2 OLDIES TODAY

It's a weird and kind of cool thing to finally be old enough to collect social security. Today is my 62nd birthday - yeah!!! Got to get a new driver's license pix too. Lovely:-(

This morning my two granddaughters iced the cake they made with Grandpa last night and even put sprinkles on it. Not too much icing was on the floor when they were done, either. The cake is just beautiful, a work of art for sure.

Yesterday Tuesday morning's class completely surprised me with a huge party, complete with a delicious luncheon and cake and candles. We're doing it up right this year for sure.

This old painting of a very old John Deere tractor is one of the oldest I could find to help commemorate this dubiously historic day. It was one of the earlier 'tape' paintings that I tried, probably done in 1997 or so.

Every shape was developed by placing masking tape where I didn't want more paint. Each layer of paint dried before adding more masking tape. It's like batik in the way it looks with the paint oozing under the edges of the torn tape. The tape, used instead of wax to preserve and develop the shapes in the painting, is removed when the darkest values are painted. The textures that can be created this way are exciting.

Taping is time consuming - more so than wax batik - and yet the results are worth it. Next week I get a brand new right knee since my old sixty two year old one is in bad shape, so taping may be the process I choose to paint with during recovery. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to that first social security check!

FIVE PAINTINGS

The five paintings above, along with the reference photo, show my slightly different takes from one inspiration. I know that I've completed several more paintings of the same subject - one very dark and somber - one very, very colorful and patchwork quilt looking - and the rest I can't remember. For several years, I didn't take photos of my work, and now I regret that lapse.

All of these have watercolor in them and are more or less in chronological order, with the first one being painted about 15 years ago. It was done using masking tape to protect previously painted areas as I darkened more shapes to build up the painting. The tape's all removed now. It's a technique I continue to use today because I like the batik looking effect it lends to the painting where the paint leaks under the pieces of tape.

The second one is a collage with watercolor, using rice papers to build up texture on the paper. It was easy to create the delicious textures of those old walls with the layers of various rice papers.

The third painting was done on watercolor paper that had a layer of white gesso painted over it first. The paint 'floated' on the gesso-ed surface, drying in irregular ways that helped establish the textures of the walls and street.

The fourth painting began with one good white shape and three 'cool temperature' shapes touching it. The white shape went off the page on three sides, originally, but now is hard to find. The process of using a good white shape initially in the painting was a springboard to help establish a sense of unity and focus in the painting.

The fifth painting is the batik with hot wax that was just posted last week on this blog. Check out that post for more info about how it was done. When I see these five together, I think I really prefer the first one the most. Do you have a favorite? (I still regret having sold that first one.)

You'd think I'd be so tired of this painting by now, but I have plans for another approach --- or two or three dozen. Mike Bailey (click to check it out) has painted one still life over 90 times - so look out. I'm not anywhere close to that yet.

There are so many ways to approach this painting, and the only approach I've used so far is to try different techniques and design processes. I have yet to focus on an element of design as being more important that anything else --- and certainly texture would be the first element I would emphasize. And I haven't yet pushed the picture beyond the confines of realism. That's an aspect begging to be explored. And I don't remember ever painting the scene on YUPO, either. The things that await me in the studio....

But this next week I'll be away from the computer to challenge 15 other artists at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. We'll be using hot wax, four different rice papers, watercolor paints, fluid acrylics, canvas, and various inks as we explore other ways to create gorgeous batik artwork. It'll be fun to share some of their finished batiks here on my blog when I get back. See ya then.

MASKING TAPE FOR BATIK LOOK

Every autumn at the lake, people dismantle all their piers and store their boats on higher ground. The photo reference for this was taken one fall day after most people had closed up their cottages for the winter. This old shed holds promises of fun for next summer's season.

Red, yellow, and blue were used in this painting, mixed on the paper to create subtle changes of grays throughout the picture. Masking tape pieces were torn and placed where I didn't want any more color added. After each new value of colors was added, I'd wait until the paper was completely dry before adding the next shapes of masking tape to preserve the necessary existing values.

By the time the painting was finished, it was covered everywhere with pieces of tape, except in the darkest areas. Peeling off each small bit of tape took time, but when it was all off, the painting was finished.

I love to do this process because of the batik look that occurs where the paint creeps under the pieces of torn and cut masking tape. I also love puzzles, and painting this way is like working a big puzzle backwards. This painting is an oldie, but one we still have in our home. You can click on the image for an upclose view of the detail of the textures created by the tape and paint.

"SUMMER'S END" Transparent Watercolor on CP Crescent Board, 16 x 22"

MORE FUN WITH FLUID ACRYLICS

For some reason, I thought painting a big picture of pigeons would be fun to do. Here's what happened, in progression. Let me know what you think...... a super dumb idea or ???

Here are the background steps, shown above, but the miskit's been removed from the leaves. The leaves as well as the giant pigeons were miskited so I could wet the entire paper and let the paint flow without it getting on the pigeons or leaves. I worked the foreground in two pourings, covering most of it the second time with Phthalo Blue.

The upper portion of the painting was poured with a shadow-like edge created on the bottom of the horizontal shape. I added excess water to create blossoms in various areas, then as soon as it was almost dry, washed off the loose paint. Since the painting's 42 x 27," it was easiest to work on sections.

The post above shows the next step. On wet paper, I added more color to the leaf areas, made more blossoms and back runs, then after letting it dry a bit, blasted off whatever paint hadn't set up yet, creating the textures seen below. Check out Nick Simmons' blog - see side bar - to see more of his watercolor batik effect on his blog and web site.
The leaves shown above are just a close up of the leaves after layering of paint twice and spraying off twice to create the batik look. Initially, the background behind them was also treated with the same process.Above, the miskit is off the pigeons but new areas on their backs have been miskited that will remain white. Time to paint those pigeons.
Paint was added to both pigeons, but only the one on the left had back runs created and paint washed off of it. Click on the image to see the difference in textures of the two birds. The miskit's been removed from both birds.

At this point in the painting, I really began to question what in the world I was thinking --- painting PIGEONS??? Giant pigeons? These two birds each measure about 18 inches long.

Then I remembered. The very first memory I have of ever being afraid was when I was maybe three years old and playing in our backyard. Suddenly these HUGE birds landed near me. They had shiny, iridescent feathers and bobbed their heads in a goofy way. I flew up the back porch steps to the safety of my mom's arms. I do think those particular pigeons WERE at least 18 inches long, maybe even longer. I can certainly remember being very terrified.

Above is the nearly finished piece. Although I'd used some warm colors near the birds, the painting had no contrast of temperature other than the red orange eyeball of the 'lady' pigeon. Contrast can usually add some interest, and since this painting needed more pizazz, I popped some orange in the feathers. See below.

I'd guess I've faced my fears of those pigeons, just in time to visit St. Mark's square in a couple of weeks. Can't wait. Bring on those pigeons!

"PIGEON TOED?" Fluid Acrylics on 140#HP Arches 42 x 27"

SEEING RED

On a rainy Tuesday morning in August, the artists left their wet umbrellas outside on the deck before coming into the studio for class, unknowingly creating a painting ready to happen with those wet umbrellas. For the last couple of weeks, most of the class has been creating lively, exciting paintings inspired by the colors and shapes of those umbrellas.

My final sketch contained several minor adjustments to help improve the composition, and a value study helped me determine which shapes needed to be lighter, which ones darker, (which I forgot to follow at one point.) We'd decided to work with FLUID ACRYLICS this time - the OTHER watercolor! No one in the class had used them, and the challenge was on.

I'd recently watched Nicholas Simmon's new dvd again showing his expert use of fluid acrylics. Viewing it helped reinforce all the things he'd taught us when he was here at the studio last November for a week long workshop. We moved slowly to incorporate the same process and techniques that Nick demonstrated on his dvd.

Below is Step 1 - painting the deck area (background area.) This shows the area with the miskit removed. Fluid watercolor acrylic paints were poured onto wet paper. There are two pours of colors over the whole area, and I made sure that blossoms and run backs happened each time before spraying off the paint just before it dried. Nick calls this effect his 'watercolor batik' look, and it's a very cool way to make great textures. Some drizzles of water and paint were added to the deck boards to add more texture before the miskit was removed. Click on the picture to see textures better.

To see more detailed photos of another original umbrella painting, go to Rhonda Carpenter's blog at http://rhcarpenter.blogspot.com/. I forgot to take more pictures until I'd completed the painting, but Rhonda has posts about the succession of her painting on August 18, 19, 20, 27 plus today's, showing her completed masterpiece. I wish everyone could see it in real life. It's got a magnificent glow, and the colors dance off each other beautifully. She wasn't loving it until she cropped off one umbrella (which I liked.) She's gotta love it now.

The next step was to paint all the dark and blue umbrellas - (the middle ground areas.) I miskited any shapes and patterns that I wanted to remain white, then wet each area to be painted before charging in the colors. Back runs were encouraged again. Before the paint dried out completely, a blast from a sprayer washed off the still damp areas, creating more of the batik looking areas.

Knowing when to blast off the paint after making blossoms is one of the trickier parts of this process. Waiting until the 'blossom' areas were still a little shiny to blast off the fluid acrylics seemed to work best to create those batik spaces.

Popping in that bright color on the wet red umbrella panels, then spraying off the blossom areas again, made for a lively textured focal point. Each panel was done separately, and when they were all dry, I painted more red over the entire umbrella after wetting the whole red shape completely with water.

We used Nick's SEWING MACHINE STITCH to soften some edges, then drenched the entire painting with water before swishing color randomly throughout the painting. That helped to soften and unify the painting. A few more drizzles were added to the red umbrella, too.

After class was over, I added stronger color to one of the red panels and also placed a very light orange glaze on parts of the deck floor. Now I'm living with it for a while before I call it finished. A few more small areas may still need to be darkened. I've started another bigger painting using fluid acrylics and will post it when it's done.

If you want to explore some really great techniques using fluid acrylics, I'd recommned clicking on http://www.ccpvideos.com/page/CCP/CTGY/ARTNS to order Nick's dvd from Creative Catalyst Productions.

And THANK YOU, Marian, for bringing that red and orange umbrella that day. Purple wouldn't have worked (inside joke.)

"MARIAN'S RED UMBRELLA" Fluid Acrylics on 140#HP Arches, 16 x 21"

BATIK vs BATIK LOOK

For whatever reason, I like to paint the same picture several times using different techniques while expressing my feelings about the beauty I see. Our grandma used a sewing machine like this, but the reference for these pictures was taken in Sauder's Village in NW Ohio.

The first painting was created using torn masking tape to save areas before I painted layers of random colors over the whole paper. The second painting, also posted earlier in this blog, is a wax batik on watercolor paper, using watercolors instead of dyes, and it's three times as big as the first painting.

Both processes allow me to imagine from beginning to end just what the painting will look like. Since the paint's covered over gradaully, layer after layer, with either wax or tape, it's a mystery how it'll turn out until all the tape or wax is removed. It's like putting a puzzle together without seeing how it looks until it's all done.

I love good surprises, and maybe that's why I like these processes. Of course, there have been a few 'bad' surprises, too, using these techniques . . . goes with the territory of making art. Parts of the bad surprises can help make a good collage later maybe.

It's neat to see the different moods in each painting, even though they are of the same subject. I'll be painting this again soon.

Both are done with Transparent Watercolor and are in art collections.

BATIK LOOK ALIKE

Last week I posted the batik window I demo-ed during Craftsummer, painted from the same photo reference as this one. Today's post has a batik look, but it's done using masking tape as the preserver of colors and values, instead of using wax.

Actually, when a painting's all done, the wax is easier to iron off than the masking tape is to pull off. And the wax is much easier to put on than tearing little pieces of tape to fit each shape. But I love the results, so I think it's worth it.

Each time I use this photo reference, I like to change the quilt area to my liking. One of my long time good friends from way back in grade school bought this to hang in her family room, and I even get visiting privileges to see it (and her.)

"BETSY'S ROOM" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches, about 17 x 23" COLLECTED

BATIK, ETC.

A couple of weeks ago in Oxford, Ohio, at Miami University, sixteen women, mostly art teachers, met for a week to delve into the possibilities of using the wax batik process with transparent watercolor. This week I'll post a slide show of the creative works that each of them produced.

The first posted painting here is the piece I did partially as a batik demo during that unique week at Miami. The photo reference for this painting is one I've used several times because I love the shuttered window I'd photographed years ago at Sauder's Village in northwestern Ohio.

I'm also posting two other paintings I did of this same subject, one painted on YUPO and one done using a masking tape technique (rather than wax) to preserve shapes. I thought the comparison of the three different approaches would be interesting to see even though they have been posted before on this blog (along with another YUPO variation of this same subject.)

I'm sure I'll be painting this one again and again because I never loose interest in seeing what can be done with the play of lights and darks in the painting. All have been fun to do and have been painted during the last several years.

1st Painting above - Batik 15" x 20" COLLECTED

2nd Painting - Yupo COLLECTED

3rd Painting - Tape Technique

All created with transparent watercolor COLLECTED

MASA PAPER 'BATIK'

A batik-look can be achieved several ways without using wax on the paper. This painting was done on Masa paper, a type of rice paper.

Painting on Masa paper with transparent watercolor is easy to do. First, I squished and wrinkled the Masa into a snowball sized shape and placed it in clean water. After soaking it a minute or two, I removed it from the water and very carefully spread it out, laying it out flat on a clean white surface. When it's wet, Masa tears easily, but when it does tear, it can be patched back together later when it's glued it down.

While the Masa was still fairly wet, I splashed light valued, warm temperature watercolors over the page, taking care not to brush the paper more than once in any one spot. After adding a few cool colors for balance, I let the paper dry.

After sketching the building, etc., on the dried Masa paper, I painted in the darker values to define the subject matter. Much of the original 'first wash' colors still show in this painting where the values are medium and light. White acrylic ink was used to highlight the flowers and a few other spots.

The only problem with painting on Masa is that it 'balls up' like a bad sweater if you paint on an area too much. Otherwise, it's very, very easy to get great results using this technique. It's a good surface for beginners to try. The crinkly look resulting from the wadded up Masa paper certainly lends a special texture to this old Italian villa. To see a master's work on Masa paper, check out Cheng Khee Chee's work - awesome!

When the Masa was dry, I used methyl-cellulose wall paper paste and glued it down to a sheet of Arches 140# paper, smoothing and flatten out any wrinkles. Some artists like to leave some wrinkles.

In a couple of weeks, many artists in my classes will have the privilege of learning another more sophisticated 'batik-look' technique from Nicholas Simmons, one of the major names in contempory watercolor. He'll be here teaching in the studio for a week, and we can't wait! Just last week, he received the TOP AWARD at the National Watercolor Society's annual show. Way to go, Nick! He does a great job explaining his process on Wet Canvas (see side bar.) My friend, Rhonda Carpenter, 'introduced' me to Wet Canvas and Nick's awesome paintings. Thanks, Rhonda.

I never did title the villa painting. Titles are just hard to do sometimes. Finished size is 16 x 22" approx. Here's another painting I did on Masa paper with the batik look, done in the same way.

A final note - no rice paper is made of rice! Go figure???


"A RIDE TO WORK" on Masa 19 x 14"