Thirty Paintings in 30 Days - Day 14

Today's offering reminds a bit of southeast Alberta. My father was born and raised in this area and as children we spent many a happy visit roaming around the farms and surrounding country. At first I wasn't that happy with the palette I used. You are probably thinking....why not change it then? Well, I did think of that but these paintings give me a chance to experiment with colour, subject matter, etc. and not feel pressured to complete a 'masterpiece' (and I do use that term loosely for my paintings!). Having left it for a day it has grown on me. I find it quite peaceful and there seems to be enough subtle changes in colour to make you take a second look. The sky has some artist tissue paper collaged and I do like how the paint caught some of the rough edges. I was going to add some line work but I think I will leave this one as is - sometimes less is more.

10"X10"
Acrylic mixed media
on printmaking paper

Thirty Paintings in 30 Days - Day 13

Am finding a bit of a rhythm the last couple of days - especially working on this painting. Should have scanned the start - next time. It was a random mix of blues, greys, teal and a couple of drops of white ink - a real 'mish-mash'. After it had dried I spent a bit of time looking for shapes that appealed to me and what popped out was vases, pots and bowls. I kept turning the paper as I worked on it and it was at the midway point that I decided on a direction that I liked. Lots of layers of paint, glazing, mark making, stencilling and a small amount of graphite pencil. Think I will try another one but change up my palette to earth tones....maybe!

I worked on a 11" X 11" piece of paper and it is too big for my scanner. I really need to try a photo editing program, but that will have to wait for another day. Took a picture of the whole image with my iPad (apologies for the picture quality) and then took a couple of scans. The colour and image quality is so much better with the scans.

'Vessels 3'
11" X 11"
Acrylic mixed media
on Canson watercolour paper

Scanned image
Colour is much closer to the original artwork

Thirty Paintings in 30 Days - Day 12

I was going through some pictures from a trip we took a couple of years ago to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is a beautiful part of the world and we thoroughly enjoyed driving along coastal roads and hiking some of the trails along the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Today's painting is inspired by some of the views (loosely interpreted of course) and how standing at the top of some of the cliffs you seemed to be able to see forever.

5" X 5"
Acrylic mixed media
on printmaking paper

Cape St Mary's
Ecological Reserve
Thousands of birds nest here in the summer on the
rock stacks. The white specks on the rocks and
in the sky are the birds. A magical spot!

Thirty Paintings in 30 Days - Day 11

Back to an abstract landscape. Kept things simple and just painted. Used a neutral palette and painted over an under painting of transparent yellow oxide and indian yellow. I was going to paint over all the yellow  but instead kept some of it and added a few more layers of yellow and red iron oxide . Painting is not coming easy this month. I had cleared most of my calendar for January to get back painting. So....really it's no surprise there are lots of ups and downs happening. So my advice to myself is to keep painting, experimenting and enjoy having the time to paint. I am really looking forward to that 'eureka' moment!

5 1/2" X 7 3/4"
Acrylic mixed media
on printmaking paper

Words for me to ponder....

'...paint what you enjoy and love - not what you think you should paint....'

                                                                                                             Al Gary     

  

Thirty Paintings in 30 Days - Day 10

Another try at still life and 'flowers'. Still looking for that something that will click with me....So the 'post mortem' on this one - not enough lights and darks, very, very overworked and to be honest just didn't really appeal to me from the get go. I have been looking at a lot of still life paintings the past couple of months - going through books, magazines, images on Pinterest. So much to look at and take in. I think I need to take a break from looking and just paint what I like. Always interested to hear how other artists deal with the ups and downs of art. Enjoy your evening and I look forward to seeing Day 11's  art.

8" X 8"
Acrylic mixed media on
140lb hotpress Arches 

Thirty Paintings in 30 Days - Day 9

Another cold day here.... Chose a warmer palette for today's painting. Mostly 'purples' with a bit of yellow. Makes me feel very warm! Have a wonderful day.

5 1/4" X 5 1/4"
Acrylic mixed media on
140lb hotpress Arches paper

Thirty Paintings in 30 Days - Day 8

The colder temperatures are here again. We have blanketed our horse and mules and our dog, Cleo is wearing her new winter coat on any outdoor excursions. Although the sky in today's painting is not quite the real thing it does convey (I hope!) the feeling of a cold winter's day. The layers of snow are starting to accumulate in the fields and pastures and when the winds blow some is stripped away to reveal what lies beneath. We are glad for the snow but with temperatures a few degrees warmer it would be much more pleasant. I hope wherever you are it is warm and comfortable. I am enjoying all the great art that has been posted over the last week - so much talent - and look forward to seeing more. 

8" X 8"
Acrylic mixed media on
printmaking paper

Today's painting has lots and lots of layers of paint! I sometimes like to use rubbing alcohol to 'strip' away some of the layers and then build them up again or leave some of those areas where the paint is removed. You never know what you will end up with. I do use some commercial stencils to add texture, but I am also cutting my own...when time permits. I like to experiment and with experimentation can come some very happy outcomes.