Splashing

My day started one way. I had a working outline for its various elements.

And then I didn't.

Lost my focus and couldn't find it.

So—why not?—I stepped off the shore again. Started splashing around in the shallows, turning one way and then another, churning up the surface, watching drops of water rise up, return, catch the light, disappear.

"blank" canvas paper,
large brush,
some paint

folded card stock,
charcoal pencil,
some quick lines and scribbles

rotated canvas paper,
black paint spread in one continuous scrape across the page with a matte knife

rotated canvas paper,
large brush,
more paint

folded card again,
small brush,
some paint

corner closeup of canvas paper

Blank Canvas

I completed Donuts a few days ago. It was my first run through one of the lessons in my Jane Davies workshop.

I posted it on my blog.

I stuck it in an empty frame and propped it on my dresser.

And it bugged me.

So I decided to retire it.

To see it as a blank canvas.

I rotated it.

Got out a paintbrush and a pen.

new painting in progress

Real Live Mail

Received by post from Emmy:

On its way through the mail to Emmy:

Made it to Shore

Made it to shore!

My form wasn't great, I took some water in through my nose, and I'm a little short of breath at the moment, but the water and exercise were invigorating.

I'll go out again.

Donuts
7.5x9.5", acrylic, ink, and collage on canvas paper
abstract
2016
[not for sale]

In process:

added collage;
veiled collage

washed areas with quinacridone gold;
added a new pattern, 
 echoed new pattern in the donuts

ink-scribbled the new pattern

Deep Water

Can't see the shore on either side of the river of I-don't-know-what-I'm-doing.

Sometimes I sink, sometimes I bob, sometimes I float on my back, sometimes I thrash about.

I'm treading water right now.

in process:
changed color and direction of meander on left;
added background color

in process:
added more background color and two floating white/green motifs

Mapless

I grab a piece of canvas paper today and cut myself an 8-inch square, tape it to a tray for support so I can work at my easel. Then, acting on a mix of intuition and impulse—are they complements?—I use the few bits of paint sitting on my stay-wet palette to cover my paper in a soft, loose grid background. No plan to the colors, just a practical notion to use up some paint while it's still usable.

No plan much at all other than to explore pattern as my painting focus.

Got this far pretty quickly.

          

Then?

No idea.

But—very much to my surprise—it turns out I like being in that place of not knowing.

What if I do this?

And then this?

I stop for today, savoring the tension of being smack in the middle of messy mystery. Mastery's decided to sit this one out. Shoes kicked off, she's reading a book, sipping a latté.

One Precise Bunch

Completed my assigned one precise bunch of patterns today, using acrylic paint, varied brushes, ink pens, a handmade matte-board stamp, a jar lid, a foam ear plug, the flat end of a pen, and both the crimped end and the mouth of an empty hair-conditioner tube.

            

             

              

           

                

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Dorothy of Oz and I may share a name but my exclamation might be Patterns and Density and Scale, Oh My!

Started mucking about today with the aforementioned.

I thought it'd be relaxing to do no more than use a variety of tools to create a smattering of patterns of varying density and scale. To my surprise, though, I felt antsy without composition or color as a driving force. Further, while playing with neutrals satisfied an itch yesterday, today those neutrals seemed kinda lackluster and, well, neutral.

That said, I had fun using a brayer, pens, bottle caps, ear plugs, brushes, foam stamps, and wax pastels to create this, that, and the other.

this

that

this

that

the other

Back to Dynamic Composition

Remember the downloadable Jane Davies class I purchased just after Christmas? The one I was going to complete in January as the content for my 30-in-30 challenge? Picked up Lesson 4 today, the lesson I'd intended to start around January 15.

Totally love the directions for Project 1 of this lesson, particularly the part in parentheses: make a bunch (one precise bunch) of patterns using several different tools and materials.

One precise bunch, comin' up!

In the demo video Jane uses white paper but (a) I've been hankering to mess around with neutrals and (b) I've been hankering to move a big paint-filled brush freely across clean paper.

So. Used up some paint from my stay-wet palette to create one swatch. Then, mixed ultramarine blue and vivid red orange for the next few swatches, adding titanium white in increments along the way. Finally, blended chromium oxide green and permanent alizarin crimson, again adding titanium in increments.

Very satisfying, curled up edges notwithstanding—had to wrestle them into submission to snag a photo. Love the creamy soothing neutrals.

Lesson started.

imprecise bunch of color swatches

Paper Prayers as Bookmarks

Paper prayers that I don't give away become bookmarks for me, and I take great pleasure in pairing those bookmarks with book covers. I love the little moment each day when I open whatever book I'm currently reading and find myself in an at-home art gallery drinking in the delight of a painting.

Today I painted a fourth paper prayer in my current series. This one will join my bookmark collection, but it's more than just a bookmark. It's a place holder in my heart for my cousin Sue—sister of Dee, Judy, and Cilla—who died in 2008.

Love you and miss you, Sue-Sue.

Paper Prayer 38
1.75x5", acrylic, collage, and ink on wallpaper
abstract
2016
[not for sale]

Its journey:

                                      

Sisters:

                

Joining the Family

Today I worked on a third paper prayer, this one for Cilla.

Lots of energy and a spirit of adventure in this one. It will soon be making its home in Spain.

Paper Prayer 37
2x6", acrylic, ink, wax pastel, and collage on wallpaper
abstract
2016
[not for sale]

Its journey:

                                   

Sisters: