No. 11 in 30 Day Challenge - 'SAD SONGS'

Hey Friends, the Eleventh day is upon us.  Jan. is ticking right along.

This gem above started life as a real mess.  Every ugly color you can imagine was on it.  A heavy coat of black and white fixed that.  The rest of it is one of those games, where you keep moving stuff around until you like it.  The umbrella finally came to mind.

I tinkered with several other small pieces.  Started this 20 x 16 when I came to a road block.  Started with a dull khaki green and added some light areas so the intense colors to come will look clear.

You never know, I might fix it with a coat of black too.

I will venture out today and have a school lunch with my sweet little GranSon.

Then another lunch with my Sweet Daughters.

Hope life in 2017 is Treating you Well.

Happy Trails

No. 10 in 30 Day Challenge - "ONE IN A BUSH"

Hey Friends,  Here is my 10th creation.  Today was a struggle.  Why?  I just could not figure out what to do with any of these 5x7's.

Maybe I just needed more sugar.  I love these cool Tropical colors.  These are sprayed with my homemade Alcohol Inks.  Love them.

Here they are laying on the floor, drying, heater to the right and they still are not dry.

Here is the piece from up there that I sprayed with my alcohol inks.  I set the cup of Pantone's color "KALE" beside it.  I was thinking of smearing some of that color around.  Then I thought of a fish silhouette somewhere.

Last shot shows an 8x10 panel that I glued an old clothes pattern onto several years ago.  Just found it again.  I already put yellows on it with a brayer.  I have found out why so many artists put paint on with a brayer.  You simply can't get that kind of texture with a brush or a knife.  Love it.

Now if anyone has any advice for any of these little guys, just give me a holler.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Happy Trails

No. 9 in 30 Day Challenge "HOT GLUE"

Hey Friends,  Day nine !!! Glad I decided to take the weekends off.  Seems to make this so much easier.  I didn't have my Gran Babes over the weekend because of the SNOW so when I do have them next weekend, it will be extra nice with out that pressure.

I still played in the studio yesterday.  I made some free form stencil, mask thingies out of Hot Glue.  If you don't get the timing just right you can't flatten them.  They must be warm.  Hot glue sets up pretty fast.

Hopefully if you look hard enough you will find the almost clear thingies.  Also showing you the deli papers I coated with gold and silver.  I think it might work.  I intend to play with them today.

This shot is to show you my mess made with a kitchen fatigue mat.  It felt squishy in the store and I thought it would work.  Not squishy enough.  Plus it has a texture that you can't see with my naked eye.  The 2 little canvas panels are what I will play with today.  One in front has an old tissue pattern I found at goodwill, years ago.  And the other has some paper I made years ago.

And the top photo of #9 started life with tissue that I stitched on with a sewing machine.  Even though it is small (5x7) I was pleased with my outcome.

Onward!!

Happy Trails

TAKING THE WEEKENDS OFF FOR THE 30 DAY CHALLENGE

Hey Friends,  I decided to take the weekends off since there are NO RULES.  I bet if you had this job you would take the weekends off too.  Making art and marketing and photographing and editing and updating websites and displaying and shipping and blogging and trying to keep up with social media is really a full time job IF you want to buy more supplies and keep the electricity on so you can see to paint.

Anyhoo, I made myself some alcohol inks today.  and yes, you might say I did not take a break today but this was Play and it was fun.  All you need are Permanent Markers, like Sharpies, and 91% alcohol and spray bottles, 4 0z. are best size and a pair of pliers.  And nail polish remover seems to clean up the mess better than alcohol. (top photo)

The photo above, I decided to put silver and gold paint on deli paper to see if it would act as good as goldleaf in collages.  Gold & silver leaf are really frustrating, like trying to glue down spider webs.  And finally tried the beautiful turquoise paint Mary Anne gave me for Christmas.  My favorite color, Thanks Mary Anne.

Over on the right are some papers with the alcohol inks sprayed on them.  But I thought this little heater was funny enough to show you.  Last year I bought this heater hoping it would heat my studio.  What a Joke.  This year I bought a jet engine that runs on propane!  And it works great! 

Until today I could run the new heater for 15 minutes and the studio was HOT.  Then I could turn on the electric joke and it maintained it for hours.  But last night, today and for the next 2 nights, it will be single digits, like 9 tonight and 7 tomorrow night.  So the jet propane heater had to run longer.  But I'm thrilled with how warm it makes the studio.  Maybe I'll give a review on my weekend days  Snow is beautiful for about 2-3 hours then I want summer back.

Don't you feel sorry for me NaNaCat?

And since I took the weekend off I didn't even bother to look for my hiking boots to sweep the snow.  I just tied on some Kroger bags and they kept me dry.

I hope you have a wonderful little brother that will keep your driveway cleared just like mine.  I tell him over & over, I don't want to get out anymore.  One perk of being retired is you don't have to go out there at 7am and clean the car and shovel the driveway to go to WORK.  

Happy Trails

Shovel Wisely

No. 6 in the 30 in 30 Challenge

Hey Friends,  No. 6 is here already.  This piece is 10x8 inches and as you can see, it started it's life as a black and white paper covered canvas.

My initial thought was a flamingo torn from a painted paper.

But I didn't want it to represent anything so I just started adding colors that Pantone says are the top choices.  Yarrow Pink, Niagara, Greenery, Kale.  And I scratched with a knife and scribbled with a pencil.  FUN.

The last element was part of an acrylic skin.  And it hung overnight by the wood stove and the gloss gel never cleared up.  Have not used gloss gel very much so I'm not sure if this is a usual behavior.  If anyone out there in cyber land knows, please leave a comment..  And I decided the title will be LAMBCHOP.

We have NO snow yet here in SW Virginia but maybe tonight.  Sorry school kids.  I know you love your snow!

Happy Trails

Drive carefully

NO.5 of the 30 in 30 Challenge

Hey Friends,  This Piece was easy and fun.  It is on watercolor paper so it needs to be matted and framed.   I decided to title it  COSMIC INTENTIONS.   Why??

I will need to sleep on this question but mostly 'cuz I like the sound.

Once it is matted, I intend to send to Goose Creek Gallery in Bedford, Va.

So I look forward to doing more on paper.

Hope your New Year is unfolding as you anticipated.

Happy Trails

No. 4 in 30 DAY CHALLENGE

Hey Friends,  Still having fun with No. 4  "He Swims with the Fishs".

I know an odd, male choice of a title.  But that's all I could SEE in this one.

Do you see the body bag floating behind the fish?

Maybe one of the Saprano's will use it in their bathroom.

Some process shots that actually make a little sense.

After getting some black on the canvas, I used the squares from the kitchen sink mat I showed about 4 days ago.  Put white on them and pressed the design onto the canvas.

I like squares and circles.  The squares could represent the cinder blocks.

Here are some strips of Paper I found in the trash.  They could represent the lines holding the body underwater.

I can remember my Dad or maybe Uncles using washers if they didn't have the little lead sinkers for their fishing lines.  So the circles represent the weights also.

All of my challenge pieces are available at my website HERE.

Happy Trails

NO. 3 - SEA SPIDERS

Hey Friends  I think it looks kinda spidery or like logs have intertwined in the water flow.

I have more photos of the process but they just don't show the work involved.  I did get a critique before I was finished, which is the photo above and the additional arm or leg on the left finished it nicely.

The top image was scanned on my Epson scanner (which I love and wish was bigger)  I have to scan in sections and then knit them together in PS.  One of the few things I can do in PS.

The bottom image is from my camera, a Nikon Cool Pix L830,  which I also love.  A gift from a really Kool sister.

Hope you are enjoying all the extra posts and explanations.

I'm enjoying this Challenge more than the past challenges,  BUT it's only day 3.

Happy Trails

Traces of 2016 - #2 in 30 Day Challenge

Hey Friends,  Doing blog posts at 9pm can really tax my brain.  I should be spacing out in front of the TV.

"Traces of 2016" is my final decision for a title.

Maybe you did not read my first post of Saeta's 30 day challenge, which was just yesterday.  But my theme is Black and White with pizzazz from Pantone's Top 10 Colors for 2017.  So above are Greenery and Primrose Yellow and mixed on the table they made a PooPoo yellow.

So had to get out their Flame Something.  I wanted a more Rust color and the Flame didn't do it so I just added some Quin Gold.

This is the final, using the PooPoo Yellow and Flame and Greenery.

But you do see I started with a Black and White Base.

This is available at my Website HERE or if you want a print from FAA HERE.

Happy Trails

JANUARY 1, 2017 HAPPY NEW YEAR DAY ONE

Hey Dear Friends,  HERE we go - - - it's on again!  Leslie Saeta's 30 day challenge that is.  I think I already told you my theme this month is Black and White with the addition of Pantone's Top Colors for 2017.   

And since there are NO rules, I can mix these colors to make more colors, YaY.

And I found some new "TOOLS" at Marshalls, in the kitchen department.

SINK MATS - - - who would have thought to look there.  Just us crazed artists.

Already put them to work on some future challenge paintings.  Since I have a small life outside of work, I have to start early.

I know seems like I'm cheating but I'm NOT, 'cuz there are NO rules.  So what's your excuse for not joining in?

Happy Trails