Emergence

"Emergence," pastel on 9 x 12 92 lb paper

I thought about sitting on a sandy hill at night, listening to the Gulf of Mexico.  I made a non-representational painting, focusing on the emotions of that night, rather than attempting a landscape or a figure.  I felt in touch with something spiritual, something higher.  The mystery of the Hale Bopp Comet, visible in the sky the entire time I visited Venice, Florida that year, only added to that feeling.  In addition to the mystical, I felt an incredible sense of serenity.  I chose many purples and blues, as these are colors I relate to divinity and magic.  I chose oranges to represent the feeling after sun has gone down, and greens to help convey the feeling of serenity.  I worked entirely in pastel on black paper, marking without thinking, without planning, just feeling.  This is an emotional piece.

Branches and Leaves

"Branches and Leaves," acrylic on 8 x 8 canvas

"How the Almighty had made the earth
a gleaming plain girdled with waters;
in His splendour He set the sun and the moon
to be earth's lamplight, lanterns for men,
and filled the broad lap of the world
with branches and leaves; and quickened life
in every other thing that moved."  - Beowulf

I always spend a lot of time planning and thinking about any art project before I begin to work.  My main goal in this painting, however, was to put aside all of the planning and thinking and just create.  My inspiration started with the first leaves of fall:

 

Given that Texas does not typically acknowledge autumn until closer to Christmastime, these leaves were a surprise.  I used the colors of the leaves to paint a background.

I added a bright moon, then collaged the actual leaves on top and added more glaze, still drawing from the leaves' colors.  I found some branches on my way to painting class, and decided to paint the branches into the painting.  I used some modeling paste to give one of the branches a more 3-D effect.  I made them gray for a cool contrast effect.  I added quite a few coats of high gloss varnish along the way, mainly to preserve my organic leaves. 

I added a third branch in and painted metallic colors over the leaves.  By this point, the leaves were so glossy and slippery that it was difficult to get the paint to take.  At last, I managed!

As my painting came together, I found myself mainly concerned with balance, especially as I decided to go with an even number of objects. I feel like the painting is well balanced, despite that even number.  Next, I determined the correct orientation of my painting.

Lastly, I added a coat of poly-resin to create a glass-like finish, and also to preserve my organic leaves for the life of the painting. 

Bluebrush

"Bluebrush," 8 x 8 mixed media with acrylic and pastel on 140 lb watercolor paper

This is a project started with a trip to Ennis this past April.  I was especially drawn to the Indian Paintbrush, mixed in with all the Texas Bluebonnets.

I took this photo of an Indian Paintbrush:

I cropped the photo, emphasizing the flower's opening as a focal point:

 

I was most interested in the organic shapes within the flower, and I thought diagonal direction of the image would accentuate the focal point.  I sketched the flower with charcoal directly onto an 8 x 8 canvas and completed an ultramarine blue under painting using acrylic paints.   

My intention was to glaze the under painting and create a realistic, colorful image.  After many layers of glaze, I realized this project was not going to work.  Maybe I was too impatient.  The colors were not doing what I wanted them to do, and I regretted painting over my beautiful blue under painting.  I had already scanned the under painting, and so I printed my image onto 140 lb watercolor paper.  I then went over it with PanPastels, giving it a soft, velvety effect.  I ultimately made the choice to emphasize the blues and purples of the surrounding Bluebonnets instead of the peaches and pinks of the Indian Paintbrush.  My final product is almost monochromatic, with violet and magenta dabbed in for a bit of whimsy. While abstract colors are used, the flower itself maintains its soft texture within the final painting.

After Apolcalypse

"After Apocalypse," 9.5x 6.5, Mixed Media with Citra Solve

I am getting ready to send this one to my friend, Rachel.  It reminds me that there is still beauty, still light, still hope, even after the entire world falls apart. 

Secret Ocean

"Secret Ocean," 9.5x 6.5, Mixed Media with Citra Solve

This Citra Solve experiment reminds me of my friend, Celeste, with all her beauty and mystery; getting ready to send it to her.  I made this back in May, but just now getting around to matting and framing it.  And you know what?  It still smells like oranges.

'Lectric Eye on Me

"'Lectric Eye on Me," Acrylic on 18 x 14 canvas

Last summer, my sister Casey asked me to paint her a portrait of David Bowie.  Now, David Bowie is my sister's all time favorite musician, and one of mine, as well.  I panicked and told her I wasn't ready.  I told her I wasn't good enough, didn't know enough, couldn't do it . . . yet.  As her birthday approached this spring, I realized that if I didn't try, I would never be ready.  I began to study portrait work, watching all of the demo videos I could manage.  I really liked Eric T. Francis's portrait lessons on YouTube, and so I watched them repeatedly.  

I made sure to listen to Bowie exclusively every time I worked on this project.  I listened to each album many times over (my personal favorites are The Man Who Sold the World and Black Star).  I drew a very rough sketch on canvas and completed an umber wash to start.

Umber wash on 18 x 14 canvas

To make things more complicated, I had decided to work from a black and white photo and imagine the color.  Then I had the very, very difficult task to mix realistic skin colors.  I also watched many demos and read many articles about this.  Eric T. Francis's magic mix did not work for me, but I found a simpler one that I liked a lot better: yellow ochre + burnt sienna + white.  I added just a touch of portrait pink to the mix, as well.

My original vision for the background was to create an abstract collage.  I purchased the digital sheet music for my sister's favorite song, "Moonage Daydream."  The song is the inspiration for the entire painting, and so I really wanted my background to suggest just that.  I thought I would paint over some watercolor paper using thinned down acrylics and print the sheet music over the color.  I planned to tear bits of the sheet music and randomly place it into the background, along with bits of the abstract Citra Solve papers I created.

My Citra Solve / National Geographic experiment

Once I had completed the painting of David, however, I couldn't do it.  I realized that the abstract background would not go with the more realistic painting.  I studied traditional portraits at length, noting all of the different techniques artists have used for their backgrounds.  I finally decided to do a kind of gradation, choosing the dreamiest colors from my palette- the blues of his eye and the pink of his shirt.

My husband Jason was so supportive while I worked on this project.  He cleared the house of distractions (that is, my ten year old son) the first day I started my flesh tones, and offered plenty of constructive feedback throughout the process.  He even stood next to me while I made the cigarette smoke, when I was at the height of frustration, offering advice on which bits of smoke to thin down and blend.  

After countless hours of painting, varnishing, layering, thinking about David Bowie and listening to his music, and over a month after Casey's birthday (!!!) I have finished this painting.  This is the most challenging task I've taken on in my art so far, and I've learned a great deal in the process.

Bonnie in a Blanket

"Bonnie in a Blanket," Acrylic on 12 x 12 canvas

On the first day of my painting class this past January, I knew next to nothing about acrylic paints.  I wasn't sure what "medium" or "gel" or "gesso" even was, let alone when I should use them.  I went to the library and checked out Gill Barron's Acrylic Secrets.  I read fervently, finishing it all in one sitting.  One sample painting really piqued my interest.  It was a painting of a tabby cat by Karen Mathison Schmidt.

Painting by Karen Mathison Schmidt, featured in Acrylic Secrets

Now this painting worked from a photo and really capitalized on color, making a cat far more vibrant and colorful than the original.  The artist used an umber underpainting, and then glazed over it with various colors.

I knew already that I wanted to paint a portrait of my mom's tabby cat, Bonnie, and when I saw this painting, I had to try this technique.  However, I decided to use a photorealism approach.

My mom had sent me this photo of Bonnie, nestled in a red and gray afghan blanket she was crocheting for my son's Christmas present.

Photograph of Bonnie

I knew this was just the right inspiration for my painting.  This photograph had a lot of potential to play with warm and cold colors, in particular.  I wanted to really emphasize the contrast between the gray and brilliant red, the warmness of Bonnie's features, and her bright, "up to something" eyes.   I wanted to use the golden ratio to help plan my focal point, to ensure that Bonnie's eyes were the focus of the work.  I would use the folds of the blanket to further assist me with this task. 

The first thing I did was crop the photo.  I knew that I wanted my Bonnie painting to fit a square canvas.  I wanted the painting to be square, but I did not want my whiskers cut off.  Additionally, I felt the blanket was important in the piece.  It was so special; my mom made it!  So, I decided to use the cropped photo as a basis to work from and draw in the rest of the blanket, extending parts of the blanket and Bonnie that are not in the photo.

Bonnie, cropped and black and white

I filtered the photo in black and white, because I wanted to pay special attention to tonal values.  I toned my ground in a light green  underpaint, because  I wanted  the  red of the blanket and red tones  in Miss Bonnie to be all the more bright.  I sketched the cat directly onto my canvas and completed an umber monochromatic underpainting.

My monochromatic underpainting

I was ready to begin glazing!  I created my gray from several layers of cadmium orange and cobalt blue, a little light blue, a touch of iridescent silver and a couple neutral gray coats.  My red was derived of several layers of cadmium reds, cadmium orange, hansa yellow to brighten it up, and alizarin crimson.  The glazes I used for my cat include cobalt blue, hansa yellow, cadmium orange, quinacridone  / nickel azo gold, burnt sienna, unbleached titanium, titanium white and just a touch of carbon black mixed with umber.  I wanted my colors to really be rich and beautiful.  While I wanted to stay true to the photo, I believe that the colors used in paintings should be more vibrant than real life.  Why else should we dream in color?

After a few layers of glaze

After interminable hours of glazing (all the while rotating between my Loreena McKennitt Pandora station and the true crime podcast, Someone Knows Something), I found that my painting was almost ready.  I added fine detail to the face- for example, a cobalt blue twinkle to the pupils- and then a coat of gloss varnish.  I used a calligraphy pen to draw fine whiskers once the varnish was dry and finished the project with two coats of satin varnish.

This painting is a gift to celebrate Mother's Day.  For me, the cat represents my mother's sweet and nurturing nature, as well as her compassion and love for animals (a love has carried over from her children to her grandchildren, and no doubt, will continue for generations to come).  The blanket represents her craftiness, creativity, attention to detail, and love for her family.  I will be shipping it out today.  I certainly hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed painting it!

Hand of God

"Hand of God," 9.5x 6.5, Mixed Media with Citra Solve

I have been dying to experiment with Citra Solve and National Geographic magazines, and finally had the opportunity yesterday.  "Hand of God" is one of my favorites out of the mix.  In this piece, I see a large, illuminated hand reaching across an alien landscape.  Notice the play with scale and proportion, as well as the complimentary color scheme of violet and yellow.  I will post some other experiments soon.  My house still smells like oranges, although I completed most of this work in the backyard and in the garage.

Kale

"Kale," acrylic on 10x10 canvas

Nite is a feral cat who lives in my neighborhood.  I can't take him in- he really is a wild beast, albeit a sweet one, and I have too many pets already.  But, I have been feeding him and over the past year, we've become good friends.  On Friday mornings, Nite loves sitting with me on the front porch, occasionally taking breaks  to roll around in the kale garden.  He adores my kale plants!

Of course, Nite isn't the only reason kale inspires me.  It is a nutritious food and a highly resilient crop.  I planted it last fall.  It has survived extreme temperatures, hot and cold- not only survived, but thrived.  It is also exceptionally beautiful.  One morning while spending time with Nite, I took this photo and got an idea.

I noticed not only the gorgeous colors, but also its intricate shape and pattern.  I have been studying Georgia O'Keeffe's work lately, and I thought about her flower and leaf close up paintings.  One thing that I learned in my readings is that Georgia O'Keeffe is not the only female artist to make this kind of painting in the 1920s and 30s.  Elsie Driggs and others during this time period were also making this sort of work, although certainly Georgia O'Keeffe is the most celebrated for this style of painting.

I wanted to make my own close up plant painting, a painting that focuses on the shape and pattern of kale.  I thought the near complimentary colors of magenta and green would also lend my painting some balance and contrast.  Next, I really wanted to emphasize the budding new green in the center of the kale, to focus on newness and possibility.

I cropped my photo for a more pleasing design.

 

I tried to sketch my kale, but it was so complicated that I gave up.  I gave my canvas a quick yellow oxide underpainting, and then I decided to just paint my design directly on the canvas, rather than trying to draw it out.  Somehow, this was easier.  I did a tonal underpainting with seven shades using raw sienna, with burnt umber for the darkest tone.

Then, I used various layers of glaze, and also painted over my design for finer detail.  I finished it off with one coat of gloss varnish and two coats of satin.

My kale has since flowered.  It will never look quite like this again.  My painting will help me remember that cool Friday morning, sitting on the porch with Nite and enjoying the beauty of nature.

Trumped Up

The first time I noticed Donald Trump was maybe back in 2007, on an Acceptable TV sketch called "Operation Kitten Calendar."   This was during the time of The Apprentice, and the reality show star was clearly the victim of this sketch.  I thought Donald Trump was a joke, and when he ran for office, I rolled my eyes.  I told anyone who asked me that he didn't stand a chance and not to worry about it.

I believed this well into the election season.  This man emerged as not just a reality show laugh, but a hateful, misogynistic racist.  I thought he buried himself when the Howard Stern audio recording emerged, and even more so when he said "bad hombres," "nasty woman" and "you're the puppet" during a presidential debate.  I thought America wouldn't stand for a president who views women only as sex objects, a president who hates immigrants, a president who never apologizes and always blames others for his own actions.  Donald Trump seemed to be a kind of comic book villain.  He has been rightfully compared with the character, Biff, from Back to the Future.

 How could he "win" America?  But he did.  And so, the idea emerged for this painting.

I wanted to make a collage that reveals the absurdity of America today, the Orwellian world of "alternative facts," and the power-hungry leader behind it.  I wanted to make a portrait of Donald Trump using Fauvist elements (I love the works of André Derain, in particular, especially his portrait of Matisse), choosing colors mainly from my beloved 1984 special edition book cover.  I particularly wanted to juxtapose warm and cool color to show how I perceive Donald Trump.  I also wanted to focus on the design principles of unity and variety.  The 1984 motif definitely creates unity across the painting.  Variety is created by color, shape and the various collage elements (Trump's tweets, magazine articles, newspaper articles, photos, dictionary and thesaurus entries, pages from 1984, etc.).

 

I started by making a rough sketch of The Donald:

 

I blew up and transferred my sketch onto a 14x18 medium textured canvas.  I knew I would be covering it up entirely, but I knew I wanted Trump's jacket collar to coincide with the cover of 1984.  Then, I began collecting relevant newspaper, magazine, thesaurus and dictionary clippings, and pages from 1984.  I put together my collage using matte medium.  

 I did a total wrap around, making sure to place text on all four sides, as well as on the canvas itself.

Using mixed media is hard!  I had a lot of fights with ink running, even though I varnished it.  I even made an accidental print of my 1984 cover due to matte medium misadventure and mayhem.  I fought a lot with my paint and my colors.  I learned that I don't like gloss gel medium.  I had to redo my 1984 collar.  I ended up making Trump's tie entirely out of another vintage 1984 cover while I was at it.    I finished it with two coats of satin varnish.  

I came up with the idea for this portrait on January 30.  I was working on another painting at that time, but this one definitely took longer to complete than I would have liked.  

At the end of the day, the painting resembles pop art more than it does Fauvism.  But, I'm happy with how my Trumped Up painting turned out.

Bull of Heaven

After more than a month of planning and working, I have finally finished the Bull of Heaven!  This painting is 32 x 24.5 inches and was completed on masonite board with acrylic, crackle paste, modeling paste and satin varnish.

I wanted to make a painting that would reflect the elements of line and texture, along with the design principles of variety, rhythm and directional force.

I woke up on January 19th with the Wall of Ishtar and Epic of Gilgamesh on my mind.  I immediately pulled my Detroit Institute of Arts book off the shelf and turned to its page on the Snake-Dragon.  I have actually visited this piece many times, and (I can't help but admit) even touched it.  Babylonian mythology has captured my imagination ever since I first read the Epic of Gilgamesh during my junior year of high school, and later on, Anne Rice's The Servant of the Bones.  The Wall of Ishtar, once one of the Wonders of the World, is made from terracotta, lapis lazuili and precious stones.  It is decorated with dragons to honor the god Marduk, bulls for the god Adad and lions for the goddess Ishtar.

I thought about how the Bull of Heaven is slain by Gilgamesh and Enkidu.  This act plummets Enkidu to his death, and Gilgamesh to absolute mental anguish, as he obsesses over the loss of his closest friend and his own quest for immortality.

I drew this preliminary sketch:

 

I added two more sketches:

 

The figures you see in the last sketch are the cuneiform figures for Bull of Heaven.  I wanted to include these in my painting, but this ultimately didn't work out.

After I had my plan, I prepared my masonite and coated it with lots of modeling paste and an entire jar of crackle paste.  I used my palette knives and a panel from household blinds to help me construct my bricks:

Next, I made a final sketch of my bull.  My original vision underwent some changes, as I decided to make my own winged bull more akin to the ancient style of the Babylonians:

 

I decided, upon my colleague's prodding, to build a 3D relief of my bull on top of my bricks before painting.  The trouble was getting my enlarged bull sketch transferred onto the bricks without having to begin the sketch all over again.  I tried using homemade transfer paper.  This did not work, because the texture was just too bumpy to draw on smoothly.  

So, I cut out  the bull and traced around it with pencil.  

I then put modeling paste over my outline and used my palette knives and toothpicks to etch in the fine details.

 

It was time to start painting!   I started with my bricks.  I wanted each brick to be completely unique.  My color palette for the main bricks consisted of ultramarine blue, light aqua, neutral gray, Payne's gray, white, quinacridone nickel gold, gold, bronze, bronze yellow and copper.

For the bricks at the base, I used raw sienna, bronze yellow, yellow oxide, mars black and white.  I finished the project with three coats of satin varnish.

A tremendous effort went into this piece, and it was all worth it.  I enjoyed using line, variety, rhythm, texture and directional force to revisit the Epic of Gilgamesh.