I painted a large piece on Thursday. This one may end up getting cropped a lot. There’s a tiny bit that still needs to be done (there are dew beads that need detailing). I actually erased a lot on this one (good thing it was on really good paper). The paper is not one I care for much. Fabriano Artistico has some wonderful qualities. Erasing is actually very difficult because the paper sucks the pigment in and keeps it. There is not such thing as staining pigments – EVERY pigment is staining. I like some of the accidents that happened in this one and will purposely use them in future paintings.

Fridays work was a bit unusual for me. I rarely include any figures or humans in my watercolors. I do like the perspective the figure gives to this piece. The Caribbean waters are one of my favorite things to paint.

One of those days I also made my 4th attempt at a mono print. This time I used the Createx printing inks. They are water based like the other inks I’ve been using. I didn’t enjoy working with them and they didn’t seem to cover the plate as well. Then again, I’ve had them sitting in a drawer for several years. Next time I’m going to try my oil based inks.

I rarely make long posts. I’ve been a busy bee. I was out of town for a couple of days but still kept up with the challenge except for one day. To make up for it I did two pieces on one day. Today I actually did about 4 pieces. I’m going to break this down bit by bit.

Last Thursday I did two pieces that weren’t paintings. Other mediums can definitely influence your painting both in quality and style. You can learn from any creative endeavors. My semi-e group contracted Kimonos instead of painting them.

The next day I did got back to painting. I took a photo of the Grand Canyon many many moons ago. I’ve always wanted to paint it. I started off with the tree a dark green, because that was what was in the photo. But given the limited palette of the rest of the photo, it just didn’t look right. So I made it more of a silhouette and used a dark blue. It makes for a much more cohesive painting.

I went away for a long weekend but took my paints and brushes with me so I could keep up with my “Painting” a day challenge. The left was kinda of an urban sketch with watercolor. The right is a landscape that I already painted once but in water soluble oils. I like the water color better.

Yesterday I must have been in an odd state of mind. The two paintings once again illustrate that just because you have a photograph in front of you doesn’t mean you have to follow it to the T. I love the title I decided on for the pears. “Leaning Toward Love”.

Sadly my latest efforts were awful. Failure teaches us though, in many ways. Today I was attempting to revisit a technique that I loved back in my college days. What I learned was that I need to do some research to refresh my memory. I was attempting to do some landscape mono prints. At first I tried using acrylics on my plate, because I don’t have the etching inks I used in college. Then I tried using water soluble oils. They are closer to the inks. In the meantime I remembered that I would wet printing paper before pulling the print. Those two changes helped a bit, but it still didn’t work.

Even though I’d done the above, I decided to go back to a piece I started in January. I just wasn’t happy with it. Even though I feel it’s a better painting, I’m still not happy with it. So more work some day.

I decided May was a good time to do a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. It’s been a while since I’ve done one. I added an additional twist to it by using my 30 min time glasses. I’ve got a nice pile of pictures to pull from and my tools are ready and waiting each day. The first 3 days are complete – two watercolors and a wool painting. Today will be another wool painting.

I’ve had a great week. I finished several pieces. Some had been languishing in the studio for months and some that have only a few weeks. Some were even already on my wall, but I knew that before they went public they would have to have some tweaks made. Two were actually a single piece for years. It was one of my over done mixed media pieces. I’ve gotten much better about not over doing them.

Well, obviously not keeping up with my Blog. The Holidays always do a number on my time management skills (which as I age deteriorate regularly).

I’ve been entering shows, sometimes with new work, sometimes with old work. Most of the time they request that work be no older than 3 years and most of the time I obey. Occasionally, though, if a piece fits the theme I’ll go ahead and enter something older. After all, it’s not like I don’t still want to sell it! The pieces I’ve shared with the public lately:

It’s an addiction, obviously, my art buying. I purchased a print of Elaine Austin’s, Janet Rogers watercolor, Jl Kette (in Melrose) Sumi-e bamboo, Kathryn Heise mini watercolors, Megan Reid, , Rosanne Egidio. I’m always adding to my collections, so I’m sure I’ll be sharing some more.

It’s been a while since I won an award this piece recently won in a JAG show. It’s a funky piece that makes you go “Hmmm??”, I hope. It’s called “Which Way Is Up? I received a Juror’s Choice award (Honorable Mention).

I’ve always loved all sorts of textile art. Felting and weaving are some of my favorite’s. Art quilts are a long time passion given that my mother was a quilter. The first is by Candace McCaffery (in Melrose) the second is by Amy Dove, number three is by Stacy Streeter and the my most recent was purchased at the Cummer and is by Billy MacCray. Isn’t she lovely! Well they ALL are.

I’ve been working on this one for a few weeks and as soon as I finished it, I realized that there is no way it will be accepted. Sadly it wasn’t as cathartic as I’d hoped either. The venue is a business so they aren’t likely to want an overtly political piece being displayed in the office. Ah well, it was in my head and had to get out, I guess; even if it didn’t relieve my anxieties.