"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 2)

(draft 2)

Today's second draft of Psalm 100 reveals the addition of mono printed rice papers. There are more papers to come, but I hope you can see how dramatically it altered the piece from yesterday.

There has been a flurry of activity at Buck Hill Studio today...four hours to be exact. I began by mono printed a few papers in all of the colors represented in the piece. Sounds like that could be knocked out in about 30 min., but "oh contrare"! With a lot of humidity in the air and needing to dry, spray, and dry again took about (2) hours.

The next step was to cut segments of the papers to go in areas that will line up with the brayered lines of color.  This was accomplished by cutting the rice papers right on the support and using a grid ruler when necessary to make sure the pieces lined up.  I am still not satisfied, but ran out of time so I will be looking at this piece either in the studio or on my iphone during the day so I can see where I might want some more texture. In fact, looking at a photo of your piece in progress is always a good idea. It removes you from the studio and the chaos of creating to give you a whole new perspective.

If I realize I need to tone down an area, all I need to do is adhere some plain rice paper over the aggressive area to create a very translucent effect. Today, what you see is a very stark contrast between transparency and texture with saturated color. This is an extreme contrast and my preference is to have a full range of values and different degrees of transparency and translucency represented which is not present yet.

If you try this yourself, you might have some difficulty accepting the look of the mono printed papers being adhered to those light bands of color. It's almost like cold water in your face, but it is very important to keep moving along with the knowledge that gesso or plain rice papers, or soft pastels can mute any area quite nicely. It's just not good to do that until you have all of your mono printed papers adhered.

This is the one obstacle that many artists have with mixed media. The desire is to see the finished outcome before the piece is finished. That's why I am happy to show you the step-by-step process so you can see how it all develops. Today things are a bit "jarring", but they will get much better in the next two postings. 

This piece will probably take until Sunday or Monday to be completely finished. One of the reasons being that I also plan to have one or three glass inclusions. It's all quite fascinating. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Psalm 100" (draft 1)

(draft 1)

Today's posting is the beginning of Psalm 100. That will remain the title for now, but as in Psalm 103:1, the title changed in the final. The first draft is always exciting because it is a new beginning and even I do not know what the final will look like. I have no preconceived idea so that I can remain open to what I see happening on the paper.

Even though I do not have a preconceived idea, I am thinking about design. Staying true to my artistic voice which is to contrast opacity, translucency, and transparency in my mixed media works, I have begun with transparency. The colors I chose were based on a mexican pot painted with these same colors. And I chose Speedball Printing Ink as my paint and brayers as the way to deliver the paint to the paper which is a full sheet of 300 lb. HP.  (The final will be 18" x 24")

The dark blue was blue mixed with a bit of black. The turquoise was right out of the jar. The yellow green was green plus yellow. The orange was orange plus a bit of the dark blue. I mixed all of these colors on a glass surface with a palette knife and added a lot of water to each pile. To make sure it was well mixed, I sloshed the paint around with my hand (wearing thin latex gloves.)

By diluting the color a great deal, I am insuring the transparency. Using 1.50", 2", and 4" brayers, I began to apply the paint to dry paper. Because of the size of the paper, I did need to make at least 2 applications of color in each stripe. It is easy to do with brayers since you can see exactly how to line it up with the previous application. My desire was to include static and dynamic lines while preserving some white areas. Those white areas will add a lot of sparkle to the piece.

My next step today will be to create some mono printed papers using the same colors you see today. I will also be adding some black mono printed papers. Using black plus white and color and in different saturations will cover almost if not all of the values on the gray scale.

Color may be the most emotional of the design elements, but contrast is the most critical design principal. So today I have introduced a contrast of line (static and dynamic), a contrast of hue (or color), and a small contrast of saturation. Tomorrow, there will be even more contrasts in these same areas with an additional contrast of texture.

Also notice that all of the bands of color go edge to edge which grounds them to the design space and creates many great divisions of space. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Mi Camino" (final)

($80.00.......6" x 8".....Mixed Media.....Mounted on a 2" Depth Clayboard)

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119: 105...NIV) This is a very familiar verse that has been put to song and hidden in a lot of hearts. It's still a favorite and hope you like seeing it in a different way.

The motif of this background was chosen because it implies growth and gives a hint of the pastoral scenes that come to mind with many of the Psalms. And even though I had no idea which verse I was going to do, it became apparent that the black papers with white letters and a hint of the background showing through did visually describe the path being lit.

The layout is fairly traditional, but there are many who still gravitate to this straight forward treatment of the quote. My personal inclination is to be a lot wilder and less readable, but I conceded that point in this piece.

Those of you who are playing around with mono printed rice papers might want to try laying your chosen color(s) out on a table or even the floor and then begin to pair them with some of your black papers or even a darker value of another color. You really will have better success if you have light, medium, and dark values represented.

Your layout can resemble papers laying on top of each other and then cropped or you can work in a more complex way with a horizontal band layout. Parts of old book covers also make a nice inclusion. And I hope you have not forgotten that delivering paint to your surface with a brayer and using one color on top of another is another way to begin your piece. You can then selectively choose some mono printed papers to include in key areas.

The technique of brayering first before adding papers will give you some little windows and areas to showcase a particular image or texture. Perhaps I will do that for tomorrow's posting. Never the less, there are many different ways to design with your papers. And the good news is that everything you're using is archival and well protected with mediums and sprays that contain acrylic emulsions of some sort.

You could also brayer with watercolors if you want more transparency to work with. It's all very exciting so I hope you will be hard at work creating your own pieces. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" (Draft 3)

This, of course, is the third draft of "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" from Psalm 139: 14. Tomorrow I will be posting the final.

As you can see, I have added another color. To fully integrate this color into the piece, I used the same textural stamp to create some more mono printed papers. The application of these blue printed pieces was deconstructed by adhering them to the support...waiting a few minutes and then deconstructing them by lifting up an edge and pulling the paper off. This is one of my favorite techniques because the "pulled up" edge becomes very thin and drifst off into nothing, revealing part of the previous layer.

The blue prints were made by pouring a small bit of Cobalt Blue (Fluid Acrylic) onto the printing plate and then spraying with water. This creates a puddle of color which is then suitable to lay the rice paper into. It will take a little while to dry and may be too wet to hang up. This type of printing is best done with a hair dryer. I only use acrylics to get a particular color that I like,  but I always use Speedball Printing Inks for fine printing. You can see the beautiful print this ink makes in the black portion in the top half of the piece.

I also adhered some bits of plain rice paper in areas where I felt like the value was getting too muddy. And then more bits of plain paper were added on top of the previous ones. By allowing the edge of the previous papers to show, you can achieve a gradated effect which appears throughout the piece.

Tomorrow, I will probably adhere a few more bits of the printed text in key areas and then letter the quote in the white area just above center. It will be written in very informal versals with Moon Palace Ink and a Mitchell 6 nib. There have been many changes since the first two layers on Monday. I hope this helps those of you who are tip toeing into the world of mixed media.

This is only one way to work so look at work by other artists working in mixed media and soon you will be finding your own voice in this provocative medium. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Two Exemplars"

(image 1)

(image 2)

An exemplar is an example, model, or pattern to refer to when doing something. In this case I have an exemplar showing Spencerian Script miniscules (or lower case letters). The other exemplar is showing some different ways of printing on rice paper to create a pattern, texture, or both.

There was no posting yesterday because I was "knee deep" in setting up for a "mono printing on rice paper event" in my studio. I also taught two of my private students in Spencerian Script this week and that piece (image 1) also shows a technique with rice paper.

In the first strip of image two, I placed about a 1/2 tsp. of Speedball Printing Ink (water soluble) on my glass surface and brayered it out in all directions to app. the size of my print. I then created a "chevron" pattern using (3) different sizes of broad edged shaper tools. You can also use credit cards cut to the width you want.

In the second strip of image two, I used a little less ink and two different sizes of cut up credit cards. You can vary the width of these lines by the angle of the credit card. In the first stripe, I changed the angle as I was going down through the ink to create a tapered line.

In the third strip of image two, I brayered out a fair amount of ink (1/4 -1/2 tsp) and made a diagonal stroke with a very old 4" brush....pressing hard as I move through the ink. In the same ink, (before printing), I made some gestural lines with the corner of a metal palette knife which created the very thin white lines. I then made the print, dried it, and printed with white Speedball Printing Ink and a rubber segment of circles I received in a package. After printing the circle, I dabbed the edges and part of the print with a damp tissue to soften some of the edges.

In the fourth strip of image two, I placed app. 1/2 tsp. of printing ink in the middle of my printing surface and brayered evenly in all directions, approximating the size of the paper to be printed, but I went one step further by brayering outside of that thicker ink on one end to create a gradated effect since there was less ink on my brayer at that point.  A commercial texture stamp was then use in a repeat pattern over all of the ink and you can see the gradated effect quite clearly.

In the fifth strip of image two, I again brayered out some ink and used my index finger to make different size circles. (with thin latex gloves on) I also dipped my finger in water to remove more of the paint...on the largest circle. The corner of a metal palette knife was used to create the thin lines inside the circle. (It is important to press hard with your finger.)

In the first exemplar, I used some very watered down gouache or walnut ink....smooshing it around on the glass printing surface and then laid the rice paper into those very dilute puddles. (If the paper falls apart, you have too much water.)  You could also use the printing ink or transparent watercolors. After that dried and was sprayed with acrylic coating, I adhered it to a 4" x 6" piece of masonite. I then stamped the image with the same stamp you see in strip (3). The surface was again sprayed 2x with spray acrylic coating and prepared for lettering. The lettering was written with WN Venetian Red Gouache.

The first point to remember about mono printing on rice paper is that all rice papers are not created equal. In the examples you see today, I used Shanghai....purchased from Jerry's Artarama.

The second key point is that mono printing is all about the amount of ink placed on the printing surface and also how much paint is removed. Removal of painted with some kind of tool is essential if you want to have some translucency when layering with other images or text.

The third key point  is the need to have very substantial brayers. The rubber brayers with metal (not plastic) are the best. Asel's here in Austin has some and they can also be ordered from Daniel Smith. It also helps to have .... 2".....4"....and 6" sizes.

The fourth key point is the actual making of the print. When laying the paper into the ink, use a clean brayer (preferably one with a clear plastic roller) over the print to make sure it makes good contact with the ink. You can also place a sheet of wax paper over the paper and rub over it with your hands or the back of a smooth wooden spoon that is flatter than most wooden spoons.

Last, but not least, lay the print on wax paper to dry or hang on a clothes line with clips from the office supply or regular clothes pins.   They will dry faster on a line than laying flat. You will also need to spray all prints with Krylon Acrylic Spray Coating (not to be confused with Workable Fixative) before adhering to a clayboard, masonite, or other surface.  (Remember, this ink is water soluble.)

To know what to do with your stash of printed papers, refer to other blog postings showing finished work to see some of the possibilities.  You will soon have your own ideas about how to use them.  (Storing them in gallon size baggies....by color....will also make this whole process easier.  And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Poetic Verse"

(image 1)

(image 2)

(unavailalbe....6" x 6".....mixed media on gessobord)

"Poetic verse is music in my soul." All of the readable text pages in this piece are from The Soul's Traveller by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I am quite fond of her work and found an old volume in an antique store. Many of those text pages have appeared in my work.

I really wanted to showcase the gestural writing in the red/orange paper, but also wanted to ground it with a dark neutral. My preferred neutral is black. Another reason for choosing black is to create a good integration with the text pages.

I laid my chosen red/orange print on a 6" x 6" gessobord and cut out the three rectangular areas. That is what you see in image one. The reason I didn't just adhere the black print over the red/orange is because of the translucency. Instead, I chose to adhere text in those white rectangles to be seen through the black print.

You will notice that the red/orange touches all sides of the design space so that the gestural writing would be going edge to edge. I didn't want to interrupt the flow of that line. Additional text was then added underneath the black areas and also around some of the outside edges. This further integrated these two areas together.

The design "take away" from combining two disparate parts is to make sure there are some common denominators. In this case, gestural writing or mark making is taking place in both prints and text is under the black print and on top of the red/orange print.

Also notice that two of the rectangles are in the corners...another good place to add a paper. None of the corners are the same and that is always a good thing. In an odd way, I ended up framing the gestural writing that drew me in by placing the black printed areas around the edges. And of course, black and white plus one other color works every time it's tried. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Mono Printed Rice Paper Over Text"

March 23rd Posting Using Todays Techniques

Mono Printing Techniques Over Text

For the next three days, I will be showing examples of mono printed rice papers and the possibilities that can be achieved. Today I am showing you (5) examples of basic ways to mono print and how the method and amount of paint influences transparency. I have also included a previous posting so you can see how some of this is used in a finished piece.

The supplies are minimal for these techniques which makes them appealing and they provide a wonderful entrance into the arena of design. You will first need a printing plate which is the surface you use to brayer out the Speedball Printing Ink. Glass is the hardest and best surface in my opinion. 

The most economical way to make a printing plate is to take regular float glass like you see in framing a picture and tape around the edges with masking tape or duct tape.  (This glass can be purchased in standard sizes from Hobby Lobby.)

You will then need a rubber brayer, printing ink, and rice paper. Not all rice papers are created equal so my suggestion is to use Shanghai which comes in a roll and can be purchased from Jerry's. This paper is extremely thin, but sturdy, and created for printing.

In the first example (number one), I used barely a 1/4 of a teaspoon and brayered the Black Speedball Printing Ink out as thin as possible. Much of the ink was then removed with a section of an old credit card and also a wide palette knife. (Metal Palette knives will do a better job of this.) You can then see how transparent it is judging by the amount of text you see.

In the second example, I placed at least 1/2 tsp. of ink on the plate and brayered that out and then removed parts of the ink with credit cards and palette knives. The corner of the palette knife was used to make thin gestural lines in the paint as well. You can only see text where the paint was removed.

In the third example, I added NO additional paint, but liberally sprayed the remains of the previous printing with water. This gives you very soft and diffused edges with very little text showing.

In the fourth example, I added NO additional paint, but sprayed the previous printing area on the glass with more water. This gives you a lot more transparency and a "dripping" and "watery" look.

In the fifth example, I printed the edge of the remains of the second print...dried it....and stamped with a hand cut stamp. All of the samples were then sprayed with acrylic coating....dried with a hair dryer and adhered over the text.

For those in my mono printing class this coming Saturday, I need for you to study the different edges that you can create and the amount of transparency you desire. It is absolutely necessary to pay close attention to the amount of paint used and the amount of paint removed before printing.

Tomorrow I will demonstrate some other types of paint removal and mark making. For those who wish to take this class, I am offering an additional session on Thursday, May 2. Just e-mail me for the details. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Psalm 23" (First Draft)

(unavailable)

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." (Psalm 23: 1) Today's posting is the first draft of a new piece entitled "Psalm 23". It is a well known psalm and I suspect that most people easily recognize verse one.

This piece began with 140 lb. HP with one coat of white gesso. It was taped to the table with masking tape to keep it from buckling. The undetermined size at this point is at least 9" x 13". I am quite sure that by tomorrow, I will have made the final decision on size.

I am showing you two images today so that you can see that I decided to adhere text over the entire sheet of HP so that text would be peeking through the white areas of the rice paper. (You cannot see it as well today as you will be able to see it tomorrow since I have not yet sprayed the adhered pieces with spray acrylic which gives it translucency.) This is an excellent way to include text for those of you who are not lettering artists and want to integrate text into your work.

In case you haven't been out into any stores lately...chartreuse and gray are very hot colors right now so I simply had to do at least one piece with those colors. (The colors are Speedball Printing Inks. The chartreuse is yellow and a tiny bit of turquoise. The gray is pewter.) And that leads me to another point. If you have no idea what to do next in your art work, it is a good idea to go with one idea or color scheme that keeps haunting you. The same is true for a particular layout. I can make that part easy for you by saying that horizontal bands either horizontally or vertically work every time they're tried.

You might also want to notice that I chose to make all of the exposed edges erratic by tearing the mono printed rice papers. It seemed to look better to me, especially with hard lines in the mono prints created with cut up credit cards or shaper tools. Mono printing is an excellent way to practice your mark making skills.

The feedback on showing process has been extremely positive even though it is uncomfortable for me to do. I much prefer to show the finished piece, but alas, I simply cannot keep that pace up if I want to do larger works...and they will be getting much larger as I go along. Hope all of this helps you and prompts some of your own ideas. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Interval" (Draft 2)

(unavailable.....11" x 14".....Mixed Media....Mounted on a 2" Depth Clayboard)

"Interval is an expression of time or space." Another way to look at interval is the time it takes to make a good decision or procrastinating. It makes all the difference in the world. In some cases it could save your life.

Today I have introduced color. And I must tell you, it was very difficult for me to post this today because you are seeing the piece in mid stream. The colors have not been sufficiently adjusted...no text fragments included...and no plain rice papers. The reason I am showing it to you at this stage is because I need a few hours of drying time before sanding anything else.  And I also know it helps to see what layering is all about so you don't throw up your hands and quit before the piece is finished.

Sanding is a form of deconstruction. After I had stamped the background with additional colors, using Speedball Printing Ink, I blotted much of the stamped areas with a tissue dipped in water to remove some of the hard edges. Even though I still wasn't satisfied, I went ahead and dried it with a hair dryer and sprayed it with Acrylic Coating. After also drying that with a hair dryer, I took some rough sand paper and hand sanded the "dickens" out of the background, being careful not to disturb my lettering. What this did was further integrate the stamped imagery into the background by revealing parts of the previous layer through the sanded areas. This is a very good layering technique. And if you're really brave, you might want to use a palm sander with a variable speed setting. (In times past, I have sanded the edge of paper into oblivion!) 

The other addition to the piece is the covered bass wood pieces. They are not adhered to the support yet so that I can study it a bit more and also do additional lettering on the background without having to work around these raised areas. I am excited to show you the final tomorrow and trust me, it will be totally different. 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.

"Letters"

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


"Letters provide layers of comfort to my soul." Letters make words and words come together to express thought and feelings. Even technology must rely on letters to convey thought and meaning. Of course, the most personal way to express thought is through the handwritten word.

This piece represents layers of texture. The first layer is Patching Plaster (DAP brand) that can be purchased in the paint department of a home building store. The "key word" is patching plaster. If the container does not contain those two words, it is not the right thing. The reason I chose to use this material is because it does not contain a polymer emulsion like all of the Golden and Liquitex mediums do. Quite often, a medium with polymer emulsion will create a resist unless applied with a concentrated amount of acrylic and a brush.

The Patching Plaster was applied to blank 140 lb. HP with a palette knife and texturized by writing into it with the corner of a credit card. It was then left to dry overnight. The following day, I lightly sanded the surface (outside) and ran it under a faucet on both sides to prepare it for Pouring Medium. (all my colors were already mixed.) I then laid it aside to dry overnight.

This morning I was able to make my final design decisions. The large color block of green was a bit overpowering so I knew I needed to break up the surface tension. By stamping with white Speedball Printing Ink, I was able to bring another color in the piece into this green color block to create a "back and forth" between two areas of color. White also provides a contrast to the warm colors since pure white is generally considered to be cool.

For those who do lettering, pointed pen will work better on this surface since you will most likely be writing over a textured surface. And there you have it...a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Recharge Zone"

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


"A recharge zone is a place of renewal." Everyone needs a recharge zone. It's that place or activity that helps you "chill out" and get renewed. If you're like me, you need more time in your recharge zone.

This is an interesting piece and was a total experiment in layering over a pouring medium piece. Because I've created and looked at a ton of these type of pieces, I am wanting to take it to another level by integrating other techniques into the process. Pouring medium is a very "charged" look and process that can also be overpowering. My desire is to bring in enough other elements (but not too much) that will create a contrast between active and passive.

For the most part, that means introducing some very straight lines to counter the active movement of the pour. I may have too much of a "counter attack" going on here, but part of my purpose for blogging everyday is to work through all of the design issues that come up with mixed media processes.

What I do like very much is the lovely texture created by writing into Speedball Printing Ink (with water)that has been applied over Silver Leaf. Of course, the silver leaf was adhered with Gel Matte Medium and then partially removed. It sticks very well most of the time, but it is necessary to reveal the previous layer so I used rubbing alcohol and a stiff brush, following by immediate blotting with a kleenex to create all of those erratic edges.

And if you don't have time for a piece every day, you might want to try doing one 6" x 6" every week. Putting a piece together is a wonderful way to learn design because of all the decisions that must be made to bring the whole thing to a conclusion. So there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Warm and Fuzzy"

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


"Warm and fuzzy feelings do not create art; knowledge, skill, and actions do." This is the occasion of my 500th posting, so I feel like it is entirely appropriate to talk about what it takes to create art every single day. One thing I have learned...warm and fuzzy feelings and waiting for the spirit to move me do not get it done. Some of my best work has been created on the mornings when I just wanted to drink my coffee and go back to bed. And that's the secret...you must show up in your studio every day.

I am making every effort in my pouring medium pieces to learn how to fine tune them by knowing when to manipulate the color...when to leave it alone...and what to add to bring the design to a solid conclusion.

In this piece, I chose colors that remind me of South Texas and the Mexican culture I grew up in. Color plays a hugh role in the Mexican culture and so I spend a lot of time looking at visuals of haciendas, patios, decorated pots, painted tiles, etc. so that I can absorb the color.

In this piece, the strong color contrast is not between dark and light, or direct complementary colors...it's between warm and cool. The light aqua color is a strong contrast with the raw sienna and Hansa Yellow Medium. The bright yellow in the bottom portion is actually Green Gold (Golden), but it looks totally yellow due to its surroundings.

There are actually (7) color contrasts and it is wise to know what they are and include at least (4) of them in every piece of artwork. The most definitive book on color contrasts is The Elements of Color by Johannes Itten. This is among my top five picks that should be in every artist's library. I refer to it often and I owe my study and introduction to this fine book to Hazel Dolby who used it as a building block for a workshop where we learned to paint and letter on primed and gessoed surfaces.

Looking through decorating magazines is also another way to hone your color matching skills. Try to use the same percentages of color that are used in a well decorated room with colors you like. Remember, that it is the percentages that draw you in...not just the colors.

The last thing that needs to be said about this piece is the fact that I only manipulated two bands of color at the bottom where you see the detail. The other colors were poured and left completely alone. You can see how that gives areas of rest where the color is subdued with very little detail. I did add the silver leaf and stamped color block to give a contrast to the moving lines of color. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Silver Lining"

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


"Every design issue has a silver lining." As you might guess, this quote is a "take off" on another familiar quote..."Behind every cloud is a silver lining." Silver leaf has an amazing ability to change a shape that may not be attractive. So look for the silver when faced with a design issue.

This pouring medium piece was poured over a base of raw sienna, white, and pouring medium. (The pencil lettering was written on the blank paper first.) I did not manipulate the color in any way with a plastic fork or other tool that creates a marbling effect. The brown shape was a bit odd and took over the piece so I resolved the problem by laying down silver leaf over an area brushed with gel matte med. Leave it to dry for a few minutes before removing the backing paper. Go do something else for about 20 min. and then brush over the silver with a stenciling brush to remove parts of the silver and reveal the layer underneath.

Of course, you cannot stamp over metal leaf because it is slick so prepare the surface as for lettering (2 parts water to 1 part gel matte med.) and then stamp using Speedball Printing Ink. In this case I had to mix black and brown to create a raw umber. This is the first time I've used metal leaf with pouring medium and I am satisfied with the results. It's a great way to alter an undesirable shape as well as to introduce another texture that will directly contrast with the smooth look of pouring medium.

And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Empty to Full"

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




"Thanksgiving transforms empty to full." Thanksgiving is a reverential act that gives all of us the full life we want to experience. Making a mental or actual list of the many things we can be grateful for is a very good start.

When I think of overflowing abundance, my visual memory takes me back to the outdoors and the colors I experience in that environment. This piece is a "nod" to the dominant colors in most landscapes such as trees and grass and leaves. Texture is something I have also been experimenting with and Glass Bead Gel has been my ally along with Speedball Printing Ink.

I have already discussed the layering process of this particular technique in previous postings, but it never hurts to be mindful of shapes, division of space, corners, and edges. What I have noticed is that a straight edge has a very stabilizing effect on a chaotic surface. Just make sure there is a contrast by adding a substantial amount of erratic or uneven edges. I did add a piece of collage made from a cowhide image to give me one of those straight edges. It's hard to tell where it is, but it did achieve the desired outcome. And the goal in most of my collage work using this type of background is to integrate it so well (color wise) that it is barely discernible.

If you like texture, this type of layering is very addictive and compelling and I would encourage you to do your own experiments. The water soluble printing ink is fabulous because it will stick to any kind of surface and writing or imprinting with water following by blotting will reveal the previous layer...which goes to the heart of integration. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Neutral"

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


"Put your life in neutral to calm chaos." There is a contrast in this piece between neutral colors and chaotic texture. In life we must all find ways to put our life in neutral in order to stay sane and keep from spinning out of control. Whether it's taking a walk, sitting with a friend, or reading a book, we all need to put our life in neutral for part of the day.

This piece was created much the same way yesterday's posting was created. I simply chose to use neutrals. After the solid acrylic color is placed over the entire surface of textured gesso, it is important to start thinking about creating shapes.

All of the other layers of colors after the dark turquoise were Speedball Printing Inks. They were applied in this order...white...brown + black....orange + brown + lots of white and a bit of turquoise. The very last color was turquoise added to the peach mixture.

what makes this and all other types of layering work is the ability to break up the surface tension in a convincing way. Thinking in shapes will help, but then you must break up the surface in some way to reveal the previous layer. In this piece, I used a pointed pen, a ruling pen, and water, followed by blotting.  The initial raised texture of the gesso and several places where glass bead gel was applied also helped achieve the revealing of a previous color. The shapes give it the structure and without that structure, the human eye does not know where to look.

Other ways of breaking up surface tension could be sanding, gouging, transparent paint or collage elements, blotting, etc. The most obvious way is simply to leave a portion of the previous layer untouched. However, this is not as subtle or convincing and may create too many hard edges and if all your edges are hard, your work will be very difficult for people to view. So there you have it...a few more things to think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Quit"

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


"If something doesn't work...quit doing it!" It sounds obvious, but I am still amazed at my own ability to continue doing something for a long time before realizing that it's not working. Maybe today will be the day that all of us quit doing at least one thing that no longer works.

This piece is layering and texture to the max. If the colors are too bright for you, this look can also be achieved with neutrals.

The first layer was gesso applied to Rives BFK with a sponge brush and applied much thicker in some areas. An old credit card was used to make gestural marks that you can still see after several layers. The key is to have the gesso thicker in some places and then to let it dry overnight. (Drying with a hair dryer does not get the inside of the thickest gesso dry and you will find this out when you try to paint over it.) I also added some Glass Bead Gel (Golden) to several areas. You can see it at the top in the persimmon color.

The persimmon color is acrylic and was applied with a sponge brush over the entire surface and then a brayer was used to remove the excess. After the acrylic was thoroughly dry, I switched to Speedball Printing Inks for the remaining layers. The first layer was black and applied with a brayer, not bothering to cover the entire surface. The glass bead gel created enough of a raised surface to leave a larger area of the persimmon untouched. Before sealing the black ink, I took a point pen and wrote into the ink and then blotted it to create some of the texture you see. After sealing the black with Acrylic Spray Coating, I added the turquoise color, being mindful of creating shapes. I wrote into this color with water followed by blotting before sealing it. The last color was the dark yellow, also written into with water and sealed.

The last bit was the collage element in the lower right hand corner which gives the piece more shapes,  form,  and a touch of Mexico. The quote was written after the surface was prepared for lettering. And that's how it's done! Just a few more things to think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Deep Longing"

(unavailable)


"Solitude is a place of deep longing for the only One who can satisfy." Many pursuits can give temporary satisfaction and take up hours of our time, but we were created to have an intimate relationship with God. That is the only thing that can truly fill the deepest longing of our soul.

This piece is another venture into contrasting opacity with transparency. A good rule of thumb is to choose equal pieces of opaque collage elements and transparent elements. By arranging them various ways, you will eventually find the right overlap and placement for each piece. The wonderful thing that happens is that you can see every layer in the piece. It is one of the most effective ways of achieving depth with layering.

The initial background was begun with gesso with some areas having a lot of texture. That, too, will add another dimension to your collage. Cadimium Orange was painted over the entire gesso surface with a solid application. Speedball Printing Ink came next, leaving some of the orange peeking through. At this point, you must spray with acrylic coating because the printing ink is water soluble. Silver leaf was then adhered one section at a time over gel matte medium straight from the jar. If the silver leaf looks too solid and static...simply apply some gel matte medium to your brayer and roll over the surface. The stickiness of the medium will pull more of the silver leaf from the surface.

All in all, this is a wonderful way to create a collage. It also helps to have some silk tissue paper (the most transparent paper I've ever found) and be able to print it on your printer. Simply make a copy of the image on regular paper...watch how it exits the printer...use removable tape to tape the transparent paper over the image...and send it through the printer again in the same way it went through the first time. Spray with acrylic coating and you will be ready to adhere it to your surface. And there you have it...a few more things to think about.