The bridge is done

I've worked on this painting for a long time. It started out in my mind as something that would be a face, but the difficulties and series of unexpected results in the early stages of preparing the canvas made me feel as if it had to become a cityscape of sorts. Inspired by one of photographs, and just pushed on by a emotional color choice, I finally finished this mixed media piece.
It took long, and I struggled through much of it, and had some great learning experiences because of it, but I'm just glad it's done.

















I'm still not very much in love with it. What do you think?

I can handle any criticism, or praise you send my way.

30 faces - i finished it!

So, I finally finished this a couple days ago! And it feels great! It's one of those paintings which I learned alot from, and I'm happy with, and so it's a success already, no matter what.
I learned about a limited palette, as well as broader strokes. I learned about acrylic and texture, as well as how not drawing first can affect a painting positively and negatively. It's an exciting new phase for me.
Also, today I scored a great deal. I bought some 50-60 tubes and jars of acrylic paints plus mediums, used of course, for just $70. This about triples what I had in paints, and gives me the freedom to continue to experiment! It's a great feeling! Thank goodness for craigslist!

11x14 acrylics on linen canvas pad







I also finished another drawing...
This one is on the moleskine, with the gray pitt pens and then ending with the sepia for the background.

30 faces - alex(in progress)

This is my effort for today.
Despite still having Willik at home with the chicken pox, and I had a big headache all day.
So, I painted this on a new canvas linen pad. I like the color of the linen, though I think I'd like it best if it was a stretched canvas.
I'm using a limited palette of 4 colors only, and I like it so far.
There was no underdrawing, just straight painting. It's very liberating. I still need to do about an hour's worth to call it done, but I'm not looing for a peice with every detail. I want to keep this loose, quality about it, somewhat abstracted, and treated as big shapes of the different planes of the face. it's a new way of painting for me, and it's a great learning process.
I also stretched my first canvas this morning. That made me feel like a "real" artist. Believe it or not, I've never stretched canvas before. I've stretched watercolor paper before, and that's super cool, and the concept is the same, but stretching canvas requires some heavy duty manual labor. You really have to pull the canvas tight, and it's difficult to do with your hands only. I used some of my husband's tools to get the job done. To staple the canvas to the bars, I used my own, recently purchased, heavy duty stapler. It worked great, but you really have to put some force into it. And now I know why one really needs canvas pliers. They are probably easier to use than regular flat little pliers found in a "normal" tool box. But all in all, I think the stretch on my canvas is pretty tight, and I need to gesso it, before I paint on it.

getting into a groove

I think I'm finally getting into an art groove.
On thursday, friday and yesterday, I have been working on art projects.
I worked on an old painting about my salvation story which I hadn't worked on in 10 years, I think, and you can see the progress to the right. It's on wood, nothing fancy or special. It's a square, but it's warping a bit. It's not a great photo but you get the picture.
then, when this needed a break, or rather, I needed a break, I gessoed a couple canvases, added texture, and tried to glue stuff to them, and waited for them to dry.
The texture to one of the canvases worked, but the glued/collagey stuff didn't and I had to remove it, and do something slightly different to the canvas.
While this tried and I figured out what to do next on these surfaces, I worked on the boys' costumes for Halloween. They had the Autumn Festival at Graffiti church, on saturday, so I worked into the night on friday to finish the costumes. They are pirates, and you can see their pictures here.
When I came back to the canvases on monday, I knew how to approach one, so I began by doing a quick sketch of the figure, and then I blocked in 3 shades of blue in acrylics as under painting for tone and contrast.
Then this needed to dry, so I set up the next canvas on the easel.
I felt a need to use orange, and so I started brushing it on to the canvas. I was originally planning on making this a big head, somewhat distorted and comic book-like, but as I got orange over the whole thing, and played around with wiing off some paint, and letting the texture show thru, I realized it was not to be a face, but a cityscape of sorts. It was weird, because I've read and heard many times of artists being "spoken to" by their paintings, as to what it wants to be, and I believed it, though can't say I remember haveing those experiences, so it felt strangely odd and exciting to be so in tune with the painting. It made me feel like a real artist.
of course, these are in their beginning stages, so there's not much to see here, but I thought it would be good for me to record my progress and keep myself accountable.
After the blue figure set aside and I looked at it enough, I decided it will be my modern version homage to St. Francis, since he loved animals, especially birds.
Any thoughts or comments always encourages me.
Thanks for reading.

Everyday in May - Fourteen

Victory is mine!
I think I'm done. I think I like it.
Looking at it here, in this small version, makes me like it more.
I finally had enough time, and mustered energy enough to finish it. It was a fun process. Lots of new aspects for me in this. From the collage of chinese newspaper with gel medium, to the glazed, layered acrylic style, it's been full of experimentation as well as learning.
Believe it or not, though I have drawn Fabio many times, this is the first time I painted him, even though we've been married 8 years. I attempted to paint him before, but just didn't get it done. So this finished project is satisfying for that reason as well.

Every Day In May - Seven

Two days ago, or rather, 3 days ago, I worked more on the collage painting.
I focused my limited time on the face. I still need to do a little more to it, but it's mostly done I think.
Now I gotta work on the other things on the painting. I think one or 2 more sessions should be enough for this one.
Sorry I haven't been posting on the day. It's been hard to kep up. I hate that!
Hope you're creating something this month!

Every Day In May - Three

In order to give myself and everyone else a break, I did a mini watercolor painting tonight.
It was inspired and derived mainly from a photo I took of a young woman carrying this baby, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
She did not notice me, and that makes the whole thing so much more authentic.
Having carried babies in those Baby Bjorn carriers, I can tell you that once they got close to 20lbs. in weight, I was ready to give those up, and quick. She, on the other hand, seems perfectly confortable.


Watercolor done on 140lbs. paper

Every Day In May - Two

Just a continuation from yesterday, a bit more paint has gone in. Not as much time to paint today, so all of what was done, was done tonight.
I do have to make a trip to the supermarket sometime, since Fresh Direct will not deliver to my house. Thanks for that reminder today, Susan!!
Anyway, here's the second installment of the same painting.
Can you tell what I worked on?

i painted in church

Today was the 3rd sunday where the focus has been on artists, in a series called "Imagine: Christians and the Arts" at Graffiti.
Every sunday, Taylor has spoken on a different topic, and a musician, dancer, or actors have given a performance which is connected to the sermon, because artists have a way of helping us to understand life, and life's hardships better.
So today was my turn, to help interpret the topic of "Dignity". [I'll put a link to the sermon once we have one.]
The specifics were about how God giives us a face, and we are created in his image.
I started painting right before the service began. This was my second attempt at this. On a canvas larger than I'd ever worked on. On stage, and I was to paint a portrait in about 45 -50 minutes.
I did all my prep work this week. I'd bought the canvas and had a wash on it. I had made a small version of it in colored pencils to help me work out the colors since the orginal picture was in black and white. I'd pre-mixed some colors. And I'd prayed a lot. But I was still a little nervous.
This painting was 3 feet x 3 feet. My last painting at church, off stage, with no special lighting on me was 18" x22". The biggest work I would usually do back in art school was 16"x20", and that would be over a couple weeks of working on it. This was done in acrylics. I used to paint mostly in watercolors and oils.
One friend said I was very brave. I said maybe a little brave with a large dose of insanity.
The neat thing was once I was painting, the nerves were gone, and I was super enjoying it. I was still aware of the time, and I did sing along with the congregation. but I was very happy. The biggest thing was that I had to listen for Taylor's ending point so as to be able to finish at the same time as him. I did.
People liked it, and were impressed. I pray that it spoke to people in a deeper way about his love, and that God was honored with my worship and service.
Of course, had this been a longer painting time, I would have added more to it, but once I stepped away from it, I liked it, even though I could see faults with it.

a look at the past...

Having a scanner will be so cool. This is the first slide I came across, and figured it was a good thing to scan and post. That way I get to see the quality as well as show you some old artwork.

I did this piece at the end of my senior year in college, in '95. That's 12 years ago. It was a piece that got to be in the senior show as one of my best. It's a self-portrait.
You might be thinking it's self-righteous; you would be mis-enterpreting my thoughts and intentions, but that's okay. It's actually a commentary on my surroundings at the time. I was thought to be a goody-two-shoes, or an angel, by most of my friends and peers, but I knew that in God's eyes, my halo was a crooked one. Far from perfect!
This is done in oil, on illustration board. It's about 9"x6", one of my smallest paintings.
It continues to be one of my favorites. It makes me be impressed at my own skills, and it makes me want to paint in oil again. When my studio is ready...
My studio is almost a reality, and we've made a lot of progress on it this week, thanks to my husband, and my brother-in-law. Thanks guys!