shared visions art

Sometimes it’s hard to tell. In my early days I was so excited to “finish” a piece that I would frame it right away. Invariably there would be that one annoying thing that had me cutting off the back paper, prying up the framers points, and taking it out of the mat and frame to “fix it”. Some times it worked sometimes it didn’t This is one I will look at for a while before deciding if it’s done. It is also one that I am very likely to paint again only larger. As soon as I started on the flowers, I realized it was stupid of me to be painting this as an 8 x 10 1/2.

As the folks at Monty Python use to say, “And now for something completely different…… This is the beginning of an abstract mixed media piece. It is still inspired by Italia. You can see the terra-cotta roofs, the golden buildings, the vineyards and olive groves. What else do you spy that speaks of Tuscany? Or ancient objects? The next layer will actually be some of my receipts from my trip. Why not? Then some more paint perhaps, and then some more collage with special things from the trip. I have no idea yet wether it will be a vertical or a horizontal. I was taught first by Joyce Gabiou that you should never fall in love with any part of you painting when working in layered abstracts. I actually didn’t learn it very well way back then (7 years ago?). Since then I’ve taken enough classes and done enough abstracts that I now understand the concept.

Taking pictures of my work as I’m working on it, has definitely help me become a better painter and mixed media artist. At least one more day to go on this one, my next piece will be very different, but still Italia inspired. Stay tuned…….!

Here is the step by step sheet about pulling a sheet of paper. For those who don’t know the even more basic fact that you use a screen on a frame to put the pulp in and drain out the excess water, there is a picture of an “official” one (from https://arnoldgrummer.com) and a picture of some of my home made ones. The home made ones are made with cheap shaped frames from a craft store or embroidery hoops and window screening from the hardware store..

It’s always good to try something new. It’s good for the brain and good for the soul. If you have never tried making paper you missing out on a glorious and fun art. This applies wether you are an artist or not. Here are some pieces I made today. Tomorrow I will post the how to sheet.

I didn’t get much done today, because I exhausted myself and my creativity teaching other artists how to make paper. Something you should try if you never have. More about that later.

I also want to go real slow with the roses. They can’t all be busy and fussy. In fact I don’t want any of them to be too fussy. Yet it is the pretty layer upon layer upon layer that I like about them. So this is a part of the painting that could potentially take two or three days to finish. Especially after taking this picture I notice the three lower roses are line up in too neat a row!

So I’m thinking you all can guess more about this painting now. I’m happy with it so far. Hopefully I can render the delicate pink roses that were there to my satisfaction. I loved the contrast between the rough rock and the delicate flowers. I took a close up of this same wall that is going to be a great back drop for a mixed media piece some day. So Robert Leedy was the closest, having guessed grape vines.

So here is my beginning for today. It’s not as far along because I was busy taking a free webinar from #Alyson Stanfield at Art Biz Coach . She is the only Art Marketing guru that I trust completely. She always offers valuable free information along with her Seminars at a cost (always reasonably priced). She is a consummate professional.

I would love for every one to take a guess as to what this is going to be….

I’m not the least bit bored yet of painting from my trip photos, but today I while painting I was thinking about those artists who paint the same thing over and over again. I’m not sure I could do that. Of course, I do paint Spring Lake over and over. It is ever changing though. I guess you have to make it change if you are painting a subject that doesn’t do so on it’s own. Here is a painting of a vista we stopped at on the way to Castalinna.

This is a painting from a compostite of two photos. I often try to take panoramics of the scenes I am looking at. Sometimes they consist of only two shots and sometimes they may be up to 4 or 5.