Bluebird Fantasy

"Bluebird Fantasy"

textured acrylic 

on 8 x 10 gallery wrapped canvas

I was happily surprised to learn that this painting sold over the weekend.  Yay!  I painted it a few years ago when I was beginning to experiment with textures, and it will always be one of my favorites.

(detail)

I've left the photos big, so you can click on them to see everything up close.

(detail)

(detail)

I've always really liked how this flower turned out. :0)

Now that several paintings have sold I'll be creating some more items to sell, since wall space has opened up at the little cafe gallery that sells my work.  I like that!

Things are a bit hectic here right now, with my daughter graduating from college and getting ready for graduate school.  It's a wonderful feeling to be able to share these exciting times with her.

Our sweet old Beau-doggy is still with us, too, although last week we had a few days where we thought he'd be leaving us very soon.  We're just so glad that he's still here with us to enjoy another spring, dozing outside when weather permits.

I hope you all have a good week!  

Past Present Future

St. Bartholomä
watercolor

Sometimes seeing who you were in the past helps you figure out who you want to be in the future.

Melk, Austria
watercolor

I came across these two little watercolor sketches this week. I painted them back when I was still afraid of the juicy power that watercolors can have. If you let watercolors have plenty of water, room to explore and the time to find their own way, that is.

They were on the first page of one of several little journals I've started and stopped over the years. A bad habit. I start with be best of intentions, and then over-think what the journal should be used for. I become overly-critical of myself, and then that's the end of that.

Finding that journal, and those two little paintings of places I had visited long, long ago, led me to look into my digital photo files. Just to see what else I'd forgotten about myself.

angel detail

I found special angels I painted for special people a few years ago. But instead of looking at the entire painting, I felt compelled to focus on details.

angel detail

Details I liked the most.

angel detail

Details as delicate angel wings.

Looking at who I was, and what I've accomplished in the past, has helped me focus on the details of what I want to do in the future.

angel detail

I want to keep making art, but take it more seriously. I want to create with my heart, and from my heart.

acrylic detail

I want to embrace color. Vibrant and happy color.

acrylic detail

And I want to allow myself to soar to new heights, with reckless abandon. To finally cast aside, for good, the barriers I always seem to set up for myself, and celebrate a new-found feeling of complete freedom.

This past week I also gathered together some little books to use as art journals, since I finally have a clear vision of what keeping a journal now could mean to me. There's a wonderful book, An Illustrated Life, by Danny Gregory, that I've been reading, too, which has shown me just how amazing keeping an art journal can be.

I finally get it. And, more importantly, I finally get me.

"Deep inside
I think drawing and writing
(will) help me remain whole
in a world
that feels so broken apart."
~Rick Beerhorst

(of Studio Beerhorst)
as quoted in An Illustrated Life

Weaving and letting the light in

Woven painted muslin with some random stitches

(work in progress)

I'm not quite sure where this is going, but I know I will be stitching on it some more. Right now I'm loving the rough edges.

And while I've been doing this bit of intuitive weaving and stitching, I've been allowing my mind to drift. A wonderful feeling! It's led me to think that this might be the perfect time for me to weave a new way of looking at life, as well. A new way of looking at the world and my art, and who knows what else?

This weaving and stitching is letting the light in, in more ways than one. . .

I'm also still enjoying meandering through blogland, visiting blogs, maybe even commenting, if I can find words. I'm not forcing the words to come out so much right now. And yes, our old Beau-doggy is still with us. He still has more good days than bad, although he is eating less and less, and sleeping more.

This weekend, I plan to visit this exhibit on contemporary Wisconsin textiles at the Museum of Wisconsin Art. If it's anything like their other exhibits, it will be fabulous.

Wishing you all a happy week!

Up and down, round and round. . .

(detail of muslin with acrylic paint, ink, wool, embroidery floss)

Up and down, round and round - that's a pretty good description of my life (and moods) lately.  Other than some creative cooking, I haven't had much opportunity to create lately.  Just a few stitches to start embellishing the piece of muslin that I've become obsessed with.  

(detail of muslin with acrylic paint, ink, Inktense pencils, embroidery floss)

Our old dog, Beau, now only eats if we entice him by hand-feeding him first.  Even this takes time and patience on our part, since he is slowly reverting back to the timid dog he was when we adopted him from the shelter.   He is slowly forgetting what he learned during his time with us.  He is forgetting that he learned to feel safe and confident and happy with us, and that the dog food in his bowl is his to enjoy.  It's sad to see him old and confused and in pain.  It's sad to know that our days with him are numbered.

Unfortunately, there's been very little time in my life lately to read and comment on blogs and elsewhere online, either.  But after next week, I think I'll have a bit more time again.

Thanks to all who commented on my last posts.  I may not get around to thanking you each personally, but I value all your comments more than you'll ever know.

In the mean time, I'm really loving this change from painting and drawing on paper and canvas, to stitching on muslin.  More changes are coming, too, I think, but I'll still find my way back to painting those portraits that I love.

I have a feeling this will be an interesting year, and I'm working my way into it slowly. 

"Take a breath,

take your time, 

spread your wings

and rise."

~ Counting Crows lyric

Begin

It's the first day of a new year- what a perfect day for new beginnings!

Not much has gone according to plan since I posted here last.  As a result, I've been keeping a low profile online.  And I'll continue to do so for a while.

Maybe I'll use this forced interruption as an opportunity to begin doing many things differently this year.  Beginning to do something differently can start as a whisper, after all.

(detail of ink and thread on painted muslin)

The important thing is to begin.

(detail of ink and Intense pencils on painted muslin)

And to simply be, sometimes. 

I've been slowly beginning to work on my muslin rags.  Letting them tell me what they want to be.

"Be willing to be a beginner

every single morning."

~ Meister Eckhart

Happy New Year, everyone!

xo

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.

Before and after

(detail)

I think this landscape is finished now.  I didn't do too much more to it.  Just highlighted parts of the leaves with a little oil pastel, adjusted some of the colors, and added some texture to the bottom portion.  It has an acrylic encaustic finish, to protect the leaves and to give the whole piece a warm, more organic feeling.

(detail)

The broken purple line along the horizon reminds me of Lake Michigan, of how it looks when you're driving toward it and suddenly catch that first amazing glimpse of the water along the horizon.  It never looks the same twice, ranging from the palest gray to the most intense Mediterranean blue.  And it's gorgeous every time.

This landscape is my interpretation of Wisconsin's golden corn fields, the Lake, and the short but glorious fall foliage.

So here it was before:

and here it is after:

Wisconsin Landscape

acrylic encaustic mixed media collage with leaves

on 12 x 12 wrapped canvas

Two more 12 x 12 landscapes to go, and then - who knows?

:0)

Learning as I go

Here's a sneak peek at one of the canvases I've been working on.  As I've mentioned here before, I've been especially intrigued by the details on the backs of the falling leaves this Fall.  I keep noticing how much some leaves look like trees themselves.  So, here is a canvas where I used three dried leaves as the trees. It's still very much a work in progress.  I'm not sure where I'll go next with this painting, but I'm really enjoying learning as I go, and not rushing the process. 

And, because I am so madly in love with the Horicon Marsh this year, here are a few photos I took of the marsh recently.

It was very windy the day I took these photos, so there were lots of ripples in the water.  Usually the water is very, very still.

I left this photo larger, so you can see it better when you click on it.  It's a huge group of pelicans!  Until a few years ago, pelicans were very rare in Wisconsin, but we are seeing more and more here every year.  Climate change is changing their migratory patterns.

Did you know that a group of pelicans is called a "pod"?  A group of geese is called a "gaggle".  And a group of crows is a "murder of crows" - really!

Loosey Goosey, part two

I meant to be back sooner, but life has a way of getting in the way, doesn't it?  Since my last post, I did have the chance to finish this second painting of Horicon Marsh, though.  And today I took the four landscapes described in these last few posts, along with a few paintings of flowers which I did a year or two ago, up to the Horicon Marsh area.  They are going to be on display, and for sale(!), at the Celtic Crossroads Cafe in Mayville, Wisconsin, just in time for Mayville's 25th annual Audubon Days celebration.
:0) (Yay!)
Three more canvases are waiting for me to start painting on them next week.  But I'll also be getting back to regular blogging and tumblr-ing, as well as visiting blogs and answering e-mails, in a day or so.

Thanks to everyone for all your support!
xo

Loosey goosey

During this time of year, one of the most beautiful places in Wisconsin is the Horicon Marsh area, where thousands of Canada geese and other birds stop during their migration.   Inspired by all those geese (honk!honk!), it was pretty easy to be a little bit looser while painting this marsh scene.

I scratched into the paint to get some texture in the grasses and cattails, and I loved how it felt to just do it and not over-think the process.  It also has me thinking I should look at the two paintings in the previous post, to see what I can do to loosen them up a bit more.

There are a few important things I'm learning from doing these landscapes.  First, I can't rush the process.  No matter how much I want to finish multiple paintings in a day or two, I've realized that I need to step away for a while.  It really helps me to come back to a painting later to look at it with fresh eyes before I can finish it.

Second, doing these landscapes is forcing me to focus on details in a different way than doing portraits has done.  Because of all the portraits I've done recently, I notice people's eyes more now, for example.  Have you ever noticed that most people have one eye that is smaller and slightly less round than the other eye?  I've also noticed that it is more often the left eye that is smaller.  Really.  Try it for yourself.  I find this fascinating, and I'd never have noticed if I hadn't started painting portraits.  I love that!

With these landscapes, I need to focus on distance and perspective.  It has made me think how these are important in life, too.  How sometimes distancing yourself from a situation can give you a different perspective.  Yes, I do a lot of thinking about such things while I'm happily painting away.

So, next I have another marsh painting that I've started.  I want to go back and see how I can improved the first two landscapes, and then I already have some ideas for a few more landscapes.  And then, and only then, will I do some more faces - or flowers - or maybe some abstracts - or something involving textile or sculpture.

Sometimes it feels like I'll never have enough time to do everything I want to do, see everything I want to see, and read everything I want to read.  Like thanking everyone for their sweet comments on my last post, for example.  Big, big thanks to all who commented and e-mailed me recently.  I'll be getting back to you as soon as I can.

"Time brings all things to pass."

~ Aeschylus

The only thing constant is change

. . . so I decided to paint a few landscapes instead of portraits.

I think I'll do a few more.  I'm going to work on loosening up my style a bit more, too.

Today our sky here in southwestern Wisconsin is hazy and smelly from the smoke of a huge fire in the gorgeous Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Northern Minnesota.  It amazes me that we can smell the smoke over 500 miles away.  (You can read about it here and here, if you're interested.)

My heart goes out to all the people and creatures who are impacted by the many wildfires around the country and the world.

"It is your concern

when your neighbor's wall is on fire."

~ Horace

Portrait of my Mr. C (also known as "the big guy")

Mr. C

Here he is.  Finally!  The big guy, my husband, portrait #4 in my family portrait series.

(detail)

Like the other portraits, it has lots of texture and many layers of acrylic washes, many of which were wiped back to create layers of color.

 (detail)

Each portrait tells a little story, too, and on this one I included collage elements relating to his job as an engineer.

While it was fun to do these portraits, I never realized how challenging it would be to paint people so near and dear to me.  Some days, when I was ready to paint, I realized I was too annoyed with them to paint them.  Especially the boys.  Ha!  That was something I never expected, but there you go.  It's true confession time.

So here are all four portraits, together at last.

Mr. C, the big guy

self-portrait, the dreamer

Katrina, the linguist

Chris, the philosopher

As I look at all four portraits together, I can't help but notice that my head is bigger than Mr. C's head. In real life, I am not nearly as stern as this, and his head is really much, much, MUCH bigger than mine. Ha! But he does have killer dimples.

Now that this project is finally finished, I'm moving on to the many other things I've been wanting to do. Can't wait to get started!

"The Big Guy" (or stepping into my newest adventure in acrylics)

The big guy is a work in progress.  Now the fun begins, but there are always a few missteps along the way.

I was happily painting some luscious washes of Windsor Blue when I noticed some paint on the kitchen floor.  Make that LOTS of paint on the kitchen floor.  Dozens and dozens of splotches of dark blue paint on the kitchen floor.  Somehow a blob of paint had ended up on the floor, and I must have stepped in it - twice with the same foot.  And then I apparently danced around the kitchen table and the rest of the kitchen before I realized I was painting my FLOOR!

So imagine me, hopping on one foot, ripping off my sock and throwing it away, finally making it to the sink with lots of paper towels, very energetically scrubbing the bottom my foot, and then on hands and knees frantically scrubbing all the blue splotches off the floor.

Yes, you are right, I DO lead a very exciting and fun-filled life!

At least I'm happy with the progress I'm making with this painting, and it shouldn't take too long to complete.  I love adding the textures and washes and then repeatedly rubbing them with a scrap of muslin, because I never know what the layers and layers of paint will look like after I work with them. 

Many more layers of paint still need to be added before this painting will have the rich, warm depth I so love to create.  You can't really capture it in a photo, unfortunately.

Sometimes I also like to just step back, (hopefully avoiding stepping in paint!) and look at a portrait upside-down.  I can get a better idea of whether I like how the colors are coming together this way.  And I can see whether the shape and details of the face work.

I hope you all step into something good every chance you get!

"Creativity comes from

looking for the unexpected

and stepping outside your own experience."

~ Masaru Ibuka