More painting, a reworking, and word art

I started this painting early last year just after completing Diane Culhane's online class,  "Paint Your Garden".  I used the frottage and blown blots techniques from the class and then I stopped.  I wasn't sure what to do next.

I pulled the painting out of my "in process" stash a couple of weeks ago thinking that the next step would come to me given time and perspective.  Patience is a virtue (so true) and I completed this painting a few days ago.

"Morning In the Garden"

And now to the "reworking".  I posted this rough photo of "We Gather Together As Friends" on Friday:

I thought I was done with it but, no, I kept going back and looking at it while waiting for it to dry completely.  Hm-m-m.  Out came the brushes and paints and now I am happy with the results:

I make word art (all the time, oy) and it has become a regular subject on my blog :-)  This one is of the moment and decidedly not close to my heart but, unfortunately, it is close to my head:

Something for me :-)

I am a fan of Diane Culhane's whimsical art.  I acquired another small works painting, "They Spoke With Birds" earlier this month.  Want to see?

"They Spoke With Birds" by Diane Culhane

The colors are so beautiful and vibrant.  Color me happy :-)

Using line

The next lesson from Karine Swenson's online class, "Elements", was creating an abstract design using line and linear variety from the previous exercise.

The assignment was to produce a painting using these same elements:

18" x 24" acrylic painting

Winter white

Single-digit temperatures for quite a few days now.  Looking out the window... snow caps on the leaf-less shrubs.  Are the birds okay?  I hope they are keeping warm.

Perhaps these thoughts prompted me to paint a warm-weather scene with plenty of color :-)

"Journey"

I've been painting...

an 8"x10" mixed media landscape on canvas (Flowers In the Mist):

Going for a dewy-moist, quiet ambiance...

I was into all kinds of acrylic and watercolor paints with pastels and charcoal. I always start with brushes but invariably I use my fingers - in this instance to work the color into the fiber paste texture. Okay, and the flowers, too, and the sky...thank goodness I have a scrubbie thing that removes all that "media" from my hands :-)

Painted a little painting...

using techniques I learned from Diane Culhane's online class, "Between Speech and Silence". I enjoy painting this way; it's very liberating and forgiving :-)

"Meeting"

Assignments done, yay!

The base paintings from a few days ago now look like this:
Yellow red base:

Funny birds, huh.

Blue red base:

This would have to be Romy and Remy with me!

"Between Speech & Silence" assignment

Diane Culhane's "Between Speech and Silence" online class ended last Friday (!) and I have the final two paintings to complete. I tend to do either controlled graphicky things or large, non-objective swashy pieces, but this final assignment is somewhere in the only recently explored "middle". I am thoroughly enjoying this class - it's so freeing to experiment.
So, here is the first base painting:

Light

And here is the second:

Dark

I have some collage elements to add and then I get out the brushes, pens and acrylics. Hm-m-m, I have no idea what will happen :-)

A before and after..

Here is a paint daub critter dog just after I "discovered" him in amongst the ink and paint. See?...he was in there somewhere :-)

Paint daub dog "before"

Here he is tidied up; the extraneous ink and other media painted over with the background color:

Paint daub dog "after"

Flowers everywhere!

Walkies are so nice - I am outdoors walking with my Remy. He is such a happy Golden - looking and sniffing and checking out anything new on "his" turf. Bunnies eyeing us and baby birds wildly chirping.
Flowers are blooming everywhere. Remy sticks his entire face into them (!) whilst my appreciation is at a more conservative distance :-)
So inspiring - I completed this Planet-ary flowers painting:

Bloomin'

Are you ready for more "flowers"?

Planet-ary flowers inspired by all the bloomin' activity I see everywhere :-)

More "Planet-ary" flowers

What a morning it has been...

it's the weather. The feeling of Spring. Windows open, typing this whilst listening to the birds singing away. Sigh. So lovely.
Imaginary spring flowers:

Imaginary spring flowers

The persistence of...flowers :-)

I like working in my studio and occasionally glancing out the window at the blowing snow – it’s enjoyable because I’m inside happily painting away and the “weather” is outside.

So here’s what blossomed today:

They look a bit like flowers...

From negative beginnings, a surprise!

The challenge: create a painting using collage - for me, not a favored technique - and collage elements that I don't like.
Here it is:

I am pleasantly surprised :-)

Under the influence...

of this wonderful sunny morning, a trio of flowers from my studio:

More Planet-ary flowers :-)

Snow flowers

Winters' reminder - s.n.o.w. - stopped falling yesterday: and there I was happily painting flowers in my studio using techniques I am learning from "Flower Crazy" (http://www.carlasonheim.com/flower-crazy-2/).

Flowers definitely from my studio on a nearby planet :-)