Combining Gestural Marks

I have been thinking about gestural marks lately, as you know. My Music Series is based on those marks, but I have been making them with some regularity over the years. So I thought I would share another one with you again today. I also want to show you another view of a recent post which has several gestural marks combined.

This is an old painting which uses quite a few gestural marks. Basically what I did with this one is place the painted canvas on the ground (outdoors) and used paint right from the container to splash on it! I apologize for the clarity of this painting, but it is the best I could do with the silver paint. There is also a dark blue paint on here, as well. It is 20" x 30" deep, gallery wrapped canvas. I rather like the way it all works with the variety of marks and how the blank space helps lead your eye around the silver marking.

I also wanted to show you this other view of the weaving I shared with you yesterday. I think you can see the gestural marks here a bit easier. On each paper, there are several gestural marks and in this case being woven together. Of course, with yesterday's suggestions, I am not sure how much further these marks will go. The other thing to consider is look at how the paper strip also creates a psudo-gestural mark!

So how do you use gestural marks in your work? Do you combine them? Of course I know the answers, but it is always interesting to hear what you have to say!

I hope your day is filled with Beauty!

Catching An Art Moment!

First I want to say thank you for being patient with me yesterday. Sometimes I just can't access my photographs to post here!

I thought I would share a few things I have been working on lately. These are small, but some of what I do as "between work"!

This is a piece I did to see how the Ampersand board for watercolors (Aquabord) would work. I wet the surface of this product and then added the color. In this case, I used watered down acrylics. I love to let colors blend together as they wish, so this was the way I chose to begin with this one. The next thing I did was dry brush some pearl acrylic over the surface. As you probably know these reflective acrylics do not photograph well. Lastly, I used acrylic which was in my little squeezy bottles to add the small gestural mark. This is a 5" x 7" board.

The other little thing I have been working on is another weaving. This is, again, rice paper which I have slapped on some left over acrylic paint. This time, though, I have cut the strips with a mat knife rather than tearing them. I left one edge uncut on each piece to see if weaving it would be easier. As you can tell, I am still working on this one. I have no idea what I will do with it, but I can go in and weave a few inches when I have a moment, though. I will let you know more about how I proceed with this one!

Do you have things like this you do if you can catch a quick art moment? Tell me about it.

Have a Lovely Creative Day!

Not-Typical Monday!

My apologies for today in not posting. I am not at my own computer at present, but I will have it back later today or in the morning.

In the meantime, let me know what you have been working on this weekend!

Have a Beautiful Day!

A Glimpse...

So I thought I would give you a glimpse of what is on my easel right now. I have been working on this for a couple of weeks, now. It may be another week or two before I feel it is finished. It will go in my Music Series and the tentative subtitle is "Love Letters and Tears". This is not even the full canvas...just a close up shot!

So what is on your easel or desk now?

One other thing I wanted to point out to you is our friend Andrea said she has used the Inktense pencils and shows an example of the result on her blog. I am eager to try these and thought you might be interested in seeing an example of Andrea's use of them.

I will be working on some drawings this weekend. What are you going to be working on?

Have a Great Weekend and let me know what creative things you are doing.

Oil Sticks and Other Toys!

Today I wanted to share with you one of the products I sometimes use in mixed media pieces. I used them a lot in my Horizon Series (check out Horizons 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 for examples) and with some of my earlier works. Recently I have not picked them up, but I thought I might use them again, soon. So have you ever used oil sticks? They are basically oil paint in stick form. The finish dries hard like oil paint, but they work more like oil pastels.
This painting is my chili pepper :) The background is acrylics, but the red, yellows, greens, blues, purples, etc. are done with the oil sticks...all the blurry, smeary parts. I apply these and then use my fingers to blend them they way I would like. There are several methods of application, but this is the way I am most comfortable working with them. I try to stay away from some art products due to my asthma, so this is a compromise for me.

Several companies make this product. I am particularly fond of the Sennelier brand, however Windsor and Newton and Shiva also make a similar product. You might also find some other brands, but these are the ones I know about. The range of colors has become very wide.

Here are a few of the ones I have. The one which is third from the left is actually a blending stick. As you see, I have tried using it, however found my fingers to be better for me.
Sennelier makes these in several sizes which I find helpful. Here you see me holding one of the largest ones. While I am not a small woman, I have very small hands, so that gives you an idea of the size of this red oil stick...it fits nicely in the palm of my hand.

These form a skin you need to peel off before getting to the soft oil paint. Now some of you creative people might find these "skins" to be useful in some collage work, so that might be another idea. But once you get to that soft layer you will find a very creamy product to work with. Like oil paint, these take some time to cure, but the results can be very appealing. I basically use Master's Brush Cleaner to clean up this product from my hands...yes, I know it is a bit harsh, but for me better than other solvents.

So tell me if you have had experiences with oil sticks. Do you like them?

Another product I have recently read about is waterproof ink in pencil form! It goes on like pencil, however when water is added to it you have ink. So it is like using watercolor pencils, but it is waterproof once dried on the surface! Have you ever used these? Do you like them? Do you have any other recommendations? Maybe the liquid pencil product?

Recently, Elis also was showing some of her favorite tools on her blog. You might like to visit her to see what she has been up to, as well. And if you do not know Elis' art, you are going to be in for a real adventure!

Have a Beautiful Day!

Bits and Pieces

Today I want to share just a few bits and pieces with you. But you know how much fun is it to visit an art blog without images? Not so much fun, really, so I have included an old painting...

Untitled Acrylic 18 x 24 deep, gallery wrapped canvas

You all know our friend Andrea who was my first conversation. Well, it seems as though she has gone very international with these interviews. Last week, she had another one published 0n the French blog, Doucement le matin, pas trop vite non plus l'apres-midi! (Please excuse my inability to type the accent marks.) You will need to scroll down to the date of "25.03.2008", but you will recognize the paintings. If you read French, please go and read it. If you do not read French, go and see some of the art shared there and if you want to translate the interview, you might consider using Babelfish to get an idea of what is being said (sometimes the translation is a bit fuzzy, but you can get the idea).

There was a very nice response to my post yesterday by Jess on her blog. She also posted an incredible sketchbook sketch along with a very inspiring post. I think you will enjoy a visit to see what she has to say and to see the wide variety of art she does.

Spring is really trying to show itself here in the Washington, DC area! So today I thought I would share with you what showed up on my door step last week (for my birthday). My dearest and oldest friend, her husband and furry friends sent me these beautiful flowers. I thought they were just too beautiful not to share with you today. I have to tell you they are still right here looking beautiful and smelling fabulous. Thank you Cindy, Neal and puppies!

What? No Questions Today? Not on your life.... Tell me about some of your inspirations, some great sites you love and/or how spring is showing itself in your art.

Have a Fabulous Wednesday!

Black and White...

There was some interest in this particular doodle when it showed up in the group of art supplies, so I thought I would give you a better look today. This is a large sketchbook...each page is about 12 x 15 inches. I am not sure what "A" size that might be, although I did purchase this when I was in England.

Normally, I just play around like this when I have a pen in my hand. I rarely go to anything which has a recognizable shape. Does this mean my brain is warped? My brain really works this way. I am considering doing some of these outside of the sketchbook and adding a bit of color, though. It is a thought.

I look at drawings/illustrations done by some blog friends, like Andrea, Jess or Laura and wonder why in the world I do not see things in a similar way. There is so much lovely documenting going on in that sphere and it is so appealing to so many people (including me). But it just doesn't happen in this head of mine. The only thing I can get into drawing is "bamboo sticks". This is very true...those I could meditate while drawing! Do you think this is strange? It is!

I can draft out a lot of things, but I also think I have burned myself out on that kind of drawing. All of those years of doing interior renderings maybe did me in. Do you think that happens with structured drawings like that?

So here are the questions: Why do you think I can't make the connection? What kind of drawing do you do in your sketchbook?

I look forward to hearing from you on this subject.

Have a Very Beautiful, Creative Day!