Happy Valentine's Day

8x10 oil on canvas

Palette Knife

 I wasn't sure I would have a Valentine's Day Post, but I did! I got some tulips yesterday, and worked, or tried to...from the flowers, not a photo.  Every time I looked a the flowers they were opened more, and changing. the small one on the right, just came out looking like a top view, so I made it that way!
Thank you for reading my blog, and some of you comment each time. Thank you. It is fun to get feed back.  This is palette knife painting #4.  I sure enjoy the clean up so much more! BUT. How long does it take to dry, I wonder!

First Day of Spring

Today is the first day of spring, and I am ready for it, except for the wind and sand we get!
I am ready for flowers, and blue skies.  I am still working on getting together a demo, and I think this is the winner.  NOW I have to draw off 2 more, paint one, and then take one half painted to the demo, so I can finish it and cut them up. whew! Hopefully they will enjoy it. I see a couple things I need to do different on the next set, so I will tweak it a little.

Getting Ready for a Demo

 

I was invited to come to Midland and do a Watercolor, Woven painting demo. Most of the time, If I am going to weave a painting, it is usually because I am not real happy with the painting, and this just adds some fun texture.  Feel free to download the drawing and try it for yourself!  The drawing is done from the painting below it. It is the original I did years ago and nobody wanted it, so I  got it out, and traced another one same size.  I knew I had done this spraying it and splattering it, so I drew off 2 (saving the old original for demo).  I painted two quickly, using my spray bottle, splattering some as I went.  I tried to paint one light and one dark. or yellow and orange and red, but making sure the colors were NOT the  same.  You can tell by looking at the bottom photo where the flowers are different values.    You can use your own painting if want. If you do, please send me what you do! I would love to see it. Even if you use mine. You don't have to spend a lot of time, and try to do a lot of detail.

Original OLD ugly painting

 2 paintings woven together

After getting two painted, cut one in strips, different sizes vertically, leaving attached at the top. You can tape it or clip it to a board. You can use scissors or a rotary cutter. (I used scissors since they were handy, and the painting was small (1/8th sheet)

After cutting the first one vertically..(You can see I didn't cut all the way through) then cut the 2nd one horizontally. different widths, etc. (don't' worry about straight) then start weaving back and forth like you did in kindergarten, When we made placemats, You will have to leave some pieces out, to make the flowers and stems match up. (I just lay the next strip on top to see if it matches, if not, I lay it aside and cut another one. You have to keep them scooted together tight, and when you finish, turn it over and use masking tape and tape around the edges, so it wont' come undone.
You can do any painting this way! It is fun, and gives it a different look. You can not love it too much to cut it up.. If you do, paint something else.
This just gives it a different look, almost abstract look to it.

The Demo is April 9th in Midland, at the Palette Club. I may do this flower, or decide to do something different.  I am thinking I need to enlarge this one so that it will show up more as I  demo.

 

Acrylic Experiment-Tall Tulips

12x12 Canvas                                                                                                        12x12 Canvas

 

This started out as a watercolor and wasn't happy with it, So I decided to collage it, and tried that, and wasn't happy with it that way, so I cut it to fit the size of a 12x12 canvas, (2 of them) and glued it down on the canvas using my gloss medium. I left it for a couple weeks, wanting to make sure it stayed glued.
Then I painted it with acrylic paint, some Golden, some just odd brands I had picked up. The color is not true on here. The painting is a little darker, and the camera seemed to grab onto the blues. The red is also very bright.
It could be hung as one..the top one, Or both..the bottom one wouldn't   work alone, for obvious reasons!
I hope to learn more about using acrylics because I love the bright vivid color you can get with it.
This wasn't varnished yet either, and that makes a difference.

Red Tea Pot

I did this a few months ago, and haven't done anything but mat it. It was done with an under painting of flower shapes, then painted over, leaving some of the original color showing. It does have some gold metallic, but it doesn't show up very good here.

Little Windmills

"Little Windmills"

11"x15"

These were painted with a very pale underpainting of yellows and oranges. I love white flowers, and enjoy 'trying' to paint them. After I got it finished, it reminded me of a bunch of little windmills, so that is where the name came from.