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Next Entries »It’s the sky’s turn
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007
It’s the sky’s turn to dance! White glaze will attach itself to the varnish I dripped on the other day.
Dancing With Trees 02 – progress
Monday, September 10th, 2007
Dancing With Trees 02, started August 30th – 48H x 48W acrylics on canvas – progression details are combined into one post. The oil pastel with the same name, posted in March 2007, inspired the painting.
I’ve tried lots of new things with this one – am hoping to keep just the impression of branches. I don’t want too many details. Using washes and glazes to help create the cedar branch texture I’ve dripped water, paint, glazes, and varnish across patches of color, splattered it on with a brush and also painting upside down.
Polypore Fungi – phase 2
Sunday, June 10th, 2007
Polypore Fungi, work in progress, 59 H x 41 W x 2 D, acrylics on canvas. Here is the painting after a few more hours of work.
Polypore Fungi, work in progress
Saturday, June 9th, 2007
Polypore Fungi, work in progress, 59 H x 41 W x 2 D, acrylics on canvas
Studying shades of dark and light are the basics of any Artwork done with color, and it’s good to practice “real” drawing every so often, paying attention to lines, shapes, spaces…but enough of pencil drawings for a while. I’m craving color and space once more- ready to paint again, but starting this so close to the date we leave for holidays this coming Friday. My hope is to call it finished while it’s still at the open and lively stage, before over-working it. Here is the painting after about two hours.
Pre-Columbian Jaguar Beads
Thursday, February 1st, 2007
1. the tray 2. the beads 3. a picture of the original necklace.
The Pre-Columbian Jaguar Beads are made of Polymer clay, a permanent material once baked, acrylic paints, varnish, tray re-purposed and paper-mached, painted and varnished for durability.
I was drawn immediately to this Pre-Columbian Mayan necklacewith jaguar beads upon seeing a photo of it, and would love to own it. Well, making one is the next best thing! The original necklace of gold jaguar head-shaped beads was made over 500 years ago, discovered in a tomb in Guatemala.
Like much of the pre-historic and tribal art that looks crude or seems like it should be easy to recreate, there is a lot more here than meets the eye. One of the things that’s so enjoyable about a project like this is experiencing the same design dilemmas that the original artist might have encountered.
There is a lot of good design in that simple-looking necklace! I think the goldsmith who created the original might have used a mold because each individual jaguar head-shaped bead needs to be identical, and so do the small round ones in order to string the beads together and obtain the exact uniform semi-circle shape. Mine were individually shaped, less than perfect, and did not fit together well unfortunately. I’ll need to make a mold from one of the more perfect beads in order to replicate this with consistancy.
The jaguar beads are glued onto a useful tray, a recycled film case that was paper mached then painted with acrylic, and it’s as if a moment in time is recaptured, a moment when the original artist had beads on a surface, ready to be strung together. The refurbished tray is varnished, durable and useful. Hand wash gently with damp soapy cloth, and the crevices with a wet paintbrush, dabbing the area softly to absorb excess moisture.
Moon Over Myrtle, stages
Sunday, September 24th, 2006
Work in progress online with other artist’s comment exchanges.. While trying to change the look of water where sky was intended, at one point it looked like there was a shark shape, so with the computer I added it for fun. Continually scraping away areas then rebuilding and trying ways to give it more depth, then for some reason Cezanne came to mind so I looked him up to learn more about life and work. I learned more about Cubist ideas by applying them than reading about them years ago.
January Thaw
Thursday, June 15th, 2006
January Thaw, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels, white double mat, brass title plate, 22H x 26W inches wide white frame with white crackle finish.
Willow branches, welcome bits of color during the January thaw, a seasonal expectation in eastern Ontario, when temperatures hover around 0*C. After a period of 1-2 weeks temperatures can dip to -40*C, and the most intense, unpredictable part of winter begins.
The Evolution of January Thaw – a painting is more than the sum of its parts. It transformed dramatically while conversing with other Artists and their critiques on a popular online Artists’ website.
“When I am painting I have no knowledge of what I am doing. Only after a moment of ‘returning consciousness’ do I become aware of what I have been doing. Then, however, I have no hesitation about making changes, or destroying images, because the painting has a life of its own. My mission is to bring forth this life”. Jackson Pollock
Bluebonnets – Four Abstracts
Thursday, March 23rd, 2006
Bluebonnets Abstracts, set of four 3 x 4 inches oil pastels studies on paper.
These studies are based on Springtime scenery along Beltline Road in Irving, Texas three years ago. The amazing fields of Bluebonnets are now replaced by a major housing and commercial development. I can say, ‘I was there when…’.
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