Eclipse - Part II

Every experiment leads to something!
My challenge to paint of, about or from the eclipse was
an interesting process.  I know my next documentation of
such an event will roll out a bit differently.

happy eclipse viewers

After posting last week's blog explaining what I was trying to do, I got back to business in the studio.

I'm happy enough with the results to move along to something new.  BUT, I did learn a lot about myself and my approach to a more abstract piece:

* I need to give it a lot more thought as opposed to merely diving it, planning helps even when one diverts from the original plan,

* for me, less is more!  More is congestion.  Stop while I am ahead,

* don't feel constrained by a literal interpretation, narrow the message,  

AND

* get back on the horse before I forget how to proceed!

Here are three of the pieces I worked on:

"Ain't No Sunshine"

mixed media on board, 3.5" x 16"

available

"Moon Shadow, Moon Shadow"

mixed media, 8" x 6", framed

available

"Just Passing By"

mixed media on paper, 12" x 9" framed

available

I was absolutely thrilled to discover that my sister had been moved to glaze one of her pottery bowls with a tribute to the eclipse (but neglected to send me the photo) and that my photographer friend Gene, of Gene's Scenes, had done some gorgeous work of it.  There's no time limit for reacting to this phenomenon so get your art on and share the results.  I'm betting that we will benefit in the near future from poets, musicians and dancers who also feel moved to react in some way.

HAPPY IN THE SHADOWS,

Cindy

Feeling Grounded...with art

I wondered last week if I could ever salvage my "mixed media gone poorly."  Making several more passes at it, I think I have decided to call this one done.  The photo does not show the small ties of raffia on the sticks because I have to make the picture before I spray a finish on the canvas or I get a huge glare. And the ties, alas, had to be done after the finish.

Nature's Floor

24 x 12, gallery wrapped canvas, mixed media

Have you ever slowed down long enough to just sit and study the ground?  I am always amazed at how much can be found in such a small space of earth if I take the time to closely look.  Sometimes, when I am pondering deep and wide, I find myself picking up a stick and drawing patterns in the dirt or mixing up all the contents I've discovered.  And, left to my own devises, I often will begin arranging and re-arranging the sticks and stones into little no-nonsense patterns.  My wish is that you have some time to do likewise this weekend.  Enjoy.

Doodling in Color,

Cindy

STICKS and STONES and...MIXED MEDIA??

(it ain't as easy as it looks...)

The term "Mixed Media" is all the rage right now.  Technically, it is appropriate to use the term when more than one media (i.e. oil, acrylic, collage, pastel) are used in one piece.  Popularly, it has come to also include lots of non-traditional art materials such as nuts, bolts, wires and scraps of wood.  When someone gathers up lots of "found" materials and creates something intriguing, it is appropriately referred to as "assemblage" (easily enough, they assembled the piece not painted it).  

This is just to put us all, painters and non-painters, on equal footing.  In case you haven't noticed, there is a lot of crappy mixed media out there.  The phrase "my grandchild could do that" comes to mind.  Just because it is fun to make and frees one's inner spirit does not mean that everyone else will consider it art.  Whether something is photo-realistic, abstract, or mixed media it should still adhere to the time proven ingredients of decent art: composition, color, eye direction, range of value etc etc.

So are all those wonderful, carefree and intriguing pieces easy to replicate? Well, just try it!!  I needed a change of pace this week so decided it would be "mixed media."

Here are two beginnings: 

both are on stretched canvas

12" x 24"

begun in similar styles with two differing color palettes

I wanted go "organic" and I wanted to do two at a time with different color palettes and yet with the similarity of starting with a canvas divided up into equal squares.  The beginning stages are kind of fun...just let the ideas flow because ultimately you are going to cover up most of the early layers anyway.

Above you see acrylic, spray ink, and papers on a gessoed canvas.

As pieces and parts come together it gets slightly more complicated.  In other words, suddenly you have a compositional dilemma to contend with...if the eye does not flow, if there is no center of interest....uh oh.  I am not satisfied (therefore not finished) with this one.  It has no real depth or direction.  Admittedly, the parts that I am attaching (sticks and rocks) are only glued right now, I want to draw attention to them with more interesting ways of adhering.

This detail shows wire wraps on the stones and I think raffia will tie the sticks.  Still, nothing really pops out of the piece or holds your attention.  Definitely needs more editing.  But the nice thing about mixed media is that corrections are part of the visual intrigue, so a few more layers is not a bad thing:  I'm not giving up yet!

My second piece got ignored for a while as I concentrated on the other. It will be a challenge to stay organic in this color palette but I did find some feathers I had from a parrot in these exact colors.  As you can see, it is still a hodge-podge of interesting parts all waiting to be brought together into some cohesive layout.  

I don't know if mixed media is my "gig" because I tend to fall in love with little parts that I  can't bear to cover up for the sake of harmony.  I prefer the method of working out a composition first and laying down only whats needed to achieve it.  But now and again it is nice to change things up and start with a bunch of "pretty" editing to achieve a composition.  Not easy!

So don't be fooled: like any other field of art there is great, good and baaaad (and debatable) mixed media.  Above are some examples of "bad" headed towards "good."  I'll let you know when they get there.

MIXing it UP,

Cindy

"The Bath" Day #28

I have not done a nude in a long time, trust me, it is not like riding a bike: you do forget!  and never having done one with Mr. Lefty I was in for some frustration.  But I decided to finish it no matter what and, better later than never, here it is.

"The Bath"

10 x 5, antique music mounted on masonite

mixed media

This figure started as a sketch, got transferred to the board, began in pastel, moved to colored pencil and finished in acrylic.  I just could not get any "slip" on this mounted paper and thus the left hand would not slide properly....you had to be there I guess.  Anyway, I drug my arm through it, noted that her legs were too long (to match the photo anyway) and then wondered why I chose the pose.  All in a day's work.

Random notes:  They say every painting is a self portrait (especially figures and portraits) so since I have looong legs and small feet I decided to leave them as they were.  ALSO, I remembered the lovely renderings by Degas of women in their bath and with the quick suggestion of a tub of sorts decided to name this after the series done by Edgar de Gas.

I was hoping this detail would do a better job of showing the colors.

The lightest area is really a pink, the mid tone is closer to lavender-blue and of course, the dark shows well as violet.  Often between the camera and the computer the colors do not reproduce well.

Two more days left of the challenge!  Again, if you wish to peek in on the work of others in the 30 in 30 just go to: www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com.  And if you have a bathroom to hang this in you can let me know.

Cindy

En Pointe: Day 26 of Colorful & Original Off Hand

I really wanted to try more ballet shoes...and mix it up a bit.  So, with a little help from Mr. Righty I managed to make some boards with this old sheet music on it.  (Actually it is amazing how much you can do without the help of the dominate hand when forced to...feet, elbows and available other objects do come into play!)

En Pointe

10 x 5 mixed media on board

$30.00 - frame and shipping additional

I started to leave it at pencil and well, you know me, more is more, so I just kept adding and in the end I had used acrylic, pencil, pen, pastel and collage.  Mixed Media.  It is all sealed up nice and tight and needs no glass.  Enjoy a few more pics....hubby home and wants a play date so I am off the computer!!

Send me an email if you know someone who would enjoy this small piece...no time to link to a sale spot yet!

Details Can Be Abstract

For some time now I have been painting trees: their trunks, their bark, their shape and their leaves.  I love the body language of trees and I also love how the repetition of certain details becomes abstract when seen apart from the whole of the tree.  Slowly I am beginning to paint other things but I have a few more to share from this particular series.

"Sweetgum"

graphite and acrylic on cradeled board

16 x 20

 

The sweetgum tree intrigues me mainly because of the fascinating little seed pods it puts out which are miserable to step on in bare feet.  Nevertheless I continue to gather these odd little balls since I find them very interesting.  I think I painted this entire piece just so I could showcase the tiny little sample hidden in the "treasure box" tucked onto the lower left hand of the painting.  The trunk of the tree is one of those repetitious details that is almost abstract when zeroed in on alone.  I also find the dark and light patterns of leaves on a full grown tree rather abstract in nature when squinted at.

Anyway, this is my interpretation of a Sweetgum Tree, it's leaves, pods, bark and overall shape.

 

"Sweetgum" detail

box open

 

And here is what the box opens to reveal.  You just can't improve on the design of Mother Nature, can you?  Framing this piece will be a real challenge as I just see everything competing with the art...oh well, who said the artistic challenges end when you sign your name?  I'll have some fun with it.  And if you think of a better title for the piece, please, please share....some days they are so elusive!



So Much Depends....

The Red Wheelbarrow

        William Carlos Williams

so much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens.

I am often asked where I get ideas for paintings.  "Everywhere," is my usual answer.  Sometimes it is a new place I have been or something I am curious about.  And every once in a while something crosses my path and I need to drop everything and paint from its inspiration.  Such was the case recently when my good friend Claire reminded me of one of her favorite poems by William Carlos Williams.  She said that my recent painting of the solitary yellow canoe on the lake dock had reminded her of it.  I knew the poem and ironically it fit with all that I have been learning this summer about farms. So I really did drop everything else to see how I could make art based on the thoughts of this short but powerful piece of poetry.



So Much Depends

12" x 24" mixed media

on board

As I learn more about the life of farmers I am realizing that indeed, so much does depend on that symbolic tool: the red wheelbarrow.  Not only did the health of the crops depend on it but the farmer's family, the family income, and the eventual consumer.  I wanted this piece to reflect the brevity of the poem.  The few words translated to minimal lines and limited colors.  The challenge in the composition was in making the different objects work together as I did not have a red wheelbarrow conveniently posing for me in a field with white chickens!

detail

This is one of my favorite pieces of the summer for a lot of reasons.  It is my tribute to those who work to provide food for our tables, my homage to past family members who lived the challenging life of farming and my bow to William Carlos Williams for sharing so much in so few words.

Thanks Claire for reminding me of this poem and providing wonderful inspiration!







Teaching....

Mixing it Up with Mixed Media

I had the opportunity to be teacher for a day with my painting

gang "Pieces of 8."  We do this occasionally to share

new techniques and have a "play date" that encourages work outside our normal m.o.

Believe me, I have a renewed respect for workshop instructors who do

this for a living...it's hard to think, talk, correct, inform and paint all at the same time.

But my students were worthy and just might exceed the abilities of the one

showing them the method!

Here's a recap:

I had prepared masonite boards for everyone with 3 coats of gesso each and sanding between the coats.  I'm not fond of heavy sanding on hardboard as it can eat into the fiber so these were rougher than I usually like.  (Board panels can be made as smooth as glass: lovely to work on!)

We cut shapes from contact paper or masking tape and chose 3 primary colors to

work with.  We glazed and glazed and moved the shapes around and

glazed some more.  It was a lesson in how layering the colors changes the tones you can get from just 3 selections (of red, blue and yellow). 

When everything dries and the contact is peeled off (new lesson learned: contact paper

and hair dryers are not a good combo!) we tackled bringing the shapes forward and

backward using additional paint and graphite.  The pencil marks and the addition

of intentional white acrylic can turn a hodge podge into a focused design.

VOILA!

Kudos to Carmen who took one of my favorite shapes, the pear, and made it into

a lovely mixed media painting. 

It was a fun experience to give a few basic instructions and watch all the different

paintings emerge from the same materials.  I'm a real believer that everytime we play we learn something that will eventually inform an unyet painted masterpiece.

So I'm off to play....err, work!

The Tangled Webs We Weave....

"Oh what a tangled web we weave..."

how many of us know the rest of the quote?

In naming my newest piece in the Tree Series this sentence came to mind as

I carefully worked on the tiniest of the branches which entertwined

one with the other.

When I asked for my husband's input on title suggestions a version

of this quote came to his mind as well.

So I officially named the piece:

"Tangled Webs Are Woven"

It signalss to me that (intentionally or not) our lives are

so caught up in the lives of those around us that we tend to

get woven into their concerns and needs and sometimes it is hard to know

exactly where one branch starts and another picks up.

But as I wrote the title I figured I'd better double check on the quote that inspired it.

And it was not Mr. Shakespeare!

The entire quote goes:

"Oh the tangled webs we weave

When first we practice to deceive."

and it is attributed to

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

I'm not sure these trees had any intention of practicing deception but I am going

to stick with the title as it captures the many thoughts I had while working on it.

Here's hoping that the branches of your life are all tangled up with

ones that add joy and meaning to your life.

Tangled Webs Are Woven

12 x 16, acrylic and graphite on board, colored pencil

framed in a black floater

Resting...

My tree series proceeds and sometimes I wonder if I see more into

these paintings than is possible?  No worries, I'm certain that

anyone who has ever hiked, or even taken a very long walk can relate to this one:

Honestly, this tree is for real!  We discovered it on a hike and I could not

resist.  Doesn't it look like it sat down and lost the energy

to get back up and move along?  I could feel the pain.

So I could not resist taking numerous photos and

filing them away to paint.

This was sketched out in graphite (a fancy way of saying pencil).  Then

I put watered-down acrylic washes on top, then back to graphite and then

more washes and back and forth until I got it where it is.

I've also spent plenty of time trying to image just how that tree got there

and grew (against all odds) so well in that spot...but mostly I just imagine pulling out

my water bottle and sharing a drink and a chat before I move on

along the trail.

16 x 12, framed with a black floater

available: BUY HERE





Siblings

"Siblings"

We don't have aspen trees in Florida so these beautiful white trunks fascinated me

while we were in Montana this past summer.  I knew I wanted to

include them in my series of works on trees.

These are done in graphite (pencil) and enhanced with acrylic washes

on a cradled board, then sealed for protection and framed.

I like combining the attention of the fine detail done in graphite with

the seemingly more abstract splashes of color gotten with

the acrylic washes.

This piece is 16 x 20 unframed and slightly larger in its black floater frame.

Oh!  I almost forgot: my husband named this piece.

Coming from a large family I think he saw these trees as brothers and sisters

with their lives all entertwined and their stories tangled together.

I liked the fact that he was being to anthropomorphize

the trees...something I have always done!

This piece is available, click here.



The Thinking Tree

click HERE to purchase

THE THINKING TREE

9" high x 6" wide x 3/4" deep

graphite on board, needs no additional framing

Sometimes the exactness of detail work is paradoxically relaxing.

A friend and I headed to the park for a relaxing day outdoors and after our picnic retreated

to our lawn chairs to mellow out.  This is what kept my hands occupied as I listened

to the children playing in the creek, looked for the songbirds and wondered what

great stories this tree had to tell.

If you are curious about where the name of the painting came from just click through above

and read the description where it is posted for sale on the etsy store site.

Bright as Gold

A friend snapped this photo as I was beginning work on a new piece while we were hanging out at the Guild.

She was understandably curious why I kept putting on and taking off color.

She felt better when I finally settled down to start drawing, several photos of the goldfinch as my reference.

At home I really got a bit more adventuresome with the colors.

I think he looks like he might fly off into the woods, but I've never seen a goldfinch on this property.

Here he is in his 9 x 6 glory....ready to fly into someone's home.

Meanwhile I think I will enjoy him, we've gotten to know each other so well!

Purchase Here

Mr. and Mrs.

I love cardinals!  Not as arrogant as the blue jay but full of color and personality.  I did not know that they got their name from the red robes worn by the Roman Catholic Cardinals; and I have heard that they are faithful to their mates (no proof of this).  Unlike some of our feathered friends the cardinals sing all year long and I like that too.  Another motivation for painting this winsome pair is that the logo for our little village is the red cardinal.  Oops, and I confess: I had to paint another pair because the first rendition went flying out to a new home....sold in a flash.  Hopefully I will have to launch a third version soon!  Purchase here...sorry, SOLD

This piece is 10 x 8, mixed media on board.  That means that on a cradeled piece of birch (framed with a painted edge about 3/4" deep) I put many layers of gesso sanding between each one.  As I got the surface closer and closer to glass I added some acrylic to the gesso and put several layers of mossy green on the surface.  I then draw the birds on with graphite and tease out a bit of color, go back in with additional graphite and voila!  it's done.  Wish it were that fast.  Hope you find some cardinals where ever you go today.

A Tip of the Cap

A Tip of the Cap! These mushrooms were happy to be noticed on an early morning walk and seemingly tipped their caps in greeting.

Rendered in graphite on cradled board the piece measures 12 x 12 x 3/4" and needs no additional framing.  Watercolor washes and acrylic complete the palate of this mixed media piece.

BUY HERE

'Diller, the Armadillo

Yes, this is an armadillo...I'm certain it is to be the new "in" animal to collect...who needs another cow or rooster?  I was actually trying to think of an animal (without fur) that would be a fun challenge to draw and lo and behold, one crossed the street in front of my car!  I did not hit it but took it as a sign that very soon every home in the USA would be wanting paintings of armadillos.  You can be the first!

It is a 5 x 7 mixed media piece which can be purchased with or without the killer frame that goes with it...then you can title it "Killer 'Diller."

NAB IT HERE