Monday and Moving Slowly

Even though I was up early again this morning, I really haven't accomplished too much in the way of art making.  I did have a doctor appointment this morning so that did take some time.  I also took the time to buy myself a new agenda book for this school year, I like to keep track of appointments and meetings the old fashioned way.

I just finished my artwork for the day, "Just Yesterday".  I started with a picture of my sister Jenni when she was about 3 years old, with the intention of giving it to her for her 50th birthday.  I missed the big day which was July 3rd as I was deep into my roadtrip.  I will take it to her later this week.  I put down a layer of acrylic paint using Brilliant Orange, Medium Magenta, and Titanium White.  When the paint was dry I attached a piece of stained paper and some lace using matte medium.  Next I adhered the image of Jenni and a frame cut fromm some decorative paper I had on hand. I cut 4 flower stencils from paint samples, glued them in place along with jewels for the centers.  I felt that there was still something missing, so I added thin strips of a paint sample on opposing corners.  The this strips added emphasis and helped to balance the image.  I am pleased with the final composition and hope that Jenni likes it as well.
It is already almoast 1:00 pm; I plan to spend the afternoon working on photos from my roadtrip and adding in missed entries on the Driving Backwards blog.  I hope to be back in the serious painting mode by this coming weekend.

Start Simple

Sunday morning and I was up before 6:00 am; of course Dusty was barking for food and the cats were actively crawling over the bed indicating their hunger as well.  On these days of no school, I like to start simple by creating my artwork of the day.  This collage, "Dreams" was made in the same technique that I used yesterday.  Today I began with an image of the nude woman that I had cut out from an older issue of "W" magazine.  Because of the basic blueness of the image, I first laid down a layer of acrylic paint using Ultramarine Blue dulled with Brilliant Orange and a little bit of Titanium White.  Once dry I added a layer that included Bright Aqua Green that was mixed with the previous colors.  I added a bit more white to lighten it up.  Then I used matte medium to attach the magazine image.  I went over the image with the white tinted with a small amount of the blue and some matte medium to increase the transparency.  Next I found the words "your dreams miss you." in my box of miscellaneous words.  I used matte medium to glue the words at an angle following that of the nude woman.  Once it was attached, I went over the words with white thinned with matte medium.  I used a hand-cut stamp with blue and red ink applied to it for the spirals, then went over the spirals with transparent white, smudging the ink just slightly.  I am very pleased with this piece, the monochromatic blue color scheme gives it a dream-like feel.

Still Painting

I just spent about an hour working on my painting of an old International dump truck. I added in the neutral area of the truck body using mostly titanium white with small additions of Venetian red, Vandyke brown, Naples yellow deep, and lamp black.  I am still allowing the blending of colors to be apparent to get that slightly inpressionaistic feeling.  Forget blatant realism, I want to use color more dramatically that lets the viewer's eye do the blending.  It was fun and relaxing to work on this portion of the truck.
It is almost 4:00 pm, I plan to spend the next couple of hours working on photos from my roadtrip.  I am not sure what the evening will hold for me.

Painting, Finally

I just completed this oil painting that I have titled "Gunfight".  I had it mostly finished in June, before I left on my roadtrip.  It didn't take much time to add in color for the grass the four girls are standing on.  I started with cadmium yellow light and permanent green plus some titanium white.  I added in cobalt blue to make the grass more blue than yellow, then I added the blue to create the shadow.  The shadows weren't dark enough, so I added some cobalt violet.  To round out the coloration of the grass, I also worked in a bit of cadmium red. The grass brings in some of the warmer tones found in the red pants plus it creates a contrast between the ground and the empty space beyond.

Gunfight has become the companion to this earlier painting, "Rodeo Day Circa 1963" that I painted in April of this year.  I purposely painted the backgrounds in a similar style, that becomes a strong link between the two.  Bothe were painted from photographs that my mom took of me and my sisters when we were much younger.

I am Wasting the Day Away

It is Saturday, I always like the weekends, even when I am out of school like I am now.  I got a weave and haircut which took up most of my morning, but I feel better about myself.  Now if the weight would start dropping off I would feel REALLY good.

I made my artwork of the day, "Someone".  This time I started with orange, white, and yellow ochre acrylic paint that I applied with an old credit card.  Next I applied red ink with a hand carved stamp.  I used matte medium to attach a section of music; the lyrics are "Someone's rocking my...Someone's invading my dreams....".  I also attached a clipping of a woman at a sewing machine, then I went over all of it with thinned white paint.  It still needed a little something, so using the side of a credit card I applied ochre-colored ink and then did the same technique with a dark blue ink.  The result was a series of very thin lines.  This collage is much simpler than the ones I have been making, plus it took less time.  I enjoyed the change of pace.
Now my painting is calling me.....

Painting; Well, Sort of

The painting "Cactus Flower 1" was almost finished before I went on my awesome roadtrip.  All that was left to be painted was the center potion of the flower and that took me less than 30 minutes.  I am calling this one finished, signed and ready to finish drying.  I like the impressionistic quality of the painting with the only precise detailing evident in the stamens of the flower, and even that is subtle.  The flowing colors in the flower petals draw the viewer's eye into the center of the bloom, creating the focal point. 

I had finished "Looking Inward" before I went on my trip, but I forgot to post a picture of it in my blog at that time, so here it is.  I like the neutral skin colors, it creates a softer pallate and lets the red speak louder.  This self-portrait captures the way I look much more accurately than other ones have.  Even though the skin tones have that essence of impressionism, it is a smoother approach than the technique I subsequently used in the painting of the cactus flower.
I am done painting for the day as I just can't think straight.  I am still feeling low, probably because Rainy left a couple of hours ago.  Actually, I feel somewhat lost and scattered.  I think I will go make some pesto using basil from my garden.

Procrastinating

I am having difficulty pulling out my oil paints, I just seem overwhelmed with idea of tackling something "big".

I completed my 6" x 6" artwork of the day, "The Ranch House". I began with a photocopy of a picture taken back in the sixties of my three sisters and me (I am 2nd from the left, wearing the light blue cowboy hat).  I used a dark blue paper for the background, then added some stamping in off-white.  The floral trim came from a 1980 "Phoenix" magazine.  I added satin trim, yarn, and hearts cut from the dark blue paper.  I am pleased with the results, the blue herats helped to balance the composition and added a little more interest.

I also worked on sorting through the photos from my roadtrip, I finished up the images from Day 2, there are 44 images that I consider good enough to print.  I am waiting to do all of my printing later, I might even have an outside source print them because there will be so many.
Okay, I might be ready to work on one of my paintings.

Feeling Down

I am feeling a bit low.
Maybe because Rainy goes home to Washington today.
Maybe because my roadtrip really is over.
Maybe because I have to be back at work in 4 days.
Maybe because finances are so tight.
Maybe just because.
Maybe making some art will help.

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

This is my artwork a day from yesterday, titled "Let Me  Go".  It is 6" x 6", made from found and stained papers, and found objects. 

I really thought that I would be able to work on a painting today, but it is almost 3:00 pm and Mike, Rainy, Bryant, and I are meeting Mom and Dad at 6 pm at Bario Cafe for dinner.  Just because I am not painting doesn't mean that I haven't done anything to today....I have actually been rather creative.  Aside from reorganizing and putting away everything I brought home from my travels, I finished glueing in papers and such in my sketchbook from my awesome roadtrip.  I still need to come back in and label the pages.   I also worked on photos I took on my roadtrip:  selected, photoshopped and starting organizing the images that I will want to print.  I have really had a full day.

This is my 6" x 6" artwork a day titled "Zip", made from found papers, India ink, stamping ink, and rick rack.  The main object is a the image of a doll that I xeroxed.  I am not sure that I like this one too much as the stamped areas had a tendency to smudge.

Back Home

I am back home now after spending 38 days on an awesome roadtrip with my daughter Rainy.  I am hoping to pick up where I left off on three different paintings tomorrow.  Today, I am getting reorganized after being gone for such a long time.  It is nice to be back home, back in my studio.