"Authors"

($150.00........6" x 6".....mounted on a 1/8" depth clayboard and floated on a linen mat in a custom frame.)

"Authors have dipped their pens in history to give us their view of the world." This quote is simply giving honor to the many authors who have enriched our lives by connecting us to the past and letting us see who they are through their experiences.

This pouring medium piece was manipulated quite a bit. After the colors were poured over a white base of pouring medium, I lifted the diagonal corners and began to let the color move, but never too far in one direction. This is what creates the subtle marbling effect. However, it is very easy to overdo this and end up with one mass of "muddied" color. I felt like I did just a tiny bit of over mixing so I then added some more turquoise and green gold from my premixed bottles. (The pouring medium was already mixed with the color and stored in bottles which will keep indefinitely.) You can see the brighter color in the upper left hand corner where it was added much later in the process, followed by very little movement. So this is something you will want to remember when over mixing occurs. This is also a good technique for those of you who prefer more subtle colors.

The collage pieces from an old book are the focal point of this piece and add that "library" look that I am so fond of. It is also fun to actually read enough of the text to include a pertinent part. In this case, it prompted the quote and the rest is history.

After talking endlessly about spontaneous techniques, I wanted to say that in this piece, I did predetermine the colors of the piece by choosing to include the spine of this particular book, although I had no idea what other elements would be included. So there is a time to make a few decisions before doing your pour so the piece can come together. Just leave yourself open to other inclusions that would be dictated by the spontaneity of the pour. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"The Color Red"

(unavailable)


"The color red is reserved for those who love drama." Just think back on any environment.  If the color red is visible, that is exactly where your eye goes. Test it out and look for the color red.  You'll see.

If you have been seduced by pouring medium and wonder if there is any part of your larger sheet that holds out a good possibly for a smaller "cropped" section, let me share my criteria of judging when a "good pour" has taken place.

Strong shapes with a slight bit of marbling is my personal preference. In this piece, I was thrilled that both the black and red color blocks touched three sides of the design space. It might have been slightly better if one of those colors had taken up less space than the other, but because of the marbling which broke up the surface tension in those areas, it proved to be very effective. I also check to make sure my corners are all different with interesting color variations in each one. Also, the light turquoise color has graduated sizes of shapes which I found extremely interesting. There were also small hints of white around the edges which gave me the opportunity to echo that color in the lettering and break up the large color blocks of the black and red.

You will also notice that there was enough space in the blue to add the decorated cap and have an echo of black repeated in a different style and texture creating a wonderful focal point.

What will not make a good pour is one with ill defined shapes and the colors taking up equal amounts of space. Echoes are simply "repeats" of a design element such as color, line, shapes, values, texture, size, and direction. If the "repeats" are not exactly the same, the design will be more sophisticated and create a better "echo". And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Profusion of Color"

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


"Love breaks open the heart in a profusion of color." This quote has meaning on many different levels. I'll let you decide the interpretation.

This is a wild, out of control pouring medium piece that was brought into an ordered state with a very straight line of lettering and a collage piece of line engraving.

I've become extremely fascinated with line engravings. There are several Dover Publication books with an array of these simple and powerful engravings that are copyright free. The one I used in these piece is from Baroque Ornament and Designs. There is a hand cut stamp of straight lines in the background that echoes the band of lines at the bottom. (The paper was stamped before the pour.)

I began by covering the paper with Titanium White + Pouring Medium. I then laid the paper where it would stay until dry and poured the solid bands of color on the left. Then I took a fork and ran it through a select area of the bands of color which created a profusion of color going in many directions. The contrast between bands of color left untouched vs. external manipulation is a very effective way of creating interest.

This piece is a great example of why I use Spencerian Script so much with Pouring Medium techniques. That one line of straight lettering is a powerful contrast and has a calming effect over the wild display of color. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Reflection"

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


"Time and space create room for reflection." To set aside time and be in the right space makes reflection an intentional act. It has to be done intentionally in this day and age because of the millions of interruptions within a day. It is definitely worth the effort!

The technique used to create this pouring medium piece is quite simple and yields very positive results. I did make some gestural pencil marks on the paper before doing the "pour". The first pour was over the entire sheet of paper with Titanium White, Pouring Medium, and a bit of water. The addition of the water makes it flow easier and gives a nice even layer over the entire sheet. The next layer was Green Gold and Pouring Medium making a large band from edge to edge, but not covering the whole paper. I then lifted the paper in diagonal corners and moved and titled the paper over a shallow cookie sheet which caused the white and green gold to mingle and create a soft texture.

The last step was to place the piece on wax paper where it would stay until dry and then pour small bands of black + medium...quinacridone magenta + quinacridone burnt sienna + medium....and cadmium orange + white + medium. That's it! No more external manipulation at this point. Simply let it dry overnight.

The initial stage of white and green gold can be changed to white plus any other color. I think it works better to use a very light color. Remember that any dark color engulfing the whole page is very "scary". This process will give you some nice solid shapes as well as a few that are diffused. And fortunately, I had worked on the word "reflection" for another project so that part was printed on silk tissue paper and collaged to the support. As those of you know who do lettering, it can take longer to create this kind of lettering than it does to paint and prepare the rest of the piece. It is also easier to create on a blank sheet of paper rather than on the top of this type of background. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Refresh"

(unavailable)


"Refresh your mind with creative thought." The power of creative thought cannot be overestimated. It takes your mind to a place of rest and frees you from everyday stress and entanglements. What a perfect day to enter into the creative process.

This piece is a bit smaller (5" x 5") than I normally do, and a wonderful way to use up extra pieces of leftover pouring medium. Cropping just the perfect spot is much easier and there are ampersand panels and 1.50" depth clayboards available in this size for mounting the work.

I am in Houston teaching the technique of pouring medium using Golden Fluid Acrylics and this piece represents one of the techniques we will be doing today. The first thing to know about doing a pour is that the "pour" itself doesn't take very long, but setting up your color and actually "thinking" about your color selection is the key to success. In this piece, I mixed up a substantial amount of Titanium White and Pouring Medium (ratio of 1 tsp. .....no need to measure...and 1/3 cup of medium) on a foam paper plate. It is very important to mix and use things that can be tossed. You will be hard pressed to get this sticky stuff off of anything. And it is also critical to wear latex gloves (the kind found in the pharmacy section and I have found that Curad fits most people better than other brands.)

Once the colors are mixed, you can thoroughly wet your paper under the faucet or dip it into a pan of water. Do not use thin paper such as Arches Text Wove. I have found that 140 lb. HP is a good choice for small work and move to 300lb. HP for large works.

The veiled effect in this piece was created by covering your wet paper with a base coat of the Titanium White, holding it over a shallow baking pan and allowing it to run while spraying with more water if it fails to move. Once the entire sheet is covered with white...lay it down and pour the other colors edge to edge. Leave a bit of space between the colors so that the white can seep through and create the effect you see here. Another choice you will have is how much of one color to pour. It can be a thin line or you can go more slowly as you pour allowing more of the color to create a wider band. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.