

"Atmosphere of Quiet"

(unavailable....6" x 6".....Watercolor on Fabriano 140 lb. CP....mounted on a flat panel)

"Neutrals create an atmosphere of quiet." Eliminating a lot of detail and using neutrals is just one way of creating visual quietness. Rainy days and gray skies do the same thing. I think it's time to curl up with a good book. (Dream on!)

Since it is raining (praise God!), I thought I would slosh around in mono printing today. And if the first mono print isn't enough color and texture...let it dry slightly and do another print on the part you need more color. In fact, you can do this a few times and push it to the limit. I also wrote into the wet paint with a bamboo pen and a few erratic lines to create some movement.

And that is it for today. Kiln formed glass is on my agenda today. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"illumination" (final)

(unavailable......5" x 10"....experimental gesso work)

"Illumination can be seen or unseen." I love words that have dual meanings and such is the case with the word...."illumination". When something is illuminated in the physical realm, it can easily be seen with the eyes, but there is another kind of illumination such as a moment of deep insight. This inner illumination cannot be seen, but has a tremendous effect on the person who received the illumination.

With just a few more details....this piece is now finished and will stay in my personal archives as an experimental piece. I do like it because it represents the layering process where a part of each layer is left untouched so that a portion of all layers can still be seen in the final.

This kind of layering creates a lot of depth and is a process I love to explore. Additional line work was added, as well as a few soft pastels to create a piece with shapes, contrast of edges, and an ethereal quality.

Every artist benefits by experimenting with process, tools, and mediums in order to create new and innovative pieces. It can be difficult because the percentage of failure is extremely high. However, there comes a time when all of those negatives must be put aside in order to achieve a greater goal.

By notating all of the previous layers, I can now look back and see if I would have been more satisfied by stopping with a previous layer. So my encouragement is to continue to notate your layers with a digital camera so you can gain the optimal experience from each work. Every piece of art created will teach you things you would not otherwise know.

It is good to keep pressing on and create as much as you can and learn new things as often as the opportunity allows. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"illumination" (draft 1)

                             (draft 1)


The image today is the beginning of a new work that has begun with watercolors. There are few mediums that can offer the luminous light effects that watercolor can. Glass is one other such medium, but it is not as portable or cost effective as watercolor. The quote will come later.

I woke up today with my mind on watercolor since there is an upcoming class coming to my studio. Even though I am not teaching the class, my desire is to see all of the luminous effects that will appear from this class.

So I decided to hunt down a quarter sheet of 140 lb. HP and do a bit of mono printing. Glass is undoubtedly the best surface for mono printing techniques so I squeezed out a small bit (1/8 tsp...or less) of Viridian Winsor Newton color onto the glass. I then sprayed a good amount of water and mixed the color and water thoroughly with my fingers (wearing gloves). I gave the paper a quick spray of water, but not over the entire sheet and then laid that paper down into the color and lifted it off...followed by drying with a hair dryer.

This same technique was repeated with Cerulean Bl.(WN brand), but not printed over the entire sheet. After drying, the technique was repeated again with Titanate Yellow (Maimeiri Brand) and then dried and cropped.

The word "illumination" was then written gesturally with a pencil. What I like is the combination of white paper showing...soft and hard edges....and especially the light effect that happens when watercolor is not overworked. This method prevents overworking since there is no brush work involved. The danger of watercolor is overworking or having a totally "dry brushed" technique. Watercolors are best created with water. (imagine that!)

Of course this is totally abstract with no representational image, but it does set the stage for the next step. In my case, the next step will probably be the addition of gesso to introduce more shapes, but leave the best of the luminous watercolor effect untouched. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"The Sweet Spot"

(unavailable)

"Morning is the "sweet spot" of the day." I do realize that not everyone agrees with me, but you probably will as you get older...much older. Morning becomes the "sweet spot" of your day when you find yourself planning your day based on what part of the day requires alertness and not falling asleep in the chair. If you are at this stage of life, then you know exactly what I'm talking about!

There is a lot going on in these little collages, but the process of designing your artwork as you near the final completion is the way you bring order into the process. And isn't that what design is all about...arranging all of the parts to make a coherent whole?

The basic premise of my process is that black and white plus one or more colors works everytime it's tried. You will notice that I am using book pages overlaid with rice paper to create the white spaces and the black of the support (300 lb HP painted with black gesso) plus line engraved collages printed on silk tissue paper.

Rather than introducing papers with too much of a busy pattern, I have chosen to use rice papers mono printed with Speedball Printing Ink. By making gestural marks in the ink before printing, it is an opportunity to tie in all of the different colors with the plain rice papers adhered over text.

By limiting the materials and techniques to a few things rather than trying to include everything that comes to mind, it is entirely possible to have a very dynamic piece based on the elements and principles of design. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Caretakers"

(unavailable)

"Angels are the caretakers of the world." There are celestial beings known as angels and then there are people who have the gift of mercy who are also angels. God uses both.

(This piece along with all of the other 4 x 6's I've posted will be given away in a drawing at an upcoming Opening Reception for "Visual Rhapsody".  The date is Friday, Sept. 21st.  For more information check out our website at http://www.pactofaustin.com  Everyone is invited!)

This is a piece created on 300lb. HP watercolor paper. I worked on a larger sheet and began by painting it with black gesso. The papers chosen for the "frame in frame" collage layout were first prepared by mono printing on rice paper. (Mine was purchased at Jerry's and it's called Shanghai)

The process of preparing the rice paper was quite dependent on Speedball Printing Ink and a rubber brayer. The color was brayered on a glass surface and then texturized with gestural marks created with the edge of an old credit card. After these strips of paper were painted, they were dried and sprayed with Spray Acrylic Coating since the ink is water soluble. The importance of this step is to achieve some movement in the piece since most of the edges are straight. However, I took care to have some torn edges as well and to vary the angle a bit. If this is not done, the piece will become very static.  The papers were then caredfully adhered on the support with Gel Matte Medium.  (Golden)

Also notice that the text was adhered to the surface and then overlaid with a blank piece of the rice paper. It is important to include some plain white parts for the sake of light and dark values. Overlaying the rice paper over another image or text also gives a translucent effect.

After the collage was finished, I sprayed again with acrylic coating, dried with a hair dryer, and mounted it on a 4" x 6" piece of masonite. I then poured a white mixture of pouring medium over the entire piece, followed by spraying it with water to remove most of it.  It is very important to mount the piece, if you are simply doing a pour to create a hazy or encaustic look.  I did leave on a considerable amount over the capital "A". It was left to dry overnight and then the surface was prepared for lettering and completed this morning. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Change Course"

(unavailable)

"When something is not working...change course." In any area of life, this is a good thing to do. What sense does it make to keep doing things that continue to produce failure?

This piece brings me back to something I've learned in oil painting. Paintings are made up of shapes. This is the best advice I can give anyone who is creating a collage. The key is to make sure there is a conversation between the shapes, colors, patterns, line work, etc. These conversations are called "echoes". The shape and direction of the flowers echoes the gestural lines in the mono printed rice paper. The detail in the vertical patterned collage echoes the flowers and the gestural marks. The colors are echoed throughout the piece.

Edges are another important consideration. There are some very straight lines in this piece, but they are contrasted by the torn edges and the curved lines that appear in the flowers, patterned detail and gestural marks.

A lot of movement can be introduced into a collage with the inclusion of gestural marks created in the printing ink and mono printed onto rice paper. Speedball Printing Ink remains my choice because it creates such a nice print (much better than acrylics) and the use of rice paper will give you the sharpness you are looking for. Rice paper is made for printing and it is thick enough to really absorb the ink. Begin by brayering the color onto a piece of glass until it sounds "squishy" and then make your marks with shaper tools or old credit cards. Lay the rice paper onto this surface and print by running a clean brayer over the rice paper. Lift up and set aside to dry. (Don't forget that this ink is water soluble and you will need to spray with Acrylic Spray Coating before adhering to the support.)

Some of you have encouraged me to do more expressive lettering and move away from Spencerian Script. There is a good reason why I can't always do that. Space is one factor and often a straight line of script has a calming effect on the piece. I promise to mix in some more 6" x 6" pieces so that I can have an opportunity to do different lettering. The 4" x 6" are being created for a "give away" for an upcoming exhibit. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Color Conversations"

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

"Colors have conversations in every piece of artwork." If you are an artist and you think of colors having conversations, it will help you in your color placement and decisions. Some pieces have quiet conversations and in other pieces, the colors are constantly interrupting and everything is chaos...very much like all of us when we're talking, talking, talking etc.

In using a technique like pouring medium...the way the color is applied to the paper from edge to edge accomplishes a lot of the color placement issues for you. You can then make a few more changes when you crop your final piece.

In a technique like the one used in today's piece, it is quite a different story. After mono printing your rice paper, the papers are then adhered to a support. (In this case, it is 140 lb. HP) When I cropped the piece from a larger sheet, there was the large blue shape on the right, but there was no connection with the other half of the piece other than the text collage done in the first layer.

In order to have both sides of the piece actually have a conversation, it was quite necessary to adhere a piece or two of the blue to the left side. That keeps the conversation going and also keeps your viewer engaged in your piece. The eye is always...always...looking for connections and so the visual artist must have these echoes of color running through the design. Also notice that the Gold Orange (Holbein Acryl Gouache) is also entering the conversation along with the silver leaf. It's a whole new way of viewing color and I hope it helps you consider what kind of conversations are happening in your own artwork. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"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.