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.

COLLAGE OF WATERCOLORS

Old paintings which end up in the disaster drawer still have potential if you tear them up to use in collages like this one was done. All that's required is some matte medium to 'glue' down the torn or cut pieces plus an eye for finding the pieces and shapes with the right value and color for your painting.

Our show in Middletown, Ohio, will hang through a week from this Saturday, and this was the first painting that sold. Patt Belisle, their director, recently told me that several other people were also interested in this same collaged painting.

I do not understand why there's such a strong appeal for a painting made out of failed paintings, but it's happened every time I've made a collage in this way. (When you try this, use only the freshest, prettiest parts of the disaster paintings to tear up and paste into your new painting.) Each collaged piece has sold immediately, yet the wonderful Italian woman who bought this one did not even realize it was collaged. I did 'cheat' and add some splatters for more textural interest to the finished collage.

The post on January 28 is also a collage of a zebra made from old paintings. Check it out.

"MOCKINGBIRD SONG" Old, Transparent Watercolor Paintings, Torn, Rearranged, and Glued Down on 140#CP Arches, 16 x 12" COLLECTED

ACRYLICS AND COLLAGE

Fluid acrylics painted over collaged pieces of washi papers helped enhance the textures I wanted in this painting. I used rubbing alcohol to rub off some of the dried acrylics to reveal the colors and textures underneath. This painting is on canvas, which makes it easy for the viewer to reach out and touch the textures.

When I started this, I had no preconceived idea of what I was going to paint - my favorite way of painting for sure. Letting the painting lead me is lots of fun and often very exhilarating, allowing expression I could not reach any other way. I also like letting the viewer decide what they see instead of defining it clearly. What do you see?

"OPEN YOUR HEARTS AND SING" Fluid Acrylics over Collaged Rice Papers on Canvas 18 x14" Collected

RECYCLING

Small strips of paper, including rice papers, torn into various sizes, plus a lot of mat medium used as glue, helped create this thirsty creature. There's nothing better than a stack of failed paintings to use for a collage, either. The trick is to find the perfect match of value and color for each shape of the new painting.

By the time I was done, some areas of this 'painting' were raised off the paper a whole lot because I'd kept adding more and more pieces to get the look I wanted. Collage is freeing for me to do, but incredibly messy. I usually look like Charlie Schultz's 'Pig Pen' by the time I'm done. There are bits of papers EVERYWHERE plus my fingers are thickly coated with dried mat medium.

In a workshop I once took, someone asked the master of collage, Gerald Brommer, how to know when there was too much collage on the paper. His reply - When it's too heavy to pick up! I enjoyed his workshop very much and highly recommend him as an excellent teacher.

I like this whole collage process because the final painting is actually made up of small pieces of many, many, many painting attempts that didn't turn out right. Recycled disasters!

"LONG DRINK OF WATER" Transparent Watercolor on Assorted, Torn Watercolor Surfaces, Glued Down with Acrylic Mat Medium to Arches 300#CP 11 x 19" SOLD

ACRYLIC & COLLAGE

"DOWN RIVER" on stretched canvas - Collage and Acrylic 42 x 30" SOLD

Traditional tube acrylics have come a long way in the past 40 years. This painting, done on canvas, was first covered with several layers of small pieces of various textured washi papers. Tube acrylics, diluted down with matte medium, finished the painting, and although the transparency of watercolor is lacking with tube acrylics, I still liked the vibrancy of the painting. The painting received 'Best of Show' at The Fitton Art Center in Hamilton, Ohio, in 2005.

One of my good friends returned from a trip to the Grand Canyon, and after she showed me a slide show of her adventures, I was inspired to create my impressions of the colors and textures from memory. I need to go to the canyon and see it myself, I know.

COLLAGE AGAIN

A painting can turn in to a political or religious statement for an artist, as a way for the artist to express personal views or experiences without speaking aloud. This painting began with no thought of that in mind but grew in a direction that I liked.

The bank of snow and the bold sun in the hazy winter sky started me on a journey in this painting. The stone wall, mixed with so many different shapes and colors and diverse textures of rocks, (people) symbolized what I believe has built a lot of America into what she is today.

As I added more rocks, I also added pieces of printed collage, words, and small pictures that helped deliver the message of the painting. Many words, like heritage, corporate casual, virtue, tax, progress, abortion, war, save, money, new car, and insurance, are collaged into the painting. I photo copied part of a dollar bill, a dime, a picture of Marilyn Monroe, and pasted them down, along with a piece of the American flag, a feather, a drawing of an arrowhead, and anything else that would add to what I wanted to say. Most things are partially hidden.

The deep snow appears to be partially covering some tombstones. A Bald Eagle flies in front of a rising moon, toward a dormant tree. The wall appears to be well made. Is it? Will it hold up? What's the cost to keep it in good shape? What's missing?

"AMERICAN EULOGY" on Strathmore Aquarius II 80#, watercolor, conte crayon, collaged materials 19 x 26"

TEXTURE REIGNS IN COLLAGE

This summer I took a short workshop with an Indiana artist, Peggy Brown, AWS. She's an excellent teacher and loves watercolor, incorporating a bit of collage into her very subdued paintings. She also sews spectacular art quilts which include her watercolors painted right on the fabric!

My work shown here is a result of using the process she taught. Transparent watercolor, pieces of loose papers and other items pressed onto the wet paper (then removed when the paint had dried,) as well as shaved charcoal and conte crayons all add to the effects. A very small amount of the painting is also collaged from pieces of my own painted papers secured to the painting with mat medium.

"PASSING" on Strathmore Aquarius II 80# 15 x 22"

COLLAGE WITH WATERCOLOR

Collage can enhance a painting in many ways. The leaves as well as the gray and brown band above them are collaged pieces. Most of the other textures were either painted in or enhanced by shaving conte crayon onto the wet watercolor paper. Pieces of misc. papers were placed on the wet paint then removed after they dried, creating some subtle, special textures, too.

There's no acrylic paint on this one, but I did use acrylic matte medium to secure the collage pieces. As I painted this, my thoughts began to dwell on the beauty of our country and the wisdom of those people in the past who knew how to care for it so well.

"BEFORE" Transparent Watercolor and Conte Crayons on Strathmore Aquarius 80# with some collage

COLLAGE

After taking an excellent Gerald Brommer workshop on collage and watercolor/acrylics, I returned home and began this piece. Under the paint are several layers of pieces of paper torn from a variety of textured rice papers which were glued down with mat medium.

The fun began as I painted over the then dry and bumpy surface of those rice papers. Textures peeked out everywhere. Using rubbing alcohol, I lifted off the acrylic paint in certain areas to reveal more nuances of colors and texture underneath. (Click on the pix to see the textures up close.)

It was another painting that was hard to stop painting on. The photo reference was taken in Malta where my sister once lived. It could certainly be anywhere in Italy, too, where texture and ancient are married forever!

"AROUND THE CORNER" on Arches 140# CP with Collaged Rice Papers, Watercolor, and Acrylic 14 x 20"