Work in process

20×24 in. mixed media. Don’t usually do this but people have asked before and I am at a stall with this piece, for the moment. Education is a big part of the theme, in case no one noticed Just airing this out for general impression or feedback…maybe a light will come on and I will finish before the next post.

4 Square Rural

9×12 in mixed media. As simple as this piece seems to be, it was fairly complex in execution. Lost track of the layers but beneath each square of color I started out very vivid and bright. I really love how the textures allowed some of the full richness of the under lying colors to show. I did have to knock down some of the peaks though to get a more uniformed look. The full body white lines in some areas show well too. Unfortunately this piece can only get full appreciation in person, as the photo can’t capture the subtle tones. This was a follow-up to “Neutrons and Fertilizer,” only taking the tones the opposite direction in values.It kind of gives a wintery feel, although I have seen colors this muted from above when you get a lot of sun reflection in spring time. You have to work at seeing the signature as I didn’t want to disrupt the feel of the piece, lower right hand corner.

Haunting Aftermath

9×12 in. mixed media. From time to time I try to capture the aftermath or the beginning of a forest fire. I think it is because my sister works for the forest service in the western United States. Her dept. works on supplying the monies and resources so these brave people can work on prevention and fighting the fires when needed. Dauntless task, especially after the fire season we are having this year. My artistic visions fall more into the areas after the fires, and I try to create a feel of what was. In this piece the sun is shining brightly through a forest that is just a memory, reflecting off of ghostly trees rooted in bare exposed soil. I know nature has a way to start anew what these fires destroy, however in our lifetime these forest will never grow to be as majestic as they once were.  Other mediums might lend themselves to creating this piece better, but I was trying to use the ones I know best…pen, marker, tissue paper, pencil, and acrylic.

It Is Too Cold To Skinney Dip

11×14 in mixed media. The 3rd and final wave is up and running at the Putnam County Library and this is one of the pieces. Not  sure how normal shows go but I was able to provide the public with 27 hand picked works over a 2 month period, 9 at a time. Feedback continues to be very favorable from visitors, which is greatly appreciated.  Thanks again to Stacie Johnson.

On to this current piece…nature and the elements, kind of played with a reflective type theme…water, deep and shallow and moonlight…are those snowflakes?…maybe…is that mountains?…possible .  The colors and texture have a brisk cool feel to them, and I really enjoyed changing the shades and hues as the trees came thru the piece. I might over-play the white outlining, but at this point I can’t see the work without it. I have used this style and technique on several pieces now, each one creates a different but pleasant mood for me while glazing at them…I hope it catches you in a similar fashion.

Segmented Puddles

Mixed media 12×18 in.  The under pinning to this piece was layer after layer of markers and ink with repeated patterns, that start to take a life of their own. I really like how the acrylic is transparent enough to allow some of  the background work to morph thru. The final layers were controlled and precise in contrast to the background layers that were free flowing throughout.

Lunar Shallows

Mixed media 12×18. I have done 6 of these trees/water/leaves/reflection type pieces and still find things to do with them. I wanted a lot more of the reflective look on this one thus the moon and the squiggly lines. It made the waves/water more pronounced, I also used more green and brown shades. I have been toying with having some sort of abstract aquatic life near the surface…I promise it won’t be Nessie, but that would be a thought….

Autumn Shallows

Mixed media 12×18. The first time I did one of these reflective-fall-water-leave pieces I couldn’t get a photo without a great deal of glare on them. So I figured I would do the next piece similar but with the glare/white added as part of it.  I like the effect and the blues and leaves are more distinct vs. the first piece (What Waterbugs)…I still need to learn to take better photos of my work.  I had someone tell me they thought the white was abstract geese going south for the winter…verrryyy interrrestinnnggg!  (think laugh-in, the TV show)

Muddy Waters

Mixed media 12×18 Fall series.  I like the way the colors change on the trees and the background but without the puddles/reflective blue waters it was way too flat for my tastes. The outlining of the trees was a late addition that helped me give it a little more of a surreal look to work with my leaves. I liked the effect so much for some continuity I used on the brite blue waters.

Sunset In The Channel

Mixed media 12×18 Fall series. This one has a cold and deeper water feel to it without the yellow and I almost didn’t try it.  I wanted to make the reflective sunshine  a little less obvious and  make the peaking waves stand out more.  Felt this would lead the viewer to look deeper between the waves to find other details in this piece.  Not as many leaves to be seen might be why I feel it has a deeper water feel ( I am sure all the blues didn’t hurt too) .  You might notice  I made the signature more a part of the piece than others, haven’t made my mind up on that yet.

Going To Seed

Mixed media 12×18. What do you do with a piece that you love the colors but composition wise just doesn’t do anything for you…RECYCLE! A piece that was titled “111 Overton County,” got a second life and provided something special for me…”going To Seed.” This has some of the same elements as others in my Fall series (it is fact part of it) but I was a little more spontaneous in my line work. The image of the reflecting window helps to balance out my scene and actually gave me hope I was had something working.

The Shallow End

A 12×18 mixed media. I actually wanted to do a black and white study on this reflection/leave and water series first, but I  am glad I waited until the end of the series. Reminds me of something my teacher Lynn Havel would have had us do at BUCO JUCO.     

If anyone knows what BUCO JUCO is or better yet… 

Mr. Lynn Havel…. I would love to hear from you grizzles… 

What Waterbugs

A 12×18 mixed media. Right after doing a piece called “migration“, I went on a fall/nature/triangle SPREE …just to see how far I could stretch it and stay within a set boundary (pallet, shape and subject matter)  I was very pleased with the results and have a far deeper understanding of the wide range of rich colors that fall offers us…thus my Fall Series was born.  I am sure I could do the same for other season but I am not sure they would offer the same in such a short period and so ever changing…I still prefer to play outside in the summer tho!