London Bridges Falling Down

• Last Tuesday I started a new painting with oils cold wax and collage. I really wanted to work on the piece before going to class. But as usual real life got in the way and by the time I had some time it was too late. Didn't want to have a wet painting to move.This week we have our once a month substitute teacher Eitan Ben Moshe. He is an accomplished artist in both painting and sculpture.We are really blessed this year at our workshop. Each has their own way of teaching and they complement each other. More below.
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• WIP 
• 50 x 70 cm
• Oils Cold Wax Collage
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• The class started with Eitan going from one to another looking at the work and commenting.
• It wasn't a typical critique but rather asking questions as to what we want to do, where we want to go sort of thing. It was a very informative session mainly because we have a very diverse class from beginners and advanced, working in diverse styles and mediums. His suggestion  for me was mainly to sit down and write as if I was preparing for a show, what my intentions are. Or in other words my "artist statement" for the brochure!
• As a good student that is just what I did. When I finish the small series, 4 paintings. 

Bad Recipe

First real workday at the workshop with our new mentor Reuven Tishrey.  Back to oils, YAY, love their texture, smell, how they mix and spread. I will continue acrylic with my Gelli-printing at home, and oils in the workshop.  I am also going to work larger, at least larger for me.

WIP I

19.5" x  27/5"

Oils on cut canvas

Cold Wax  Collage

Critique: The composition is too formulated. He wants me to try to make it seem to be on the edge of collapsing. 

How do you make a painting seem to collapse I ask myself?  Getting uncomfortable! 

I think I know the exact time I should have stopped painting. I was getting thoughts that I was going all around the place. Decided, guess my left brain took over and started to make marks to the more negative spaces, and echo colors. Also, the layout of the collage pieces were too balanced. One of the good things about oils and cold wax is that I can take off the pieces and move them around and change their shape/size.

WIP II

19.5" x  27/5"

Oils on cut canvas

Cold Wax  Collage

Changed orientation, moved some pieces around added a new piece. I removed the black piece above the script on the bottom. This image is not exact, it's a simulation done using PS. Thinking of putting in a shocking color to upset the apple cart! Shocking pink or turquoise? Welcome any thoughts and suggestions., The two parallel stripes on the left top are too similar. I have a week to view and live with it.

It was so great to be back with all my artist friends!

Be Comfortable with Uncomfortable

Lesson 6

"this lesson is getting comfortable with being uncomfortable." Jane Davies

There is a bit of blindness when working with Gelli printing. How the layers of colors react. Where to mask or stencil.  In this lesson, we take a substrate and print one part, then another and so forth using one composition format. Sometimes with a stencil and sometimes a mask and then just color in one area. I was not comfortable with this uncomfortable situation. Did one series of six.  What am I going to do with a mud pile os start?  Not knowing what will come out. With painting, at least with oils, you put down a mark, not what you want, wipe it off. This printing is a whole new ball game.

Tried again the next day after doing some homework painting colors over one another. Did another 12 starts. Don't worry I will be sharing slowly as I bring a few to the next painting stage. 

Don’t try to finish each piece in the
process. Let each thing you do just be
the next step. Stay with it, and don’t
get ahead of yourself. 

Feel free to cover up beautiful printed
patterns and textures. 

Let some of the pieces be open-ended,
or not finished.

Have fun.  Jane Davies

Wip 01-pt

8" x 13"

Gelli-print + Paint

Acrylic

Gelli-print 01

3 layers

Wip 05 pt

8" x 10"

Gelli-print + Paint

Acrylic

Gelli-print 05

4 layers

After printing the last layer it covered too much so rubbed it off quickly with a wet rag! This one will be a real challenge.

Wip 14 Pt

8" x 8"

Gelli-print + Paint

Acrylic

Gelli-print 05

3 layers

Gelli-print Masking II

Lesson IV

Masking several similar shapes with various colors and textures
Cleaning up the edges and modifying the colors and shapes.
Painting in a background.
Adding collage optional

Walking Through the Planets

8" x 8"

240-gram white paper 

Found this torn scrape on the floor. Glad I picked it up!

8" x 8"

240-gram white paper 

Off the press  A Mess

Cleaned and modified

8" x 8"

240-gram white paper 

This is an important part of the process, 

 "Paint into your shapes using a brush: clean up edges, alter color or nuance. This is an important part of the process, and it takes time, a lot more time than the original printing of shapes. " Jane Davies

Gelli-print Masking I

Lesson IV

Masking several similar shapes with various colors and textures
Cleaning up the edges and modifying the colors and shapes.
Painting in a background.
Adding collage optional

Masking various shapes to an image can be very tricky, Sometimes they come Not in the place you imagined. Sometimes you forget to cover parts of the plate that was exposed by the mask. Big mess.
Made lots of starts with this lesson and started with the ones that didn't come out so good.

Off the Press

8" x 8"

240-gram white paper 

Cleaning up

7" x 7"

240-gram white paper 

Painted background

Added Collage

7" x 7"

240-gram white paper 

Cut Cut Cut

Remember my  "Love Love Me Naught". Well decided to cut it up, ala  Dotty. Never would had had the courage. Thanks Dotty!  Made a frame and cut 3 pieces and made some neat cards.

Before

Three Cards Cut 

5" x 7"

 From a another small piece from one of my lesson exercises made 2 smaller cards. Getting to like the cutting idea LOL!!!

5.5" x  4.25"

Extreme Compositions Shape Arrangements 3

Lesson 2

Part 3

In this exercise we are to make compositions using 2 or more shapes plus a line. These can be on a colored background and differ from one another.

Since I am still having difficulties with acrylics I used a simple limited pallete trying various techniques, brayer, credit card, wetting paper. For my shapes and lines used dry media, Caran d'Ache neocolor I wax/oil crayons. All done on 5 x 7 " bristle paper

 

Background was brayed left over paint that made interesting shapes

Added shapes with crayons

Line think white.. gel pen

Colored background 

Crayon shapes

White gel pen

Gray background with white shape and ochre line acrylic

Square shape crayon

Fine permanent pen 

Acrylic yellow background

Gray circles printed from cap shape

Crayon square

Lines ball point pen

Background acrylic using stencil and print

Circle crayons 

Lines ball point pen

Observations: Feel I still need more practice with these small compositions. Found adding the lines sometimes difficult. have to stop thinking too much. 

Have a few more starts to play with 

Extreme Composition Shape Arrangments I

Lesson 2

Part 2  a

Arrangements of simple shapes using the vocabulary learned in the first part of the lesson.
Restrictions were to use one shape and only gray,black and white.
Did these in acrylic using stamps,printing, masks, and collage on 5 x 7 " white bristle paper.

#1

Playing with Shapes Extreme Composition

Lesson II 

Part 1

Fall is at last in the air!!! A very short season here. We even had 10 minutes or less of rain. IT still warms up during the day but cooler evenings and we are now off Daylight Savings,, so will get dark earlier. 

Last week went by so fast that aside from working at my weekly workshop, I didn't get to my online course  Extreme Composition . 

Explore different techniques for creating simple shapes. Try to find different techniques than those shown in the video.  This is just a page filled at random of various techniques, don't know if I found any really different on but as I go along I probably will.