playing...doing something just for the fun of it

Art journals allow me to attempt smaller scale projects--one page at a time, and give me the chance to experiment with different techniques and mediums.  Here I tried out laying down a patterned tissue paper with Mod Podge and then drawing on top of it with a fine tip Sharpie and a white Pitt artist pen.  Sometimes I let a page sit for a few days before I decide whether I want to come back and add to it or just leave it as it is.

When I'm not happy with the results, I simply paint over the page or cover it with another image or paper and start over.  It's good practice for me since I'm concentrating on resisting perfectionism in my life.  One art journal blogger says not to think to much, don't make it difficult...just have fun with it and if you don't like the results, cover it up and start again.  Having recently read The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown, this is a good way to practice for me.

courage

Inspired by a conversation with my oldest daughter and her sharing with me some links to TED talks by Brene Brown.  Background text is from a paperback dictionary from a thrift store, sealed with gesso, with lettering in pencil, fine-tip Sharpie, and colored pencils.

magnolia blossoms

This pen and ink and colored pencil drawing was inspired by a sprig of magnolia blossoms that a friend brought to work last week--exquisite in color and form.

it's ok...you're allowed to fly

This journal page is created with pencil, an extra fine tip Sharpie, and Crayon colored pencils.  I applied gesso to the brown paper first, which creates a fine texture on the paper that the colored pencils can grab.  The result is much brighter color than if I had used the very smooth original paper alone.

ancient footsteps

Lately I have been experimenting with handcrafted art journals made from recycled brown paper grocery bags and bound with carpet yarn.  This two-page spread includes ocean waves created with watercolor paints over tissue paper and includes spattering and some sponge work.  The quote is from a Bob Dylan song and reads:  I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea, sometimes I turn, there's someone there, sometimes it's only me.

first art journal

This is my first art journal and I'm using the opportunity to experiment with anything and everything--watercolors, pen and ink, colored pencils, acrylic paints, gesso, Mod Podge, scotch tape, and a variety of techniques.  I have two other empty art journals ready to go, again made with brown paper grocery bags and bound with yarn.  I'll take my favorite techniques and mediums and start creating journals with themes.

I made the cover with a piece of fabric glued on with Mod Podge and then trimmed with household masking tape.  I braided the ends of the yarn used to bind the journal.  I'm very please with my first attempt and can't wait to start on the next one.

forest path

This is one of my favorite paintings and the image that I used as a basis for the previous painting.  This was actually painted a few years ago and hangs in my reading room.  It included a technique I had never used before which was to lay down certain colors and then rub some of the areas lightly with the end of a wax candle.  The waxed areas then resist colors that are layered on top, preserving the underlying colors.  This created the highlights and rough areas on some of the tree bark and on the path.

content with less than perfection

With more than a week off from work, I was finally able to pull out that canvas I bought months ago and work on the painting in my head.  Step-by-step, I worked and I had determined beforehand that I would decide to be content with less than perfection.  It was an attempt and I would learn from it and I would hang it up in my home and be content with it...and on another day, I would make another attempt and apply what I learned and enjoy that result as well.

This is the largest piece I've done in a long time...another way I wanted to stretch myself.  It is a 24 x 36 inch canvas.  It's also in acrylics which I haven't worked in for years.

surprises

Often the most pleasing outcomes are surprises.  This small painting was the result of some basic painting technique exercises out of a watercolor painting instruction book.  The purpose was to practice with washes and painting wet-on-wet and though I practiced several times, this one turned out particularly nicely and I've had it hanging in my house in various places for a few years.  I love the simplicity of it and the placement and composition.  It also illustrates the fact that every single painting is unique even if you're copying another's work for the purpose of learning and that often the most pleasing results come as a complete surprise, even to the artist.

small bird, small wonder

An afternoon sketch while watching the birds at the feeder on the back patio.  Conte crayon on paper.

cyclamen

One of my most favorite plants...the mottled heart-shaped leaves, the petals like wings. This is a small painting, painted for the sheer pleasure of it.

autumn

Fall has inspired me again. The colors and shadows, the light playing off of shifting leaves, the crisp sky. I've also been wanting to capture a sense of quietness and solitude with long, horizontal panoramas. So I've used the colors of autumn, a combination of wet-on-wet and dry brush details, and cropped the painting with a long and narrow, horizontal mat. The painting itself is 4x10 inches.

painting emotions

A few weeks ago I was sitting in a coffee shop with two artist friends, Garrett and Dan. We were talking about painting emotions and we were asking ourselves how you express intangible things--like joy or mystery or fear--with paint. How do color and texture, light and dark combine to communicate intangible things? Since that conversation, I've been contemplating different emotions and what they would look like if I painted them. My intense experiences with depression eight years ago came to mind very quickly and then, the thought of what hope can feel like in contrast. Today I sat down to paint them both.

flight

Early in the morning and late in the evening when you cross the river through town or pass over one of the many creeks that feed the river, you will find the swallows darting and swarming around the bridges where they build their mud nests safely underneath. It's a ritual that greets the day and then meets the night. It's one of my most favorite sights.

water lilies

I love the pale colors and calm of water lilies. This was my first attempt and I'll be trying again because I didn't quite capture what I wanted to, but I did enjoy the exercise. I especially liked the way the upper lily pad turned out, although it's not quite as clear in this image. I painted this on a sheet of 11 x 15 Strathmore paper, quite a bit larger than I'm used to painting.

fence posts

The Sacramento Valley stretches north from Sacramento until it begins to fade into low grassy hills studded with gray-green oak trees. These grassy hills are green in the spring and winter when the rains come, but the rest of the year they are brown and golden.

Northern California Coast

This is my first seascape. I worked from a photo I took several years ago of a portion of the Northern California Coast, one of the most beautiful places in the world. I also attempted to paint more loosely. I tend to paint like I used to draw in college, very detailed and precise. This time I focused more on general shapes and color rather than detail.

Birch Grove

I actually painted this several months ago but hadn't posted it for some reason. I was experimenting with backlighting so I wanted to paint a grove of trees lit from behind. A friend pointed out to me later the "path" through the trees, although this was unintentional and just happened.

Magnolia

I bought a couple of used watercolor books online and have been trying out different techniques. With this one, I used a series of washes and focused on painting the negative space around the blossom and leaves.

I seem to paint a lot of flowers and leaves. I think I'll attempt something different next time. And I want to practice loosening up, painting less precisely.

trees

I've been practicing painting trees...trees in the fall, trees in the spring, trees full and green in the summertime.