N is for Nature (abstractly)

Trees, and lots and lots have color have featured in my classes this month.

I have another tree related workshop on Saturday - painting with an unknown group - in acrylics.

I have an hour and a half to help participants create a finished piece. This is the piece I prepared as a sample (I have a simplified version as well). The trees are simple to draw and the overlapping shapes are fun to color. A good combination of realistic and abstraction.

I really like the way this turned out - and I look forward to seeing how my students will interpre
t this.

T is for Tickle

Today's piece is a practice - trying to use color pencil with delicacy to create layers of color. As I worked I kept thinking I was tickling the paper to create transitions from one color to the next and get the results I wanted.

Though the photo does not capture this particularly well, I love the depth of colors that were achieved.  Easy and fun and very relaxing.

M is for (What a) Mess

I started out with the intention of using color pencil to copy/draw a landscape - or in my case, a seascape. What I got was a trip through a mess to find ... something.

Utilizing a technique I learned in class, I printed the image to size and laid it atop my Strathmore Colored Pencil paper (which I think is a pleasure to draw on.)

Using a sharp pencil I "embossed" my main lines into the paper below. Then I began to layer color- I faced a large blank expanse and a tiny pencil tip. Sigh.

I collect art supplies at garage sales. Recently I acquired colored pencil sticks - with no box and no words on them. I also have some colored Conte crayon. They, and/or something else I can't recognize, all seemed to have ended up in the same little flat cigar tin during a mass studio clean up.  I selected a perfectly matched palette from the box, and started to color. 

Now - my problem is, that I cannot seem to make myself duplicate an image. I've done that - many times in the past, but now I want to be able to use this medium to make the images I want - and build my skills.

Yet, I start with the best intentions and quickly hate the image on my page. Then I discover that some of my sticks are pastels - they went on so nice, and some were hard crayon and a few were soft waxy crayons. But I used them as they came to hand to lay down the under colors. However, the color pencil effect was lost and another - something - was appearing.

This is the second time in two days that a carefully planned, copy from a photo project has turned into doing what I often seem to do when I make art of any kind, create a mysterious place. By now, I was so far away from where I started that I said, what the hell, and started messing around, adding little houses, changing the landscape - finding a place, but staying to the gorgeous color palette and feel of the original photo.

I feel like I've taken a step forward today ... 

J is for Jasmine (and other beautiful colors)

When I learn something new I like to practice. As I work with colored pencils I am intrigued by the different textures that can be created. I love the way color can be blended together softly and subtly (in direct contrast to my usual brash and bold applications.)

Today's piece is just a line to create shapes on the page so that I could practice applying color with a light touch. I chose a warm, analogous palette, from red to Spanish orange to pink to jasmine to  purple and applied them gently - just rubbing them in. Misty and quiet - and very relaxing to do.

Z is for Zoom

It is the day before Thanksgiving and their is lots to do.

I have little time, but I am determined to be creative every day (for this challenge, cooking and decorating the table does not count.) So, last night I grabbed what was handy on my work table - pink construction paper (rough stuff) and my Caran D'ache.

 Since this is Z day, I was running Z ideas through my mind. I remembered learning to write a cursive z in 4th grade. I thought then, and still, that it was the most beautiful letter. So, I used Shaprie to write big swirling beautiful flowy Z's large and small in every direction. To add contrast, I threw in a few zig zag non cursive Z's as well. And a few more nice lines to break up the space.

I find that my favorite crayons are quite wonderful on the rough surface of this cheap paper - so I colored each shape to see what would appear. The texture really added to the effect.

This image came together so quickly that I had time to pop it into Photoshop to play. I think the abstract and vibrant results are a great way to close out the alphabet. Tomorrow, we begin again.

T is for Triptych Three Times

Mine

7 years old

I stumbled upon (or rather Pinterested) a wonderful idea for a simple lesson that would work with my seniors. Divide a long narrow sheet of watercolor paper into three six inch squares. Triangles in one, squares, then circles. Use lines to create background shapes. Then color with Caran D'ache. The instructions were open-ended and the results were fabulous. Everyone 'got' the idea and worked well. Best of all, everyone loved the results. Aren't they beautiful?!?

Almost 13

eleven

So I decided to try with both of my kid classes today. It was a slam dunk with the young kids and a really great project for my sophisticated and skilled older kids. Oh, and I loved it too. I have done several of these now myself.

Senior Student

L is for Lucky Me

Sometimes, when the art work is going well, I feel lucky. Lucky to have the time, resources and ability to spend making art. This last run of word/picture drawings is one of those times. I feel like I've stumbled into something new, challenging, mysterious and interesting.

 

Today's piece is the next step in working on yesterday's image. I used Photoshop for the color. What fun!

 

 

K is for Kids

Today's project is a drawing I started in class with my kids this afternoon. This is K day.

I have the most wonderful students, but I feel a special bond with my older kid painting and drawing class. These young women (9-12) come to my class to make art , and their wonderful parents bring them and take them home from the Art Center where our classes are held in a wonderfully equipped art studio.

 I always look forward to this class because the kids are up for anything, and have great ideas and opinions of their own. And they work independently once the assignment is given.

Anyway, I'd planned flowers in pastel today, but I found myself telling them about the work that I am doing with word drawings. They all wanted to try. So, I worked along with them and drew this word picture on the subject of K, using fine sharpie on Bristol paper.

The kids' work (focused on their name, or their brother or Thanksgiving) is still in progress. ,

This new method has yielded unexpected opportunities to be creative. The drawing on the black background is my original drawing inverted. The results, up close, look like a tatted spider web.

The image above is a section that I cropped from my drawing once I had it in Photoshop. The drawing is the original black on white, but I added some strong whites and greys just for fun. I am now working on a color piece and I think it will be beautiful - or maybe, L for lovely.

Check back tomorrow and see what appears.

I is for .... I

Initially my idea was to brainstorm possibilities for the letter I, but as I began to think, I pulled a sheet of drawing paper from a pad and wrote a large letter I in the center. Then I began to write the I words that were occurring to me, using the words to create the pattern.

This is not a new approach to drawing for me. I first found this in the work of Paul Klee, and have used this idea with my seniors to create a really beautiful project that told their stories in shapes and color based on their names and the things they value. But this was different.

As soon as I began to work with the shapes created by the words (all begin with I and are related to creativity), I changed course and started to add lines. The lines suggested a scene. I cropped out part of the image and began to add color using Prismacolor markers - thick and thin.

I loved the results, but was still inspired to go further, so I photographed this and brought it into Photoshop to continue playing. This is the result - words into picture. Get the idea?

Dd is for Done and Done and some Digital too

We've made it to the final day of the Challenge Month. November is almost done and December is just ahead with all the busyness, bother and pleasures it is sure to bring. So, I am glad that I have completed this task, but I will miss the daily-ness of thinking, planning, writing and creating.

Though I worried about my ability to fulfill my personal challenge of using the alphabet to structure my month's work, I find that I  have once again learned a great deal about my art, process and need for structure by doing things in this way. I still find that using the alphabet to organize my posts results in creative ideas - I don't fight myself, just let the words and themes appear. Then something always works out.

Today's piece combines monotype printing and some interesting digital tweaks. I won't share the process - just the results.  Thanks to all of you who have been following my work, and especially for the comments and connections. I am grateful to you all. Till next November ...

R is for the Round Red Dot

One of my favorite lessons for young students came from a children's book I found on a random library search in a the school collection.

Apologies to the unknown author, and thanks, because that book proved a very fine inspiration for helping kids observe what is around them.

I no longer have the book, or even know its real title, but this sweet little book encouraged the children in the story to notice objects that were "As red and as round as a round red dot." I recall balls of red wool in a basket, and bright red apples on a tree.

I often send kids out with an assignment to spend a week noticing and listing all the things they observe that are as round and as red as a red dot.

The lists are amazing, because as time passes, eyes sharpen and those round red dots seem to  appear everywhere  - on pepperoni pizza, on Tylenol bottles, on dresses, on stop lights, and YAY, for me, on a painting in a show.

The round red dot means a piece of art has SOLD!!! So, needless to say, I am always looking out for my own. Here is one.

This painting of poppies in a blue jar  (18x24", acrylic on canvas) sold at the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts. Seeing this round red dot has only made me hungry to see lots more.

B is for Background

One of my greatest challenges is deciding how to begin a painting. Sometimes its easy - I start with an idea,  a line or a patch of color, and just go. Other times I struggle to find my direction. Lately, I find that building on a background can create good results and allow me to really let my love of color take center stage.

This approach started a while ago when I found an early canvas in my collection of "not suitable for seeing" stash. There were lots of great colors, but the image seemed beyond help. As I looked at the work, I realized that the oripalette of strong hot colors just called out for some cools to balance - and I began to paint over it.

The painting that resulted has become a favorite, and I have used this method - either by painting a new background, or overpainting something else has had good effect several times. In fact, each of the paintings I have in the Instructors Show at Multnomah Art Center were painted in this way. I like knowing that I that the painting on top is hiding another story, and letting just little bits of the past influence the present.

By starting on a painted background in this way, it is easy to select a limited palette, and all that lies beneath offers a subtle texture to the finished work.

Each of these painting is 18x24 acrylic on canvas.

A is for Art Everyday for a Month 2013

Its November again.  This means miserable weather and great holidays, and the start of yet another Art Everyday for a Month challenge.

This will be my fourth year taking part in a challenge that forces me to not only create everyday, but to put my work out there for the world to see and comment about. It is also  a great way to meet other artists, see and be inspired by their art and learn from their ideas and their struggles.

Looking back over the work and words I have posted on this blog over the last three challenges. I can see the progress I have made as an artist, enjoy the variety of materials and subjects that hold my interest or fade away, revisit my thoughts, ideas, struggles and adventures, and I can enjoy the comments made by others.

Looking to the future (or at least the next thirty days), I am excited to share some of the things I have been working on this year.  Some of what I will share will be generated in the process of preparing lessons for the classes I teach. And, there will be some brand new stuff coming out of the Monotype printing class I just began and which I will surely write more about. Printing is a totally new art form for me, and I am excited to be learning something new. After just one class, I can see fabulous applications of new techniques to my paintings and drawings.

So, lots to look forward to, and lots to do. Tonight, I will be attending the opening of the newly renovated Multnomah Arts Center Gallery. (Read all about it here. Please stop by the gallery for the opening celebrations tonight, or anytime - it is beautiful.) I have three paintings in the Instructors' Show, and am looking forward to a great evening, meeting other instructors, seeing their work, and having my picture taken in front of my paintings to share with you :-) 

Also, I will be offering a Fashion Art class for teens in January. I need to polish my sketching skills in preparation for that.

This cat painting is one of series I have been working on for months. The idea of drawing abstract cats started as an idea for students, and has resulted in dozens of great images done by kids and seniors. I have also "made cats" with friends and for friends. This patterned cat, 12 x18 on watercolor paper, is done with caran d'ache water-soluble crayons and water. I think this one is wishing you a slightly belated Happy Halloween

Y is for Yin and Yang

Yin and Yang. Y is that?

Using the alphabet as my structure for this Art Everyday for a Month Challenge blog has proven to be a good way for me to stimulate my creativity.

Within the alphabet limitations I not only need to create art, but each piece needs to fit into my self-imposed structure. Everyday I need to brainstorm possibilities for the letter of the day - and each day something comes to mind. Now, after three years of doing this, the end of the alphabet has not gotten any easier (still no clue what Z will be about tomorrow). So, I am sure you are wondering Y this is about yin and yang.

The image on the page is actually a drawing of a group of tropical flowers - first drawn right side up, then flipped and drawn again so that the images not only cross, but fit together symmetrically to create a new abstract pattern - yin and yang. Once the pattern was in place, I decided to ignore the floral roots and just play with the shapes to see what appears. This was another chance to experiment with Inktense pencils, and add a few lines and details in markers. I like it. do You?

This is 9x12 on watercolor paper.

U is for Up

 My "senior class" today was a delight. My preparation, which included printing a collection of large, vibrant flowers, and even pre-sketching a few, resulted in truly lovely work, and a relaxing  pre-Thanksgiving afternoon. To start the class I demonstrated how to mix and blend and deepen colors when working with Caran D'ache watersoluble crayons (which everyone loves). As my classes progress, my students (my "aspiring artists" as Lillian refers to our group) are growing more independent, and more skilled.

When things go well, and everyone enjoys themselves, and real learning has taken place,  I feel happy ... UP ... and I express that good feeling with color. This is pastel on black paper and lots of digital fooling around to bring even more color and texture to the piece. 

I is for Intuitive Painting

 Always on the lookout for inspiring ideas, I saw a YouTube video about Intuitive Painting. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I am trying to get out of my own way when painting - putting down lines or shapes or colors and seeing where it goes. But I had never heard of Intuitive Painting - which is essentially smooshing a bunch of acrylics paint onto the canvas, and in this method, covering it with saran wrap and pushing the paint around. When you take off the saran, you spend time looking at the image to see what appears.

This seemed like a great idea - which actually led to another one. I chose my colors, in a cool mood, smooshed and pushed the paint, but when I peeled off the saran I saw that there was plenty of paint on the wrap as well as some pattern. So, thinking about printing, I laid the paint covered saran back on the painting and smooshed and pushed some more ... and did it again, layering paint and pattern. The image on the right shows the work in progress.

At some point, my inner voice said stop. Staring at the painting I saw mountains in clouds, a stream, grass lands and lovely cool light. This all called out for trees - so I painted them in and the painting felt complete.

In my explorations of the Art Every Day Month Challenge, I came across this site which shows another version of this process and gives a good description of the method. Check it out this post about plastic wrap art technique at Art by Serena Go to My Art Projects.

On Painting in Series

In the Red Room Variation 2

Having now completed four paintings in this series, and working on the design for number five, a whole new set of problems begins to arise. How do I continue in a theme, using several "givens" yet create variety and maintain interest (my own and the viewers)?

On the list of things to do to work in series is ANALYSIS. As I work on this project I keep coming back to the need to analyze everything I am doing. I need to carefully analyze the botanical shapes of real flowers in order to work toward abstraction. I need to analyze the images that actually take shape my canvas for line quality, color, texture, feeling and style, and, because this is a series, visual consistency.  Very challenging. Very interesting.


The deeper I go in the series, the more important it becomes to plan ahead. I sketch frequently and try lots of variations before I move to the canvas. However, in spite of the careful planning, I am reminded constantly that paint does not behave like a pen, so the results are not necessarily what I start out to create. So, now I am learning to add more detail and pay more attention to the sketches I prepare and analyze all the things I want to accomplish in the piece: the shapes - are they big enough to paint as separate entities? Are they distinct from each other? Does it matter? The colors - I am working on a red background and limiting my palette so that I use the same paints in all the paintings. So, How do the colors play off the background? How do they work together?  Also, (and one of the best parts of the process) is discovering how the mixes from the limited palette create fabulous and harmonious results.

The big picture:  With now four pieces in the series, I need to compare how the shapes and colors and composition of each new piece works with the existing paintings as part of a whole. I also find that as I complete a new piece, I want to go back to the earlier piece to improve it with something new I have just learned. Variation 2 - above is still in process, but I now know what I need to do to complete it - that's progress.

So, to answer a question asked on this blog, has the process helped to narrow my focus? Absolutely, I know where I want to go, I feel more and more comfortable doing this work, because each repetition provides practice, skill building and a better understanding of how to put a painting together. But also, not at all, because the more I paint, the more I experiment, the more I analyze what I want to do, the broader my imaginings become - I keep seeing over the horizon to what's next ... we will see.

A Good Time was had by All

Two paintings

This last series of Dynamic Abstract classes was the most fun of all so far. I loved the chance to really explore the work of several artists - some old favorites, some new to me. I am seeing even familiar works with new eyes as I learn more about abstraction. I especially enjoyed the strong color palette that was part of each week's assignment.

I think another reason I enjoyed this class so much is that I am finally I am beginning to move through my "idiot child" phase into a place of greater confidence - or maybe it is just that I am giving myself permission to just learn and accept the work, good, bad, ugly or beautiful, as it comes. And, to recognize the pure pleasure that comes simply from the act of putting color and line on canvas.

One thing is for sure though, painting (like my other vocation, writing) can be somewhat isolating. So, the chance to meet and work with other artists in my classes adds not only pleasure and fun, but yet another teacher to learn from, another set of eyes to critique - and this class was particularly rich in  inspiring others.

Most of all, the chance to work with Illa Guttman is a privilege - and a pleasure. Thanks Illa for a especially fun class. See you all next week.

In name only

Name Game

I have been very busy lately. My weeks seem to fly by -  filled with planning and teaching and taking art classes.

My Saturdays have been fabulously filled by a painting class, Dynamic Abstracts with Illa Guttman at PCC. This class is six hours of feeling like a fool followed by the elation of actually creating a painting. Some weeks are better than others - and it is wonderful to be part of a group, and especially, to have such a wonderful teacher.

I am also planning to teach an abstract painting class for kids next week, Spring Break. I am ready - bursting with ideas to share and things to do. I find myself poring over books of paintings in the library and visiting galleries - just looking at how abstract artists work, thinking about ways to express what I want my students to know. All of this causes me to think of about lines and color and shapes in different ways, and to experiment with varied projects to see what results.

I will be teaching my students to create abstract images with tempera, and I use acrylic in my PCC class, and frequently in my own studio, yet, I often find myself returning to these line drawings. They are fun to do, relaxing, more accessible than paint and far neater, and they are a different way for me to explore flow, color, overlap, shapes and ... some kind of grace - maybe the unexpectedness of finding shapes and forms I do not plan - which somehow feels to me like the very heart of abstract expression.

This image is based on a painting project I did earlier this year - the lines are my name, written in different sizes and directions, always crossing, forming new shapes. It is 9x12 on watercolor paper, done with fine tip pens.

In Layers

Float

I started this by using a compass to draw a pattern of circles. Then I drew the weaving lines over the circles.

My idea was to use color to identify each circle, cool colors for the circle shapes, warms for the background. I combined medium and fine point sharpie to draw all the lines.

Then I layered more lines to define each circle, and then used thin layers of intense pencil to create the overlapping weave of background color, and added another layer of lines to define the over lapping areas. Then a little more color.

This does not translate well on the screen, but the image on 11x14 drawing paper creates a strong impression of depth.