Work In Progress



Here's the progression of my final assignment for Wyanne's Paint Free Class (named #8 in my 50 Painting Practice Series). I was starting to become way too attached to this concept and became afraid to do anything for fear I would ruin it. So I just stood there, staring at it, not knowing what to do next. I knew it wasn't finished and thought it was looking a little boring. I want my paintings to be interesting, and this just isn't.

So I got brave and just started making marks.

Again, I stood there gazing and staring, baffled at what to do next. I spent more time just standing there than painting.  I decided to just do something, whether it's right or wrong. So I took away the abstractness (which I love) and made it cute (which I'm not so fond of)! Unsure if I ruined it, decided to put it away and come back another day when I'm less judgemental about it and see the possibilities.

So I moved on to #4. The first layer of this collage was a piece I started last spring in Paul Gardner's Mixed Media Workshop. Didn't really like it (big surprise huh?) and it just sat there waiting for me to be brave and just do something with it. So a few weeks ago I painted some designs over the first layer. Being my critical self, didn't like it, so there it sat a while longer.



 So I messed around with it a little more.

Added some statements.

Then added some really watered down paint with drips and swirls to the top. This is on watercolor paper that doesn't lay very flat anymore because of all the collage materials in it, so the watery paint pooled in certain areas where it looks muddy. The brighter circles are where I applied masking fluid and have now removed it. So there's my under painting.

Yesterday I started to play with it adding some trees, flowery pods and color. I'd like it to have a landscapey feeling, but not in the traditional sense. I want it to be more fun and interesting and not really make sense. That's hard for the left brain person I truly am!

There's Nothing Wrong with Cute...Right?

Many artists that I have recently discovered, create art that I would describe as "cute," "sweet" or even "fun." I love and admire their work. They blanket the pages of mixed media publications, book, and blogs, so obviously they are loved by many. Yet, when I create art that looks "cute" somehow it just seems juvenile to me. The gremlins in my head tell me that I have to paint landscapes, portraits or something serious to be an artist. I know that's not true, but have you ever tried to reason with a gremlin? I'm not going to rule out "cute" as a word that describes my style, but I do think it's too soon to tell.

The paintings above were created on 12x12 inch panels of plywood. I played with light modeling paste over decorative papers, but when the modeling paste dried, the papers looked foggy underneath. So I just played with acrylic paints, little paper, glitter, ink and charcoal. These were more of the random pieces I created for my calendar project that I scrapped.