This is a mural I painted very quickly (which you can probably tell). I didn't draw anything. I just started painting (which you can also probably tell). I wanted it to be very loose. It's the loosest thing I've ever painted, I think. It looks like the windows are curving uphill but that's just from this being a bad photo. This was done in acrylics. I think I like acrylics best when I'm using them on murals. 
Here's another painting for the virtual paintout which is in Hawaii this month. I know painting a picture of a road and tunnel is kind of weird but this brings back memories for me. I used to visit a friend that lives on Oahu and her home was on the opposite side of the island from Honolulu and to get there, we always went over the Pali Highway. I remember these tunnels so well and the beauty of the mountains. When I was virtually traveling through google street maps and found this scene, I knew I had found my spot to paint.
This is just a quick pastel study for the June Virtual Paintout. I made a goal back in October of last year to do a painting each month for this challenge. I didn't get around to doing one in May and I'm really mad at myself. I should probably have waited til Monday to post this because I still haven't done my weekly painting but I'm going to be optimistic and hope that somehow I will finish one by then. Pushing myself is always a good way to get things done and I usually do work better under pressure.
Here is the finished painting of the WIP I posted a couple of months ago. It has taken much longer than I thought it would and it's been a real journey. I didn't have a plan when I started this painting. I poured paint in that abstract shape that's on top of the fish and then tried to find my way. It's been fun and frustrating but I'm happy with the outcome. It's a bit weird but I think it's fun to stray from the norm every now and then.
I forgot about this mural I did about 10 years ago. This is actually my first mural. The other mural that I posted that I said was my first was the first one I had done with regular paint. This is a tile mural. It is painted with china paints (like you see on decorative porcelain plates, tea cups, etc.) then fired. Each tile has been fired 4 to 5 times. The paints (which have an oily consistancy) are painted onto glazed tiles so it is a slick paint on a slick surface. People that are good at china painting can build up the color easily but as I tried to darken the colors, the previous paint would lift off unless it was made permanent by firing. This was a major undertaking which took 4 months of working on it every day. Since I find painting more fun than drawing, I would draw a few rows of the design and then paint the tiles. Then I drew a few more rows and painted some more. That kept me from getting bored.
This week is the 2 year anniversary of when I began posting a painting each week. I know that's not much of an accomplishment when you compare it to all of the artists that post a painting every day but for me, who used to paint maybe 8-10 paintings a year, it's a pretty big deal. I've been having so much fun being more involved with art and blogging. I have met so many nice people and incredible artists on the internet. I've even met a couple of them in person. Making art a focal point in my life has made me a better artist. I have learned so much. Of course not every painting has been a success but I have probably learn the most from the ones that I like the least. Some weeks have been a little stressful as my self imposed Monday deadline has drawn near with no finished painting in sight but I've been able to pull it off. I haven't missed a Monday yet -- even when I was out of town.
Here's another weird one. I started this like last week's painting with poured frisket. My goal here was to create a sense of depth. It looks like things floating in space to me, hence the title. However, now that I'm looking at the photo, I'm seeing all sorts of things within the shapes. Does anyone have a better idea for a title?
Wow! Is this weird or what? I do love to experiment. I started this painting intending for it to be a non-representational painting. I poured resist on the paper and moved it around. I kept seeing a face and neck from those lines on the left side. Of course, the face shape is not really realistic but I went with it anyway. The other lines reminded me of one of my bad hair days so I started playing with hair. Then it started to look like it was floating in water so I went in that direction. I need to fix her mouth. The left side has a highlight on it but unless you are looking at it from close up, her mouth looks crooked. I love the feeling of movement in this painting and overall, I'm pretty happy with it. 
I forgot to let you all know that both of the silk paintings in the last two posts were juried into the Chemers Gallery show and they will be there through May 29th. They didn't win any awards but at least they were juried into the show.
This is another silk painting that I painted to enter in the "Live and Play in Tustin" show. I should know soon if they got into the show. I almost didn't enter this year. The theme really stumped me because it seems like you really need to have a person in the painting that is showing the living and playing in Tustin. Well, I don't like painting people. I made a couple of attempts and then decided to skip the show this year. After talking with the gallery owner, I decided to make a last attempt and I'm glad I did. I'm pretty happy with both of them. I like the way they look framed. Silk paintings are always so fresh and happy looking to me.
