Happy Holidays!

We are at the wonderful (stressful) time of year again.

We will have a quiet year this year and that is okay with us.

Selfishly, it gives me more time to play with my paints.

I finally pulled some of my paintings out from under the bed

and had them framed. I really never love anything I do but it is surprising

how nice they look when we stick them in a frame.

The navy blue wall is a perfect backdrop for them but they do overpower the room.

Things can't be perfect, can they?

My Christmas gift to me

I had a disaster (things happen) at the art table last week.

Two days later I cut it into strips and wove it into watercolor paper.

I was somewhat happy with the results but a friend suggested I weave it into

a colored background.  So today I made the background with water color paint,

witches cloth on yupo.  Not sure what I have yet.  This method is always a surprise.

I think I posted a very bright background I did recently.

Today it got a "geometric" treatment.

Not sure if it is done...stay tuned.

Wishing you all a very happy Holiday Season and thanks for being my "blogger friend."
Happy PPF all!

It is great to be a winner!

I never win anything but I have always felt I was lucky in life.  

So what if I didn't win at any of the many things I have entered over the years.

Well friends, that has all changed.  I won a Rhodia sketchbook at Sandra Strait's 

site, Life Imitates Doodles http://lifeimitatesdoodles.blogspot.com

Thank you Sandra!

It's great to be a winner!

Last weeks background is starting to take shape.

I added the treeline and painted out the sky.

Not sure what is next, maybe my name.

On the left I have a grid design I did in my art class that I never liked.

The background was so busy, it overwhelmed the grid so it was relegated

to a spot under the bed in the guest room (where all disappointing paintings

go.  I woke up with an idea the other morning, pulled it out and went an 

entirely different direction with it, as you can see.  Am I the only one that sees the mouth of someone in the broken portion?  Not a gleeful
subject but I like the results and all
of the bright colorful grids are long
gone.





As I have mentioned before, I wake up with these wild ideas
and if I am lucky and have time, I can act on them.  Today was one of those days but of all things collage was part of the idea.  I need to tell you I have never done collage in my life so this was another new experiment.

Thanks so much for visiting and HAPPY PPF!!!

Mistakes happen, don''t quit

I am lucky to live in an area with a great art center.

We can rent studio time and/or we can take classes for very reasonable fees.

This was originally a "grid" design done in a class.   I just couldn't get comfortable with it.

So, I matt mediumed on top of the acrylic and did a spider web on top of the original

design.  The only thing I liked in the original piece was the dragonfly so I "saved it".

The spider web is halloween webbing on the yupo and then I spray different colored dyes

on the webbing.  It sucks up the dye and transfers it to the yupo.

The rest is done with stencils and white acrylic.

I think I like it better now.

Another background started here.  This is acrylic and then I smush a drycleaner bag on it,

let it sit 10 minutes and then remove and admire.

We got lucky this week...triplet blooms!
Happy PPF!

Cairns

The challenge this week at the Diva site is from Paula Bramante.

We are to use cairns or rocks as our theme.

Liss Rankin M.D. provided us with a very thoughtful "life cairn"

I chose this design to use as my string.

I hadn't intended it to be a monotangle, but it sort of just happened.

I have always been a rock lover (or "rock hound" as we called ourselves as we searched
for rocks on the California deserts.
Recently we visited Portugal and I was fascinated with the cobblestone streets and took
many photos of them.
On return one of those photos inspired the painting below.

It's Friday...

Where does time go?

I am back working four days a week and it has totally messed up my art time.

So, this week rather than working at our community art center, I decided to work on my lanai.

The weather is now in the 80's, so it was pleasant for playing.
I got my yupo ready, assembled the paints and poured away.
When I didn't get the results I liked, I tipped my board around trying to find something I liked.
Then I added a bit of water and tipped some more.
Finally I had it!

I left it to dry.

If you look carefully you will see that the paint drifts to the top left corner.

Yes, it drifts and it drifted right on to a yellow chair cushion below.

Well, all of those cushions needed washing anyway and "most' of it came out and nothing shows

when I turn the cushion over.

This is another background done over a watercolor background.

And here is my latest blooms.

Happy PPF

Fall celebration

One of the few sacrifices we make living in Florida is fall.

Sometimes we can feel it in the air but we have to travel north to enjoy the color.

Whenever we go north, I collect leaves to press and use in various

art projects.  These leaves came from my daughter's yard in Connecticut.

Life is about trade offs.  My orchids growing on my lanai are my trade off.

If I loved in a climate with fall, I wouldn't have these blooming in my yard.

Sketching flowers...

This beautiful cattleya orchid is blooming on my lanai this week.

People have asked me why I don't use these beauties as the subject of my art.

Finally, this week, this orchid inspired me to try it.  Why not?  If I didn't like it,

I could just throw it away

The nicest thing about sketching orchids is that you get to smell them while you sketch.

This particular one has a very light citrusy scent.

So here is the first attempt.  

Then I decided to do a "close up"

Now I was on a roll so I sketched my arrangement on my dining room table

Watercolor and sketching were a nice change from my acrylic projects.

This morning when I went out on the lanai, another beautiful surprise awaited me.

Happy PPF!