It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived. Helen Walton

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Seeking ideas

I have been at odds with myself since our art friend/instructor retired.
She was always challenging us with new techniques.
She worked through them, step by step and carefully supervised us in each new technique.
She told us "you do it my way today and from then on, you can take off in any direction."
As a result, we were usually delighted with our results.
This past week I have explored different ideas found on the internet.
I was delighted to find Gerda Lipski on YouTube.  She does a lot of wonderful things and her 
instructions are easy to follow.


This was one of her ideas.  The only board I had was really too long.  This looks better
when done as a square.  It is cardboard triangles set in gesso and painted.


Another one of her ideas but I used one of my old backgrounds rather than doing a new one.


Again I used an old background here but I really like the look of it.

I have also scoured Amazon for books that might give me new directions to pursue.
I got Jo Toye's Book, Abstract Explorations in Acrylic Painting and it is a GEM.
It is packed with ideas and step by step instructions.


This was my first ever attempt with Tar Gel.  It is a bit of a mess to work with but you will see some lovely things she has created with it.

And blooming in the side yard is my orchid Schomburkgia tibicins


This orchid hangs in a basket and has 6 foot long stems reaching for the sun.  As a
result, the blooms are up by my neighbor's roof.  This year there are three stems of flowers.
It is a favorite of my husband and mine partly because of the dramatic presentation.
Wishing everyone a Happy PPF
And if you have suggestions for things that have boosted your creativity, I would love to hear!

13 comments:

Christine said...

Beautiful work, glad you found other inspiration! Your orchid's lovely too.

Faye said...

Beautiful and innovative works, Susan. I especially like the woven piece made up of colored strips of background papers. I have never heard of tar gel. I'm wondering if it is the same as black gesso. I will google it.

Valerie-Jael said...

Love your orchid. Great pieces inspired from Gerda Lipski, I love her channels, too. Happy PPF, Hugs, Valerie

Lorraine said...

love the abstracts

John R said...

Love these pieces, Susan. I sometimes struggle to come up with new ideas, too. The internet has plenty, but I find a trip to the beach can really inspire.

DVArtist said...

Oh I love all of these abstract pieces. The second one is my favorite only because of the color. I am always drawn to black and white. Very nicely done.

Giggles said...

Gorgeous pieces!! I love how they all turned out!! The nice thing about the triangles is you can turn that board four ways if you mount it on a wall!! I love pieces that are flexible like that!! The weaved ones are beautiful too!! Glad you found some artists to follow...there are amazing teachers online!! Thanks for sharing!!

Hugs Giggles

Viola said...

Lovely and interesting art work.

Carol said...

Love your art today ans I will have to check out some of those links you shared :) It's still rainy and windy here so the truck is in the carport and I get drenched when I have to walk the dog or go hunting for milkweed leaves. Nice that you cater to your caterpillars too. I plant lots of extras in the types of food that caterpillars eat but the Monarchs are the only ones I bring inside and hand raise. This year they arrived before the milkweed was really big enough to support them. Have a great week.

Å olanje na domu-Waldorf said...

Love these textures! :)

Courtney said...

How fun! I love your projects and how each one turned out. They are fun and unique. :) I also enjoy looking at online workshops and books for new techniques. I have several books that I've purchased at a local used book store. I haven't had the opportunity to complete any projects out of them, but they look fun. They include: Surface Treatment Workshop by McElroy and Wilson, Art at the Speed of Life by Pam Carrier, and Acrylic Revolution by Nancy Reyner. There's so much great stuff out there! Now I'm going to check out the links you shared. Have a great week!

Nordljus said...

Your pieces look great! You definitely found some great new inspiration!

Susan said...

Thanks so much for your suggestions.