
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Kaleidoscope of Koi

Friday, March 30, 2012
I Could Paint Red Shoes for a Year!



Monday, March 26, 2012
Day Two Complementary Color Paintings

Sunday, March 25, 2012
Complementary Color Painting Workshop


Tuesday, March 20, 2012
On My Drawing Table

I'm also having fun because I am using the Icarus heated drawing board to blend and layer my colors. Using only colored pencils, I start with a color on the cool side, add a second layer of color on the heated side, back on the cool side I burnish with a brush, then back to the heated side to add more layers of color if needed. Our New England weather has begun warming up this week but in previous weeks, the Icarus board has served a double purpose, it also keeps my hands & arms warm on those cold, damp days!!! Some days I want to just lay on top of it and warm up ;-) I'm not sure that Ester who lives in Southern California realizes that her board can also serve to keep cold New England artists warm!
This colored pencil drawing still needs work. I asked my students for comments and they gave me some good suggestions. I asked my husband for his comments and he said "well ... it's abstract ... " Anyway, I'm having fun with it but have been working on this piece since March 1st and eager to finish and move on to the next project.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Thinking Spring!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Experiments with Colored Pencil and Varnish

First I unframed the piece and adhered just the drawing to a 12x16" Ampersand Claybord with Grafix double tack mounting film adhesive. Next I sealed the drawing with Lascaux UV Protect spray, let it dry and then sprayed two coats of Krylon Kamar Varnish to seal and protect the drawing. I thought the spray might darken the colors but they were vibrant enough and remained so. The drawing sat for 24 hours and next I brushed on several coats of Golden UVLS Polymer Varnish Gloss letting each one dry in between. Here came the problem; I wasn't careful enough when brushing on the varnish, not only was I getting tiny air bubbles but I was getting brush marks. I tried to smooth out one "gloppy" area after the varnish had begun to dry and thus ended up with brush marks. Because the surface is so glossy, if I held the piece to the light, one could see all the imperfections. I learned that you have to be very, very careful when applying the Golden UVLS Polymer Varnish, any imperfection on the surface can be easily seen and detracts from the artwork.
I remembered that when I called Golden company tech support, the person I spoke to told me to be sure the artwork was sealed and protected with a spray varnish before brushing on the polymer varnish. The polymer varnish is water based and he told me that for conservation purposes, if museum quality artwork needed to be cleaned and re-preserved years from now, the polymer varnish could be easily washed off, the piece cleaned and preserved as the layer of spray varnish would not wash off and preserve it.
I was very frustrated with my piece so I took it to the sink and proceeded to wash off all the layers of the polymer varnish, holding my breath and just hoping I wouldn't damage the artwork. All of the polymer varnish washed off but the piece looked wet and cloudy for about a day. I was worried and discouraged I might have ruined it but was pleasantly surprised when I came back to the studio two days later and found the drawing perfectly dry, looking like it had before I started. The double tack mounting film kept the drawing perfectly adhered to the claybord also. I was really happy! I began again brushing on coats of the polymer varnish, much more carefully this time. I made sure I diluted the varnish exactly two parts varnish to one part water and let each coat dry before I applied the next. I didn't count how many coats I applied but I think probably about 6 or 8. I'm very excited because I accomplished what I set out to do, with a little bump in the road in which I learned from. I'm ordering a frame and will exhibit the piece in my studio or in a gallery and will most interested in viewers' comments.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Exciting News, Colored Pencil Recognition!

The strength of an America’s Cup flotilla is powerful as it sails to face unpredictable waters. So it is with blood donors. Collectively, they are saving lives for individuals they will likely never meet, providing them with the strength on what is often an unpredictable journey to regain their health, a journey that would not otherwise be possible.
Second item of news: I am thrilled to be featured on February 29th on a fun Rhode Island blog called I(heart)Rhody which is all about arts, food, events, news and photography throughout Rhode Island. They have published an interview with me as well as photos of my work.
Thirdly, I was also excited today when another artist called me and gave me some news that I missed. I have a piece in the Newport Art Museum Annual Juried Member Exhibition and this year every piece of artwork was accepted and hung floor -to-ceiling salon style. I've heard quite a bit of grumbling from other artists because their work was hung up near the high ceilings, they feel it cannot be appreciated. Somehow I got lucky and my piece "Sea Foam" is hung perfectly at eye level in fabulous light. What more can an artist ask for? Well, one of my artist friends called today and said congratulations, it seems that my piece is in a tie for second place having received many votes for the People's Choice Award. I completely missed my name as I read through the list of awards. Viewers can vote until May 14 so I may or may not stay in the running, but for now I'm excited especially since there are so many many works to choose from and I like seeing my name on the awards list!
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