Another Wire Drawing

"Heartfelt Wishes"

This was my demo for the Two Harbors, MN workshop on Day 3.  We had a fabulous time, starting out with Funky Lady paintings, then Charcoal Pour bird paintings, and lastly, wire drawings.  I told them how hooked I am in this process, and I think there are several of them that are just as hooked as I am.  This painting started out with random collage pieces positioned in a cruciform manner.  I keep the colors of the fiber paper very neutral. After the collage dries, we add the drawing of the bird, using permanent markers.  Lastly, we paint the background, using neutral colors.  My favorite combination colors for this is neutral tint and aureolin yellow.  It makes an army green/grey color that I really love!   These drawings sometimes lead to abstracts, by cropping into certain areas. 

30 Paintings in 30 Days- Day 4

"Bird Brains"

Have you ever had "one of those days"?  Today was that day for me!  I started out the day, intending to paint not ONE, but TWO paintings, so I would be ahead of the challenge, so that when I babysit later in the week, that I could pull one out of a hat, so to speak.  Anyway, I knew what I wanted to do.  I had a PLAN.  Step one, CHECK!  Below is my sketch that I had done, using Tombow markers last year.  And I thought it would be fun to turn that into a painting. I realized that I didn't like the position of the two birds, so I changed that.

Sketch using Tombow Markers

So, I thought I would use pure watercolor for a change.  But, it had been awhile since I'd painted with ONLY watercolor, and I was definitely out of practice.  So, after 4 hours struggling, I finally looked at the painting, and realized that I needed more whites, so out came the acrylics.  Another hour later, I finally finished the painting, and decided to call it "Bird Brains", due to the fact that I felt like a bird brain myself today!  This is 11" x 11" image, and is available for $95.

30 Paintings in 30 Days- Day 3

"Spring Fever"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I look at the temperature outside, here in Minnesota (below zero AGAIN), I long for Spring, so I decided to paint a robin today. I've always loved robins.  Last year, I saw hundreds of them in early Spring, all gathered together, looking at the snow as if to say, "Am I early?"   This was a sight I've never seen before, and probably won't see again.  I again used collage papers for the feathers, just like Day One of this challenge.  I also printed off quotes about birds and robins and collaged them in the light areas.  I've always been a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright, so that is why I put the line work and graphic style in the background.  It was a fun project. Again, this is 11" x 11" image and it is available for $95.

30 Paintings in 30 Days- Day Two

"Ask for the Moon"

This painting is size 11" x 11" image and sells for $195.  I'm trying to get ahead so that on busy days, I'll have an already completed painting.  This painting was supposed to be a quickie, but it ended up taking 6 hours to complete.  I started by randomly placing collage papers on Arches Cold Press paper.  Then I drew the birds and negative painted around them, using acrylics.  This type of painting is much more comfortable for me than yesterday's painting. I don't like doing detail on the subject matter, as a rule. 

Another Bird Painting

Home, Sweet Home
This was my demonstration painting for the home studio workshop for the Charcoal Pour technique.  This painting is lots more busy than my last one.  Which one do you like better?  The students did fabulous paintings, and loved the process of the charcoal pour.  I'm really excited to paint lots more birds!

Funky Bird, using charcoal powder



"Dressed to the Nines"

This painting started with a charcoal pour. This process is discussed in the Virginia Cobb book, Discovering the Inner Eye, Experiments in Watermedia.   It is available for $150, unframed.  Image size:  11" x 11".  I love the texture that the charcoal creates.  Then I added fun by collaging the feathers, using all kinds of busy collage papers.   My home studio workshop went fantastic.  By limiting the students to only 10, we all got to know each other so well, and there was lots of individual help.  Their paintings were so beautiful! I'm definitely painting lots more birds in the future.  They are so fun, when they are whimsical!