flowerhead

a simple warm up collage using pattern paper

and various other ephemeral.

pure fun

over 70 paints hung.  here is a portion

of the village that has helped put this show

together.   it is always good to break bread together.

 i am beyond excited.  one more sleep.

X O X O X O

i hope you get some time to visit the art 

created at paint party friday 

i am the first to admit that i have a lot to learn 

about painting abstracts.  my normal way to paint is to put down 

color and or collage and  look for a face or a figure. 

in the past my attempts at abstracts have felt awkward and 

i had not known where to go once i started.   so i tried something new.  

i started with this collaged piece from an earlier experiment.

then selected a portion of it that i thought 

might make an interesting abstract. 

i narrowed the scope with a viewfinder.

i loved the colors in this painting by plain air artist

daniel pinkham.

and used the it as a reference start. 

this is a really large painting (for me), 33" x 40".  i am working

on unstretched gesso canvas taped to a large  foam core board.  

usually i work with it  on a table top so i can walk around it but the foam core allows 

it to be propped up  against the wall to get a different perspective.  

wip

and just a follow up on the neck 

i filled the neck with several coats of wood putty.

did a little sanding and painting and the

reconstruction is complete.  all is well.

1. 

WOYWW

i am working on a large (for me) abstract,  36" x 48".

it doesn't fit on my desk or easel but it's propped up against the wall

on my actual desk... that's another story.

my printer broke this week so i've been to the print shop 

countless times.  while i was there

i made copies of a few journal pages to use for future collages.

that's it on a wednesday here in sunny southern california.

posting today with WOYWW.  thank you for your warm welcome last week 

on my first posting with the group.

XOXOXO

yesterday, a peek into my studio.  

today, a peek into my process.

i don't recognize myself...

what happened?  abstract?  really?

after i took an abstract class a year ago

i resolved that i could not do it.

and i was perfectly comfortable with this conclusion.

but as i cleaned out my studio, i found this piece

and thought, hmm, maybe not as bad as i initially thought.

it has been fun to  add more layers of paint and experiment.  

the large piece on the bottom is a 3 x 5 canvas given to me,

another experiment~~painting large. i gessoed 

over the splattered paint to ready it for the next stage.

here are a few national geographic pages.

 inspirations  for shape and color.

because you never know what will lodge 

in your creative spirit and come through 

in a painting.

and a close up of the abstract.(i'm still scratching my head).

it is fun to step out of oneself  and to also realize 

that first impressions are not always right.

it could be that the super critic in the head talking.

yesterday i told my friend who was discouraged about her art

 to never, ever give up on herself.

i should listen to my own advise.

and anoter start using left over paints. 

to be continued, i'm sure.  

how have you stepped out of yourself lately?