What next?

It's a gorgeous, bright, but cold, day here today, so I was able to apply the more muted finish to the leaf/tree paintings I wrote about in the last post.  You can see on my other blog (here), that the finish mutes and mellows the acrylic colors so they look less plastic and more organic.

While I was working, I was thinking about all the things I could do next.  Several months ago I was experimenting with weaving things, like wood-grained wallpaper samples.

About a year ago, I learned that quite a few of my ancestors had worked in the textile industry in the 1800s.  I've always been intrigued by textiles, and learned about fabric art (LOVE IT!!!) a few years ago.  I'll definitely be doing some more of that soon.  I can carry on the family tradition. :0)

And I'm not one to throw things away, so I have stacks of muslin scraps which I use to clean my brushes when I'm painting.

Believe me,  I had to restrain myself from putting more paint on that top piece of muslin!
:0)
I wash and iron them when I have enough of them.  Some look like little abstract pieces of art to me already, and in others, I see images I can add to with other materials.

These days, I'm drooling over the work of Flora Bowley.  You can see why at her website (here) and blog (here).

The final three, together at last

Here are the final three 12"x12" landscapes.

I gave you a sneak peek of the center painting on in the previous post.

I didn't have to do too much to enhance the dried, pressed leaf.  The colors were already perfect.  Before I collage these leaves to the paintings, I seal them on both sides with matte medium to protect them.

I also collaged some dried grasses to the center painting.  Love that texture!

Everybody who does landscapes seems to be painting birch trees lately, so I had to paint at least one.

Years ago we had quite a few in our neighborhood, but they have all died and been cut down.  I actually like how dead trees look and have been taking pictures of them lately.

I added a fainter, paler purple line along the horizon of the birch painting.  It reminds me of how the fog sometimes hovers over Lake Michigan, while the shore area is sunny and bright.

acrylic (faux) encaustic, acrylic, mixed-media, collage, pressed leaves

The light was perfect this afternoon, so I took advantage of it to take these photos outside.  You can probably see how the first painting, on the left, looks a bit mellower.  That's because of the acrylic (faux) encaustic finish I experimented with.  I'll be doing the same to the other two paintings the next time the natural light is bright enough for a longer period of time.  Then they'll have a more muted, organic look, too.  The leaves will also have additional protection after I do this.

I want to do something completely different next.  There are so many things I want to try, I'll need to see which idea pushes its way to the top.

"It is the spectator,

and not life,

that art really mirrors."

~ Oscar Wilde

A sneak peek

Here's a slightly blurry sneak peek at the landscape I'm currently working on.  It's been very overcast here, so my camera wasn't letting me get crisp photos.  This leaf/tree has only been pressed, the colors have not been enhanced yet.  Isn't it gorgeous?!  It's a leaf from the forsythia bush after it was touched by frost.   

This painting has more texture than the previous landscapes I've done recently.  I do love that texture!  But my challenge to myself is to keep it simple, and that's not as easy as it sounds.

Today I'm working on adjusting the colors quite a bit, so it can be a companion to this painting,

which I described in a previous post  here.

So, when this one is done, there will be one more 12" x 12" landscape to finish before I begin to work on something more portable.  When I paint these acrylic pieces, I need to move everything to the kitchen table, and then put it all away again.  Something easier to work on in short bursts would be a nice change.

Ah, the details

As the natural world around me prepares itself for the long, cold winter ahead, I find myself focusing on the smallest details.  The muted colors.  The textures and shapes.

I'm fascinated with patterns.  The endless variations of circular and linear found in nature.

The many gorgeous differences between the end of an old, weathered log and the inner surface of  the trunk of a freshly cut tree.  So many textures, and the startling beauty of  the simple grays and browns.  Sometimes I wish I could make myself very small, so I could crawl around inside all the nooks and crannies.  I know I would find many more even smaller nooks and crannies. Smaller and smaller and smaller.

Ah, the pockmarked rust of a weathered wind chime.  I was told the symbols on the chime say "Peace" and I like to think that's true.  And that it will be possible in more parts of the world.

I'm working on two more landscapes that do not want to be traditional landscapes.  And that's OK, I'll let them guide me so they can be what they want to be.  It's good to be who you are supposed to be.

And I've been thinking a lot about this painting which I did a few years ago, which I called "Energy (1)" because I knew that some day there would be more.  I love the idea that everything is made up of energy, from the smallest seed, to all of humanity, to all the stars in the Universe.  Everything.  Everything is connected.   It's a comfort to me, to know this.

There is so much we do not know, and can't even imagine.  But I do know this.  More art will be coming soon.

"Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature.

And that is because,

in the last analysis,

we ourselves are part of the mystery

that we are trying to solve."

~ Max Planck