Out of One Comes Many

These are some of the Christmas gifts I've made for family members over the last week. I've been playing with Ice Resin and bezels. Fun! I love the Ice Resin. It is so clear, it's amazing! With some of the pieces I embedded little watch parts. Others, I just left as is. Sorry my photos are so bad. Here is the second set:

It took quite a few "duds" and these aren't perfect but I'm happy enough with them to give them as gifts. I have a ton of different sized bezels but wanted to start with the bigger ones just to get the practice. I painted a sheet of watercolor paper with some acrylic paint in my favorite colors and started cutting it up for the bezels. Here is what I started with:

So, out of one painting comes many gifts! This is my entry for Paint Party Friday.

I want to wish a Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates the Holiday!

Heal

I Want 

by Mary Oliver

I want to be

in partnership

with the universe

like the tiger lily

poking up

its gorgeous head

among the so-called

useless weeds

in the uncultivated fields

that still abide.

But it's okay

if, after all,

I'm not a lily,

but only grass

in a clutch of curly grass

waving in the wind,

staring sunward: one of those

sweet, abrasive blades.

This is my (late) entry for Paint Party Friday. Check out all of the wonderful entries from the other artists. You won't be disappointed! 

I Heart Art...

"...We name life 

in relation to whatever we step out from when we

open the door, and whatever comes back in on its own."

-- from the poem No Ideas But In Things 

by Jessica Greenbaum

This piece is just an exercise in frustration for me. It's what happened after a long day of working on another painting that I was very excited about when I started it. When I came up for air and actually looked at it hours later, I was ... not so much. :(  Something happened between the idea I had when I started and the thing that transpired onto the canvas. So I put that away to let it rest for another day. I haven't given up on it but I'm not ready to go back to it right now. *sigh*

Not wanting to leave the studio just yet, I decided to slap some paint down with my hands on some watercolor paper just to see what would come of it. I love to use my hands as a paintbrush when I get into a mood... After a few minutes I thought I saw the outline of a heart and took it from there. Voila. Frustration worked out...  

I had a selection of poems on my desk that I have been using for inspiration and the quote I used at the top of the post has really stuck with me. Those are the last lines from the poem and I love them. I'm working on a couple of paintings right now. Hopefully something can be salvaged from one of them. 

Turning

Turning

Going too fast for myself I missed

more than I think I can remember

almost everything it seems sometimes

and yet there are chances that come back

that I did not notice when they stood 

where I could have reached out and touched them

this morning the black shepherd dog 

still young looking up and saying

Are you ready this time

by W.S. Merwin

I loved this poem when I first read it. It describes perfectly how things have been for me lately. It seems that time keeps getting away from me and I'll just marvel at how much I've missed. I'm trying to make an effort to slow down and appreciate more of the things and people that are important to me. I don't always make much progress but I am definitely becoming more aware. 

This is another art journal page and my entry for Paint Party Friday. This was a loose sketch I did one night a while back and I just decided to paint it today. Still loving those watercolors I used in the background.

Another thing I want to try and be better about is visiting all of you more. Thank you all for your wonderful comments on my last post. They helped me more than you know. I look forward to visiting all of your blogs in the coming days! Big Hug to all of you!

I Wish...

"I'm so tired,

I wish I was the moon tonight..."

Neko Case

Well it's been a while since I posted! I want to thank everyone who has sent emails asking about me. I'm fine. Just a little tired. I've been taking a little time off to visit with family and friends and to hopefully get some inspiration for my art. Now that I'm home and settled back in, I am hoping the time away will bring some energy back. Aren't you supposed to feel MORE rested after a vacation?  ;-) 

This is a journal page I did while trying out my new watercolors. They are yummy!  So that's supposed to be me staring at the moon, waiting for energy and ideas... We'll see if it works. This song keeps playing in the meantime:

Feeling Like Alice...

"Because it feels like I have just woke up

In a world where down is up

And up is a long way from here..."

Lisa Mitchell, Alice in Wonderland

This just about sums up how I've been feeling lately: upside down! Can't seem to get it together no matter what I do. So I painted a girl with her head all messed up; just like me.  ;-) Actually, I do sit with my head tilted like this a lot. Hmmm... could explain a few things. 

Anyway, this is my entry for Paint Party Friday. I was also inspired by the song Alice in Wonderland, by Lisa Mitchell. I've included that as well. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I'm off to visit your blogs now! It may take me a few days but I intend to get to you all. Big HUGS!! 

Journey

"...But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn 

through the sheets of clouds, 

and there was a new voice

which you slowly 

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper 

into the world."

from The Journey, by Mary Oliver

I've been inspired by that poem before in my art. It fell out of a folder as I was trying to clean up my studio. LOVE this particular part! I'm also getting ready for another trip back to Ohio in two weeks to visit my friends again before the weather turns bad. This one will be good timing; my sister's birthday will fall during that week. So I'm really looking forward to seeing her again. 

I was playing with some new watercolors and came up with this. Watercolors are not my thing but I have some in my supplies and and am giving them a try during Jane Davenport's class. I figured what the heck.  :-)

However, I did add acrylics in her face. Couldn't help myself...

Hope you all have a wonderful week! I'm working on something I hope to have finished in time for Paint Party Friday. We shall see...

Circus Girl

I'm back from vacation and slowly getting settled into my routine. I had a fantastic time visiting with my friends and just soaking up all the fun in my hometown. Of course the time went too fast and I was sad to leave (as always). I'm planning another trip in November so that will keep my spirits up.

Katie Kendrick's class has ended and I really enjoyed it! She's a wonderful teacher and I'm eagerly awaiting her book that is coming out in January (I think). This is a mixed media piece I just finished using a background I did from Katie's class.

I'm also taking a class from Jane Davenport called Supplies Me. It's an awesome class. I confess to buying many art supplies and then once I get them home, I'm not quite sure what to do with them... Jane is an admitted art supply hound and she shows you exactly what to do with all of those supplies!

This week we are experimenting with pastels. I've never used them before so I thought I would try Jane's technique and see if I could do a figure in pastels. This girl just popped up. I've had a poem in my head called The Circus Watcher, by Mary Jo Bang and I was thinking about that as I was sketching, so I guess this is my Circus Girl.  ;)

Thank you all for your kind thoughts on my Aunt's passing and on my last painting. They meant very much to me. Big HUG to all of you! I plan on catching up with all of your blogs this week.

Painting a Dream

I'm really enjoying Katie Kendrick's class, Layered Impressions. One of our assignments was to paint a dream we've had. I sometimes write them down if I remember them but I've never painted one.

My mom is in a lot of my dreams. They aren't necessarily about her but she's in them. Last night she was in another one. I recently lost an aunt who died in a fire. That's been on my mind a lot. In my dream last night all I remember was a room, kind of cave-like, but with couches and rugs, like a living room. Mom was there and she was apologizing for the room being so dark because we were going to read. We used to love to read together. We would have our books and just sit for hours reading. I said it was okay but I remember thinking the room was just too dark.

In our assignment we were to capture the feelings as well as the dream itself. I call this "Turbulence" because of the unrest that I felt when I woke up. I think all of the emotion surrounding the events of the fire plus Mom's presence always with me all came out in the dream. I found it a very healing exercise.

I've been absent from Paint Party Friday for too long and wanted to have something to show today. Check out the other artists who participate. They never disappoint!

Playing With Layered Impressions

I am taking a wonderful class by Katie Kendrick called Layered Impressions. This painting is from one of the lessons. Hubby says she looks like she's hungover.  ;-)  I don't know. I kind of like the result. Starting with a found image we were to add our own touches with paint and collage. The goal wasn't to get a realistic face but just to see what the papers and paint were leading us to do. This class is so much fun! Katie has a very laid back teaching style and I love the techniques she's showing us.

Also this week I'm getting ready for my trip home to Ohio to visit with my friends. I'll be leaving next weekend and will be gone for a week or so. I'm really looking forward to that. My knee is still giving me fits but it is trying to heal (slowly).

I'm working on a few other pieces right now and hope to post again before I leave for my trip. Have a great week everyone!

Let It Go

"And in a burst of light that blinded every angel

As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars

You felt the gravity of tempered grace

Falling into empty space

With no one there to catch you in their arms."

--from "Iridescent", by Linkin Park

I'm often inspired by music and poetry. This song has been playing on my iPod constantly. There has been a lot of frustration for me lately. Maybe it's because the knee is still not completely healed. Sometimes when I'm hurt or sick, little things will often become magnified. Aarrgghhh! Then I find myself having little pity parties. Well, I have to stop that. I have to keep reminding myself that the little things are not worth it and I do need to just let them go. Otherwise I let them eat at me and take what little energy I do have.  :(

So I went to the canvas and the verse I quoted above really stuck with me. And when I started to paint I just let it ALL go. It felt good! :-) I have these gold mica flakes that I love to use for special effects. They don't show up very well in the photo but on the canvas they really shine, like little stars. This piece makes me happy. That was my goal when I started, so mission accomplished! Here's the song that started it all. I hope you like it as well as I do:

Playing With Graphite

After a long, dry spell I'm slowly working my way back into the studio. This was an experiment with graphite powder and acrylics. Fun, but messy. ;-) I'll be doing more with the graphite. I'm still mixing it with other media and playing. I saw these lines in a poem called Statuary by Katherine Larson and was inspired:

"The late cranes throwing 

their necks to the wind stay

somewhere between

the place that rain begins

and the place that it ends

they seem to exist just there

above the horizon at least

I only see them that way

tossed up

against the gray October

light ... "

I also took a tumble down the five steps that lead into our garage while I was unloading groceries from the car. Yes, I landed in a big pile on the concrete floor. My knees and wrists took the brunt of the fall so it could have been worse.  I'm on the mend now. I haven't fallen in a while. It always scares me when I do. No broken bones, just many bruises and a swollen knee.  :(

The Summer stupor has started to wear off and now I'm beginning to feel the energy that always seems to accompany the beginning of Fall. It's about time! I have a few things in the works and hope to have something to share later this week. 

Soul Searching

This is a mixed media piece I did a while back when I first started experimenting with beeswax. It was before I had any of my encaustic equipment. I thought the art papers had a nice aged look and just begged for some wax! I loved the little goddess and had to use her in this piece. The text at the bottom is from an old dictionary and the reference is the soul.

I want to thank you all for your awesome comments and wonderful emails! I truly appreciate it and love hearing from you. I'm sorry I haven't been online as much these past few weeks. I'm trying to get back to a normal schedule. I promise to visit everyone in the next couple of weeks! I've got family visiting this weekend and am stressing about that. I'll be glad when that's over and then I can get back to a normal life, I hope.  ;-)

This song has been playing a lot on my play list, soothing my nerves. I hope you enjoy it too. A BIG hug to you all!!

Very Cool Surprise

What is this, you ask? Well, the folks at CitraSolv asked if they could use my Warhol collage to help promote the use of their product for art. Of course I said yes. Especially when I heard other artists such as Robert Burridge were also included in this little venture. But how were they going to do this?

Voila! Little tags will hang from the bottles showing how you can use CitraSolv in your art! And there is my tag! :-) Have a look inside:

There will be different artist's tags that will hang from the bottles. They will have a little info directing you to the artist's blog or website. How cool is that? And here is the back of the tag:

I was pretty excited to receive my tags in the mail yesterday. It was a very nice pick-me-up! I want to thank Melissa and the folks at CitraSolv for thinking of me!

Reflecting

If She Only Had One Minute

by Kay Ryan

What would she put in it?

She wouldn't put

she thinks; she would take,

suck it up

like a deep lake --

bloat indiscriminate

on her last instant --

feast on everything she

had released, dismissed, or

pushed away; she would make

room and room as though

her whole life of resistance

had been for this one purpose:

on the last minute of the last day

she would drink and have it; ballooning

like a gravid salmon or the moon.

Another of my favorite poems of Kay Ryan's. *sigh* This is a mixed media piece I did a while back. I'm still digging through some of my older pieces looking for inspiration. I expect that with the coming Fall things will pick up. I am already beginning to feel the stir of excitement in anticipation of the new season. That's when I begin to come alive artistically. For now, I'm just being a little quiet; taking it all in.  ;-)

Imprint

I haven't been very productive lately. I don't know why. I have been taking a little time to energize and hopefully find some inspiration. I'm also planning another trip home to visit my friends in Ohio in a few weeks. That always helps lift my spirits.

This is a mixed media piece put together with a little bit of everything. I found this little scrap of a poem I had written along with it in my unfinished box:

A deep impression

Time washes away the tears

But your mark remains

I was experimenting with rusted elements at the time so it was nice to include those. Digging through this box of unfinished pieces has yielded all sorts of surprises. I hope to be back with some new pieces soon -- and back with regular participation in Paint Party Friday!

Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To know that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

-- Robert Frost

Maybe it's the HOT weather that influenced this piece. We reached 100 degrees yesterday and it felt like it again today. I was playing with my CitraSolv papers and some alcohol inks and came up with this. Just a little experimenting. My sister is visiting this week so not much art getting done. But we are having a great time. I hope it's not near as hot or humid where you are. Personally, I'm looking forward to Fall (my favorite time of year). Meanwhile, I'm wishing summer would hurry and move on... 

The Walk

The Cold Hill Side

As months and years accumulate,

I miss you more and more.

Forgetting where I put the key,

I sometimes find a door

and other times feel stunned and lost,

though living in my own

body and life, presumably,

bewildered and alone

as the knight, kidnapped and released

to a dim world, who said

And I awoke and found me here

on the cold hill side.

--    Rachel Hadas

I loved that poem when I read it. I keep a box of poems that I come across and from time to time I go through it for inspiration. This one begged for a painting. And I found a new medium to play with: plaster! All sorts of fun to be had there. A new book called Plaster Studio caught my eye:  

Who knew you could do so much with plaster? My painting is done on a base of cotton. Then blocks of plaster gauze are cut and adhered to the cotton. After that dries you paint! Easy peasy and so fun. There are more plaster products I want to experiment with. This was my first try since it seemed the easiest place to start.

This is also my entry for Paint Party Friday. I haven't painted any new work for awhile. It felt good being back in the studio making a mess!  :)   Stop by the party and check out what everyone else has been up to. You won't be disappointed.

Discovery

This is a piece I did a few years ago when I was experimenting with adding CitraSolv to National Geographic magazine pages. I have a nice stash now and frequently add them to my paintings and collages. Here I've also added some gold leaf along with some copper and bronze pigments. Then I covered the entire canvas in resin. That's the glare you see on the edge of the canvas. After I finished, I thought the round piece looked like it could be a stone. The entire thing reminded me of an excavation site so I named it Discovery.

This week in the Summer of Color we are working with yellow (or shades of it). I hope to have some new pieces to show in the coming weeks. Things are finally slowing down on the landscaping and I'll be able to get back to my painting. ;)

Paint Party Friday

This is a painting I did early last year in one of Misty Mawn's classes. It was my first attempt at using Shiva Oil Paintstiks. I really liked them! Not at first, but after getting used to how they worked (and with Misty's guidance). Now I use them in my encaustic painting for different effects but they are fun to play with. This is done on watercolor paper. As you can see I did smear a little in the background but I never really painted the background, so technically it isn't finished. Maybe that's why it's still untitled?  ;)

Check out all the other entries for Paint Party Friday. There is always a lot of inspiration to be found there. Thank goodness it's raining here today. I get a day off from shoveling gravel! Yay! Hubby picked up another load yesterday so tomorrow I know what I'll be doing...

Hope

Hope

What's the use

of something

as unstable

and diffuse as hope--

the almost-twin

of making do,

the isotope

of going on:

what isn't in

the envelope

just before

it isn't:

the always tabled

righting of the present.

--Kay Ryan

This is another of my encaustic paintings. It's also my (pink) entry for this week's Summer of Color, although I'm a little late for the party. 

We literally had two tons of gravel delivered to the house and are going back for more! So I've been shoveling gravel and doing a lot of work outside. That doesn't leave much time for art at the end of the day. :( I'm finding that I'm not as young as I used to be and when the evening comes I seem to want to just take it easy now (not to mention the sore muscles)! Hopefully this last load will be the end of it and I can get back to my painting. ;)

Shattered Hearts

"But you cut me quick

In the light of the shade,

On the edge of the green

Of the yard's sharpest blade..."

Sharpest Blade, by Over the Rhine

These are a pair of paintings I did last year. It was when I first started experimenting with encaustic painting. I love this medium! Now that summer's here I have cleared that part of my art room and am eager to start in again.  You must have adequate ventilation (open windows and exhaust fan) for the fumes but it's worth it. I've been stockpiling all kinds of new colors of encaustic paint every time I visit Blick Art Supply so we shall see what develops in the coming weeks. I'm still new at it but I'm ready to bring out the torch and see what I can come up with. Don't tell hubby but I've got a new torch, too! I'll be careful not to burn the house down...  ;) The first painting is called Shattered Hearts.

The second painting is called Bleeding Hearts. It's done over an old painting I bought at a store and then decided I didn't like so I thought I would just paint my own! ;) So these are my heart paintings for today.

For this week's Paint Party Friday I wanted to contribute something so I thought I would show you a different medium. Be sure to check out all the other entries. There is always a great deal of eye candy there! ;)

Wild Thing

This week for the Summer of Color challenge we were supposed to work with the color green. Ugh! I had the hardest time with this one. I realized I hardly EVER work with green. I was so tempted to skip this week. But I signed up for this because I wanted to try and work outside of my comfort zone. This is what I came up with. I know, not my normal thing. Ha! At least I did something. I can now move on to next week.

One fun thing: I was able to play with Tyvek! Yay! The crocodile is Tyvek painted black, ironed and then painted again. That's where all of that cool texture came from. So if nothing else I was able to come up with some textures for another piece later on :)

I've been having some computer problems off and on, but all fixed now. For Paint Party Friday people, sorry I wasn't able to get to you before now. I promise to visit your blogs starting today!  :)

Sister Love

Today is my sister's birthday. Yay! So I painted this for her. I call it Sister Love. Happy Birthday, Paula! She's the baby sister. There are five of us (3 girls, 2 boys) and I'm the oldest. She's had a rough year and I wanted to give her something to hopefully make her smile and to tell her how much I love her. Big Hug to you, sis! This will be on it's way as soon as I get it framed. This is also my entry for Paint Party Friday.

I fell in love with all of the techniques for this painting when I saw them in this book:

I LOVE it. So many ideas for mixed media and this painting was only one of them. I highly recommend it.

And Finally, Shayla From The Inexplicable Rabbit nominated me for this:

Thank you so much, Shayla! That's so sweet of you! Please check out Shayla's blog. Her artwork is incredible. I LOVE it! Now technically I'm supposed to name ten things about myself. I will, but at a later date. And as for nominating other bloggers, there are so many of you out there I couldn't possibly narrow it down. I'll just nominate all of the wonderful blogs of Paint Party Friday. THEY deserve it!

Blue Lady

This is my entry for the Summer of Color this week. Our first color: Blue! We can use any shade, however we like. I decided to do an art journal page. I tend to use a lot of the same colors in my work so this exercise in color each week will help me with that challenge, I think.

I'm excited to see a few familiar faces in the participant list plus it looks like I'll meet a lot of new artists as well. Check it out!

Not Feeling It

It's Paint Party Friday time again! And you would think this girl would be more excited about it. Especially after I went to all the trouble of hand-piecing her dress (all made from tiny bits of CitraSolv papers glued together)! So when I surprised her with the dress, I had her try it on. You see the reaction I got. She had an attitude from the day I sketched her. You just can't please some people!  ;)

Be sure to check out the other PPF entries. You never know what you'll find!

Discovery

Is it June already? The summer will be here before you know it. I'm always looking for inspiration and signing up for courses is a fun way to start. So this is what I'm excited about now: Yesterday was the beginning of the Summer of Color, hosted by Kristin. Every week there will be a new color to inspire. This week: Blue! (No, the art at the top is not the entry for the week. I have until next Monday to post!) We can work in any medium. I will probably stick with acrylics but I'll see what mood I'm in that week. ;)

Today is the first day for Soul Restoration 2. I LOVED Soul Restoration and was thrilled when they decided to offer a second workshop. So that will definitely keep me busy. And later this month I will be starting the Experimental Art e-course with Amelia Critchlow. I am really looking forward to that!

I hope this will be a summer of discovery. There is a lot of emotional baggage I'm working on unloading and once that is sorted out maybe I'll find my way to where it is I'm trying to go with my art.  ;)

Ghosts

Playing with layers again. Torn papers, tissue paper, collage and paint. Then scratched into the layers after that. Loving the work of Jeanne Bessette lately. Thank you, Micael, for sending me the link! This is my current obsession: figurative abstract. Even hubby likes it! ;) So I may be doing a lot more on this theme. We'll see...

Whisper

Time for Paint Party Friday again! I've been inspired by the music of A Fine Frenzy lately. Their album One Cell in the Sea has been playing non-stop on my iPod for days. The song Whisper was the inspiration for this little piece. It's done on watercolor paper. I've once again added tons of papers, layers of paint and some image transfers. Be sure to check out the other participants in the party. You won't be disappointed :)

Here is a video of the song if you'd care to listen to it:

Pixie

This mischievous little creature showed up in my sketchbook last night. She just made me smile. I've been known to cause a little mischief myself so I could totally identify with her. Maybe she's a small part of me, who knows... I rather like her! She's cheered me up a bit. After I sketched and shaded her I scanned the page into Photoshop and added a few digital elements.

Today kicks off 30 Days of Creativity. I try to work in my sketchbook every evening. Sometimes nothing comes of it but other times I am surprised at the ideas for paintings that jump out from the page. So I won't post what I do everyday but periodically I'll check in with what I'm working on. I think it's a great idea and love to see people getting excited about art! How cool is that!

Slant

Slant

Can or can't you feel

a dominant handedness

behind the randomness

of loss? Does a skew

insinuate into the

visual plane; do

the avenues begin to

strain for the diagonal?

Maybe there is always

this lean, this slight

slant. Maybe always

a little pressure

on the same rein,

a bias cut to everything,

a certain cant

it's better not to name.

-- Kay Ryan

Alone

Here is my entry for this week's Paint Party Friday. I'm posting it early because I don't know how long I'll be able to access my blog. I've been locked out of Blogger for the past three days. I couldn't access my own blog or comment on anyone else's. That made me very unhappy, cranky and many other things I won't go into... So while I can still sneak in here I am posting now. ;)

This piece has so many layers on it I lost count. Fun! Tissue paper, paint, ink, rub-ons, stamps, everything within reach went onto the canvas. It also helped me to use up some of those supplies I've been neglecting. Make sure to check out all of the other entries at PPF tomorrow. The party seems to get bigger each week!

Suspended Wishes

Inspired by Misty Mawn's wonderful book, Unfurling.

Mystery Girl

This is my entry for Paint Party Friday. I missed last week and wanted to try and get back into the groove again. This one started as a sketch on paper and then just went from there. I had these textured papers I made from the 21 Secrets journaling class and decided to work on one of those. It is a recycled magazine page, of all things, with gesso, lots of gel medium, paints, inks and whatever else I could think of added to it.

I call her my Mystery Girl. I'm not sure what to think of her. I can't say I trust her really. Once you start to look at her you get an uneasy vibe. Better trust your first instinct! ;)

Make sure to check out all of the other entries for PPF. You'll find so much talent, inspiration and cool art waiting for you!

Aftershock

Deferred Silence

  by Kay Ryan

There is a

deferred silence

which only follows

a deferred sound.

As when an oak falls

when no one is around.

The violence waits

for someone to approach

to have just stopped.

There is that ozone

freshness to the aftershock.

This painting has been through so many stages I forget what it started as. That's what I love about acrylics. If you don't like it, you can always paint over it. I don't usually paint this big but I'm stretching my wings. ;) It's a 24" x 36" canvas. I like that size for abstracts!

I'm taking some great courses online right now. One that I was really wanting to get caught up on is called Soul Restoration offered through the Brave Girls Club. It has been such a help to me. There will be a Soul Restoration 2 starting in June. You can read more about it at their site. I'm bad about signing up for too many courses at once. Then I panic when I realize I'm behind in them all and they will soon be ending. But this one is really great. Even though the official course is over this week, they give you another four weeks to complete all of the material, watch the videos, etc.  

I said that I would show a photo of my easel. Here it is with my painting on it:

I know I said the art room is de-cluttered. And it is...but when I paint I have to put down the canvas tarp (under the easel) to catch all those fun drippies! ;) And you have to excuse the stuff to the side...that's my heat gun, vent fan, etc. for my encaustic station set up just off camera to the right.  

So now that I've started to work off some of my aggression on this painting maybe I can work on something a little more pleasant. ;) We'll see what develops. At least I've broken in the easel. Now there's some paint smeared on it!

Finding My Way

I want to thank ALL OF YOU for your comments from my last post. They really meant a lot to me and I appreciate all of you taking the time to leave such encouraging thoughts. Things are starting to look up.

I spent the weekend de-cluttering my art room. Once again I've gotten it so that I can barely walk in there. Every time this happens I get visions of those TV shows about hoarders. It's not quite that bad but I can see how it happens to people. Anyway, there is another reason I needed to clear some space besides my fear of becoming a hoarder. While on my trip I got a nice, BIG painting easel! It was too big to fit into the car when I bought it at the store (bummer!) so they had to ship it to me. It arrived the day before I got home. Hubby lugged it upstairs and assembled it for me.

So now I can really get busy! And that is just what I plan to do.  ;)

Acceptance

It's Always Darkest Just Before The Dawn

-- Kay Ryan

But how dark

is darkest?

Does it get

jet -- or tar --

black; does it

glint and increase

in hardness

or turn viscous?

Are there stages

of darkness

and chips

to match against

its increments,

holding them

up to our blindness,

estimating when

we'll have the

night behind us?

I'm having to deal with some hard lessons this week. I hope you're having a much better time of it! Hope to be back in the swing of things soon.

Tandem Andy's

Warhol Collage                                    9" x 12"   

I am on vacation this week so I am posting my Paint Party Friday entry early. Plus, tomorrow will be my birthday and I hope to be out celebrating! I promise to make it to all of the artists' blogs at some point this weekend. I am entering two of my older pieces. I call these my "Tandem Andy's". They are two versions of the same piece. The first one is a collage of Andy Warhol. I used CitraSolv papers and acrylic paint on this painting. 

For this second piece I printed the collage out onto silk and adhered it to a  12" x 12" wood panel. Then I painted it with encaustic paints.  

 



I like both versions for different reasons. I like the colors in the CitraSolv papers and the effects they give in the collage. But I really love encaustic paint and the bold colors they brought to the silk. Plus I LOVE the splatter! ;)

Don't forget to check out the other artists at Paint Party Friday. It's always a treat to see what everyone has been up to this week.

Blue Lady: Journal Page

Things Shouldn't Be So Hard

A life should leave

deep tracks:

ruts where she

went out and back

to get the mail

or move the hose

around the yard;

where she used to

stand before the sink,

a worn-out place;

beneath her hand

the china knobs

rubbed down to

white pastilles;

the switch she

used to feel for

in the dark

almost erased.

Her things should

keep her marks.

The passage

of a life should show;

it should abrade.

And when life stops,

a certain space --

however small --

should be left scarred

by the grand and

damaging parade.

Things shouldn't

be so hard.

-- Kay Ryan

I don't know why this lady ended up so sad. Poor thing. But I felt better after I painted her so maybe she needed to make an appearance.  ;)

I'm leaving tomorrow for another trip to Columbus, OH (my real home)! Yay! Going to visit my BFF Sharon for a week (or so...). While I'm there I'll be celebrating my birthday (now I may know where the sad lady came from!), attending a few other festivities, catching up with my sorority sisters, and seeing a few other very good friends. So I'm spending today getting packed and trying not to forget anything. And of course I'm taking my art supplies. On my last trip I took more art supplies than I did clothing! ;) And while I'm there I'll visit the Blick Art Store and see what goodies I can pack into the car trunk...