Sometimes We Need a Push

We are now experiencing a second outbreak which has really got me down. Not a complete lockdown but they closed our small community pool, which was a sort of lifeline. Diving into the cool water, swimming my 16 laps, resting, and reading for another half-hour really helped me get through the day, it was almost a ritual. And then they closed the pools except for hotel pools which really p....d me off! I felt safer there than when  I do my weekly shopping at the supermarket!

Well after lots of discussions and shouting higher up they are opening again at 14:00 TODAY!

Some more good news is that I have an AC unit in my small computer/studio YAY!

I ordered some new paper through the Printing place where my daughter works. I was getting down to the last heavy cardboard substrates that I got from when they emptied Archie's studio. The new paper is not as heavy but quite sturdy, 250gm. Bought 10 sheets in offwhite and 10 sheets in dark brown. These sheets are 28.5" x 40" so had them cut in half.  Have a great supply!

Main colors where Ultramarine blue and chrome green. Collage pieces from dried palettes. Added some pale gold and lots of mark making with graphite, colored pencils, and oil pastels

Just Wanted A Touch of Orange

28.5" x 20"

Brown paper 250 gm 

Acrylics and Collage

The start!

A Coat of Many Colors

ג  וְיִשְׂרָאֵל, אָהַב אֶת-יוֹסֵף מִכָּל-בָּנָיו--כִּי-בֶן-זְקֻנִים הוּא, לוֹ; וְעָשָׂה לוֹ, כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colours.

This painting started not with Joseph's coat in mind, and I doubt that his coat looked anything like these interwoven stripes, but somehow it got stuck in my mind after the painting was finished.

As you all know I am a bit obsessive when it comes to tutorials and online lessons. I have taken many classes and I think I could spend more than a year just re-taking them. This started with a free lesson given at  Jeanne Oliver , A Guiding Word taught by Rae Missigman.  I experimented with a way of putting down paint by squirting paint on the top in varying widths and dragging it down with a scraper, palette knife or whatever to cover the substrate. Don't know if this is now free but she does have about 35 Free classes online at this time. Of course, I went every which way!

WIP

Acrylics on brown paper

13.5" x 19.5"

This sat around for quite a while and then I saw a great tutorial by Jane Davies about stripes on paper bags. Brown paper,yes, stripes, my interpretation! 

Coat of Many Colors

Acrylics on brown paper

13.5" x 19.5"

Wish I had a rug like this!

Interested click here

Love You Love You Naught

Love who you are - and who you are not. (Anonymous)

What a mess... a real mishmash!! Started back about a month ago. Was attracted by some images of daisies from a magazine and started playing around on an odd piece of brown paper. I think I started with the collage pieces and started putting on random marks in pencil and oil sticks. Not really knowing what was going to come out. No rest for the poor eye here.

Daisies Start WIP

35 x 39 cm

Brown Paper

Mixed Media

Trying to quiet down some too busy areas using my new oil sticks. Still a little too much. Decided in any case to keep to the flower motif

Daisies 2 

35 x 39 cm

Brown Paper

Mixed Media

Daisies 3

35 x 39 cm

Brown Paper

Mixed Media

Still needing something... seems a bit pareve   back for some tweaks

Doodle Colored I

Every morning is a new garden. (Leza MacDonald)

Old entry. 

Isn't it wonderful when you discover a new flower in your garden! My garden isn't really specially cared for.  We dried our lawn when the water prices got too high. Its mainly wild grass, lavender, perennials, and in this season lots of wild poppies.

Today

I started this blog maybe a week ago. Wow how life manages to change so fast. You get into a routine and everything falls into place that is till you get the jolt. That's what happened to me last evening when I received a surprise call from brother-in -law Tommy.  My baby sister had suddenly passed. She hadn't felt well and didn't sleep well so decided to take a morning nap, and quietly slipped away. They say a sudden heart attack. Right now as I am writing this I feel as if I am "robot" mode, trying hard to digest it all. Debbie was our miracle baby, born 68 years ago at the weight of 1lb 6oz!!! No more short sweets posts, just a hole in my heart, These flowers are for you Debbie!!!

36 x 25

Crayons  Oil Pastels over Doodle I

Brown Paper

Doodle Doodle Dandy

The workshop is not a class to make art; it is a class to make mistakes, to rework, not to make finished pieces. (Rick Rotante)

I am really glad to get back to blogging. Holidays behind us. I hope that those that celebrated Easter, Passover, and any other holiday around the world had enjoyable family times. We had a long two weeks break from workshop and I am glad to get back. This week was my turn to make a presentation. This year our home projects were to prepare a presentation on a topic or concept and present it verbally as well as visually.I will post more on my next blog. I didn't do much in class, didn't even take out paints. Had a piece of heavy brown paper, and a few stencils and started just to doodle away with just an HB pencil. 

Started on the bottom left with free doodles and then used some stencils and masks of stuff I got from a craft store. I am still debating what to do with this, sort of kitschy right now. Probably some washes and then we'll see. 

Pencil Trails WIP

25.5 x 35.5 cm

Brown Paper Hb Pencil

Day 24 January 30 x 30 2017

This is what became of Day 23 after I got out my black marker. Also added a white gel marker,  Really went to town on this. Looked at and said, "What have I done?" Put it away and worked on some others with the black marker. 

This morning looked again, maybe there is something there, who can tell. Maybe a bit of color. Scanned it and cut it half.

WIP # 1

25 x 35

Brown Paper

17.5 x 15

New Start for Day 25

See you!!

Day 23 January 30 x 30 2017

This is WIP and was done with watercolor crayons and ink intense watercolor pencils on brown paper and will be my start for my first exploration in changing, cutting. re-doing. I have been fascinated this whole month with this process shown by the work of Dotty Seiter. Some of my reasons are: not to get to attached, to explore more options, and to be looser in my work. I hope this exercise will help me get out of brick walls, where I freeze and don't know how to continue, although I know the work is not finished.  This piece has areas that I love, so normally I wouldn't touch it. But today I am going to dive in. It's just a piece of brown paper and crayon marks.

Work In Progress

25 x 35 cm

Watercolor crayons and watercolor pencils

This was started with the pencils which I blotted with a little water. Then I did crayon and pencil work, then some brush work that was also blotted, like a dry brush. 

I will start with my dread of a marker, black or any other color. I only have a F and M markers but will purchase a wider one. So wish me luck and see you tomorrow!