Dd is for Day 30 and Done (at least for now)

We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves 

over and let the beautiful stuff out. 

~ Ray Bradbury

This year's challenge is drawing to a close - and I am experiencing a collection of emotions; relief, sadness, exhilaration and satisfaction for the chance to focus on a daily creation. Everyday brought the question of what to do - but it got easier over the days, and less scary to put something out there.

Today, I reviewed the last 29 pieces I have posted, and I am slightly awed by what I have done - by the variety of techniques and styles I used, and by the fact that, even on my busiest days, I followed through on my commitment to do this. If I were an athlete, I would say that I feel that my muscles are stronger and more limber for all this practice.

Of course, so much of the inspiration to keep at this, has come from  the ideas, comments and support I have received from friends, and from other participants. There are so many talented people working out there - doing so many interesting things; I want to try them all. And, I want to thank all of you who visited the blog and shared your thoughts. I have learned SO much - and I have enjoyed every moment of this month.

As I said at the beginning, my goal for this month has been to develop my ability to work abstractly. Today's post - the grand 2011 finale, is an abstract painting, acrylics on canvas, completely from my imagination, though related in theme and style to another, smaller work I created a month ago (see A is for Abstract). It is the largest I have ever attempted - 36"x24" - and it was pure pleasure to paint. I can't wait to start on another.

Cc is for Colorful Characters

One of my favorite ways to relax is to doodle images from a single line and see what appears. More often than not, my doodles turn into abstract people, and sometimes, faces. One of the challenge blogs I have been following describes these drawings as "one-liners" - a perfect description.













I use this method of doodling as a way to warm up - and then I like to color whatever appears  - this is my idea of relaxation. I drew and colored this lady with markers - and then decided to spiff her up a little with Photoshop.  My skills with this program have grown over the course of this challenge - I have learned to create many effects with ease. As usual, what I like best about this image is the color ... its always the color for me ... but so many lovely colors appeared I could not choose my favorite - so I am posting two. Which do you like best? Why?

Bb is for Bright and Bold

I have been trying for days to bring a mandala pattern that I drew into Photoshop so that I could work with it. The problems with this include (but are not limited to) capturing the image with my camera so that it is not warped, getting rid of the shadows on the page so that Photoshop does not see the darker areas as shapes, ensuring that the lines are dark enough to be read by Photoshop as complete lines, and that the shapes remain individual so they can be filled with color. Nothing really worked well enough - maybe I lack the skill to do it right.

So, when all else kept failing, I used Adobe Illustrator to create the basic template for this, and then brought it into Photoshop to color and work with effects. I probably could have done it all in Illustrator, but I am more familiar with Photoshop. I love the results, but more than that, I love the feeling of having figured out the solution to this problem.

Z is for Zinnias

YAY! I've made it through the alphabet, though not yet through the entire month. After 26 days I really feel like I am in a productive and creative zone, and glad to be meeting my own goal of creating and sharing something everyday for this month.

Today's work is based on a photograph of zinnias - it is done in Photoshop.

Once again, setting out to plan a painting, I have combined digital effects that result in an image that reads as a painting, and provides me with the guide I need to move to the canvas. However, once again, I feel like this stands alone as a work of art worth sharing.

I have always loved making computer art. I have decades of experience in graphic design using all kinds of computer art tools - CorelDraw 1 anybody?  But I used to feel guilty about using my tools to create "fine art."  Lately though, the more I experiment, the more images I create, the more my point of view shifts. I think art happens where and how it happens -

For me, using digital tools allows me to build my visual and my technical skills. They also enable me to accomplish another of my goals for this month - to understand how to abstract an image. As I play with Photoshop and Illustrator, I begin to see how to simplify, how textures and shapes combine to "read" as flowers, or seascapes or sunsets. Most of all, no matter where the working takes place,  I am LEARNING everyday and with every piece.

How do you feel about painting in Photoshop or other digital tools? How do you use them in conjunction with your art?

Y is for Yellow

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, complete with a torrential and windy Pacific storm that seemed to tear the leaves from the trees. This morning, the sun was shining, and our morning walk revealed that there were still some leaves on the trees - yellow ones. Those hearty maples are lending their golden glow to distract shoppers from Black Friday :-).

Today's image is a combination of two leaf photos, Photoshop manipulation, to do two things, bring out details and enhancement  the gorgeous colors.

X is for Experimentation

This painting started was in class last week - it began as an abstracted sunset on the ocean seen from within a room. The painting is warm. There was a table and a bowl of fruit in the room.

I love the colors, and I have been thinking about how to further abstract the abstract all week.

This afternoon I decided to sketch out my ideas in Photoshop. I played with the composition, with the colors and with shapes. Then applied different filters for different effects, This is my favorite  among at least seven variations, all of which are interesting perspectives of the simple shapes that make up this image.

Happy Thanksgiving - I am thankful for the opportunity to experiment with ideas and tools today, to be creative today and every day, and to be able to share what I create with you.

W is for Wet

What better way to weather a this watery Wednesday before Thanksgiving than by creating a "flow painting."

This type of painting  is done by literally pouring watered acrylic paint over the canvas and letting it flow. The shapes are made by shifting and turning the canvas to  flow of the paint. There is very little brush work - but a little pushing does help create some good flows. It is messy and fun.

As each layer is dried, another is flowed on top. I chose the most watery and transparent colors I could to create this effect and I poured a final layer over the entire piece to give it a watery glazed finish.

V is for Endless Variations

The next class in the free mandala class series was posted yesterday, and inspired me to try the technique again. One of the key points of yesterday's lesson, made so clear when I look at the work posted on the site, is that mandalas, even those based on identical patterns, offer endless opportunities for variation - in color, in intensity, outline, feeling and emphasis. Once you begin to vary the geometry - the possibilities are infinite - and fun. For today's image, I laid out the design on heavy watercolor paper, and used high quality color pencils. Still, though I layered color on, there is not enough punch. I once again used Photoshop to tweak the image and add the green background.

Clearly, I have not yet found the combination of paper and color materials that will work to create the intensity I desire - but I will keep on trying - I am thinking about pens for the next variation - whatever I choose to try - I am sure it will be fun to discover what appears.

U is for Up

The endless rain and drear is dragging me down - so it was time to look up - up at the sky on a lovely evening. This little pastel (4"x6") is part of series of little sky sketches drawn from my photos of sunsets on the beach - in different places and at different times. What they share in common is gorgeous light and uplifting colors.

T is for Tualatin

Truth told, I was considering T for timeout today. Yesterday was a busy day, filled with painting, today too, but I have nothing complete to share, so instead I decided to share a painting I did in a class last year - a small pastel of the boat ramp on theTualatin River - a deeply familiar place.

This has always been one of my favorite pieces of work - I do not know how I drew it, it just seemed to appear.  The good news is that, to me, and to lots of neighbors too, I have totally captured the look and the feel of our river.

R is for Red

Its a red red red red world out there - at least for now. Storms, wind and rain will probably tear down this incredible beauty by tomorrow, but today was a perfect opportunity to record the remarkably rosy abundance of leaves.

Meteorologists are blaming the incredible intensity of the leaf colors on our unusual summer and fall weather - whatever the reasons, the results are spectacular.

 Of course, I can not simply take some photos and leave them alone. Last year, for the challenge I created another leaf design - using gold leaves. I wondered what would happen if I played with this red image  -

This is the result  (thanks Photoshop) and thanks Ronaele for the inspiration :-)

  

Q is for Questions

In the style of Richard Diebenkorn

Is this good? What is wrong with this? How can I do this? Why doesn't this look right? Who can help me? Why is this so hard?

Artistic confidence is not always my strong suit. Sometimes, no matter what I do, the image I am working on fails to satisfy my toughest audience ... me.

Maybe the only thing I do not question on my creative quest is my own  sense of what is beautiful to me. In my eyes, either it works or it doesn't. I trust my sense of esthetics, just not my ability to create it.

Sometimes, as I am working along I suddenly know - this is good. More often, far more often, I know I am off - but I am not sure why.

One of my teachers suggests that a good way to learn technique is to copy the work of masters. I have learned a great deal about working with pastels in this way - and the results are often pleasing, and always worth the effort.

Today, in preparation for my Saturday Dynamic Abstract Painting class, I decided to explore the work of the artist we are going to study - Richard Diebenkorn. As I scrolled through images of his work, I found this simple semi-abstract seascape. I decided to copy this and see what the artist was doing  - how did he use such simple forms, and yet tell a clear story of time and place? How did his colors impact the affect?

Though the original is painted, I knew that pastels would work well for me. I started by drawing the shapes - and began to color. Something was off - the questions started up - why doesn't this work? What is wrong? Stepping back and staring at the work for awhile, an answer appeared - I had drawn the trees too large and they completely threw off the perspective and depth. Once I redrew them, the proportions fit. Then, of course I had a few more questions - how can I create the depth in the clouds? Are the colors right? Is it raining too hard to take this outside to spray?  After awhile - it all worked out - at least for now.

It is good to know that sometimes, if I ask the right questions, the answer will come. So. my questions to you - and I would be grateful for answers posted below ... What questions do you ask yourself as you work? Where do you find answers? Who do you trust to help you? What is the hardest part of creating art? I look forward to learning more about you.

By the way, this is 18"x24" on Canson Mi Tiente paper. It felt so good to have my hands back in the messy pastels for a change.

O is for Online Learning

One of the many benefits of this Art Everyday for a Month Challenge has been the opportunity to spend time on other people's blogs - looking at their work, reading their posts, and sometimes, following through on their suggestions and recommendations.

Today's art is the result of a link I found on an AEDM  blog (I am sorry I don't recall which) for a free online class   "The Mandala Free Class, A class to introduce and teach you how to do great Mandalas from a simple template."

The class is taught by Guadalupe Brizuela Cabal.

I love mandalas, and I love to take classes, and I love to learn online. Most of all, I love something FREE. So,  I clicked through, signed up, and waited until the class was scheduled to begin - this morning.

On the site, as promised was a terrific video, as well as a materials list, templates I could use, and a discussion group. Who could ask for more? I learned so much from watching the first lesson that I did not even need to use a template. I dug out my excellent compass, ruler and triangle and drew a very light square on a sheet of drawing paper and designed a mandala following the directions I had just watched.

Gualalupe suggests coloring with watercolor pencils. I have a fine, and underused set I bought in Paris, and though I love them, I do not think they gave enough visual punch. Since it is suggested that we post images of the mandalas we create to share in the class discussion, and anyway, since this was going to be posted here too, I took a digital pic and brought it into Photoshop where I really went to town trying out lots of effects to strengthen the image. These are the results.

There are several more lessons still to come online - and others are invited to log in and join the class, here is the link again 

 I recommend the class, and I believe that online learning is ideal for visual thinkers - so check it out, sign up, and if you create anything, post a link here too.

N is for Nice and Warm

November weather is nasty more often than not. Its grey, its rainy. What could be more comforting that swirling great globs of sunshine colors across the canvas and basking in the warmth.

M is for Many Colors

So, what did I learn in school yesterday?

I am privileged to be studying Dynamic Abstract Painting with Illa Guttman at PCC this term. I have repeatedly referred to something I have learned from her in this blog - but yesterday's class was particularly enthralling.

The subject was Color Field painting "with its emphasis on stain painting and visual gorgeousness."

In class, we explored the often HUGE works of Helen Frankenthaler and Mark Rothko, among others.

Often in museums, when standing in front of a work of art that looks like nothing more than a line on a field of color, I think, I could do that. This kind of work looks easy - but ...  Ha ha ha ... not so fast.

Yesterday was a chance to try. I began by finding a photo (a sea scene) with vivid colors that laid out in lines.) On  a canvas 2'x3', and following the guidance of my teacher, I laid down a strong underlayer of a dark violet. Then, using painters tape, I laid out a pattern of stripes and began to paint, changing, mixing and layering colors - and seeing the effects of the color that lay beneath.

I was lucky to have 4 hours to work - because I needed time for layers to dry, and to watch how one stripe of color affected the next (and to remove and replace tape.) In the end, the simple stripes were too flat for me so I added the other lines. I am not sure if this works, but I know that I learned a tremendous amount, and already have several ideas for ways to use what I have learned in some new work.

L is for the Love of Learning Something New

I am learning to paint in acrylics. Actually, I am learning to paint. Learning something new is just about my favorite thing to do - and learning to paint is a challenge on many many levels.

The desire to learn to paint began just over two years ago when I took a class in pastels. After a significant birthday I felt the need to prepare myself for a new stage in my life - one in which I had more time to create, and more need for a way to occupy my time with something meaningful and pleasurable.

From that time on, I was hooked on the fascination of trying to capture color and light and images in pastel, and later, in pencils and markers. As I worked, and experienced both moments of elated success and dismal failure,  I began to understand that each piece is a teacher. I often find myself staring at something and thinking - what did I learn? What did I do right? What would I do differently? How can I get better at this? Sometimes the answers are right in front of me, more often my growth requires outside assistance from articles, books, teachers, and my husband with his logical mind and eagle eye for details. But I have discovered one thing for sure - the answers and the progress and the learning lie in the doing.

So, now I am doing something new, something difficult, something exciting and frustrating. And I am learning - the list of what I am learning grows everyday. For example, I am learning about acrylic paints. The color names are a book in themselves. I read articles on the internet , look at the work of professional and amateur artists, and I take classes. But still, the real learning happens as I work, or rather, as I figure out HOW to work in this medium.  I am discovering that some paints are opaque, others transparent. Not all the tubes provide this information - though some do. Some colors mix beautifully with others, some, not so much. I am learning about surfaces to paint on, the best size for a piece, how to choose and arrange my tools and my paints, how to keep the paint from drying out, how much paint I need, ... I could go on an on (and I will, but not right now.)

One the toughest things for me is to understand WHAT to paint, because the images that lend themselves beautifully to pastels and color pencils do not always work in paint (and vice versa.) Though I often have ideas, I lack the skill to make them work.  So, one of the ways I am able to rehearse a painting is to depend on my digital tools for help.  I layout designs, try different strokes and techniques, play with color and shadows, and by doing this begin to understand where the light is, how the colors work together, how to adjust the proportions to improve the composition, and so much more. And sometimes, the digital image that results in just beautiful in its own right. The image above is one I used to plan a painting called Harvest - which is still not ready for prime time - but I like this  digital painting enough to share.

Now, I need to get ready for today's painting class. I can't wait to discover what I am about to learn.

K is for Klee

"Paul Klee’s personal style spanned an astounding range, blending primitive art, Surrealism, Cubism, and children's art. Extremely inventive, Klee created imaginative works filled with wit and references to dreams, music, and poetry ..."

From the synchronicity department this morning, just as I was getting ready to post about one of my favorite artists, Paul Klee, the website Art.com decided to do the same. The quote about Klee is from the site, which includes this link to a full gallery of his images. 

It was because I just love looking at his work, that I had a major inspiration this summer, one that has been 'coloring' all of my art since. It all started as a search for ideas for projects to inspire my young students. Klee, with his simple forms and vibrant colors, and especially his scribble drawings is a natural way to help kids see the many ways that they can create art and beauty. So, I went to the gallery for a virtual stroll and happened upon this delightful image. My first thought

L'arrivée Du Marié, 1933 by Paul Klee

was that even a child could draw this. Then I noticed the name of the piece - which translated means The Groom Arrives. 

This is one more moment when the advice from my teacher about naming an image comes in handy - as soon as a read the name, I saw, not a bright colored scribble drawing, but an Eastern European groom from a past century (what my grandfather might have work to his wedding) -  hat, boots, pantaloons. A question floated up. "What would the bride wear?" 

The answer practically flowed from my pen as I scribbled the lady above. Not only do I love her - (she hardly feels like my own creation - just a gift from the art heavens) - but she is amazingly like the drawings I obsessively created as a young girl - girls in dresses. This drawing is sharpie marker and oil pastel on heavy textured paper.

I taught several wonderful Klee related lessons to my students this summer - with amazing results - but in this instance, it was the teacher who gained the most from this lesson. As you can see from some of my recent posts, the abstract art I am almost compelled to create has a lot of roots in Klee's work. My sketchbook overflows with scribble drawings just waiting to be painted.

So, who inspired you? In what way? Please share.

I is for Ideas (or no ideas)

One of the biggest challenges of the Art Everyday for a Month challenge is coming up with ideas for what to do next (okay, this is a constant challenge.) Add to this the fact that I am trying to work in an abstract way, and today I drew a blank. (Not one I can post here however.)

Though no abstract ideas are coming my way, the stack of pears on my kitchen counter are calling my name. The tree in my yard has been most abundant this year. A source of culinary inspiration, and this morning, an art idea.

One of the first things I learned to draw was a pear. I was first inspired to try to draw one because I saw them drawn, painted, photographed in almost every book I read as I was learning about drawing with pastels. Pears are just a lovely, sensuous shape. They come in wonderful colors, they lend themselves beautifully to pastels, and they taste good too.


As I look around my studio, I realized  that because I draw pears at least a few times a year, they are a good judge of my progress. So, today, something real - a quick sketch in pastels on canson mi tiente.

H is for How-to

I love to combine Photoshop with drawing, or use it to make digital pictures look like paintings, or enhance an image, or design a card, or, or, or ....

Photoshop is not an easy tool to master (in my opinion). Though I was adept at many other graphic and photo editing programs, (often self taught), I needed real help to learn how to make the most of this tool.

Even after years of use, I have only scratched the surface of its potential. I first learned how to use it by taking an online course. This was a great - I had all the time I needed to practice the lessons and the techniques on my own computer and my schedule. It was kind of an art everyday challenge in itself. When I was done with a lesson I posted it to the class website and had the benefit of class and teacher critique. Not only did I learn a lot, the positive comments really boosted my self-confidence, and the results of the lessons often became the basis for graphic design projects for my business.

Now, one of my favorite ways to expand my skills and try out new techniques is to explore Photoshop tutorials online for inspiration.  Sometimes I look for something particular (once I needed to create bubbles with faces inside - and yes, by combining several tutorials, succeeded.)  Often, I just happen upon an idea that appeals to me and try it out. 

Today's image is built on one of my favorite photos. I took this at sunset one night at the beach - I loved the warm light of the original, so I decided to try the process described in a tutorial I Stumbled Upon to enhance the light and see what happened.

Which brings me to a caveat about tutorials - not all of them actually make sense to me - this was the case with the one I worked from. I don't think I did it right - but, I accidentally created a beautiful texture layer which, when I combined it with the original image, added a depth of light and warmth that I really like. Sometimes the mistakes lead to the best outcomes. When I completed the tutorial steps, I began to play with this using some of my favorite tricks - and this is the result.

I see lots of comments from other AEDM participants about  the challenges of using Photoshop. I suggest googling Photoshop Tutorials (or go to the Adobe website) and see what you find. Try them out ... share what you create. And, don't be afraid to mess up - you never know what might appear.

G is for Grit

I could write about the guts and grit it takes to create and share something new everyday, but that's not what I am thinking about.

Today, the grit on my mind is the gorgeous grit on Wallis Sanded Paper. This summer, in exchange for an art lesson, I received a handful of this heavy sanded paper. I had heard pastel artists rave about it, but I had never seen it or worked with it.  Simply put, grit on paper + pastel = WOW! Every piece I have done on this paper has had a wonderful velvet texture that I just love.

One of my favorite ways to relax is to draw these scribble paintings, they are always fun and I never know what to expect when the color is added. This little abstract is done with pastel pencils on the Wallis Sanded Paper.