Three more this week... new miniature paintings and new collaged frames. I wish I had purchased a few more of these frames. I'm finding the small images are fun to do and the encaustic on the frame is a challenge I would love to master because I really like the look. It has a nice sheen to it when it's buffed.

Aside from the miniature paintings, I am once again trying to reorganize my studio to make it more efficient. I waste so much time going from one space to the other and leaving things laying around so I don't know which space they're in or which pile they're under. I visit a friend's studio every week and it is heaven to work in there because she is so well organized. Frankly, I don't know how she has time to sleep but perhaps it's because she's so well organized. I wonder... can I get there... and then I look at the sign above my desk...
"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries."

a new way to frame miniatures

I picked up 4 small frames on sale at a local hobby store on a whim. They sat in my studio for a couple weeks and suddenly inspiration struck. Old charts from our sailing days, a bit of glue, archival foam core backing, acrylic glaze, beeswax and one of my miniature paintings (2"x2") and this is the result. The frame is 5"x5" and it's an inch deep so it can either hang on the wall, sit on a shelf or sit on a table. There is no glass so I put two coats of acrylic glaze on the painting and on the foamcore backing. I put a beeswax finish on the frame itself because I like the soft finish when the wax is buffed. I do need more practice putting the beeswax on so it's even. I have plans for the other 3... more marine paintings. However, I went back to see if I could get more of the frames and can't so I think maybe I'll make some. I really like the look.

A Workshop and other stuff

I spent last week teaching a pouring workshop and the piece I worked on turned out to be an example of some things not to do. I did it on purpose... sure. Oh well, it's the piece that got done last week and it isn't that bad. I do have some other's in process that I hope will turn out better. Some of my students did fantastic work. In addition to pouring I talked about some of the postcard exchanges I've been involved in and between my students and some artist friends I have about 10 people interested in doing an exchange. If your interested in joining us let me know. Twenty is a good number... it's not too many postcards to produce. Those I've participated in have been through Wet Canvas, this one will be just between friends, or friends of friends.

Another painting and a drawing

I've added another piece to my Sacred Spaces series. Some in the series are churches or missions, others are quiet spaces that I find peaceful places to contemplate or meditate. This particular piece is a Country Church. It's 7"x7" poured watercolor.

This second piece is a graphite drawing. I may eventually do a painting of this subject but for now, I'm content with the drawing

Another old photo

I missed a week. Twenty lashes... but I did finish a piece that week and another for this week. I still need to scan one of them but here is last weeks. Another old photo. I have no idea who it is but I did recognize that it was in the back yard of my mother's family cottage so it must have been a friend of either her or her sister... I had fun with it anyway. I'll be back later in the week, after I've scanned or photographed the painting.

Another photo transfer

I'm late this week... posting last week's work. I did another photo transfer and more experimenting with the technique. This time in addition to using a stamp under the paper to to get the image, I also stamped on it, but first I transfered an old letter... it's backwards because I didn't think to reverse it before I printed it but it's not readable anyway and it's an experiment so I went ahead with it anyway. I also used stencils, colored pencil, oil pastels and ink. The photo is my mother's group of friends... who remained friends all their lives.

mixed media mom and a daily

Last week I finished a mixed media piece of my mother. It's a photograph which I photocopied and transfered to drawing paper. Once the transfer was done I started adding color using colored pencil, stamps and stencils. It's a fun process and I'll be doing more... it's great to find something I can do with all of the old photos I have.

Yesterday I started a challenge... a painting a day. The "canoes" is my first day. It's a small one, just 2" x 2". I'd like to zero in on a size that I can do consistently but haven't determined that yet. I think I'll experiment with different sizes for awhile and see which works best for this project.