Happy Thoughts

There are times in our lives that we just have to focus on "happy thoughts".

I have noticed that some of my work has been getting darker and darker.  Usually I am an upbeat sort of person so I have been aware of the change.

So the past couple of weeks I decided to create "happy thoughts"

I was conscious of the colors I chose (and made changes if I felt to much darkness was creeping in).

This was the first finished project.

And this is the second one.  

I think I have accomplished my goal.  

I hope they brighten your day.

Happy PPF

But before I go, here are my blooms this week

Aren't I so lucky to have this beauty in my yard

Last year when I was dividing my orchids I had a scrap left.  I tied it to a palm tree and it surprised me this week with these blooms.

Kokopeli

I am a great lover of all things Native American.

I wear my turquoise.  For 35 years beautiful Navajo rugs decorated the walls of our home

As a child (some 65 years ago) we spent a lot of time in Santa Fe with a friend of my father.

He lived on the now famous Canyon Road in a home filled with Native American treasures.

We visited Santa Fe in early June and I was in my own private heaven.

That is the good news.  The bad news is that my husband doesn't enjoy the area AT ALL.

So it was a quick fix for me and we came home.

This was a floral that i was reworking without much thought.  Kokopeli just seemed at home on 

this primitive background and I like it better than the old floral.

An old cottonwood tree along Canyon Road in Santa Fe.  My husband gives you a perspective of the size of the tree.

Wishing all a Happy PPF

Working Big

This piece is big (for me).  It is 20" x 30".

I must say, the size put me off for a while and I really don't have a place to work on something

this big so it was a clumsy process.  Another thing that was new is that we used gold gesso

as our base coat.  Doesn't seem like much, but it really throws me off.  That said, it is good to stretch

your mind and try new things.   This is the second work I have done on the large canvas,
with gold gesso.

This was the first one.  I have two large canvases waiting but I think I need to get an easel
before I attempt anymore.
Wishing all a Happy PPF

Dog Days of Summer

Wow, this seems like it has been a warm summer.

My biggest problem in my studio (the lanai) is that I sweat so much it drops on to my artwork.

Yuk!  Anyway I haven't been doing much painting or much of anything else for that matter.

We have had so much rain, even the orchids aren't blooming.  I think that they are just trying not to rot in their pots from all of the moisture.  Wish I could send some of it to the western states

where nightly we see the communities burned up by raging wildfires.

 On a lighter note, the painting above was done by using a squirt of mat medium in a design on one piece of paper and then press it with the second.  You let that dry and paint away.  The dried medium 

gives in interesting texture to your paint.

Wishing all a happy PPF

Our four legged boss, Harley keeping a close eye on his "stick".

Changing

Change is a constant.

It goes on in our lives and it goes on in our art.

As I have mentioned before, I love to rework old pieces.

This week I decided to show the changes one of my pieces has undergone.

It all began in an art class doing experimental backgrounds on yupo paper.

We used transparent paint and rubber stamps.

Then we were to add a whimsical floral design with opaque acrylics.

I was OK with it for a while but then added more detail

I was "OK" with this...for a while

And then I changed it completely.  And this is how it will stay because it is framed and I can't get at it.

And here it is at the local art center summer show for the next five weeks.

We are working on large, (30" x 40") canvases in our class right now.

They aren't cheap, but I figure I can repaint them several times.

The problem is that they definitely don't store under the bed.

Wishing all a happy PPF

Games we play

We were gone, gone, gone in the Spring.

We love to travel and had lots of opportunity this year.

When we travel, I love to collect newspapers in the language of wherever we are visiting.

This year I came home with Arabic, Portuguese and Spanish.

I either paint these for collage or use them plain in my collages.

(If anyone has a suggestion for keeping papers for collage neatly, I am open to suggestions)

This past month we were in New Mexico for my grandson's high school graduation

I LOVE New Mexico, the diversity of the people, the wonderful scenery, the gorgeous native jewelry and the food!  We were only there 5 days but I inhaled it all.

I am back in an art class at our local Art Center.

We are working large this time.  The canvas below is 24" x 40"

I incorporated some bits of newspaper 

"Noticias"


Our instructor has shared lots of tips for helping with the dreaded white sheet.
Last week we put 11 dots on our paper and connected them until we were satisfied and then
colored them in with crayons.  The assignment was to take them home and put them on watercolor paper.  I didn't have any  and didn't want to go to the store so I used an old failed painting.  As it turned out, I was then able to scratch through and access the old colors from the original piece.  
I am glad I made that decision.  Here are the results.

charcoal and crayon

Acrylic

So we are back to the HEAT and HUMIDITY of Florida but we have lots of great memories we can call up when we are hiding in the air conditioning.  Just thankful we have AC!

Wishing all a Happy PPF

Beach Music

This is this weeks project.  I think I will call it Beach Music.

It is paint and collage and a bit of sand on the bottom.
And then I was off to a class with a painting friend of mine.
We collaged, dripped and dropped paint and then did a loose floral on top.

The best news at our house this week is that an orchid that hasn't bloomed in five
years, did.  And I hadn't even seen the bud so it was a complete surprise.

Isn't it beautiful???
Wishing all Happy PPF and a happy Memorial Day for those in the US
Have a wonderful weekend.