"Unfolding Biography" (sold)

(SOLD)


"Each day is like turning the page of my unfolding biography." The day takes on new meaning when placed in this context. It is true that each day is precious and we are choosing our own biography with our daily choices. Write a good one!

I am beginning to think in terms of what I can do in the first layer to create even more depth. In this piece, there are gestural marks and erratic lines done with a sharp pencil before the pouring medium was added. You could add the pencil lines after the fact, but it would not have the same "lost and found" edges and subtlety going on. Some of the lines got lost completely and others emerge and then disappear. It is quite fascinating and I would encourage you to try it yourself. It all goes back to the transparency issue and giving the viewer the illusion that they are looking into an infinite variety of layers.

My encouragement to everyone working in mixed media is to not give up on a particular technique too soon. By doing it day after day, you will continue to see new things and your entire process will keep evolving.

As for the choice of colors, it is more effective to play warm against cool in these types of pieces. The purple choice in this piece is Brilliant Violet Fluid Acrylic mixed with a bit of Raw Umber. It has more depth with the Raw Umber added and becomes warmer in temperature. The Hansa Yellow Medium was also mixed with a bit of Raw Umber making it warmer as well. The cool temperature color is the Cobalt Blue mixed with Titanium White. I guarantee that this piece would not have the same impact without the addition of the blue. Notice the "glowing" effect where it mingles with the darkest parts of the Violet and how it completely merges and becomes the same value of the other two colors when they become more diluted and mixed on the right hand side. It's these kind of observations that will assist you in deciding your colors for your next pour. Just a few more things to try or think about.

"A Touch of Blue" ($40.00)

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

"Paint my life with warm colors and a touch of blue." Warm colors advance visually in a painting and cool colors recede. Both are needed to make a compelling picture which is also true in life. Sometimes we all need to advance and enter life with "gusto", but there is also a time to pull back...and be alone.

There are many ways to incorporate collage in an art piece. You are only limited to the available time to experiment. There are several painters I admire who paint "photographic like" images within a very abstract background. That is basically the technique I have been using with collage elements.

There are several things to consider when taking this approach. First, the collage elements need to look like they were "made to order" for that particular background. In my case, I have been composing a still life on top of the background with the collage. It doesn't take too many collage pieces to accomplish this, but it can take time to find just the right piece for the right background. But this is actually the fun part and if you have a ton of magazines lying around, you'll have more than enough material to choose from. Be careful not to include images that are obviously someone else's creation...like a painting, a beautiful flower arrangement that looks like it was created by a floral designer. I generally stick to odd bits and pieces on a page and sales catalogs are also a good source. It's great fun and something you might want to try or think about. (Adhere collage pieces with gel matte med...brushed on straight from the jar following by running a brayer over the pieces.)



Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Black and White" (unavailable)

(unavailable)

"Black and white plus one or two other colors works every time it's tried." The same way this quote works in the realm of color, there are other things that work every time they're tried. For instance...serving an audience of one. People may come and go in our lives and say or do things that please or displease us. But only caring about what God thinks about our behavior works every single time it's tried. More than likely, attitudes that please God will also give you peace with God, yourself, and others.

Horizontal bands of color as a means of dividing up design space is also something that works every time it's tried. Of course, the down side of doing this is too much harmony. That can be alleviated by introducing gestural marks and edges that are not absolutely straight. Erratic lines and "fluid" edges will offer up a strong contrast.

The color choices selected for this piece would have worked with any other two colors placed next to white and black, but it does help the "wow" factor to choose two complementary colors. By choosing complementary colors, the contrast of warm and cool is also settled since warm and cool colors are also opposite colors on the color wheel. In essence, you are "killing two birds with one stone." (so to speak) Just something to think about.