Out Of My Head

Sometimes I can't get something off my mind until I just stop and deal with it.  That's was what happened starting last night and throughout the day today.  It was a busy house day but I sat at my work table for a few minutes here and there so I could get an idea out of my head.

I rip lots of images out of catalogs that catch my eye....and this colorful napkin "wreath" has been sitting on my dining room table for weeks.  There was just something about it that seemed to have potential.

Last night I was watching a YouTube art video that got me thinking about this wreath. I literally had to get out of bed and mount it onto a piece of cardstock so it would be dry and ready to play with it today. I cut it into 4 pieces so I could manage it better.  It still wrinkled a bit...but that didn't matter.

In the video the artist commented  that she was better with a paint pen than a paintbrush....and that would be true for me too. I don't have many supplies left in Lexington...but I did have a white paint pen and I knew immediately what I wanted to try. I covered the napkin wreath in circles and started filling in the negative space. Then I got gack to packing.

I went back to it throughout the day filling in a little more and a little more and ended up using some white wall paint to fill in some of the bigger spaces. I just wanted to get a base coat on and cover all the negative space and didn't want to use up the paint pen.....and I knew I would touch it up and revisit it when I was in my studio.  At this point I thought I might save the fruit...but it really didn't seem to fit in anymore.

So I painted over it and this is where I landed at the end of the day.  It's just a start and I have a few ideas of where I can take it from here...but I'll mull it over for a while. The most important thing is that it's out of my head and on the page so maybe I'll sleep better tonight.  

Round Things

A couple round things from Paul....they're almost twins.  The ball he found is hard as a rock...and doesn't bounce at all. Any ideas what it's used for?  Bocce ball maybe? And he took the photo of this fabulous maple tree on the Lexington Green on his way home from work. Isn't it spectacular!

Continuing with round things....

This week we keep our 4 x 6 card...the third of my negative space paintings. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch....but it's fun and colorful. I needed to keep it simple. I've learned a lot experimenting with these three painted cards...and there are all kinds of applications that are rolling around in my head.  

Once again I created a collage from painted paper scraps. I chose a simple pattern for the negative space painting that didn't even require a sketch.

The gold accents in the collage give it a nice shimmer.  Round three ✔

This photo was taken in the spring at Angie's when the corn was just sprouting. I enjoyed the contrast of  the sprouting corn in this May trip compared to the dried corn ready to be harvested when I was there in the fall.  

Blues and Greens

"She left pieces of her life behind her everywhere she went. It's easier to feel the sunlight without them, she said."  Brian Andreas

Becky finally got last week's card from me today....it took a full week.  But I'm still amazed that a piece of mail that I drop in a slot gets anywhere at all.  So way to go Post Office! 

Becky's card is my second negative space painting for round three of our 4 x 6 exchange.  

I started with a painted paper collage with a tight color scheme....just blues and greens and many of them leaf prints that didn't turn out so well.  I've learned that even the not so great gel prints can be useful.  I didn't take a photo....but I sponged on some gold highlights before I started painting.  The collage was big enough for me to try a few things.

This time I used this "mask" to define the negative space I wanted to paint.  A stencil prints an image itself...and a mask prints the negative space around an image. I forgot to take any pictures along the way but I'll try to describe what I did in case you're interested. 

I rolled a very thin layer of creamy white paint on my gel plate....laid down this mask and placed my collage on top with the colored side down.  I pressed with my fingers and palms to get good contact in the negative spaces.  What that gave me is a visible guide to hand paint a second coat of paint.  Cheating?  I think not....I thought it was clever.

For a little interest I machine stitched around the design.

My Angie memory for today is an afternoon bonfire from several years ago. This is how how you get rid of your yard trash when you live in the country....there's nothing like a good roaring bonfire!

I put a video of it in my Instagram page at the time...you can view it here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxPat5aHMj9/

I fell in love with this rusty old metal chair....I sat there for a long time watching it burn down.

Negative Space

I can finally write about this week's card for our 4 x 6 exchange.  I put it in the mail this past Monday and  Brenda got it yesterday....we keep cheering on the United States Post Office! 

My theme for round three is negative space painting.

I created a rainbow under collage using scraps of my painted papers. I wanted the colors to bleed into each other...including down into the bottom where the stems and leaves would be. I didn't want the placement of the colors to be too literal or planned.

I sketched out the garden with white watercolor pencils that could easily be covered by the paint or wiped away with a damp rag.

Using Titan Buff Golden acrylic paint mixed with a little clear gesso I laid down my first coat.  It's weird painting the negative space....I have to really concentrate or I get it wrong. I had a hard time seeing the white pencil on the yellow...so I used a darker pencil forgetting that it would be impossible to wipe off once it was covered with paint.  oops!

I applied a second coat.

I should have auditioned the size and design sooner.  I don't mind the image going off the edge...but there was a lot of empty negative space. It could have used more leaves....in number and variety.

So I added some gold polka dots...because it never hurts to add a bit of bling.  Lots of lessons learned....one of them being don't get too attached to your under collage...most of it gets covered up. 

When I was helping Angie several years ago I collected things from her yard that I watched dry on her porch.  I had just learned about wabi-sabi from Philippa's Consciously Creative class so watching things shrivel up was novel and interesting. Since there's nearly a rainbow here on the table.....I thought it paired well with Brenda's card.  And...there's that beautyberry sprig I mentioned a few days ago....such a fabulous purple.  Wabi-sabi fabulous...from Angie's yard.