Abstract Painting Workshop

 I always like to try new techniques in art because I believe we learn from each different medium. I decided to participate in a 2-day abstract acrylic painting workshop titled Intuitive Art taught by Theresa Girard. Theresa is quite an accomplished artist and excellent instructor which really helped me because (as you know) my art is very detailed and realistic. I really hoped this class would help me loosen up a bit and experiment with shapes, value, color and line. Above is a black, white and three shades of gray value study, 12x12". I think it's okay although I'm not sure what to do with it next.

 This pieced together study is an exercise in charcoal in which Theresa instructed us to move in make certain marks with charcoal and then move away from the painting. We did this several times, in and out making various lines, marks and shapes. In the end we cut them up and reassembled the squares. I like what I've got started here and plan to do something with it.

The other three photos are of the various paintings done by students at the end of the second day. We walked around and Theresa critiqued our work and gave us suggestions. I won't show you mine, it's a big blob right now! I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop, learning from Theresa and also learning from my colleagues in the class. I definitely would take another abstract workshop, while I was extremely tired from thinking so hard after the two days, I enjoyed the journey to abstraction!

Big Fish Painting

I worked on this painting in the early fall of 2015 but I'm just getting around to posting it. I had seen a similar fish painting in a store, really liked it and thought about purchasing it. An artist friend came over to my house so I showed her a photo of the painting I liked and said I was thinking about buying it. She suggested I buy a big canvas and paint a fish myself, she said "what do you have to lose? Just try it." So that's exactly what I did. I bought a 36x36" canvas and used the photo of the fish painting I liked just as REFERENCE. I changed the fish to make it my own and really had fun with it. 

My painting is really a fun, decorative piece painted in acrylic. The first photo shows how I started with a very basic underpainting. I mixed black and ultramarine blue for the background and a beige for the fish. Next I added colored glazes to the fish mixing my acrylic with gel medium to make it transparent. I applied the paint on the fish with brushes and sponges. I had the most fun with the eye because it is so definitive and strong. The second photo is the fish in progress and the third shows the finished painting. The last picture is my finished painting hanging over my couch. I love to look at it every day and think about what I learned while painting in acrylic.

Mural Repair Work

I was asked to repair a mural that was painted in a clients' home, the signature at the bottom noted it was painted around 1952 or 1953 and hadn't been touched since then. The paint had begun to chip and flake off in several different areas and the owners were hoping it could be repaired. I've painted a few murals but am not versed in the best way to repair chipped paint so I conferred with a fellow artist, experienced in mural painting and received suggestions on how to proceed. First step was to carefully wash the entire mural surface and there was a layer of a grimy substance especially near the top which had most likely developed over the years.

Next I sanded off the areas that were flaking, which subsequently lead to more flaking paint as I sanded so I needed to be extra careful not to disturb more paint. For sanding, I used very fine sandpaper, 320 grit. Pictured below are the several problem areas.

Once the areas were sanded and clean, I sealed and preserved them with a layer of Liquitex Matte Varnish, to stop any more flaking and preserve the surface to be painted. Once the varnish was dry, my task was to mix the correct colors and touch up the chipped areas. I used several brands of acrylic paints and added Golden Molding Paste added to some of the raised areas to create texture.

This is the finished piece, repainted areas and a coat of Liquitex Matte Varnish applied to the entire mural to seal and protect it for future years.

Gyotaku: Fish Printing

Last week I took a class in fish printing, the Japanese term is Gyotaku. Living near the water and having a husband and friends who fish, I have wanted to learn how to do this for a long time. It's really quite simple, all you need are some smelly dead fish from the local fish or grocery store, acrylic paints and rice paper or white practice paper.

We started by rinsing and drying the fish with paper towels and then lying it on newspaper to brush on the paints. Our instructor gave us palettes and our choice of acrylic paints to mix or use pure. We used soft brushes and sponges to paint our fish from head to tail, spreading out the fins and painting them also. I found that if the fish was still wet or applying too much paint would make it run or smear  when I printed the fish onto the paper. Our instructor suggested that we use paint colors that were similar to the fish's natural colors but I chose to think out of the box and my favorite turned out to be the red fish.

After the paint is applied, the paper is put down onto the fish and gently with our hands, we pressed the paper starting at the center and pressing out to the head and tail. We also carefully pressed around all edges in order to print the fins. This has to be done carefully so the paper doesn't slide and quickly so the paint doesn't dry. If I took too long, the paint would stick and tear the paper, especially the rice paper because it is soft and fibrious.

This was just a basic fish printing class but there are other techniques and ways to prepare. Some artists will lay the fish on a soft concave surface and pin the fins open or stuff material under the gills to keep the body from caving in.

Afterwards I painted the eye on each fish with acrylic paint and where I needed more color, I touched up with watercolor paint.

Jump Starting My Creativity for the New Year!

While I am still working on the colored pencil piece of the window and also a very new piece of a nest, I've decided to energize my creativity by working on something other than colored pencil drawings. The goal is to jump start my brain into thinking in different modes of creativity and push myself to think in different ways. Where to start? I bought several books on collage, encaustic and mixed media pieces, read and reread parts and thought about how to begin for several weeks. The encaustic equipment is set up in the photo but I've decided to just start with mixed media collage and become familiar with more abstract compositions and layering materials before I start adding the wax into the mix.

I've mentioned in a previous post that I am cleaning out my parents' house (the big dig) and finding all kinds of wonderful old items that have inspired me to put them into a form of artwork. It's been cold and dreary in January but I am having fun in my studio, I've laid out all of my treasures on my work tables. Some of my treasures include old magazines, stamps, my mother's childhood piano music book and of course lots of old photos. Other than the stamps, I am using photocopies of everything in my collages so I don't ruin the original treasures.

Here is another view of my work tables and I'm also playing with folding the pages of books, two are shown on the left. Still deciding if I would consider them finished or add something to them, for now they sit and wait.

 I was inspired by a Western Union telegram my mother received for her birthday years ago. I added it and the backs of old postcards into the background of this piece, then washed with acrylic paint. My mother (photo on the right) loved to write letters and correspond with friends, it was an important part of her life. The most difficult part is composition, how to incorporate the photos and other elements and create an interesting composition without making the piece look like just a lot of scraps glued together. This is my first collage, it's on rag illustration board which buckles a little from the acrylic and gel medium.

My second piece consists of my mothers sheet music in the background and a wedding photo of an unidentified couple in the center. I found this photo among my mother's things and I have no idea who this couple is but what struck me is how young they are and how serious. I've added an old wedding invitation I found written in German and other elements.  This piece is on a canvas panel, I like the texture of the canvas showing through in the background.