Horsin' Around

Things have been.....interesting. I'm studying to take the GRE tomorrow (woe betide me, it's been 20 years since I did most of this math) so I've been studying for that. But in between memory hiccups I've been painting and playing. I have some new abstracts coming along, plus a couple more watercolor crayon drawings. Front and center I've been working on some model horses. The gold and white one is a rescued wooden statuette I bought for less than three bucks at a resale shop. I gave him a wire tail and am now adding mohair. His mane is going to be pearlescent paint (partly done). Clearly he is not intended to be realistic, but he is fun, and a good learning project. The white one is a Breyer plastic model horse which I've modified by sanding off the mane, cutting off the tail, etc. I added a horn, making him a unicorn. I think he is going to be dark blue with a black mane and tail. Why models? Because I used to collect them and have always loved them, and because I am having fun painting 3D objects. I am also continuing to work on my containers, albiet slowly. Between the trip to England we took and the GRE, my art time has been pretty limited. After I take the GRE tomorrow I plan to reward myself with some real art time.

Abstract Fun

This one is called Wave Form. It's on an 8" X 8" canvas board. To be honest, it's much more interesting in person because it has some slight 3D aspects that are not apparent in the photo.

I am also working on painting some containers. Starting with paper mache boxes, I am using layers of gesso, paint, and gel medium to add color and durability. I hope to photograph some soon. The first one I did was the color of my daughter's dog, Sharky, so I put silver letter stickers on it to spell out her name, sealed it, and gave it to my daughter to be a memory box. I also did one in black with interference paints that turned out pretty. Now I'm working on a blue and gold, a lipstick pink, and another black. I'm also working on two wooden boxes with handles, both black, with interference paints. Will try to photograph soon.

Finally, I am on a major horse kick. In addition to the winged horses I am (still) cranking out, I have started painting model horses and little horse statues (wood and plastic). The one I am working on now is wood and will be painted/haired as a palomino (though the color is too bright to be realistic, it is intended to be more decorative than representational). My mom just asked me to paint her rocking horse that her grandfather made for her when she was little, and I am really excited about what is sure to be a very involved long-term project. I still remember and very much love my great-grandpa, and have several treasures from him, but to work with something he made with his own hands will be an unprecedented privilege. So my current work can be practice for this much greater project.

Flying High

Well, I think they are improving with time, don't you? Last night I pulled out the old horse books and started studying anatomy in earnest, and that is sure to help some more. My brush work is shaping up as well. I have some more abstracts, but didn't get good pics last night (must try again today). It's true what they say.....put more miles on the brush, and you're sure to gain skills! So back to my brushes I go. I sure do love my art life now that the perfectionism is gone for good. Even when I screw up, I just chalk it up to experience and keep right on painting. No stress, no anxiety, just fun and lots of paint on my hands. What a relief!

New Stuff

I'm making more progress with photos, although I had to toss a bunch because they were too fuzzy. These are not perfect either, but at least give you an idea of what I've been up to. I particularly like the grey unicorn with the dark purple wings. That turned out really well for some reason.

Still painting and painting and painting and having a good time.....

Ketchup

Hi, this is a bit of ketchup (catch-up) blog. I've been very busy painting and painting and drawing and painting and painting some more. So busy I haven't picked up a camera in quite some time, months really. Well, today I finally did pick up the camera. I didn't photograph everything, but I did get some good clear photos of things I've done (or am doing).

The main reason I didn't worry about taking photos so much was that I didn't want to interrupt the incredible stream of creative energy I was experiencing, the first of its kind (but dear Lord please not the last). It's not that anything I did was so brilliant, but I just had SO MUCH FUN!!! I did a lot of abstracts (in acrylics and mixed media) and lots of winged horses (in Caran D'Ache Watercolor Pastels). Not sure why it turned out that way, and I know I'm in a rut, but it is a good, productive, creative rut, and I'm not done with it yet. Eventually I will get tired of abstracts and winged horses......but I'm not there yet. And that's fine.

Playing with Paint

When I was originally investigating watercolors, I was taught to make swatches of color mixes. Friday, I got some more paint colors (Golden) so I decided to go ahead and do three swatch pages: yellows and blues (greens), reds and yellows (oranges), and reds and blues (purples). This was a very unscientific process where I made charts and mixed each pair approximately 50/50. I tried to vary the mixes a bit and paint multiple different mixes in each pair; some colors, like the phthalos, I had to stray from the 50/50 ratio fairly drastically to get close to the target color. This was a very interesting and useful process because now I have a permanent record that will tell me which colors to use to mix a wide variety of secondary colors. I also learned which primary colors make good secondaries and which do not (Pyrrole Red does not make good purples, but makes nice oranges, for instance). If you haven't tried this with your paints, I recommend it....it's tremendously educational and also fun.

Wishing for Mad Camera Skillz =-)

For some reason I am having the best time painting and the worst time with the camera. Yes, the new one. Sigh. Part of the problem is that they paint is glare-ey. It's all my fault, because the paints I prefer are the glittery, glitzy, glowy ones. So I'm paying a price for my magpie tendencies. To make matters worse, I had to go and glue stuff onto the abstract. I am so happy with how it turned out. I'm thinking of naming it Turmoil after the recent tornadoes that have plagued Illinois--it does have that spiral aspect (can you tell with all the glare?). Then there is the unicorn, which looks pretty surreal with the glare that is on it; in person it looks a little sloppy around the edges (because I am still in the process of developing my brush-handling skills, which are in their beginning stages). However, it looks less anemic than it did before I plumped out the belly of the unicorn. I think maybe I made the butterflies too brightly colored; do they detract from the unicorn? I have a lot to learn.....but at least I'm having a good time with it.