A Valentine, Taking A Break, and Discovering

From my Valentine

I've been working on pieces for an exhibit at the Gallery Uptown in March.  Two of the pieces are almost done, the third one is giving me fits  This isn't it but it's similar in that the exterior part of the pieces acts as a mat for the 2"x2" piece in the center.  The 2"x2" piece for the other one is done, it's the rest of it that is giving me fits.

So I decided to take a break and go back to clearing clutter.  "One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries."  A. A. Milne  That quote hangs on my bulletin board because it's truth.  And this session of sorting was no exception.  I found another collage sketchbook that I had started back in October..  Just practicing design like the one I'm working in now but with some parameters.

Value....

Variety of sizes

 The blue one was in the sketchbook, this one I added yesterday

Use a photo for reference

And work out a design from a portion of an image in a magazine

So now I have two to play in, maybe alternate my dailies.... but right now, one more day of sorting, then back to work on that last piece for the exhibit.

What Grabs Your Attention?

Texture always gets mine.  On this mornings walk I was intrigued by patterns in the snow made by our neighbor's snowblower….

With just a slight adjustment of color saturation and turning the first one 90 degrees using Photoshop you get this... Are you surprised that there is that much color in snow?

Some others I've saved; a cliff wall in Stanley Park, Vancouver 

A stone wall in South Beach, Florida

And closer to home, a stone wall at Central School...

I think I may use these last two as a reference for some pieces I'm working on for a show coming up in March.

And Some Sketching

This is a first in a very long time.  There was a time when I wouldn't miss the weekend drawing event over at wetcanvas.  I'm not sure why I haven't been there lately, just busy doing other things I guess.  This weekend I played around with three of the images our host, Mick Beckett posted.

This first one was a lot of experimenting with watercolor, gesso, acrylic glaze and walnut ink.  What I was trying for didn't work but I had fun playing anyway.

That little tomato in the upper right corner was done this weekend.  The rest of this page is from 2017.  I've been sorting and getting rid of some things.  In the process I'm finding old sketchbooks that still have room for more sketching in them.

This last one was another of those...."I wonder if I can do …. with …." Among other things I found while sorting, the Walnut ink used on the giraffe and an old fountain pen.  This is done in my black and white journal but I think the Walnut ink is close enough to black.  I'm pleased with how this one came out.  

I like all of them but for different reasons.  I also liked spending the day playing with images one of my friends over on wetcanvas posted.