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

Friday, June 30, 2017

This and that




It has been a busy, busy week at work.
And for whatever reason, I have been busy  creating as well.
I remind my self of the pesky mosquitoes that harass us at this time of year.
I flitter from one medium to another, to another.
I dug out one of my old yupo paper pieces that never worked for me.
I cut off what I didn't like and got out my circle stensils.


We have been working on abstracts at our art center.
This is a frame within a frame.
I was thinking about summers in the sea in Italy.



And these are frames.  I am not sure that this is done.  I think I want to 
stamp letters and/or numbers on it.
I will try it on plastic, lay it over the artwork and see if I like it.

A big thankyou to Kristin and Eva for hosting Paint Party Friday!
I look forward to seeing what everyone is doing.


My bloom this week is Hawaiian ginger.
It smells like heaven and will bloom for about 6 weeks.
Happy PPF!

Friday, June 23, 2017

Collage



Good morning friends.
It is summer.  It is REALLY summer in Florida.
Like many of you, we are sweltering in hot, humid heat.
We have had over a foot of rain in the last two weeks.
When it is like this, I turn into a slug.
I can only stay in one spot and that means reading is just about all I do.
I did have a day of making gellie prints...hundreds of them I think.
I was outside on the lanai and I think my sweat made additional texture to the prints.
So now I have to collage.

This was a "failed" abstract so I covered it with off white paint and started over.
I was quite happy with it and my husband asked why my palm tree was brown.
It does look like a sunflower, doesn't it?

Wishing all a Happy Paint Party Friday!


A tiny little dendrobium bloom appeared this week

Friday, June 16, 2017

The story our canvasses tell

I have been involved in yet another abstract class.
Abstract art is hard for me (unless it is geometric).
I come home from the classes exhausted, just from thinking.
Gerontologists will tell us that that is a GOOD thing.
Anyway early on, we were supposed to pick a word and then paint.
I picked "bloom" and set to work, as you saw a few weeks ago.


My first start (underneath) was just too undefined for me so when I got home
I covered it up and did this .
Well, it was too defined for my instructor so with her guidance
I reworked my canvas, yet again and this is the result.


She liked it but I am not sure I do.
It has more dimension than the floral
We never know what lies beneath the final layer.
At our art center there is a class in reworking old paintings.
They do some amazing things.
And it is the politically correct thing to do, recycle!
Wishing you a Happy PPF!


This cattleya orchid is blooming this week.

Friday, June 9, 2017

Tar Gel


A couple of weeks ago I shared this photo for Paint Party Friday.
I had heard about Tar Gel on various You Tube videos and decided to try it
I would apply one layer of circles and let it dry.
Then I applied the next and let it dry...for 5 or 6 times.
The watercolor paper is now quite heavy with the gel..
I let that all dry a couple of days as it is VERY humid here in Florida right now.
Then I put a red/black wash on it and rubbed it off until I was happy with it.
The wash fell into the creases where the Tar Gel wasn't.
It is very shiny.


It dries clear so whatever is underneath shows through.
The downside is that it isn't cheap, for the amount I used here.
But it made a rather plain painting into a quite dramatic painting.
Wishing everyone a Happy PPF


This week's bloom, a dendrobium orchid