Blog Posts

Composition

10/16/2021

I have to admit. I'm addicted to YouTube.

I found this artist – Jeanette Goulart – a couple of weeks ago when she offered a free 5 day class on composition.

Most YouTube art videos are people demoing products or showing their art but I really appreciate artists that actually try to teach techniques they have created or discovered so I can learn something NEW.

What I learned from this class is that there is a ratio of contrast in art that is more than just looking at value. She called it Papa, Mama, Baby. Kind of like Goldilocks. It doesn't matter which three values fall into these categories as long as the three values all appear into that ratio. So your first value could be black, (Papa - the most dominant and largest) your second value could be white (Mama - the second medium coverage) and your third values could be gray (Baby - the smallest coverage).

I found this a very simple discussion of why some compositions work and others don't.

I have painted and drawn many 7 value scales but this was the first time I though about the ratios of values.

I encourage you to check out this artist and instructor.

Contrast

10/9/2021

Fall is my favorite time of year. Not only is it cooler, but I actually enjoy seeing gardens going to seed and not showing me their full summer glory.

I took this photo while walking with a friend in the Botanic Gardens this week and looking at it now, it reinforced an essential art concept. Contrast.

This is something I struggle with the most. Adding darks to my work. I will print out this photo and hang it on my wall to remind me that adding darks enhances the lights. No one would ever see the pointed leaves surrounding this pod if the inside of the pod was also green. And, the black also creates depth, drawing our eye into the center of the seed pod.

Nature tells us a lot, if we can only listen.

Granulating Watercolor

10/3/2021

I love working with watercolor. I love how the colors mix on the paper and now I'm experimenting with granulation.

Some paints are created to create granulation when painting. Others can be mixed with granulating solutions to breakup the pigment into particles. You can really see the granulating effects in this painting. Totally different effect than painting with regular watercolors.

I love it because it makes painting a landscape so much easier.

I added some detail (like the tree and hills) with colored pencil.

This painting is done with Daniel Smith Genuine paints. I tried granulating my regular watercolors with salt water as well with a granulating solution but didn't have much success.

You know me. I love texture and color and this granulating effect makes me happy on both counts!

Collage

9/19/2021

I've always found collage challenging.

My friend Janice McDonald is a master at this form of art. I went to her studio eons ago just to admire her paper stash. She had thousands of papers ranging from magazines, books, handmade and purchased papers — all organized so she could find just the right scrap/color or texture to create her art.

I am far from that organized.

I have been working small (the ones pictured above are on playing cards). I'm happy with how they turned out. I think mixing solids with patterns, limited color palette, transparent tissue paper and adding that all important pop of black were the keys to success on these pieces.

The other thing about collage that has always stopped me is the idea you to plan the composition. I didn't plan these at all. I just used my intuition to place the papers. I worked on all 13 cards at the same time so I couldn't overthink it. This is the way I like to work so creating these tiny collages was fun.

Art Drop Day

9/11/2021

Art Drop Day is the first Tuesday in September and I've participated in it for many years. It always interested me in having people discover free art — a gift from a stranger.

This year, I dropped 7 handmade notebooks in a park near my home.

I put my business card inside the notebooks, hoping that someone who discovered them, would email me and let me know they have a piece of my art. No one emailed me but I did receive a phone call from a man who called me a "robot who ate batteries for breakfast and lunch" and that he "hated my art".

Wow. Sad. Now I regret including my business card that had the phone number and my studio address on it. Obviously, this person has some mental issues but now, I'm locking my studio door just in case.

We often talk about making art for ourselves and not listening to critics so I'm taking this phone call in stride and will continue to give more away next year (without my business card!).

Brusho

9/5/2021

This week I've been fooling around with Brusho, an ink and dye-based crystal pigment.

I love this product. There are so many ways to use it to create wonderful backgrounds as well as watercolor-like paintings.

It comes in small "pots" that contain the powder. But the fun thing is that while each pot is labeled with a specific color (like ultramarine blue), the contents of the pot contain a myriad of colors that, when applied with a wet brush, create the ultramarine color but when sprinkled on paper and sprayed with water, separate into lovely bursts of different colors. Something you just can do any other way.

I created this piece sprinkling powder onto a dry surface, spritzing with water, and then drawing lines over the dried surface.

You can see the powder goes everywhere so be careful! It can get on your clothes and your working surface and be there a long time. You won't be able to see it and the dye can transfer to other pieces where you might not want it.

But it IS fun to play with!

Dried Flowers

8/29/2021

My husband bought me a beautiful bouquet last week and every day, some of the flowers wilt so I'm taking them out of the vase and pressing them under some books, hoping to preserve them to enjoy over the coming winter.

I have no idea how to do this (I should probably search the internet!) but it seems to be working. I also sprayed them with matte medium to seal them.

I have no idea what I will do with these over the coming months but I always like having a stash of things to work with.

Fall is in the air here in Denver but the smoke from California continues to keep me indoors. As soon as it dissipates, I will take a walk around my nearby park and gather some leaves before the fall to the ground. I know I will need these shapes for some ideas I have of things I want to make in the next couple of months.

What are you collecting?

Art Drop Denver 2021

8/22/2021

I will be dropping 7 hand-made notebooks to celebrate Art Drop Day — Denver.

I've been participating in this day for many years and it always makes me happy to think of people finding my art and realizing it is theirs for FREE.

If you read this blog, you will get a heads up on where and when I will be leaving these beauties. I will drop all 7 in different places in Cheesman Park on Tuesday, September 7th, between 10 and 10:30am.

This event will take place all over the world and artists share their art with strangers on the first Tuesday of every September.

Hope you can snag one!

Inside a Chunky Book

8/14/2021

Yes, I'm still engrossed in making chunky books. I think it's because each page gives me the ability to hone my color and composition skills. Each page is a little work of art.

And, because each page has a different background (solid, patterned, or photos), each page presents a different opportunity for layering and creating.

Because I only showed you the cover two weeks ago, I thought you might enjoy seeing a 2 page spread of the book I'm currently working on.

Enjoy!

Layered Pages

8/8/2021

I love this process.

I learned this from Robyn McClendon. I've been viewing her weekly class this year.

The first layer is random marks with a brush and black waterproof ink. The second is applying gesso through a stencil. and the third is painting over the surface with acrylic paint.

The gesso resists the acrylic paint and gives it the papers wonderful depth.

Tried it with watercolors today and the gesso absorbed the paint -- so not a great result.

I'm using these papers in my artist books and love the result. Will be making more!