Sly Time

Scatter

2009-07-07T18:25:00.002-05:00

16 x 12 acrylic on canvas
Hope this doesn't create motion sickness The scan muted the colors in such a way that perhaps the motion of the painting is diffused. I had fun using dry brush strokes, spatter paint and a penny to put this together. The yellow lines, which were created by rolling the edge of a penny over the surface, are actually much brighter. It's those vibrant lines that provide the movement. Other than that I don't find any other significant point of this one. I do like the colors of the real painting better than I do of the scanned image.

Jubilation

2009-07-07T18:22:00.003-05:00

12 X 9 Acrylic
This is what happens when I get slap happy with a brush. Confetti. It must have been one wild celebration. Well, if it's not confetti, what is it? Help me out here.

Garden

2009-07-07T18:12:00.003-05:00

17 x 11 Canvas
All that scanned was the center portion. The blue block is bordered by an illusion of a brown frame. In the center block I painted the flower petals with a quarter and a penny. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to use a fine black line to border the white petals. If I do, I'll probably make a mess. Creating fine lines is not something I do well as is evidenced by the green stems. As I created this batch of primarily flowers, no philosophical thoughts came into play. All I intended to do was to play. So I did.

Poppin' Poppies

2009-07-07T18:05:00.003-05:00

12 X 9 acrylic
One of my nurses from my last hospital stay inspired this piece when she told me her favorite flowers were Poppies. Thick layers of red have been glazed with orange and then the whole thing was washed with green. The initial background was yellow and the centers of the flowers were white. I couldn't figure what kind of leaves Poppies have, so I faked 'em.

Pearl drops

2009-07-07T17:56:00.003-05:00

9 x 12 acrylic
Green flowers? Why not? Green flowers on a green background? Whatever. I wanted to play with green. The white centers are pearls that add a color contrast and a dimension to the work. To keep the pearls from falling off this piece is encased in a clear acrylic box frame. The acrylic cover affected the scan in such a way that much editing was required to brighten up the colors. The actual painting is not so muddy and flat. Nor is the center section that dark. The glare from the frame created a shadow that is non-existant.

Field of Flowers

2009-07-07T17:47:00.003-05:00

12 x 9 acrylic
Still stuck on green, but here I've added purple and red. Still stuck on flowers. I forget the name for this flower, but something like it really exists. Perhaps the next set of paintings will stray away from flowers and green. We'll see.

In the Pink

2009-06-16T11:13:00.002-05:00

11 X 14 Canvas
Ok, it's been six months since I've added anything to this blog. I sent the muse on vacation because the last set of paintings were too much alike and the last January painting was too ugly to scan. But when someone wanted that Fluff Flop, the muse was sending vibes that she wished to return. Just as I was prepared to welcome her back, I experienced a brush with death. But after a touch of grace and a long stay in the hospital (May 7 -18), I wanted to paint spring; a rebirth perhaps. This is the first piece I've painted in six months. It's in the pink just as I am.

Puzzling

2009-06-16T11:02:00.002-05:00

11 x 14 Canvas
Ah a puzzle of who knows what. The scanner shows the thin borders, which many might wonder how I created. But it does not show the texture of those green lines that were created by left over grass from Austin's Easter basket. The remainder of the colors were added to fill in the shapes created by the grass. A close inspection reveals that I didn't manage to stay within the lines. The piece was too large for the scanner so the solid green edging is not visible. The canvas background was green and that color affected the color of the paints applied over it. Also the actual painting is not so muddy; it's quite vibrant. (I have plenty of grass left over. Who knows what I might do with it next.)

Byways

2009-06-16T10:56:00.002-05:00

11 x 14 Canvas
What's this? Could it be an overview of my neighborhood with its twisty streets and deadends? Or is it a map of the paths I've taken throughout my life with varied starts, stops and start overs in new directions? Or is merely some paint slapped onto canvas? Does it matter what it IS? What do you see in this combination of blues, purple and yellow?

Yellow Blooms

2009-06-16T10:47:00.002-05:00

6 x 9 posterboard
More of my usual flowers in yellow this time. Spring remained in my heart as I created the climbing vine of yellow. The background is a wash of blue applied over the flowers and dabbed off with a dry paper towel. The dabs cover a multitude of sloppy brush strokes created by my sometimes shaky hands. Someday I'll figure out how to make a thin line.

Reflection

2009-06-16T10:37:00.002-05:00

6 x 9 posterboard
As I reflect on this piece, I really don't know what I was thinking. Honestly, I wasn't thinking; I was playing around with the colors of orange, yellow and purple and a variety of paint applicators. I sponged on the orange, dabbed on the yellow with a cloth and dry brushed the purple, and ended up with this. I couldn't decide what to do next, so stopped and called it finished. I learned that KISS works and I should stop before the next step makes a mess. Oh yeah, a relection of light was added by the scanner.

Too Tall

2009-06-16T10:28:00.002-05:00

6 x 9 hardboard
Even though the tall flower is supposed to be a tulip, I'm reminded that tall poppies are set up for trouble. If you don't want attention, don't stand out in the crowd. The safest flowers in this batch are the ground cover. Somehow I've never figured out how take cover and usually stand tall. Hmm that explains why I often felt like a target and ended up with hurt feelings.

Pain

2009-01-20T09:15:00.002-06:00

Here is a quick look at last week. I had a toothache. Can you see it? I certainly felt it and the week's work reflects it. One piece was so painful to look at that the scanner refused to record it. I decided that I didn't need to post all the paintings, especially if they are stinky. This piece is hot stinky, but it is representative of my toothache. The painting was too large for the scanner; therefore, much of the red border does not show. Thank goodness the pain has subsided.

Perky

2009-01-20T09:09:00.002-06:00

I had such fun putting this together. I started the collage with coffee filters. I wanted to see what kind of texture would be created and what could be done with cones. This is the largest piece I've done as it is 18 x 24. I finally had the courage to put paint on the canvas that came with the retirement gift. The complete painting was too large for the scanner, so this shows a central portion of the whole piece. I think I'm ready to take on larger supports.

Enlightened

2009-01-20T09:03:00.002-06:00

I couldn't decide between calling this Enlightened or Epiphany. Since I really made no great self-realization, I settled for Enlightened. I do like the bright points of light that surfaced as I played with some of my new colors. I do see a face on the left side. Do you?

Pillars of Light

2009-01-20T08:51:00.003-06:00

AARGH. This piece is so bad that Blogger refused the first attempt. I was practicing shading techniques. I give myself a D. The composition sucks; I forgot to add shadows; and the shading of the tall candle didn't work. I do have some nice flowers and a rectangular shape that looks like one. I really like the lavendar wall paper. I was also much happier with my paintings before I tried to learn something about painting. Ignorance IS bliss.

Party Time

2009-01-20T08:42:00.003-06:00

The balloons just floated off the paint brush. When I ordered my last set of supplies, I had them toss in a Sampler Tablet of various types of canvas materials. Each sheet is 6 x 8 and the pad includes two pieces of five different canvas surfaces. I never knew about such a variety of "canvases". The canvas used in the tarp for the boat is not the same as any of my samples. This piece of canvas is linen and not cotton duck. The boat tarp is neither. I also learned this week that the Mona Lisa is painted on a piece of wood. Who knew.

The Hunt

2009-01-20T08:35:00.002-06:00

A small rabbit hides in this painting. He is also near an egg shape. I wonder if he is the Easter Bunny. Mr. Bunny was not an intended outcome; he simply showed up as I played with a variety of canvases. The description claimed the sheet was primed, but as I worked with it, I wish I had started with a fresh layer of gesso. The wet canvas curled up on every edge. I found the rabbit as I worked to flatten the canvas.

Out of Shape

2009-01-20T08:30:00.002-06:00

In January many folks consider themselves out of shape and vow to make improvements. Well, I'm definitely out of shape, but I have no plans to get in shape. I guess I'l stay out of sorts as well. My toothache was really bothering me during the paint session.... and it shows.

Smashing

2009-01-12T18:07:00.002-06:00

Finally, my long awaited new painting supplies have arrived. I have several varieties of canvas supports and eight new colors to play with. I also got some new very wide brushes, but I did not use a brush as I sampled the new colors. I squirted dabs of each new color right from the tube onto the canvas. As usual, the dabs took varied shapes. Since I'd used a pallette knife to mix the first sampler, I knew I needed a new tool. Thus, I took a paper plate and smushed the paint dabs. Not only did each dab take a new form, but every time I moved the plate to smash a diffeent area, the colors moved to create some interesting blends. The paper plate also created varied textures. I had no plans to create any image in particular, but I can spot some very colorful flowers in the finished piece. Isn't that just smashing? What do you see?

River Styx

2009-01-12T17:57:00.002-06:00

Welcome to Hades. At least that's what I think I created by using a pallette knife to test my newest color additions to my pallette. As I blended the colors, the canvas got muddier and muddier. What a gunky mess. The texture here is interesting with lines and globs here and there. As I looked at the finished piece, I did spot some creatures of the deep. Can you see the dolphin rising? I try to ignore those things that slither, but I suspect they are native to the River Styx. (Can you guess who might have been reading a novel set in 40 BC Rome? Anthony and Cleopatra by Colleen McGollough was a good, informative read.)

Roses

2009-01-12T17:41:00.002-06:00

I much prefer yellow roses to red roses, but I have to confess that it's easier to paint red roses. I also want to note that I enjoy summer time to winter time. I don't think I could paint a snow scene. The pansies at the top are colder weather plants that provide an example of my problems keeping the paint brush steady and under control. The dark centers each took on a life of its own. Can I blame my shakes on the cold weather?

The Valley

2009-01-12T17:27:00.003-06:00

Come walk with me through the valley. The mountains may be tackled later, but now is the time to rest and picnic in the bright meadow. This painting is a test of my newest paint colors as well as a practice of my use of washes, shading and glazing. A wash requires using paint thinned with water. Here I washed over wet canvas. Shading requires pushing colors around. I shaded varied values of color over wet washes. Glazing requires using a wash to paint over areas that have been painted previously. I glazed the surface after the wash dried. A glaze could be put over a wet wash. This step done over a wash on wet a canvas causes an unstretched canvas to curl up. I curled up for naps as I waited for the canvas to dry. Don't you think taking rests in the valley is a good plan?

Sunset

2009-01-12T17:18:00.003-06:00

Summer camping trips featured many colorful sunsets. As the sun fills the sky with colors, I filled the page with colorful washes. My focus was on shading. I like the clouds, but am not sure I could recreate them. Can you smell the fresh air? Can you feel the light breeze. Go any marshmallows we could roast?

A Wash

2009-01-12T17:13:00.002-06:00

That's all this is--a practice piece for washing. The shading happened naturally. I didn't do anything but paint the stripes on a wet canvas. The paint slid wherever it wanted to go. This hints at what happened as I played with washes. I ended up with boring landscapes. This was NOT to be a landscape. Oh Well. What else could it be? Does it have to BE anything?

Blue Hillsl

2009-01-12T17:05:00.003-06:00

This marks a return to painting with washes and glazes. Wow, aren't you impressed by my new vocabulary. The purple hills were a glazed wash, but I thought they looked muddy. I used full strength paint which added the shimmer. I also practiced shading techniques but some of them got covered up by the purple paint. Do you think these hills might be alive with music?

Pinks

2009-01-02T20:54:00.002-06:00

More flower play. I "took" myself off to free art lessons via web videos. Then I tried to practice what I saw demonstrated. I earned an F as my painting is a failure and is nowhere close to what the instructor was trying to show. But even if I did mess up my flowers, I like the results and will practice shading and highlighting some more. I will also attend remedial free web video lessons.

Oh Happy Day

2009-01-02T20:46:00.002-06:00

Do you see all the folks celebrating a happy day? I painted this with abandon. I just let myself go and have fun. This is a reminder of why I'm painting. The joyfulness of getting to play restores my spirit and adds a sparkle to each day I get to play. The finished painting may be such a nothing, but the joy of creating it is such a something.

FanFare

2009-01-02T20:31:00.004-06:00

This string painting began as a pair of snowflake prints. But as with several other snowflake projects, it failed. The snowflake flops provided a white background for the pink, red, and purple strings that I pulled between the two sheets of plastic. I was quite frustrated when pulled the pink string because of the problems I had had earlier with the snow flakes. The pink pull was a disaster. The red strings added some interest, but the purple strings added a point of interest. I almost didn't add the purple and was going to call the pair "Loverly". I like Fanfare much better. Can you hear the trumpets?

Inferno

2009-01-02T20:23:00.002-06:00

Did you know I have a temper? The texture here has been created by a snowflake, which was to be more than simple texture. But as my plans quickly went awry, my temper flared. The light pinks soon turned in to warmer reds covered by thick textured swipes of purple. I hate it when a plan does not come together.

Happy 2009

2009-01-02T20:16:00.002-06:00

I wanted to do a series of pieces with snow flakes. Those plans fell to pieces as none of the trials really worked very well. Here the "master" snowflake is glued to a green background. The white snow over the collage is my favorite part. I don't even like the snowflake, most of which has been covered by the purple. It was fun splattering on the white, so the whole experience wasn't a total bummer.

Forest Lawn

2009-01-02T20:07:00.002-06:00

This is the last painting from 2008. It started with a nice orange wash over a rough texture (paper towels), but as I added the browns, the towels soaked up the new layer of paint and spread wherever and however it wanted to. The texture remains, but most of the orange vanished. I got slap happy as I dashed on the green and then merrily dotted in the pink. Who knows if pink flowers grow in a dark forest. But here they do. I doubt I'll be using much umber or sienna for a while

Red Posies

2008-12-25T23:19:00.002-06:00

Not Available

A return to my primitive flower doodles. I just felt the need to splash the posies onto the page. I like how the blossoms pop off the page. My sister liked it too. She claimed it as a Christmas gift before I framed it. I don't know what my family members will do with their Christmas paintings, but I now have more room to store any 2009 paintings. For Christmas I gave myself more painting supplies.

Gingerbread

2008-12-25T23:11:00.003-06:00

12 X 9 Canvas Paper

More browns and orange move across this page. The white drizzles reminded me of a warm spicy hunk of Gingerbread. The business of the page reminds me of gingerbread houses and their little decorations here, there and everywhere. The painting is another example of how like a Scotsman I am. It exists primarily because I needed to use up all the paint from the brown string paintings Beep Beep and Whirlwind. Cheap Cheap Cheap......

Whirlwind

2008-12-25T22:57:00.002-06:00

9 x 12 Styrene

This piece and Beep Beep are string paintings. This one is the back side of BeepBeep. Here though the fall winds blow the leaves into a frenzied dance. One of the elements of the string paintings on strene that fascinates me is the versatility of the views. One's personal preferences determines the position of the painting on display. Like with Whirlwind, what is the top? Which is right side or left side? Is it a vertical or horizontal? The styrene adds the question of which is front and which is back? Does the paint side show or the clear side? The string promts quandry of what to do with the mirror image? Finish the work as one picture or two? Oh my, so many questions.

Beep Beep

2008-12-25T22:50:00.002-06:00

9 x 12 Styrene

Hidden in the underlayer is an image of a roadrunner I guess he's moving so fast he's stirred up everything around him. This is my first time to play with shades of brown. Before I added the orange layer, I kept thinking of an ice cream Sundae. All that chocolate and carmel swarming over the icecream. Yum

Lisa's Gift

2008-12-15T02:01:00.004-06:00

No longer available

Lisa wanted the Trillium Trio I did earlier. When I went to set it aside for her, I couldn't find it. After she had two VERY bad weeks, I didn't have the heart to tell her I couldn't find her pick. So like a "good" mom, I did a second one for her. This time I painted the background red so the flowers would blend with her apple decorated kitchen. The day I finished this painting, I found the missing Trio. Boy I wish more people would help me get rid of more of my paintings. I'm running out of storage space. I think I've painted just as many new pieces in the last few weeks as I've managed to find new homes for the older pieces. Can you guess what many folks are getting for Christmas?

Kris Mum

2008-12-15T01:55:00.003-06:00

No longer available

The highlight of this mum has to be the texture of the bloom. The background remains clear as I haven't decided if I want to fill it in or call it a suncatcher. I'm procrastinating on making a decision. (The background remained clear.)

Jungle Beat

2008-12-15T01:47:00.003-06:00

No longer available

Can't you feel the beat as the objects swing and sway? Here I have joined two 8.5 x.11 pieces to create one picture. The mirror images were created by pulling a few yellow, black and green strings. What's most interesting to me with this pair is the individual touches within each piece. I have no explantation for those differences. Zach had to have this one because he sees a pair of preying mantis in it.

Jubilation

2008-12-15T01:41:00.003-06:00

No longer available

I returned to play with textures, paint brushes and bright colors. The jublilation was mine as I played around. This piece has no inspiration and no obvious image that I can spot. I simply was having fun. Splish Splash-- after painting this, I needed a bath.

Dragons' Lair

2008-12-15T01:33:00.002-06:00

17 x 11 acrylic styrene

This piece is too large for my scanner. Only one of the two dragons can be seen in the blue on the right. His mirror image is on the left with just his nose and smoke showing. I didn't see the dragons, but as I searched for a title, my niece Sara pointed out the dragons. I stole her suggestion on the spot. The piece is actually two 8 x 11 pieces completed as mirror images with blue, yellow and red strings. The plans are to assemble them as one picture.

Dark and Deep

2008-12-15T01:28:00.003-06:00

12 x 9 acrylic styrene

I had not been using much black paint until I did this one. As a result the bright green plants found themselves at home in very dark woods. I also managed to use the paint brushed to splash the paint onto the clear support.

Daffy Dilly

2008-12-15T01:21:00.004-06:00

No longer available

This doozie is a redo. I didn't like the first attempt at all. I had one big problem with the redo. Nothing would cover the purple from the first copy. My solution was to add two light purple flowers. The trick now is can you find the second purple flower?

Poppies

2008-12-05T22:14:00.002-06:00

12 x 9 Yupo

OH my, a painting done on paper with a brush. What a novelty. As I worked on this, the poppies we used to buy to honor American Vets popped into my mind. As I thought about those days, poppies seemed to pop off my brush. Does anyone else remember Poppy Days and Flanders Field?

Merry Mum

2008-12-05T22:06:00.003-06:00

No longer available

This mum just makes me feel happy. I want to dance with it as the confetti fills the air. This piece was supposed to be a suncatcher, but I ended up painting the back a solid blue. It will hang on a wall instead of in a window.

Frosted Tulips

2008-12-05T21:59:00.003-06:00

No longer available

This faux stained glass is a a wall hanging. Since the back is one solid blue, the sun won't shine through. I'll confess that the frosting was added to cover all the speck and blotches that the plastic picked up as I worked on the project. My philosophy is if I can't avoid a mess, cover it up. I am a very good pretender.

Lonely Lily

2008-12-05T21:51:00.004-06:00

No Longer Available
Faux stained glass intended to be hung in the window so the sun can shine in. The image is visible on both front and back. I prefer the scanned image as shown here. I must confess that I never imagined that such a simple image would be as difficult to create as it was. I also needed more imagination to figure out how to hang this suncatcher.

Messy Messy Messy

2008-12-05T21:45:00.003-06:00

No longer available

Ugh! Working with the smooth plastic surface can get messy--expecially if I get in a hurry. I got in a hurry. Then when I tried to "fix it," I made it messier. SO sho0t me... or shoot the painting. It might make a very good target.

Splish Splash

2008-12-05T21:36:00.002-06:00

Pair 12 x 9 Yupo

I'm having more fun with string with this pair. I've scanned them from different directions to show a larger portion of the mirror image. It's very difficult to see the reversal of the images as so much of the whole has been cropped out. That's part of the fun because you can flip and flop each panel to create a new view whenever you like. I wish I could change my personal mirror image that easily.

Trillium Trio

2008-12-01T10:35:00.003-06:00

12 X 9 Styrene
This is the first of a series of faux stained glass panels. I absolutely cannot stay within the lines. The process has been interesting, but the outcome has been primitive. I also have not figured out how to suspend the panels so they catch the light.

Sylvan Mist

2008-12-01T10:22:00.005-06:00

No Longer Available
These woods are not dark or deep. They are inhabited by fairy sprites who flit about from place to place. Well ,what would you call this one? Remember I rarely preplan a title for the paintings. They simply turn out as guided by the muse as I amuse myself.

AhChoo

2008-12-01T10:18:00.003-06:00

No Longer Available

Just looking at the puffs of pollen captured here makes me want to sneeze. Now that a hard freeze had hit us, the sneezes are gone for a while. Now, I'm only coughing.

Monkeying Around

2008-12-01T10:12:00.003-06:00

No Longer Available
When I started this one, the most dominant image was a monkey's face. But the more I monkeyed around, the face got lost in the background. Oh well, it wouldn't have ended up looking like a monkey if I tried to make it so.

Strawberries

2008-11-28T11:54:00.003-06:00

No Longer Available

After the blue and green strings were pulled around the red blobs, wild strawberries appeared in the middle of the field. Painting the backside of the styrene gray changed the lighting of the piece and accented the texture of the berries which is diminished by the scan. The "twin" to this piece is "Joy to the World."

Joy to the World

2008-11-28T11:46:00.003-06:00

No longer available
Determining the front or back; the top or bottom; or the left or right of this piece is entirely arbitrary. The white space is clear. This is a suncatcher that simply brings me joy. Now if I could only figure out how to suspend it on a window.

Holly Berries

2008-11-28T11:38:00.002-06:00

9 x 12 Canvas

Red and blue strings were pulled across the green background. The combination reminded me of the holly bush right beside my front door. The mirror image of this stringy pair is "Go with the Flow". The green background made a very big difference in the results. Both pieces have a texture that is not shown by the scan.

Go with the Flow

2008-11-28T11:30:00.003-06:00

No Longer Available

Blue and red strings were pulled to create the energy that flows across this piece. Brushes were used to created the confetti flying in the air. The mirror image of this one is Holy Berries.

Holy Cow

2008-11-28T11:23:00.003-06:00

No Longer Available

Pink and purple strings were pulled to create this piece for Lisa. An orange string was also pulled, but it vanished. When the bright yellow was painted onto the reverse side, the cow seemed to jump into place. That is appropriate since Lisa loves cows.

Diving Dove

2008-11-28T11:17:00.002-06:00

9 x 12 clear styrene

Lisa wanted a pink, purple and orange string painting. I see both a bird flying toward the ground and a big purple tornado. Turn this over and the textures and images are very different. Working with a clear support adds additional flexibility to the view of each painting.

Autumn Daze

2008-11-28T11:11:00.003-06:00

No longer available

The leaves fell off the trees so quickly. Today all that can be seen are the bare black limbs.

Hutch

2008-11-23T20:16:00.002-06:00

Photograph

This is Hurricane Hutch. He's learned to use that sad, sad face to his full advantage. Hutch is a Victorian Bulldog. If he can put it in his mouth, he will chew it. I'm struggling to convince him that I am not a chew toy.

Reflection

2008-11-16T15:13:00.004-06:00

16 x 20 acrylic No Longer Available

The two sheets shown here are mirror images created by sandwiching several paint covered strings between the pages, applying pressure and pulling them out. The results remind me of a garden. What do you see? I did not use a brush as I worked on this one. The strings did all the work.

Kitty's Quilt

2008-11-16T15:04:00.003-06:00

16 x 12 Collage

This is the same picture scanned from two angles. Each corner features a different quilt block. I assembled five of the quilt blocks shown previously to create a painted quilt. As I worked on it, Baby, our kitty, kept sleeping on the pieces. He got very good use out of this two dimensional quilt and I found a way to make the individual quilt blocks a bit more interesting.

Irish Lace

2008-11-16T14:58:00.002-06:00

12 x 9 acrylic Yupo
The texture is provided by a paper doily used by the hospital during a spring stay. The scanner did not do the red tulips in the center justice, but a close examination will reveal the three red flowers in the center of the small nosegay. I tried to repaint the two splotched areas outside the lace, but the paint would not hold. I decided the table must be chipped.

Clearly Blue

2008-11-16T14:52:00.003-06:00

No Longer Available
Much of the shading and shadowing has been created by the texture created by rippled pieces of gauze. I used the same tint of blue for the whole piece (a few smudges of yellow were not picked up by the scan). When I didn't know what I should do next, I called it quits and stopped painting. I was going to add to this later, but I never got re-inspired.

The dog ate it

2008-11-16T14:44:00.003-06:00

16 x 12 acrylic canvas

For years I chuckled at my students who claimed the dog ate their homework. Puppy Hutch has convinced me that dogs do indeed eat the strangest things. This collage provides ample evidence. First, Hutch ate the original textured background off the canvas. Second, I collected other bits and pieces of items he shreaded and used them to create a new texture. Third, I created a visual of what the floor looks like after Hurricane Hutch has hit the scene. Anyone have good tips to help me tame Hurricane Hutch?

Animal Instincts

2008-11-16T14:38:00.004-06:00

12 x 9 Acrylic No Longer Available

Here's my impression of what Hutch, our bulldog puppy, finds when he explores our back yard. He scents the trails of squirrels, rabbits, birds and humans. He also follows his natural instinct to chew whatever he can fit into his mouth. Thus the yard is littered with all kinds of bits and pieces.

Resolution Square

2008-10-25T10:52:00.004-05:00

Not Available
Quilters know this design as Resolution Square. Viewers should note that I need to resolve to learn how to create a series of precise squares. This piece, as well as several others in my collection of misshapen blocks, will be combined to create a make-believe quilt. I can guarantee that my clumsy scissor work will not square up the series of painted blocks. The finished collage will be unlike any other quilt sample in existance.

Memory Chain

2008-10-25T10:47:00.003-05:00

Not Available
Jennifer Chiaverini included this quilt block in the novel New Year's Quilt. The authentic block would be more regular than my mishapen piece shown here. But my memory is not as stable as many others may be. Like my memories this whole thing is cattywhompous.

Pinwheel

2008-10-25T10:43:00.003-05:00

Not Available
The series of quilt blocks were inspired by Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilts novels. I know I do not have the patience to do the piece work required for a quilt. I also didn't have the skills to replicate a perfect quilt square. This block is titled "Pinwheel".

Thunder

2008-10-25T10:39:00.003-05:00

12 X 9 Acrylic No Longer Available
Listen, hear the thunder? The sky is raging and the air is ringing with loud booms.

Windy

2008-10-23T18:20:00.005-05:00

12 x 9 No Longer Available
Whoa, the wind is pushing everything about. The swirling mass began as a blanket of facial tissue (Puffs, not Kleenex) laid on the canvas (actually cardboard*). As the wet paint touched the tissue, the wrinkles were created. The first coat of paint was white. When that dried, I was fascinated by the way the color moved onto the wrinkles. This is another example for me of how textures play a role in the creation of interesting designs.
*About that cardboard, I've discovered I am more Scotch than anyone knew. I use whatever is handy for the support. Wait, I'm being Green..... reuse and recycle.

Hell Fire

2008-10-23T18:11:00.003-05:00

12 x 9
I don't know how to describe this. It isn't really a painting, although I did use the same tube of red paint. I dyed squares of gauze in a tray of red paint and then squished and smushed the gauze into place. The deeper the red, the thicker the layer of gauze. Next I used an eye dropper and dripped dabs of white and yellow onto the red. All I see is a raging mass of red. Do you spot any images here?

Seaside

2008-10-23T18:04:00.003-05:00

No Longer Available
By the sea by the beautiful sea. Well, it may not be beautiful, but it is a sea. My goal was to present clearer distinctions between the land and sea and the sea and sky. Can you tell I also attempted to create the reflection in the water? Let's call that blob on the lower left a hill. Works for me.

Feathers

2008-10-22T17:10:00.004-05:00

9 x 12 Acrylic No Longer Available

This attempt to create feathers was a bit more successful. The idea of feathers popped into my head when I was in the hospital. A beautiful professional painting with a feathery feel was all I could see when I gazed out the door into the hallway. I thought I could do something like that. I couldn't. I must have feathers for a brain.

Strings Attached

2008-10-22T17:01:00.002-05:00

12 X 9 Acrylic
Like so many things in life, this comes with strings attached. Curling ribbon was used to create the texture. I painted the whiteribbon as I created the design. The scan does not show the white strings, but at times the strings in life are invisible.

Phooey

2008-10-22T16:49:00.002-05:00

12 x 9
I scanned this with the wrong rotation. I tried to create and bouquet of feathers, but they are lost now. Also lost here is the detail of the texture. I used gauze squares as an undercoat. Much of the shading has been added by the wrinkles in the gauze.

Left Turn

2008-10-20T19:30:00.002-05:00

12 x 9 Acrylic
I hate making left turns. But turning left is sometimes better than going off onto the wild right side. The intersection into my subdivision resembles this turn. Go left to get out; go right to get in. My political views may be represented here. Even though I don't like going left, many times going left is much preferred to the uncertainty of going right. Usually, I eventually go off onto the unbeaten path and take the one less traveled by as I strive to stay in the middle. (My husband hated maps like this one that places south at the top. He asserted that all maps should have North at top. He was definitely more right than I am.)

Invasion

2008-10-20T19:24:00.005-05:00

No Longer Available
So many of my thoughts are interrupted by invasions. Do you see the bell, the caterpiller, or the tree? This is the first born of a set of twin paintings. I used it to make a print. That print was posted earlier. Of course because of the way the blog is organized, some of you will see it later (if you look for Disorder.)

Daisy, Daisy

2008-10-20T19:18:00.003-05:00

9 x 12 Acrylic No Longer Available

What is its color true? This was supposed to be a yellow flower, but it turned orange. Are real daisies ever orange? The shadow added by the scan improved this painting. I'd love to be able to do the shading shown here. Oh well. Good thing I have never sought perfection.

Butterflies

2008-10-20T19:13:00.003-05:00

12 x 9 Acrylic No Longer Available
Watching the butterflies helps find a sense of peace. (Those purple blobs are supposed to be butterflies. I still can not create very realistic images... but I do have some fun trying.) I faked those flowers too.

Bombs Bursting

2008-10-20T19:10:00.002-05:00

12 x 9 Acrylic
Sometimes bursting bombs cloud the air. Nothing can be seen very clearly when things fly off everywhere. As a control freak, days like this really upset me.

Bluesly

2008-10-20T19:05:00.005-05:00

No longer available

The bugs made me feel the blues when I did this one shortly after a rather long hospital stay in February 2008. Sometimes things I try to hide just pop up out of the blue. Go away all you purple bugs. (The pun in the title is a Freudian slip, but I decided to keep it. Sly)

Rose War

2008-10-20T19:00:00.002-05:00

9 x 12 acrylic

Roses are red and violets are blue. But this rose is blood splattered and the violets show their purple passion in this battle. Well, what do you see?

Summer Flowers

2008-10-19T16:48:00.003-05:00

Not Available

I lost control in the upper left corner. I suppose that could be a flower like an Iris, but that would be out of season. When it came time to frame this, my neice, Sara, created a nicer set of three balanced 5 x 7 pieces. The messy blob is gone now. Sara didn't know how much I hated that left corner.

Gone Fishing

2008-10-19T16:42:00.004-05:00

Not Available

The real painting is not as dark as this scan. My intention was to create a body of water. Some how the fish popped in. The fishermen in my family would love to have them pop out for a fresh fish supper. They will have to go catch their own. They won't mind that at all.

Summertime

2008-10-19T16:35:00.002-05:00

12 X 9
"Summertime and the living is easy" was not the song I was listening to as I painted this to music, but the image reminds me of summer time. Here I use washes and maintain more white space than usual. Like many summer days a few dark spots show up. I cannot remember what song I was painting to. Perhaps a dark spot on my mind?

Cloudy Skies

2008-10-19T16:26:00.004-05:00

No Longer Available

The song says "Sunny days are here again" but here the sun has gone missing and the clouds rolled in. Actually I was using a set of washes and trying to leave more white space. Many of my paintings are dark with very little white space. Is it a paradox that this cloudy day includes more white space and a sense of openness?

Ugly flower

2008-10-19T16:20:00.004-05:00

Not Available
What a mess. I was playing with circles and trying make a geometric shape. I think I clearly demonstrate that geometry is not one of my strengths. I've trimmed of the edges to remove many of the smears. I plan to use the remaining flower as part of a future collage.

Floating

2008-10-19T16:12:00.002-05:00

12 X 9 Acrylic
Retirement finds me floating through life. Nothing too exciting occurs very often, but surprises and shocks continue to show up to disrupt a worry-free float. I probably shouldn't say this, but I see sperm racing in this piece. Have multiples been created? What do you think?

Disorder

2008-10-19T15:44:00.003-05:00

9 x 12 acrylic

How do you define disorder? Is a disease that has invaded the body? Is it the mess created when the house becomes littered? Is it being placed out of sequence? For me: it's the diseases taking over my body; the house after Hurricane Hutch (our new Boxer puppy) has discovered a new supply of paper; the painting being published separately from its twin. This piece is the print (stamped) copy of Invasion, a painting that hasn't been scanned or published yet. The twins are NOT identical. But this copy turned out to meet my expectations. Of course, I may have a disordered mind---or a mind out of order?

Desert Mountains

2008-10-19T15:38:00.004-05:00

No Longer Available

An imginary landscape. Straight lines were not intended. I had planned to keep the colors unblended. That obviously did not happen. Luckily, I can accept the blurring between the lines. Isn't that blurring what happens when trying to draw lines in life?

Blue Candles

2008-10-19T15:29:00.004-05:00

Not Available

I see these candles as people who are living in the garden of life. People who are tall and thin as well as those who are short and squat burn their enegy just like those who are average. What I was attempting was the way to paint dimension. I need more practice and patience. Again those candles show me necessary life qualities.

Turbulence

2008-04-17T18:15:00.010-05:00

Not Available

Crowd

2008-04-17T18:15:00.009-05:00

12 x 9 acrylic

Vacuous

2008-04-17T18:15:00.008-05:00

12 x 9 acrylic

Sunflowers

2008-04-17T18:15:00.003-05:00

12 X 9 acrylic

Seeds were created by spit balls.

Star Shower

2008-04-17T18:15:00.001-05:00

12 x 9 acrylic

Tulip

2008-04-17T03:40:00.006-05:00

9 x 12 Acrylic No Longer Available

I have let "writer's block" slow the posting of the recent paintings. In an attempt to get moving on this project, I'm going to simply skip the descriptive sections and put up the paintings. If you need a caption to explain the picture, I'll be happy if you write it.

Cacaphony

2008-04-17T03:40:00.005-05:00

12 x 9 acrylic