Poking Around New Turf

Selected another undeveloped patch on my Core Values grid and started poking around the new turf.

taped some edges, taped off space in which to paint a stripe

painted some stripes, pasted some collage

Will continue poking tomorrow.

Snags

My felt sense after painting today is one of having some sort of mesh cage stuck in my chest.

My knee-jerk reaction is to want to stomp on the cage, or kick it away.

But, instead, I am walking over to shake hands and say hello.

newest patch painted onto grid-format work-in-progress

detail from today's patch

in the bigger picture;
working title: Core Values

Great News

Great news:

1.
Can't tell you how freeing this is!


                                                @fidoart

2.
Painted over yesterday; also freeing.

newest patch painted onto grid-format work-in-progress

detail from today's patch

today's patch in the "big picture"—
working title: Core Values

Stuck in My Head

Painful.

detail from today's patch

Twists and Turns

Followed twists and turns today.

newest patch painted onto grid-format work-in-progress

starting place: offloaded paint from yesterday

detail from today's patch

today's patch as seen in partial context
of the whole work in progress;
working title: Core Values 

Sketchbook

I love looking through artists' sketchbooks. I'm intrigued by the many ways artists use them as part of their creative practice.

Off and on, I think about starting a sketchbook of my own.

But I never bring action to intention.

Today, I looked at Core Values, my huge sheet of foam core with its grid format, and saw it for what it is.

A sketchbook!

newest patch painted onto grid-format work-in-progress

underpainting for today's patch

offloaded paint from today's patch

detail from today's patch

today's patch as seen in the context
of the whole work in progress;
working title: Core Values 

   

Messy-Messy

I love watching youtube clips of artists at work, though I have yet to film any video footage of my own. My friend Simone has shot footage, however, and the gift of getting to spend virtual time in her studio watching her create infused my own creating today. I painted quickly and intuitively, with happy messy-messy freedom.

newest (4-)patch painted onto grid-format work-in-progress

detail from today's patch

today's patch as seen in the context
of the whole work in progress;
working title: Core Values 

Core Values

OK, I might be working for quite awhile on the big piece of foam core I've got going—I think it needs a working title for the duration, so I'm going with Core Values.

I could also call it Crazy Quilt since I seem to be approaching it patchwork style, adding this and that willy-nilly as the spirit moves me. Today's patch:

newest patch painted onto grid-format work-in-progress

detail from today's patch

today's patch as seen in the context
of a larger section of the work in progress;
working title: Core Values 

This and That

Some of the this-and-that to which I referred yesterday:

New Project

With my new bookmarks completed (and one already in use—yay!), I've moved from a 'canvas' of 9 square inches back to the huge foam core 'canvas' of 1,728 square inches on which I first put marks a few weeks ago.

I've now added a thin slapdash coat of gesso, penciled off a grid of 6-inch squares and various rectangles, affixed tissue and magazine collage randomly, and set up for myself a big playground.

I don't have any particular outcome in mind at this point. Instead, I'm thinking of this foam core as a blackboard (whiteboard), an 'erasable' space where I can follow my nose to try out this or that.

foam core playground
(challenging outdoor lighting)

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Update on my Valentine/birthday hearts grid for Dave  : )

A Leap Between Our Hearts Like Fire in Dry Grass

6x6"; acrylic, collage, India ink, and pastel on gessobord

abstract
2018
[gift]

Lost Love

For Valentine's Day I painted my valentine a painting.

He was entirely delighted with it, took it to work, propped it on the fireplace mantel in his office, showed it off to many a colleague.

A week or two later I had cause to stop by his office with him on a weekend so he could pick up some papers he needed.

Huh.

No Valentine painting in sight.

I inquired.

He turned reflexively towards the mantel and then stopped in his tracks.

Huh.

No Valentine painting in sight.

Did someone appropriate it when no one else was around?

Did it land in the wastebasket regrettably situated where it could easily have been an unintended receptacle for art when an oversized item on the mantel got bumped a week earlier, taking all manner of items crashing downward with it?

Don't know.

May never know.

I've painted up a new Valentine to give my valentine on his birthday today.

My good sense says to reuse its original somewhat sentimental title, 'cause my guy is a somewhat sentimental guy, but each time I picture that Valentine in the wastebasket, the mischief-maker in me hears an Everly Brother's song of yore.

I finished this painting during our third nor'easter in two weeks—
figured it deserved an outdoor photo shoot in snow!

Don't Want Your Lo-o-ove, Anymore!
6x6"; acrylic, collage, India ink, and pastel on gessobord
abstract
2018
[gift]

Trying My Darnedest

I'm working on a little something new today, once again painting over an old painting both for the fun of it and as part of my #paintoutwinter project. I'm trying my darnedest to get spring to arrive sooner rather than later. Winter has been pushing back big time in my neck of the woods, but I maintain that spring will nonetheless arrive earlier than it would have otherwise.

Grabbed a 6x6" painting from 2015,

Morning on the Marram
2015

wrote some thoughts on it,

old painting with overlay of writing

painted a grid format, traced some heart shapes,

layered work in progress

stopped for today.

Behind the Scenes

Behind the scenes, in the deep absorption and intuitive flow of making my bookmarks, I took sweet pleasure in many of the details:

• the LLBean packaging enclosure that was printed on cardstock in exactly the same color palette as the book jackets;

• the calendar Dave passed my way in February, with its offerings of print on various background colors;

• my own art printed in a 2017 Shutterfly calendar that provided collage material;

• the power outage that entertained me with many hilarious challenges as I worked;

• the personal power surge that resulted when Dave didn't have the energy to deal with some financial paperwork we were scheduled to undertake together, thereby leaving me free to play;

•  the cutting of the cardstock into two narrow strips halfway through the process and developing each separately; and

• the toss into our recycling bin of an older handpainted bookmark (of similar palette) that I've never liked.

Sure hope I like the two novels for which I've customized my new masterpieces!

book from library

This Road We Traveled
1.5x6"; acrylic, India ink, collage, and oil pastel on card stock
abstract
2018

perfect pair

Souvenirs

I just cannot tell you how completely engaging and satisfying it was to make two bookmarks recently—during a whopper nor'easter, no less!

In the kind of story you've heard from me before, with slight variations, when I woke up on that Friday, no bookmarks, and no intention of making any. Zero.

I got up, exercised, prepped some food, scrubbed the downstairs bathroom, met with friends for playgroup, went to the library to collect two books on reserve.

Two books: different authors, different genres, different settings, different cover artists.

Same color palette on their covers.

And me with no bookmarks in that color palette.

A day later, it was as though I'd invented two new countries and put them on the map. I certainly traveled somewhere wholly new while creating—I picked up the tools of my trade and a piece of 3x6" cardstock, started painting, and moved through that tiny 18-square-inch portal out of the universe in which I usually reside into a fully different universe just as vast.

And returned with souvenirs of startling beauty.

I'll feature one today, the other tomorrow.

book from library

Summer Hours
1.5x6"; acrylic, India ink, collage, and oil pastel on card stock
abstract
2018

match made in heaven

A Little History

A little history behind An Invitation You Are Not Permitted to Decline:

The 'prompt' was this year's fireside chat with Wendy.

I wanted to capture in one painting both the feeling of the literal warmth-and-glow of a fire and the figurative warmth-and-glow of deep easy friendship.

Big challenge.

Way fun, though!

took an old painting I never liked
and squeezed dollops of fresh paint on it

moved the paint around—
first layer of coverup

added paint

penciled in geometric lines

committed to the geometric lines
with my unpredictable ink applicator

created an acrylic skin
on scribbles of latex paint

began building a collage sheet
on a discarded book jacket

completed the collage sheet

started affixing collage

added snippets of acrylic skin 

did some micro-tweaking (thank you for input, Sylvia!), and … ta da!
come join us fireside for a chat!
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An Invitation You Are Not Permitted to Decline
6x6"; acrylic, latex, India ink, pastel, and collage on canvas board
abstract
2018