In The Reeds

"In The Reeds"

Image size 5" x 6.5"

Monotype using Akua ink and colored pencil

The reference photo for this was taken on a trip to South Carolina years ago.  We visited a beautiful plantation and it was a fresh, sunny day with clouds drifting by.  I have painted this scene before using oil paints.

I like the effect of the black ink as the main color with color added.  It reminds me of a colorized black and white photo.

View From Heisler

"View From Heisler"

Image size 6" x 12"

Acrylic

I painted the canvas black before I started this painting.  It is a palette knife painting.  For me, it's harder to do a palette knife painting with acrylics than it is with oils.  Even though I was using heavy body acrylics, they are still less stiff than most of my oils.  I do really enjoy using the palette knife regardless of the medium though.

I hope you all enjoy the holidays and enthusiastically embrace the new year!!!

Crazy Sunset

"Crazy Sunset"

Image size 11" x 15"

Acrylic

I had a watercolor that I painted many years ago on a 22" x 30" piece of paper.  It was a painting of Lake Powell.  I was never happy with it and tried many times to save it.  Finally, I decided to cut it into fourths and use each piece for a new painting.  For this painting, I added rice paper and gesso, which I swirled around so that there were thin and thick areas.  The thick areas are white and the thin areas let the underpainting show through.

I turned the painting upside down so that the sky of the old painting became the water and the red cliffs became the sky.  I thought that might be a fun beginning.  The texture is a bit wild, but it was fun to paint.

I'm taking a break from my clay project until after Christmas.  There's just too much to do.

Desert Sky

"Desert Sky"

Image size 14" x 14"

Watercolor

This painting was done wet into wet.  That seems to be the best way to get the effect of clouds for me.

This is a very loose painting for me and it was really fun to paint.

Puerto Vallarta Cliffs

"Puerto Vallarta Cliffs"

Image size 14" x 6"

Monoprint with colored pencil

I spent so much time cutting all of those black lines into a piece of matboard and this was the look I was trying to achieve.  I don't have a printing press so I printed this using a baren and the back of a spoon.  I thought it would transfer easily, but to get the black lines to transfer, I had to push the paper into the lines with my fingernail.  I think I cut the lines too deep.  

I am happy with the result, but I think I like the first print I pulled better, which is shown below.  When the ink wasn't going into the grooves as I applied the ink with the brayer, I decided to try this one with white lines instead of black.  I wiped the surface in areas to give a sense of light, but overall, the surface was much darker in this print.  I added colored pencil on this print as well.

Which one do you like better?

I didn't work on the clay mural this week.  I was sick the entire week.  I'm getting tired of this.  Finally, I think I'm getting better, so hopefully, I will begin moving forward again on that project.