Pride and Pours!

Well, I've done it!

I've allowed myself to "play" and pour!

Celebration Church located in Fairhope, Alabama had a Pinterest group meet last Saturday. 

I don't know the exact count, but I think there was at least 25 to 30 women there interested in learning how to paint pour.

I was one of them.

I went really and truly to learn what all the hubbub was about this method of applying paint.

I am not an abstract sort of artist, and at best I hoped to have something that might be pretty to look at, 

but not really something to add to my painting process.

I was proud of my process in laying paint with brushes on canvas.

I helped others with their pieces, thinking carefully about the paint colors I wanted to use on mine.

A couple of the ladies had also made too many cups of the pour mixture, 

so I grabbed them and  used their excess to mix mine.

It is a very interesting process to see unfold, the paints flowing and spilling over the edges in beautiful ways. Once I finished with helping, it was my turn to turn my cups into something, maybe something beautiful!

Carefully mixing my colors and layering them into cups, I took a deep breath and flipped them onto the canvas. I then tilted the canvas to cover the edges, making a mess with the excess paint. 

(I am very concerned about the amount of paint wasted with this process, 

and am thinking very hard about how to do it differently.)

Once I was satisfied with my piece, I carefully transported it to the garage with the others.

We filled the garage with our pieces, laid all over the place on pieces of cardboard. I could not stand to see the leftover paint all over the table and asked for another canvas to try and create another background.

The garage was an amazing display of beautiful abstracts, in a gorgeous array of colors and neutrals.

I had to wait like the others for it to dry overnight. After church, we went by the house and picked up the canvases. Taking them home, they were still very tacky and 

I put them in my studio and turned the ceiling fan on. 

I could not wait until it felt dry.

I knew what I wanted to paint on the top of this abstract watery looking background.

The turtle you see is the completed work!

I could not be much happier than I am right now.

Look out, I am hooked, and there will be several pieces in the future, 

once I figure out the process without the silicon oil.

I also have a friend that is going to coat several canvas using this process.

"Incredible beauty" , Acrylic pour and painted canvas, 16 x 20

Day 49 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2019

Wet and Wild!

Wet and Wild!

This was the underpainting I posted the other day with the final finish. 

This process is so easy  and the kids just love it!

140 lb watercolor paper with an abstract painting. Use reasonably thick paint, don't let them dilute it with water.  Let dry at least overnight. 

This is the underpainting. After the painting is dry, You take dishwasher gel and dribble, squirt, and plop away. (We used ketchup and mustard bottles) After applying gel, immediately paint it with black spray paint. Wait just long enough for it to dry to touch, then comes the wet and wild!

You spray off the dishwasher gel to reveal the underpainting!

The kids love using the hose, but you must be careful they don't spray too hard! I found it easier to do the hose myself, getting them to move the paintings afterward to dry.

Wet & Wild!, Acrylic on Watercolor paper,  12 x 18

Day 12 of the 100 Days~100 Paintings 2017 

Playing with the kiddos this week!

While this piece is not sale material, it was loads of fun!

Sometimes you've just got to go out of your comfort zone, and children really make me do this in spades. I love coming up with creative ways for the "littles" to have fun 

(although I have had adults join in at times!) I have learned so much about construction  and materials in my recycled class, there is virtually nothing I cannot figure out! 

I have entered the KID ZONE!

This week finds me at the Eastern Shore Art Center in downtown Fairhope. 

My class is chock full of 8-12 year olds in the Artelier class. This age is so much fun to teach and so eager to create! I am looking forward to a fun filled, hectic week!

I am also in the process of getting my better half to build a small amount of sets for our church's Summer Surge program. (Thanks love of my life! Chris Chavez) I am off to paint now!

It's going to be a busy, busy week!

Talk to the hand, Acrylic on canvas, 11 x 14

Day 8 of the 100 days~100 paintings

Vintage Beach X

I  know I wrote a couple of days ago that the vintage series was done. 

Well................. I did this study today for a larger one later. The original suit was probably much lighter in color.

While researching the other suits and their origins, I came across this little suit. Called the Moonlight Buoy, it was introduced about 1945 or 1946 by I believe the Duchess Royal company. This suit caused quite a stir in it's day! It was also featured in a LIFE magazine article, but I have yet to locate it for conformation. What was all the hullabaloo about? The advertisement touted that the lightweight suit could float by using the cork buckle to attach the top and bottom together. Why? 

So the swimmer could swim Au Natural !

In the Moonlight no less! 

You would have to swim in the moonlight to find it, and hope your suit did not float away with the tide. Interesting to say the least that our grandmothers might have worn something like this!

Ah history...................

Vintage Beach X, Acrylic on wood 8x10 

Day 15 of the 100 days~100 paintings

Nautilus

     I still collect shells and anticipate the day when my parents finally tell me I can have the collection from the Phillipines. The shells start their lives in the water, the ocean I still love so much, and I can remember my parents bringing them to the surface.
     
      The most dangerous ones were the Cone shells, beautiful but deadly in their sting. My father was once involved in trying to save one of the local village children after she had gotten stung, but knowing there was nothing he could do. I cried a lot for that little girl that was close to my age. My parents clung to me much harder those first few days afterward. The first time we went back, they were very protective of me going near the water. I guess that witnessing first hand what these lovely beauties could do made both my parents but especially my father realize how close I had come to death. I received many lessons afterward on identifying the deadly ones, but most of the time, I simply steered clear of the cone shaped ones. I would tell an adult when I found one, and they would remove them from the water.

     There are dozens of shells, colorful and plain, fragile and hard as rocks. They all succumbed to the ant bed that my mother placed them in out  by the back of the house. Those ants ate well, cleaning every shell so carefully they barely needed washing when we dug them up 2 weeks later after giving the ants another free meal nearby. We then displayed them in our home along with our fish caught wild and brought home to our tank. The shells had their own shelf along with the glass animals my parents collected at the base Commissary. I can remember dusting each shell carefully over the years before placing them back on the shelf that they were displayed upon. My father had spent hours researching the proper names for these beautiful gifts from the sea~giving them both the scientific and common names. He would carefully scotch tape these painstakingly hand lettered papers to their undersides. This is the old school scotch tape, the kind that deteriorates with age, both yellowing and losing it's grip with the surface it was originally adhered upon.

      Wonderful memories from the sea continue to haunt me to this day, giving me a knowledge and love for the ocean that continues to this day. The shells remain in a box, carefully wrapped in tissues and paper, waiting for the day that they get to see the light again.

"Nautilus" 6 x 6 acrylic on canvas

Denizen of the deep

            A special request from a collector in Orange Beach. Fairhope Connections called me and asked if I could recreate an octopus I had done but in a smaller piece. The original is 12 x 12 but the client wanted an 8 x 8. So, I got out the brushes and pulled out a rabbit because they wanted it the next day! When Joe Stoppa called, he said the customer also may want a Nautilus with the creature exposed. For some unknown reason, the word Cephalopods popped into my head! I told him they must really attracted to them (cephalopods) because both of them are from that group. Mr Douglas at Murphy high school would be so proud that I remembered that from Advanced Biology my senior year! What year?  I am almost scared to say, 1978!
Denizen from the deep~acrylic on canvas 8 x 8 Day 37 of the 100 days~100 paintings

Rangoli Fish Jubilee

                How appropriate that I would paint fish in a rangoli! I was quite taken with this design and it went rapidly after I started it. I love the bright beautiful colors that reflect my thoughts of living on the eastern shore.
            
                      Our coastline here alsong the Mobile Bay is one of two places in the world that has a phenomenon known as Jubilee. The other place is off the coast of Africa, I think. Back to our jubilee here. Jubilees are caused by  a number of factors coming into play. Temperature of the air, water temperature, and  an eastern breeze are what is required to cause a jubilee. The locals know what to look for, and start gathering up their buckets, gigs, nets and lights.
                    
                        When the jubilee occurs, the cry goes out along the coast, and if you are very lucky, someone calls you and informs you of the happening which usually occurs in the middle of the night. Creatures of all types come rushing to the shoreline, starved for oxygen. Everyone scoops up buckets of crabs, flounder, and fish of several types while avoiding the eels that join into the fray.
               
                       I have yet to experience one of these events, but hope to join in on one this summer, primarily to photograph the people and their catches.
             
 Rangoli Fish Jubilee 8x8 Acrylic on canvas.

Exploring the seashore

         Exploring the seashore came about because of the trip we took to the Keys last year. On the way, we stopped again in St Augustine, Florida. We spent a few days ar the state park and rode our bicycles all over the city. Bicycles allow you to park easier, and when the traffic is really bad, get ahead of the crowd of cars waiting for the traffic lights..
         The day we arrived was our first day out from Fairhope and we were tired, but wanted to see the Atlantic ocean that evening. We were not the only people there and I observed the children playing in the water. Several camera shots later, I felt I had the pictures neccessary for some delightful paintings. I changed the bathing suit, punched up the color and just had a lot of fun painting this little girl on the beach.
          This year I am pleased to announce as well that the Eastern Shore Art Center in Fairhope, Alabama has asked me to teach a class about  "A Painting a Day" Look for them to announce the class soon starting in the fall. I highly recommend the practice and diligence it takes to make a painting a day. It makes you a better painter, allows you to make quicker decisions, and makes painting more profitable (if you have chosen this for your profession). It also is just plain FUN!
"Exploring the Seashore" 12 x 24 Acrylic on canvas

Ghost Crabs July 4th & 5th

These Guys are just plain fun to paint! This pair completes days 4 & 5 of the 100 days of painting. I talked with Shelby Jones who is another artist with me in Cathedral Square Gallery in Mobile, Alabama. I told him of my "project" a painting a day for 100 days. He looked at me like I had three heads. Why! he exclaimed. I told him I took this challenge to myself to become a better Painter. The painting a day is challenging not only in finding something you are excited about painting, but the act of creating itself. I asked him how much he had painted lately He said that he had not painted for almost a year. I would absolutely feel suffocated if I went that long without creating! His work is amazingly detailed and beautiful to look at. I invited him to come over to my home on Tuesday evenings because that is when I have an open Studio. The open Studio gives me a chance to interact with other artists as well as receive their input on my most recent works. I also teach at that time. My students love the studio, and I love the interaction! By the way, I have had several conversations with other artists and have come to the conclusion that I am very lucky indeed. I actually have a studio in which to work! So many artists work off of their dining room table, desks, or someplace else that they have to pack up every day they create. I just want to say, Thank you to my husband of 30 plus years for giving me such a marvelous gift!