Watercolor minis

Finally, I'm painting and in the medium I normally work in, watercolor. Only very different from my normal work in that they are tiny. I'm going to be one of 10 watercolor artists in an exhibit in May. Each of us is to have 3 new pieces and 1 mini.... 2" by 2". That's tiny! I only need one but I'm going to have to paint several to get one good one... I've never worked that small before unless it's to take a 2 x 2 mat and run it around on a painting that didn't work to come up with some sort of abstract piece. Anyway... my post this week, 4 of them. Only one of these may be a contender... the light. I've also started one of the larger pieces that will be in the show. I should have that done by this time next week.

More Encaustics

Once again, I had an opportunity to work with encaustics... they're addictive. I'm not as happy with these but I will be able to do more work on them later so all is not lost. I worked on three this week... the first one is pilings and I'm pretty much finished with it I think. I don't like it as well as last weeks but I like it. The other two are portions of old abbeys, The first, a single arched window is almost complete.... I have to look at it for awhile to see if I need to do more. Those white spots at the bottom are from the flash. The second is just barely started... that's all I had time to do so I know this one will get more work.

Textile work and trying encaustics

This is last week's project.... a sweatshirt jacket based loosely on a Gail Abloe pattern titled "I can't believe it's a sweatshirt." I say loosely because the pattern called for a new sweatshirt two or three sizes too large, unwashed, and a variety of fabrics, also unwashed. The object was for everything to shrink. Well, we have sweatshirts.... lots of sweatshirts.... and some of them are no longer wearable as they are. I also have lots of fabric... some of it already washed and some not. That's what I used. It didn't shrink the way it should have but the color of the sweatshirt works with the patches so it doesn't matter that it didn't disappear under them. Since I'd used scraps and an old sweatshirt, the finishing touch... the buttons. I have my mother-in-law's button box so I dug in there to find some buttons... five different buttons. I'm happy with the jacket and with spring coming, I'm sure I'll get a lot of wear out of it.

And this week....

What fun I had this week... playing with encaustics. For those of you who don't know, encaustics are a combination of beeswax, pigment, resin and heat. Damar resin is added to the wax as a hardening agent and to prevent air from escaping. Resin also gives the encaustic paintings their rich, glass-like sheen when they're buffed. It's similar to painting in oils but once the hot wax is on the support it dries almost instantly so no need to wait.

A friend of mine has been working in encaustics for some time. She invited some of us to her studio to try it out... this could become addictive.... I love texture and this gives one so many options ... This was my first piece....

Another Shrine

I did another shrine... this one for me and I followed the directions. Making these is fun but I'm a painter... and I haven't posted a painting yet. Next week...

Handing out awards

I received this award from a wetcanvas buddy... Diahn Ott... and I'm giving it back to her because I treasure her friendship and I love her work... check it out .... Art by Diahn. I'm new to this blogging thing so I've been perusing other blogs for ideas about what to include and how to do it. I've run across some that are particularly well done and informative or that I just liked what they had to offer... In A Minute Ago has lots of useful information. Albedo is a fiber artist who offers many tips and techniques. Making A Mark is another one with bunch of useful information that she updates regularly. And finally, another wetcanvas friend whose work I love... Sharron "Shez" Marshall. If you haven't already seen their blogs do check them out. There are so many wonderful places to visit and learn... and so little time....

A Shrine for my sister

Most of my time this week was spent on this birthday present for my sister. It's the first I've ever done and it was great fun but I should have followed the directions... a bad habit of mine... read the directions through once... do the first step according to what it tells me to do and then wing it. This one is built out of foam core which I covered with Roclon blackout fabric... they suggested rice paper which would have been easier... which is why it took longer for me to do. The Roclon is white so I first painted it using acrylic paints, oil pastels and rubber stamps. Once it was all together I added images of what is most important to her.... her kids and grandkids... my brother and I are there too. The cards... she loves to play games... and the fish on either side, she's a Pisces.

Guardian Granny Doll

This week we've had snow and cold; I've done a lot of shoveling. However, in between I have gotten some artwork done. My major accomplishment is a guardian grannie doll for my nephew's new daughter. Actually she was born in December and I'm just getting to getting it done. It's not my own design, it's adapted from a Marcia Acker-Missall pattern.

The other art this week is photography. Yesterday was such a beautiful day... sunshine and a bit warmer so I set out with my camera thinking I would take photos of the wonderful shadows. Instead I became intriqued with the snow patterns on the trees and took a dozen photos of those. I'm only posting a couple of them. I haven't decide what to do with them... maybe they're just a jump start to somethin abstract. I don't know but it was fun.