Blog

Coaster Board Books

6/20/2021

I love board books so I decided to make my own.

If I were going out to bars right now, I would be scrounging coasters from everywhere, but I'm not, so I found a source to purchase some 4" x 4" coasters.

Since these were white, I didn't have to gesso them to cover up the ads. I attached the "pages" with white paper tape and then used gel medium to glue down some crinkled tissue paper on both sides.

I'm experimenting with some new acrylic paint and also mixing colors on the different "books". Sometimes, I glue some fabric down as well.

when weighted down, these books are sticking together so I have to figure that piece out after trying some varnish and that didn't work.

But that what making art is to me -- solving puzzles!

Finding My "Painting" voice

6/12/2021

When I started exploring fiber art 12 years ago, it took me 5 years to find my unique "voice". That included a LOT of experimenting and to see how I could work in this medium and enjoy every minute. There were days when I just got frustrated and hated everything I made. But I kept on working.

Now that I have transitioned into mixed media I'm finding the same frustrations. I still incorporate fabric and thread into most of my pieces but learning the properties of paint (acrylic and watercolor) has continued to be a challenge.

This week, after taking a free class from Louise Fletcher, I finally found my "voice" for painting. And, I'm having fun which is my bottom line for being an artist.

I can't wait to continue exploring this new way of painting and using all my mark-making tools in addition to my paints to make abstract art.

Now I know where I'm going I will start incorporating more textures into my work while remembering "less is more". So opposite from how I have approached my art in the past where I believed "more is more"!

Ocean Alchemy — Alisa Burke

5/30/2021

My take on seaweed.

Before I left for Florida, I signed up to take a course from Alisa Burke. It is called "Ocean Alchemy". I thought that would be a perfect fit. Also, it was only $15 for 30 short videos. A bargain!

Alisa is more of an illustrator than a painter and that fits my style exactly. She simplifies shapes and marks to their essence, giving people a sense of what they are seeing, not an exact replica.

While in Florida, I didn't really have everything I needed away from my studio so just concentrated on making backgrounds in my sketchbooks. During this time I learned two things. One — you can watercolor and paint with acrylics in a cheap student notebook and that took away all my issues with painting in expensive journals or on watercolor paper. (So freeing!) and two — using matte acrylic paint eliminates the issues with pages sticking together. (I didn't know there even WAS such a paint!)

So now, I have the freedom to truly experiment in my cheap sketchbook, and improve it in my regular sketchbook, and, if inspired, I can improve it further in one of my expensive sketchbooks. I like seeing the progression and learning from my mistakes. Of course, there are no mistakes, right?

Birds

5/23/2021

I've never been a good illustrator or a person who could draw something from nature. but I'm actually going to try next week because of this photograph I took on the beach.

I'm devoting a journal to capturing my experiences at the beach this month. It will take a while since I'm still just working on the backgrounds with watercolor and acrylics.

But this heron captured my imagination. So majestic. So snow white. And how do those knees bend the wrong way???

I'm back in Denver and missing the sounds of the ocean so what better way to spend my time than to re-capture everything from the past weeks.

After un-packing, that is.

On the Beach

5/18/2021

This is definitely not a beach photo.

But it is planted at the beach condo we are renting and obviously can survive beach conditions. I loved the colors so this will be an inspiration for my art in the future.

The palette here is all neutrals, blues and greens. I'm more of a vibrant colorist so it's hard for me to get inspired here.

It's also hard to make art when my days are spent at the ocean instead of at my studio. But I'm thinking I needed a break in any case. I am interested to see how my art changes when I get back to Denver.

A Change of Scenery

5/11/2021

I'm on vacation. Finally.

I grew up on Long Island so the beach was where I spent most of my summer weekends. So vacation, to me, means going to the beach.

I find it hard to concentrate on making art when I spend the day listening to the compelling sound of the ocean waves, sitting under an umbrella, and reading fun books.

But I brought lots of art supplies with me and my mission today was to find some shells and use the color of those shells to paint a watercolor background in my journal.

I'm also taking a 30 day class from Alisa Burke called, aptly enough, Ocean Alchemy. While she is inspired by the west coast, I'm inspired by the east coast. It will be interesting to see the difference our art journals will be. Certainly, the palette will be quite different as well as the flora.

You can check out her classes here
https://www.shopalisaburke.com/collections/online-classes

A Blast From The Past

4/25/2021

I had a couple visit my studio yesterday, interested in my "Stitch & Slash" art so in getting all that work from storage, reminded me that I needed to change all the labels on my art that referenced old addresses and phone numbers.

So that's what I am doing now and have decided to re-make my wrappings to include a transparent pocket so I can print out information and slip it inside if things change instead of sewing a permanent label to the wrapping.

But in doing so, I am re-discovering some pieces I had completely forgotten about.

This one is called "New Urbanism" and was the first and only piece I made using a photograph as my pattern. I disliked the process so much, I never made another piece using this technique. But it DID win "Best of show" in an important quilt art exhibition in Longmont, CO.

Most of my early work is not on my current website but maybe I should change that.

I think it's interesting how an artist evolves over the years.

Inspired by Janet Davies

4/17/2021

This week, I've been experimenting with some techniques I learned from Jane Davies. Totally fun.

In this video, she uses deli paper to spread acrylic ink around on a piece of paper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJw1VqlTF2E

Jane uses Golden Liquid Acrylic but I didn't have any of this paint so I used Golden High-Flow Acrylic instead. I tried using craft paint as well as Liquitex Basics but both were too heavy to spread freely. I guess I could have diluted the paints with water but I wanted a high concentration of color so I didn't.

Before using the deli paper technique to apply color to the paper (I'm using Canson Mixed Media paper) , I brayered a loose abstract design using a neutral color chalk paint. The final touch was addingI some white acrylic paint by flicking the paint onto the surface with a brush.

I'm still experimenting with different color combos but thought I would share one of my first pieces inspired by Jane. As usual, first attempts are rarely masterpieces but not only was this a fun way to spend a day, I know I will get better as I make more pieces using this technique.

Back to the board!

4/11/2021

Many of you might know that I mount all of my Stupendous Stitching pieces onto wooden panels. My Stitch & Slash pieces hang freely or are made into totes or pillows. My Conversation series also hang freely since they are too large to be mounted on boards.

So, I had several panels left over this year and decided to see what I could do with them.

I started watching some YouTube videos made by Tom Quigley. I fell in love with his friendly and easy-to-listen-to instructions (not so true with other YouTube instructors!). This video was one of my favorites (since I love TEXTURE!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGhn6oWirNQ

I had a lot of fun combining all his techniques into one piece of art. Of course, I knew of some of these techniques before (like using coffee as a paint) but learned some new things like creating a crackle effect with shipping tape.

Watching artists work is one of my favorite pastimes. I always learn something new and am always inspired by hearing what is going on in their head while they are creating.

While viewing several videos during a week can make you feel a little disoriented (what to do???), my advice is not to follow someone step-by-step but to view the video as giving you some new ways to approach your next artwork or to pick up a new tip. You always need to create your own work, not by copying someone else (although this alone can hone your skills) but accumulating enough information in your brain so that when you ask "what's missing?" or "why do I like this part?", the answer comes naturally.

Am I making sense?

Moving On.....

4/3/2021

Piece inspired by Janet Skates

I finished all the classes at Sketchbook Revival 2021 and bound my sketchbook with everything I created. Some pages are wonderful, some are silly, and some were awful. But it didn’t matter. This course stretched my imagination, honed my skills, and gave me inspiration and mission for a couple of weeks. Definitely worth my time. the classes are still available until the middle of April so take advantage of this free course!

So now, I’m going in a new direction.

I found this artist, Janet Skates, whose work I love for her use of color and mark-making. Here’s the video that inspired my work today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEUdUSFuQIk

Sometimes, I try to copy another artist’s work in my sketchbook, just to learn their techniques, but it never turns out that great so I try to look and learn and then go my own way. Janet uses a lot of white in her work and that results in pastels. A color palette I never work with. But I actually loved the results I got today so thought I would share it with you.

My Mom’s favorite color was pink. Perhaps that’s why I never used that in my work. But now, seeing pink actually brings fond memories of her so maybe it now, can have a place in my palette.

How does color affect you?