"Heart Walls I" (final)

($200.00.....11" x 14"......Mixed Media Wall Series.....Presented on a 2" Cradled Board)

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." (Proverbs 3:3) This is it! The first in this series is done. But I am taking a break from this type for a few days.

This was a very experimental piece for me, and there were a few challenges. I almost threw in the towel the day before I started the lettering. But wisdom prevailed and I decided to wait until the following morning to make the final decision. Once I saw it again with fresh eyes and some sleep, I decided to press on until the lettering was done.

The brush lettering in the top right hand corner stabilized everything for me, along with the decision to do white lettering. So the point in sharing this is to give encouragement to those who love to experiment and feel like they've landed in the weeds. The truth of the matter is that every single piece is like that unless you've worked through the issues with a particular style with all of the techniques and materials.

After all of the struggling, I have made some decisions concerning this series. I will be leaving a portion of all of the pieces completely untouched. In watercolor in particular, that does give the final piece a freshness that cannot be achieved any other way. I have also decided to do white lettering in all three pieces. The same techniques for creating the texture will also remain the same.

So just by making those decisions, I can feel assured that there are enough common denominators to keep the series coherent. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Heart Walls I" (draft 4)

(draft 4)

Some lettering has been added today, but there is more to come. The quote you see today is in Spanish and may be hard to see. It is meant to be background lettering. The English translation will be included tomorrow and easily read. It is Proverbs 3:3.

My decision to do all of the lettering in white was to bring calm to the very textured background. No matter what the lettering style, white can do wonders to bring calm to the piece. Of course, it will look strange and not well integrated if there is not white in the background texture.

Lettering or any other visual helps to solidify a piece like this where the texture is actually the main feature. Lettering and walls seem to go together. They appear in all kinds of walls...either in a graffiti style or a printed sign. I particular liked the Spanish word "escribelas" since it means "to write". It is very similar to the word "scribble".

So even though all of the lettering is not visible today, there is enough there to convey the sense of calm and add meaning to the piece. But just as a recap...there are still shapes and a range of values in the wall texture that provide the foundation for the piece. Lettering that is simply written on a solid piece of paper or a background with no shapes is immediately thrust into the category of graphic design. If the piece is to be classified as fine art, it is better to have actual paint, techniques of layering, shapes, values, and color. Not to mention the fact that it is far more interesting.

The medium used for the lettering was Bleedproof White Gouache. The large word was written with a pointed brush and the small script was written with a Leonardt Principle Nib. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Heart Walls I" (draft 3)

(draft 3)

The title and direction of this series has changed to quotes from Proverbs having to do with what is written on the heart. The title is not referring to walls as a barrier, but what is being written on our heart and mind.

I decided to wait an extra day....maybe two...to practice my lettering. Today it looks like it will be versals, but that can change. And that's what the art process is all about. To stay locked into a preconceived mold throws the baby out with the bath water (so to speak).

So after viewing this piece most of yesterday, I realized that my darks were not dark enough. This is not just a standard faux finishing technique with an overall texture. The idea is to create a texture revealing all of the erratic shapes and crumbling nature of paint and plaster on an old wall. As usual... the problem was with the values. The darks were not dark enough, so I prepared the surface for a new layer with dilute gel matte medium and then added some soft pastels to darken the edges and some of the central shapes. The range of values from 1 - 10 on the gray scale helps build the foundation for the shapes and consequently the piece.

I am now satisfied and what will bring it all together is the proper placement of the lettering. And this is a lot of staging for the star of the show, but will be worth it in the end. Another option (especially if you're not a lettering artist) is to incorporate a drawing or do some deconstruction with a piece or two of collage so it looks as though it were peeling off.

And that's the process of my first "Wall" series piece. There will be two more to form this "Heart Wall" series and then in the future I could have another type of "Wall" series. Sequels are always good. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Walls I" (draft 2)

(draft 2)

Hopefully, you can see the peeling paint effect today. It requires more than just a few layers to create this look. It is an "edgy" look and will not appeal to everyone, but it is something I am compelled to create.

After yesterday's posting, the next step was to add more masking fluid over the original white of the paper, but much less than before, and to also cover some of the first (3) glazes. After allowing the masking fluid to dry overnight, I painted a darker glaze over the entire surface. I added Sepia (Daniel Smith Brand) to the redi/orange mixture from the previous glazes.

After drying this, I removed the masking fluid with a hard eraser designed for this purpose. And to add some more shapes, I applied some watercolor ground in an erratic fashion along the right side and the bottom. The same dark glaze was applied to this area only and painted (3x)....drying in between.

Of course, it wasn't integrated into the piece like I wanted so I used rubbing alcohol, brayer, and Viva paper towels to remove a great portion of what I just laid down. And I'm talking about spraying the paper and brayering and then scrubbing it off with a paper towel for about (30 min.). I then beefed up the values with a dull purple and light violet soft pastel by scraping it on a paper plate and brushing on with a soft brush. All of this was sprayed with spray acrylic coating and that is what you see today.

You might wonder why anyone would bother to paint something and then remove most of it, but I guarantee you cannot get an aged texture without doing that. It will look contrived every single time. If you think about it, this process follows the natural aging process. You paint something, and then it rains, the wind blows, the Texas heat kicks in, and very soon you will see the removal of portions of your paint.

After studying the piece today, I will more than likely adjust the values a bit with either soft pastels or more glazing. I will then add my quote for the final. 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.

"The Secret Place" (draft 6)

(draft 6)

I have already concluded that this piece will have (2) more drafts and then the final. So you can see that this is not a super fast way of applying paint to paper. My hope is that you find it as interesting as I do.

There is not a whole lot to add to the notes I've already posted about the techniques used in this piece. You are seeing the full palette in play at this point. For the greens, I am using Green Gold, Cad. Yellow Light,Cobalt Turquoise, and Viridian, plus the addition of white or raw umber to change values.

As far as process goes, I have discovered it is best to cut up a lot of papers at a time. And then it is good to decide what the undercoat is going to be on each one and apply that with a palette knife in the evening. That way, you are ready to go the next morning with the top coat. Otherwise, you will be standing a long time with a hair dryer in your hand.

Another key point is the way the papers and colors are arranged. I like to have some of them as long verticals and others as horizontals, plus a few squares. This really adds the drama to the piece after all is said and done.

It is also a good idea to save all of the scraps. I have changed my mind a few times and had to cut pieces to a different size after they were already painted. Those little scraps will make a nice 4"x 6". And there you have it...just a few more things to think about!

"The Secret Place" (draft 5)

(detail of draft 5)

(draft 5)

Today, I am posting a detail of the lower right hand corner. This is a large piece and the detail gets lost on the blog. It may also look like nothing has changed since yesterday, but indeed there are some changes. The additions you see today are plain rice papers, old book pages and soft pastels added to some of the existing pages.

Since posting yesterday, all of the pieces touching the left hand side have been adhered to the support. This will make it much easier to place the center pieces. So it is not feasible to wait to the end to adhere everything, but the placement of everything needs to be a done deal in your mind before adhering.

In today's posting I have included a detail which shows what happens when plain rice papers are overlapped and some of the gel matte medium seeps out around the edges. Now I always wipe the excess off, but there is still a residue. That residue will show up as a very intriguing shape once you brush on some soft pastels or charcoal powder. Be sure to dry the rice papers after adhering....spray with acrylic coating...dry again....and then brush on the pastels. You will then need to spray again before adhering to the support. 

Another decision I've made since yesterday is which pieces will have text and rice papers and which ones will not. None of the green areas will have text or rice paper. I have reserved most of the gray areas for text. By placing some boundaries on where elements will be or not be is essential to good design. It simply creates chaos to include everything you know in one piece.

In regards to the green color blocks, they will be creating a shape from top to bottom in between the neutral color blocks. That introduces a bit of alternation. If I chose to simply divide the piece into two major areas, I have eliminated a design principle that will actually make the piece stronger. Alternation always creates rhythm. 

I hope this is not moving too slow for all of you, but there are many decisions that must be made in creating a piece of art and it is my desire to clearly show that. In fact, I strongly believe that creating a piece of art will teach more than anyone can possibly learn in a workshop. Workshops are good to learn very specific techniques, but the real learning comes into play when actually making all of the design decisions associated with every single piece. In my mind, mixed media teaches this like no other medium can. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"The Secret Place" (draft 4)

(draft 4)

The piece is now inching its way over and up. Today I will begin to adhere a few of the pieces to the support. It is so much like putting a puzzle together which is probably why this technique appeals to me. The abstract representation of boulders reminds me today of the importance of fathers as the "rock" of the home. So a huge Happy Father's Day to all of you men who happen to be fathers.

Another name for this entire process is color blocking. It is much like putting a quilt together. Instead of selecting fabric, you paint and texturize paper. This could also be done with mono printed papers by adhering them to watercolor paper first and then reassembling them into a piece. You could also use found papers, a variety of different sized text pages, sheet music, or any other subject matter where you are assembling imagery or textured papers that feature a particular subject, texture, or color. It's an addictive and "user friendly way to work.

The entire process teaches the principle of repetition (also called "echoes"), how to arrange color according to percentages (how much space it will occupy), practice a particular technique over and over again, and the effectiveness of contrast of size and little detail vs. a lot of detail.

My particular focus in this piece was to play around with the sgraffito technique by using different colors of undercoating with different topcoats. This is a technique worth learning for any type of mixed media or a painting in oils or acrylics. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"The Secret Place" (draft 2)

(draft 2)

You are viewing the step-by-step process of Psalm 91:1. It is an abstract of boulders on a hillside and being interpreted with color and texture rather than the actual image of a boulder, grass, and trees. Today's posting represents a little less than half of the total piece. I will begin introducing yellow-green tomorrow.

One of the things that I truly believe will help any artist who is confused about the enormous selection of techniques, colors, and materials is to make a firm decision about what you want to include from the outset. For instance, I have only chosen (4) neutral colors for the representation of boulders. Even with a limited selection there is a hugh range of values to choose from. You can use any of the combinations of these colors to create the undercoat and the same for the topcoat.

These initial choices will keep the piece unified and get rid of visual overload. Nothing creates visual overload like too many disparate shapes and colors. It's similar to the person who cannot choose what to wear, so they pick out separate items with no concern for any common denominators and then wear every piece of jewelry they own. It's simply too much! And the same is true for art. It will also keep you sane as you work through your process. It's called boundaries.

You can see that I have added (4) more pieces to this collage. Nothing is adhered because I do not yet know where everything looks best...value wise. It always becomes apparent as the piece progresses and the good news about these puzzle pieces are the fact you can trim them to fit where they need to fit.

I have added some old bible text and plain rice papers to the left hand corner piece along with some charcoal powder and soft pastels. However, as I am typing this commentary, that one piece will probably end up at the the top left corner because of the text placement. (It contains the first few verses of the psalm.)

And today I will be picking up the pace a bit and adding a lot more and taking pictures intermittently so that I will have a few days of posting even after finishing the piece. (Next week is the exhibit installation.) So I hope this has helped you understand the meanderings of my thought processes. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"He Heard My Cry" (final)

($250.00.......11" x 14".....Mixed Media....Kiln Formed Glass...Presented in a Custom Frame)

"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry." (Psalm 40:1....NIV) After (5) drafts, the piece is now done. Hope you have enjoyed watching the process. I will be doing one more psalm and it will be the largest.

The only thing I added to the piece since yesterday was the white lettering. I alternated between ruling pen and a Speedball C-5 using WN Bleedproof White Gouache. I then touched up with a Leonardt Principal Nib. My goal was to create some expressive lettering with a lot of line variation.

Just to recap some of my thought processes...I did keep everything in the realm of the book arts. All of the materials used would be elements that one might see in a book. Even the glass inclusion has some non verbal lettering. What brings it into the realm of fine art is the design, the materials used (all archival) and the presentation. It will be presented in a very historical looking frame, under glass, with a balsa wood spacer in between the glass and artwork. (This creates a shallow shadow box and is a very elegant way of presenting this type of work.)

My total focus in combining all of the elements was to integrate a wide variety of shapes and values, as well as the three focal points of all of my artwork which is opacity, transparency, and translucency. Integration was achieved by having echoes of all of the elements throughout the piece.

As I said earlier in the process, any artist could have stopped just by laying down the marbled paper....followed by the one text page and handmade paper....ending with the glass element. There is nothing inherently wrong with doing that, but it is infinitely more interesting to have many layers of papers. And by choosing what to reveal and conceal, the shapes are arranged in an interlocking fashion with a lot of variation in value which creates depth.

So if you haven't tried this type of layering, you might want to give it a try. Shapes can also be created with paint...followed by the inclusion of papers in select areas. There are some artists who collect old pieces of paper off of the ground for heaven's sake!

The sky is the limit. Just keep the main thing, the main thing and keep it simple. It will get complicated enough with the selection of just (3 or 4) elements. Remember that all I selected in the first draft was a sheet of marbled paper, a fragment of handmade paper, and a piece of kiln fired glass. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"He Heard My Cry" (draft 4)

(image 1)

(image 2)

The draft from yesterday bothered me a lot so I have spent one more day adjusting values by removing some of the darker values with a stiff brush and rubbing alcohol in addition to adding more rice paper. Today I am satisfied that I can now deal with the lettering. Notice that the shapes are much more identifiable and you can see the range of values from light to dark.

As I expected, looking at draft (3) on my iphone led to an immediate conclusion that the values were still wrong. At first I thought it would just be a matter of removing some of the darker values with rubbing alcohol, but that was not enough.

So this morning I made the decision to add more rice papers to lighten up several of the shapes that connected to the focal point and went to the edge. I also knew that placing rice paper over a semi medium value would not be light enough so I painted those shapes with (2) coats of white gesso. I dried them and then did some writing in pencil over the gesso. That's what you see in (image 1).

The next step was to place some plain rice paper over each of those areas and cut around them with a break off knife right on the piece.  Those areas were slightly smaller than the previous layer so the edge of the underneath layer would show. After adhering the papers and drying them, I sprayed the piece with acrylic spray coating and brushed on (2) coats of dilute gel matte medium.

I integrated those areas into the piece by brushing over them with a light gray. There was one more area on the left edge where I laid down two more pieces of rice paper...followed by drying and brushing with soft pastels again. All of this was then sprayed again with acrylic coating and the handmade paper set into place. I then placed the piece on the floor...added the frame to check the values one last time. 

The new areas were still a bit too dark so I removed some of the color with a stiff brush and rubbing alcohol. The piece was sprayed again followed by preparing the surface for lettering. I did some pointed brush lettering at the bottom, but didn't care for it, so I washed it off with a brush dipped in water followed by blotting. What you see in image (2) is the end of the background.

The lettering will be the final touch. I hope you see how the shapes are much more defined and you can actually see a range of shapes and values now. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"He Heard My Cry" (draft 3)

(draft 3)

Today's image is the third draft of "He Heard My Cry". I have done a considerable amount of adjusting the values with additional rice papers and a lot of pastel work. Today I will be viewing the piece on my iPhone which allows me to see it in a whole new perspective. There is something about viewing your work as a flat image and simply getting away from it physically that will show you what else needs to be done. So if you don't blog, at least take a photo of it and study it during the day.

At this point, everything is adhered to the support except the handmade paper and glass inclusion. Today I will adhere it to the 11" x 14" flat gessobord panel and weight it down to dry. I also will be considering any other adjustments. I have already set the stage for white lettering at the bottom and because I have subdued the background considerably, I will probably opt for gestural writing and white bleedproof white. I am also considering a bit of pencil lettering in that area before the white lettering is written.

Since yesterday, I have cropped the piece to its finished size and then positioned and repositioned the large bible page, handmade paper, and glass inclusion about a million times. I was very careful not to adhere anything until I determined where I needed some more marbled paper and plain rice paper. But even before all of that, I brushed on a lot of soft pastels to create some darker areas and integrate the piece with my frame. The frame has a brownish red and black color with a gold trim around the opening. The gold looks very good with all of the aged yellowish tones in the piece. So when you are creating a piece that will be framed, I strongly encourage you to select your frame before finishing the piece so you can adjust any of the values and colors for a better integration.

My frame also has a historical look to it which lends itself to this type of presentation. (In the past, I have referred to these type of pieces as my library pieces.) And if you think about it, all of the elements give a nod to the book arts and books are found in libraries. As time goes on, books may become obsolete so I definitely want to do my part in preserving the written word.

In this third draft, my entire focus was on shapes, edges, and values. And you do need some kind of focus and a goal as to what you are trying to achieve when creating layers. If you simply place paint or elements wherever you feel like it, you might succeed part of the time, but eventually it is important to have a focus on what you're doing.

One of the most important things I've learned to focus on is the fact that artwork is made up of shapes. All over backgrounds created with sponges and a dab here and there does not create shapes. That is precisely why the "edge to edge " concept is important. The minute you extend a line, shape, or connecting shapes from edge to edge, you have created several shapes by dividing the design space into two or more parts. That's exactly why the cruciform format (vertical and horizontal from edge to edge) is so effective.

In this piece, that thought of extending shapes from edge to edge played a role in deciding where to add my additional marbled papers. The placement of those papers connecting the handmade paper and old bible page to the top and bottom edge keep the focal point from floating in space. It's not that vignettes are wrong....they just cannot compete with the dynamic pieces that have well designed shapes and depth. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"En Mi Corazon" (final)

($125.00)....8" x 8"....Mixed Media Mounted on a Gessobord Panel....Presented in a Custom Frame)

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119: 11...NIV) So here is the final of this 8" x 8" piece presented under glass in a frame with a balsa wood spacer between glass and art. It is a spectacular way to present this kind of work rather than using a shadow box with a 2" depth.

If you like ethereal and aged looks, you will love this way of layering. In essence, it is alternating layers of white gesso over color which was dried and sprayed with spray acrylic coating and prepared for lettering. Brush lettering was added followed by soft pastels. It was then sprayed again and prepared for the next layer and another layer of white gesso (diluted) was applied with a credit card and then brayered. But the next step will give you some nice texture. You end up by spraying alcohol onto the surface and then brayering in all directions and many times...spraying again with alcohol....brayering....etc. until you're satisfied.

The final lettering was done with a Leonardt Principal nib and Winsor Newton Bleedproof White gouache. The only caution I would give in creating this type of collage / assemblage is to keep the main thing the main thing and don't add anything that is "cutesy craftsy" and don't add too many things. Simplicity is the hallmark of elegance and subtlety.

Hopefully, you have seen another way to create a piece with handmade paper inclusions. One last pointer...papers are a definite part of the book arts. So think of inclusions that go along with that category. You could include a small antique book...part of a book cover...marbled paper...wax seals...an old pen...text pages...etc. Keep it simple and get ideas for dividing your space by observing well done pieces that are elegant. If handmade papers are treated as an elegant inclusion, more than likely, it will be "gallery worthy". And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"En Mi Corazon" (draft 2)

(image 1)

(image 2)

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119: 11) The title of the piece in English is...."In My Heart". Of course I love to write it in Spanish and you can actually see it vaguely written with a pointed brush at the bottom of the piece. You can also see that I have now cropped the piece to an 8" x 8".

It will be presented in a frame with a balsa wood spacer to allow room for the dimensional inclusion of rolled up papers. In fact, all pieces that include handmade papers will look better if there is a spacer in the frame. It is a much better plan than picking out a shadow box that has a 2" depth. This type of presentation is very subtle and allows for a piece that is in between mixed media, collage, and an assemblage.

Since yesterday, I have added in this order....the brush lettering...a thin layer of white gesso...brayering after alcohol was sprayed on the surface....and then an application of dark purple pastel, brown pastel, and black charcoal powder. I also placed the frame around the piece to make sure I had enough brown tones that would also be picked up in the frame.

All of this was then sprayed with spray acrylic coating (2x). I then rolled up some text from the Psalms taken from a very small bible. I then found a piece of interesting yarn in an ecru color and wrapped that around the rolled up text pages. The papers are held in place with a liberal amount of gel matte medium.

The next steps are important so as not to paint yourself into a corner. The handmade paper has not been adhered to the support or the whole piece to a gessobord panel. So today I will be removing the handmade paper and adhering the piece to my panel and weighting it down with wax paper, book, and a rock for the remainder of the day.

I will then prepare the piece to receive lettering and after writing the text, I will spray it again with spray acrylic coating (3x)....drying thoroughly in between. I will finish with one coat of Golden Spray Varnish...dry thoroughly and then attach the handmade paper and allow it to dry overnight.  It will then be ready to go in the frame.  And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Road Tested" (final)

(final)

($250.00.....11" x 14".....Mixed Media and Kiln Formed Glass on a Gesso Panel....Presented in a 4" Width Frame)

"Every God direction is road tested. Everyone who runs to him makes it." (Psalm 18: 30...from The Message) Eugene Peterson did an excellent job of writing the Bible in contemporary English. The words bring a lot of visuals to mind. This is the final and will be presented in a 4" width historical looking frame.

Since yesterday and after going to find a frame...I fully realized that black and white combinations (as wonderful as they are) can also be very cold in visual temperature. So I purchased a frame with some of my favorite molding which has a lot of brown.

When I got home, I decided to check out my stash of kiln formed glass and found a piece with lots of black, but also some yellow which looked like raw sienna. That selection sent the entire piece into a different direction.

I took a leap of faith and brushed on several colors of soft pastels over the rice papers. Of course, when you do that, the edges become prominent and the places where the gel matte medium "oozed" out also became prominent. I used brown, raw sienna, and burnt sienna pastels with touches of charcoal powder.

After securing all of that with spray acrylic coating, I added a few more plain pieces of rice papers. You can tell which ones they are because they are much lighter. After drying the new papers,  I also brushed on a bit of color over these papers but just enough to integrate them into the piece.

As I went along, I kept checking how the piece looked in the frame and when I was fully satisfied, I sprayed the entire piece (2x) with spray acrylic coating and let it dry overnight.

This morning I prepared the surface for lettering...practiced for at least 1.50 hours and then wrote the verse on the final. I feel completely at home with this look and since the Psalms make us feel comforted, I especially am pleased to have added lots of warmth to the piece.

The kind of depth in layering is also reminiscent of some of my old work so it all feels good to me. The most important thing I took away from working on this piece was not to be afraid to let the piece "morph" in a different direction. I also learned that soft pastels are a very happy companion to rice paper and add a layer of depth and ethereal qualities that are quite compelling. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Psalm 100" (final)

(final)

($350.00......18" x 24"......Mixed Media & Kiln Formed Glass on 300 lb. HP....Mounted on a 2" Depth Cradled Board)

This is quite a lengthy psalm to write out completely, but if you click on the image, I am quite sure you can read the entire psalm. You might also notice that I have "weighted" some of the words more heavily and made some of them a bit larger so that the eye falls on those phrases first. It is my experience that not everyone will take the time to stand in front of a piece and read every word so it is prudent to emphasize some words that can be read in a glance.

As a recap, I would like to draw your attention to several things. First of all, the initial underlying bands of color from the first draft are still visible in the piece, except for the areas around the edge where I painted them out with black gesso. What you are seeing is opacity, transparency, and translucency in those bands of color which create an ethereal look. I kept the bright green and parts of the turquoise, and much of the black in its original state.

Some of those areas were diminished a bit by laying down fragments of psalms from old bibles plus some plain rice paper to tone down the very textured monoprinted rice papers that went down in the second and third draft. White and black gesso were also used to tone down and block out certain areas.

Then rubbing alcohol and a stiff brush were used to highlight some of the areas that were covered a bit too much by the dilute white gesso. And in between all of these layers, the paper was sprayed (2x) with spray acrylic coating followed by brushing on 2 parts water to 1 part gel matted medium (3x)....drying in between. It's been over a week since I started and that's the kind of time it takes to create an 18" x 24" piece.

However, the time would have been greatly reduced if I had worked on it all day for several days. The time spent on this piece was (2-3hrs) per day. The piece is finished, but I will spray it once again at the end of today and allow it to dry overnight before I adhere it to a 2" cradled clayboard and leave it to dry under a rock overnight.

I will then install the screw eyes and wire...paint the sides....spray the piece again with spray acrylic coating...dry....and finish with a spray varnish. The last thing will be adhering the piece of glass and then it will be totally done! And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Psalm 100" (draft 6)

(draft 6....18" x 24")

Today I realized that I had forgotten just how much longer it takes to do lettering on a large piece. What you see today is my lines ruled with a white charcoal pencil and the roman versals written in skeletal form with a pointed pen. I need several days to finish due to other obligations so the final will be posted on Saturday (I think!)

You can now see where the piece is headed in the final stage. For my lettering art friends, I always write my versals in a skeletal form first just to make sure it reads and flows well before building them up with a Mitchell #6 nib and also a pointed pen on the smaller letters.

When writing free form letters like this, it really does help to draw in some free flowing lines first. It is also a good way to emphasize some of the words by making the space in between the lines larger. I am pleased with the flow, but the real test is after they're finished.

There is a lot going on in this piece, but I hope you can see how the black areas ground the piece and by adjusting some of the other values and toning down the texture, the piece tells the viewer where to look. The focal area is framed in by a band of textured areas with an outer frame of black, but just on three sides. It's a very interesting division of space.

And for my glass friends, a two layer kiln fired piece of glass is a very nice inclusion in a mixed media piece, especially if a part of the glass is transparent. In the case of the glass made for this piece, there is a totally transparent band in the upper center of the glass that magnifies the lettering from an old bible which says "The Book of Psalms". All of the text pages in the piece are also from the psalms. Keeping the main thing, the main thing keeps confusion out of the eye of the viewer.

There are also many "echoes" in this piece as well as a full range of values.  Another thing to notice is that well placed shapes of black and white plus other colors works every time it's tried. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Psalm 100" (draft 5)

(draft 5.....18" x 24")

Psalm 100 is back with a new layer. The focal area has been brought back up in value so the Spanish lettering is now visible, but still understated. I also added some more gestural writing with pencil and brush lettering. The other addition is a two layer collage of kiln formed glass. The versals will be added today.

As you can see from all of the postings of this piece that it has been quite the journey! I began the new layer by scrubbing some of the diluted gesso wash over the focal area with a stiff brush and rubbing alcohol and wiping with a kleenex. This technique is very useful in creating depth and adding to the patina. (Of course, if you scrub for too long, the alcohol will eventually get to the Spanish lettering and remove that as well.)

After bringing back some of the values, I sprayed the piece (2x) with acrylic spray coating....drying thoroughly with a hair dryer. I then prepared the surface to receive another layer by brushing on  (2) parts water + (1) part gel matte medium and applying (3) coats of that to the entire surface.

While I was waiting on my glass to get cool enough to take out of the kiln, I practiced brush lettering for about an hour and then added "the psalms" to the piece with gouache (prussian blue + white + a tiny bit of raw sienna.) Of course it was a bit too hard edged to suit me so I blotted the brush lettering with a damp kleenex until I achieved some softer edges and less intense color.  All of that was dried thoroughly and then the entire piece was sprayed (2x) with spray acrylic coating again....followed by preparing the surface to receive the next layer.

I then retrieved my glass from the kiln and placed it into position on top of my piece and then photographed it several times. What you see today is that photograph. The glass has not been permanently fixed to the support yet.

I have also been practicing this psalm in roman versals and I know it will be freely written and flowing from the last portion of the Spanish lettering and over the brush lettering in black ink. Hopefully, you can now see how involved layering in mixed media can be. Not all pieces are quite this complicated, but I am confident that after it gets mounted on a clayboard with all the lettering done and the glass in place, that it will be most of what I hoped for in the beginning. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Psalm 100" (draft 4)

(draft 4....18" x 24")

Psalm 100 is a psalm of praise so my idea from the beginning was to have lots of energy, color, and diagonals. Today you see a very changed piece from yesterday. I am almost finished, but need a couple of days to complete the final lettering, and fire a piece of glass. In light of that, I will not be posting again until Tuesday.

Hopefully, you will then see the final. Before I left the studio yesterday, I sprayed the entire piece with spray acrylic coating so it would be very dry this morning. Today I prepared the surface for lettering and then added some dilute white gesso to the focal area. I used a 1.50" broad shaper tool to apply the gesso...sprayed water and blotted some areas, and scraped off the excess gesso. I dried this thoroughly with a hair dryer and then brushed on some light gray pastel. (soft pastel) Of course, I then needed to spray that area again with spray acrylic coating (1x), dry thoroughly, and then again prepare the surface for lettering.

It took me approximately 2 hours to write Psalm 100 in Spanish with a Leonardt Principal Nib in Spencerian Script. After completing that, I then sprayed that area with spray acrylic coating (2x) and then once again prepared the surface for lettering.

Once again I applied dilute white gesso to the same area....followed by blotting, and removing the excess with the shaper tool. (You could also use a piece of mat board or cut up credit card.) This area was dried thoroughly and then again I applied gray soft pastel with a hake brush.

While I was doing this, I was studying the border and my prominent "L" shape and stopped what I was doing to cover up most of the outside area surrounding the "L" shape with black gesso. It immediately change the piece (for the better) and gave the very area around my focal area a chance to be appreciated. I especially like the way the bottom left hand corner shows off the ethereal quality of layered rice papers.

I ended up today with a bit more charcoal powder in the focal area. (The light gray was not completely doing it for me.) Today and tomorrow I will be studying the piece and removing part of the gessoed areas in the focal area to reveal a bit more of the Spanish lettering and the area where the kiln formed glass will go. So I deliberately waited to spray with spray acrylic coating so I could have this option. I will remove parts of the gesso with a stiff brush and rubbing alcohol. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Bless the Lord" (final)

($150.00....6" x 12".....Mixed Media and Kiln Formed Glass ......Mounted on a 2" Depth Clayboard)

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name." (Psalm 103:1...NIV) As you can see, I have finished the piece and made significant changes since yesterday. I am satisfied with the outcome and thank you for sharing in my process.

Since yesterday, I made some value adjustments by adding more plain rice papers...covering up some more of the background text which included some of the brush lettering I did yesterday. I also made use of soft pastels to help integrate the values and create a very neutral background that complements the glass inclusion and provides the perfect background for my expressive lettering.

The soft pastels I chose were Sennelier sticks in a brighter turquoise and a "dirty" gray color. You can see how that gray color integrates the old text pages with the plain rice papers to create an overall "aged" look. I was extremely careful not to cover up key areas that were the perfect translucency and to leave some of the original text which was adhered to the support in the first layer.

The rule of thumb is to always have some of the previous layer showing throughout the piece. Slowing down the process and being careful about which areas to conceal and which ones to reveal is crucial to achieving the rich and deeply textured background. It all adds depth and interest and can never be achieved without layering.

And when you think about it, most art requires layering. To think that one layer of anything will achieve the best result is a serious error. As for the lettering, this was freely written with a Leonardt Principal Nib and Moon Palace Ink. Even though I took great liberties with the form and spacing, there is a very strong Spencerian Script influence in the form of the letters and especially the exit stroke. I chose this style of lettering to mesh with the idea of the sentiment of the verse in "freely blessing the Lord".

I hope that by going back and looking at the (4) drafts, you can see the importance of layering and how to achieve an enriched surface. The last steps are to adhere the support to the 2" depth clayboard (minus the glass) with gel matte medium and then weight it down with wax paper, followed by a book, and ending up with a rock. Let it dry overnight. Spray again with spray acrylic coating several times. Let it dry for (24) hours. Place the screw eyes and wire on the piece. Finish off the sides with black gesso followed by (1) coat of black acrylic. Spray with Golden Spray Acrylic Varnish (2x). Let dry for a few hours. Adhere glass to the finished piece with E6000 and do not touch or move for (24) hours. (It will break the seal if you do.) And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.