Work in Progress

I have been working on this painting again and have added a few new elements to it.

I am making progress on the piece despite the occasional interruptions. Oh, such is life. But I am having fun!

It felt really good to have two full days in the studio so I could get some work done. My current goal is to spend more time in the studio and less time with my nose in the computer. We will see how that works out . . .

Lady of the Forest #2 – Acrylic/Watercolor/ Mixed Medium – 16 x 20 inches on Canvas

Metaphor

When you start on a long journey, trees are trees, water is water, and mountains are mountains. After you have gone some distance, trees are no longer trees, water no longer water, mountains no longer mountains. But after you have travelled a great distance, trees are once again trees, water is once again water, mountains are once again mountains. – Zen teaching

Stacks of Magazines

Today, I took one look at the stack of magazines on the floor by our sofa and said enough is enough … I started ripping out quotes, meaningful words, slogans, images and tossed these into a clear plastic container.

Afterwards, I remembered purchasing a couple of blank journals a while back, so I decided to collage the covers with the magazine scraps, tissue paper, acrylics, watercolors, ink, etc.

It’s a creative way to reuse old magazines and it’s fun! I love giving journals as Christmas gifts to friends and family.

The Mermaid Journal – Tomorrow I will be adding sea shells, ribbons, metallic watercolors, etc.

“Each of us has an inner dream that we can unfold if we will just have the courage to admit what it is. And the faith to trust our own admission. The admitting is often very difficult.”
Julia Cameron

Fun With Acrylics

This afternoon I created an abstract painting of the goddess Brigit. I began by squeezing several colors onto the canvas and then used various tools to spread the paint over layers of acrylic medium and scraps of torn magazines. As I Moved the paint around with the palette knives, this face started to emerge and then everything else fell into place.

The tools I used were palette knives, old plastic membership cards, plastic forks and a putty knife.

Brigit – Abstract – Mixed Medium – 22 X 28 inches on canvas

Fiery Arrow

“Brigit, excellent woman,

Flame golden, sparkling,

May she bear us to the eternal kingdom,

She the sun, fiery, radiant!”

Seventh-century Hymn to Saint Brigit

Lady Of The Sacred Spirals

This afternoon I worked on a mixed media piece which has been hanging around for awhile waiting for me to finish it. The inspiration for this work came to me while listening to a CD by Sophia. I was listening to her sing ‘Gaia Shekhinah Nama Om’ at the time.

I kept playing the CD over and over again and as the music flowed over and through me, I created this painting. I sculpted the mask  and the feathers out of paper mache,  plaster and heavy acrylic medium.

Lady of the Sacred Spirals – Mixed Media – 22 X 28 inches on canvas

In Judaism, Chokhmah appears alongside the Shekhinah, ‘the glory of God’, a figure who plays a key role in the cosmology of the Kabbalists as an expression of the feminine aspect of God.

Old Friends

My paint brushes are like old friends, and I hardly ever retire them. After each painting session I clean them thoroughly, gently shape the hairs back into place, and set them out to dry.

There are some which have lost their elasticity and frayed out from their metal ferrule. These are ideal for dry brush work.

Yesterday our favorite art store had a two-for-one sale on brushes and I replaced a couple of my older brushes with new ones. The brushes I replaced were over 25 years old. They are oldies but goldies, and they still have some life left in them before I move them into the dry brush bucket.

I just love these old brushes!

My Old Friends

Creative Experiments With Acrylics

Today I experimented with creating some more acrylic textures, this time I used Atelier acrylics, Golden acrylics, and Liquitex acrylics.

Test Series #1

Test Series #2

Test Series #3

Chroma Interactive Acrylics Demo

My husband and I went to a interactive acrylic and medium demonstration this afternoon and we had so much fun! We got to try out the Atelier acrylics by Chroma, they can be adjusted and blended longer than conventional acrylics, and they lose moisture gradually allowing you to control the drying process.

They also have this wonderfully, smooth, buttery consistency and I love the fact that even after your paint has dried, you can spray on some unlocking formula and it will reopen the paint layer so new paint can be blended back in. How great is that?

They also had a drawing for prizes at the end of the demo, and my husband won a starter set of these paints with extra goodies including the unlocking formula. What a perfect end to a perfect day.

Atelier Interactive Artist Starter Set
http://www.chromaonline.com/chroma/products/atelier_interactive

C’est La Vie

This morning my art table was covered with paint, paper, gel medium and gesso, so I cleaned it up a bit before concentrating on the new piece I wanted to work on today.

I continued working this afternoon in the studio until around dinner time. Having finished some areas that needed more work, I decided it was time to quit for the day, and began cleaning up my work area.

There is something so wonderful about getting your fingers all sticky with acrylic paint and gel medium, except when you notice you have managed to get some of it on the sleeve of your favorite sweater.

Oh well, C’est la vie. The most important thing is I did what needed to be done and had fun doing it.

Sunny Afternoon

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. -Unknown