Sampler I

 The most important blog post

It is on the most important blog.Yours.

Even if no one but you reads it. The blog you write each day is the blog you need the most. It’s a compass and a mirror, a chance to put a stake in the ground and refine your thoughts.

And the most important post? The one you’ll write tomorrow.   Seth Godin

When I think of the past year, I feel I have to divide it up. Some areas were very fruitful and others with dread, fear, apprehension, loneliness, lethargy, laziness, etc. I could probably come up with more adjectives but not going to waste too much energy. 

One big decision I made this past December was to go back to my oils and cold wax so I will put my acrylics aside for a while.. I really feel that I don't have the basics in this medium and haven't taken advantage of the special qualities that this medium offers. So I jumped into the Cold Wax Academy. A huge learning curve!

Sampler I

20 x 20"

Oils and Cold Wax

Crush Favini Organic Paper 350 gm

(those little black marks are from layer 3)

Beginning Layers with Texture

Topography Layer

Cool Layer

Warm Transparent Layer

Probably 2-3 more layers

Didn't like the Orange Blob

Simplify

Rotated

Two New Spiral Watercolor Pads

 Ink

Watercolor

Gouache

Water

Fingers

Brushes

New water color pads or small pieces of watercolor paper

Paper towel

1/2 1 hour

A few new Intuitive Sketches

Stones and Arches Lead My Way

Ink Watercolor Gouache

7" x 7"

Watercolor Paper

Bird Watch

Ink Watercolor Gouache

7" x 5"

Canson A5 Spiral Watercolor Pad

Traveling Through Space

Ink Watercolor Gouache

7" x 7"

Watercolor Paper

I Glimpse Into My Fantasy

Ink Watercolor Gouache

7" x 7"

Watercolor Paper

Beyond the Fence

Ink Watercolor Gouache

7" x 7"

Watercolor Paper

Have finished some various scrapes of watercolor paper and now on to my 2 new Canson 300gm spiral watercolor pads, A4, A5.  Have even started one, and on the first page. 

I use the technique I learned from Stan Kurth last September, which seems like ages ago, called Intuitive Painting with Watercolor, Ink and Gouache. I block out the size on the pad and start with a water-soluble ink pen, making intuitive mark-making, wetting with water and my finger to make smudges. Sometimes wet the paper and put ink marks. One can use watercolor pencils, water-soluble graphite and other mark making tools. Using watercolor washes over the ink, also intuitively. Going back with pen and editing with more opaque gouache. Stan does this complete process in one sitting, as his demonstration, but I like to work doing a few ink starts. Next day adding watercolor, and then another time to the editing process, which is the most difficult. As soon as my thinking process kicks in, I am in big trouble.

Study in Orange

Purposely left a small piece of cut canvas taped to a kappa-board on my worktable.  It called out to me. 

Cadmium Red + Yellow Ochre  Paynes Grey, my new black, white, and Buff

Ice Cream Anyone

15.5 x 15.5 "

Oils on Cut Canvas