RETURNING

Returned home yesterday evening after 2 weeks away on Anna Maria Island - again.  Spent the whole 2 weeks in a large, pretty, violet house that had so many smart appliances that both Sweetie and I felt dumb (especially when the alarm on the refrigerator started going off and we couldn't find the manual to figure out why!! = turns out I had the door open too long!!!  What???).  The place was large, pretty, clean and had a little pool in the back (which was unuseable due to the temperatures - which sometimes went down to 45F at night = brrrrr).  

We had tornadoes touch down close by the first week, then cold, windy days; then warming enough to bring more rain rain rain.  I think we may have had 5 days of sunshine total, but still checked out the beach each day and, especially, at sunset.  So...until I catch up with things, here are some sunsets on Bean Point (the north end) of Anna Maria Island.  Enjoy!

POEM FOR JANUARY

Thin Ice
   by Ellen Doré Watson

Reedy striations don’t occlude the beneath—
earthy mash of leaves, flat pepper flakes, layered,

tips protruding, tender-desolate above a mirror
surface, gently pressing on horse-mane, nest material,

tickle-brush, fringe. Buff block-shapes further down,
ghost-bits of green-green, a lone leaf burned white.

My thrown stone skitters on ice. The next, larger,
plunks through and for a moment I am a violator

but then I see it opened a bubble cell, a city,
a lesion, a map—the way in cold and luminous.




Ellen Doré Watson 
is the author of Dogged Hearts (Tupelo Press, 2010). 
She’s the director of The Poetry Center at Smith College 
and lives in Conway, Massachusetts.

FAUX ENCAUSTIC - SECOND TRY

Using the technique from the faux encaustic demo in the Winter issue of Acrylic Artist, I started another.  This one is on canvas board (8 x 10 inches) I had in the corner (I seem to have a lot of bits and pieces of boards and things I've collected over the years.)


I began by choosing 3 blues and putting them down in a sweeping motion.  

After it dried, I put down the second layer, separating "top" and "bottom" of the painting and laying plastic wrap over the top while the paint was still wet.  Letting that dry overnight, I pulled off the plastic wrap and here is what it was at that stage.  (It had to be tilted for the photo so the shine didn't block the painting in spots.)


I like it.  It makes me think of a strange seascape with a wild sky!  So I will let it sit for a while and decide what I should do next.  

The problem with painting with acrylics, for me, is that I'm unsure where to go when I get to a stage that I like - but that needs a bit more.  I guess that comes from more playing and experimenting and trying new things.  Nothing can become too precious to change.  

ELVIS IS ON THE BEACH!

Another drawing in the Strathmore toned paper sketchbook (tan).  I like the warmth of this but like the gray toned paper, too - don't think they make other sketchbooks that aren't white.

These are Royal Terns but Sweetie and I call them Elvis birds because they look like Elvis with his black hair and their look of cockiness.  They aren't afraid of looking right at you as if they are saying, "Who said you could take my photo, tourist?"

Elvis Bird on the Beach

WINTER LEAFAGE

Winter Leafage
 by Edith Matilda Thomas

Each year I mark one lone outstanding tree,
Clad in its robings of the summer past,
Dry, wan, and shivering in the wintry blast.
It will not pay the season’s rightful fee,—
It will not set its frost-burnt leafage free;
But like some palsied miser all aghast,
Who hoards his sordid treasure to the last,
It sighs, it moans, it sings in eldritch glee.
A foolish tree, to dote on summers gone;
A faithless tree, that never feels how spring
Creeps up the world to make a leafy dawn,
And recompense for all despoilment bring!
Oh, let me not, heyday and youth withdrawn,
With failing hands to their vain semblance cling!

This poem is appropriate to the time of year - and also because I will be having another (!) birthday this month.  The days, weeks, months and years continue to add up until I am an age now that I feel, not quite comfortable with, and one that is coming very close to a milestone year that may mean I've passed my sell-by date!

TAN PAPER DRAWING - BIRD IN TREE

On the Strathmore Tan Toned paper sketchbook.  I enjoy doing these black and whites - it really makes you see and hones your drawing (and seeing) skills.  But to get my color fix, I play with the acrylics on canvas/board/etc. and do this while the paint dries (or I don't know where to go next).


Bird in Tree

ANOTHER ACRYLIC PAINTING BEGUN - STONES?

Using a very long piece of black gessoed canvas board (not sure how I ended up with that, but it was in the pile of boards I keep in the corner).  

First, I put down the gesso juice mixture (white gesso, acrylic medium, water) over the black and pressed a stencil over it, creating the stones.  Then I used a small plastic "brush" tool and wiped across the top.  So it's looking like sea and stones to me right now.  

I am letting it sit and dry.  

I like this start - now what?  Perhaps a little glazing of color?

CHARCOAL ON TAN PAPER - GREAT BLUE HERON

The Strathmore tan toned paper gives your drawings a warm look.

Great Blue Heron

TONED PAPER - WABI SABI

I'm slowly reading through the book, Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanance by Andrew Juniper.  It's making me think about less being more, impermance and imperfection being accepted.  

So, with that in mind, I just did a few strokes on the toned paper.  Even this may be something I explore a bit more.  No comments necessary.  It is what it is and that's fine.

LANDSCAPE IN ACRYLIC

Yes, I know.  I said I was going to do more drawing and more work in black and white.  Well, this is mostly black and white...but I don't seem to find the energy or inspiration to just do black and white so I cheat a little with color in acrylics for now.  And while that dries, I do a little in the toned sketchbook - it's all good :)

This started as a mishmash of colors and drizzles and stuff on watercolor canvas.  Looked like this.  

Nothing to write home about...








So, getting out the acrylics and acrylic mediums, I began by turning it over, applying soft gloss medium over the top and bottom thirds.  

Then added some color, scraped into the top with my palette knife, and scraped a bit here and there over the cobalt teal (water) and white (foreground) while everything was still wet.  I'm using mostly Golden Open Acrylics with some heavy body acrylics and regular acrylics.  I don't seem to purchase one thing but a mishmash of acrylic colors and types.  The bottom white is Atelier Open Acrylics (which are supposed to stay wet a long long time but that doesn't matter with this one).

Landscape/Seascape No. 2:  Lake Thingvallavatn in Winter  

CHARCOAL ON TONED PAPER - TURKEY VULTURE

Charcoal pencils and vine charcoal on Strathmore toned paper.


Turkey Vulture


(From a photo taken on the last trip to Anna Maria Island - having the red tide come through meant a lot of vultures flying around the rooftops.)

BLACK AND WHITE ON TONED GRAY - DOVE

On Strathmore toned gray paper sketchbook.  


Dove

BLACK AND WHITE ON TONED PAPER

I have two Strathmore toned paper sketchbooks.  This one is the grey one and I'm using black and white charcoal only for the drawings for January...




This exercise is just to help my drawing (and seeing) skills so no color for now.

Deer

A FEW ABSTRACT DOODLES IN MY SKETCHBOOK

Before I get into black and white, I did a few more doodles/abstracts in my AquaBee sketchbook.

I like this one but it looks a little zany!




Now...on to the black and white on toned paper...just for the experience of it.  




What are you going to do this year that you did not do last year?

FINISHED ACRYLIC PAINTING

Using the faux encaustic techniques demoed in the latest Acrylic Artist magazine, I created something.  

I wasn't too crazy about it.  

So...went out to Michael's and picked up what acrylic mediums they had - found this nice little set that had everything I wanted (and then some).  

The piece ended like this before I got more supplies.

I sanded down the top part (which was fiber paste, not what the demo called for). 

Then I gave serious thought to the colors.  They just didn't work for me - and didn't even work together.  So I made some changes to that, both in the top and bottom portions.

I like it enough now to give it a title:

Landscape/Seascape No. 1: Lake Thingvallavatn in Autumn

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR

My wish for the New Year.


I know, probably not going to happen.
But we can keep wishing, and trying 
to make it so.

And wishing for good art magazines and art books to fill the year with beautiful inspiration.

These will keep me busy for a while.  As will all the novels I got for Christmas = 14!!!  

ACRYLIC ARTIST WINTER 2015 ISSUE - DEMO 2

The next steps of the encaustic-look painting using only acrylics and acrylic mediums - from an article written by Sandra Duran Wilson in the latest issue of the Acrylic Artist Winter 2015 issue.

After the last application dries, take soft gloss acrylic medium and, with a palette knife, spread it over the entire board and let that dry.  (This is going to take a long time to dry due to our wet wet weather lately.)

Sandra calls this an isolation interference layer which works, when dry, to isolate the color(s) underneath.  When you put a color on top of this layer and don't like it or want to change it, you can still remove it by wiping it off with a damp towel or with alcohol, and still preserve anything underneath this layer.  So, in this step, she's protecting the layers we've put down previously before doing more.  Sweetie saw this (prior to the gloss medium) and said it's perfect, looks like something in a museum.  Of course, he was just kidding about abstract art.  So onward and upward we go!

The next step advises us to mix a little cobalt teal into heavy gel matte.  (I didn't have heavy gel matte so worked with what I had = matte medium mixed with a little cobalt teal fluid acrylic and some acrylic fiber paste to add some texture.)  Apply that over the bottom area and while the mixture is still wet, scribe into it with any tools you have, creating some texture there.  Make swirls or circles or any patterns you want at this point for the bottom part.

Then apply molding paste (I had a tiny jar that, when opened, was rock hard :( so had to improvise on this, too.)  Apply the molding paste, adding a few drops of white and purple on top of the paste so it's not completely white or completely purple.  Spread the paste mixture thinly over the top of the painting so some of the bottom layer shows through.  (Before you do this, you could remove some paint from the gloss areas or apply more paint to the area, playing with that to get the look you want - or just leave it as is.)

I'll show it again when everything is dried - I'm sure it will look differently then.

That's it.  Takes some time, but you don't have to go out and buy anything but a few more acrylic colors (if you choose) and some acrylic mediums (heavy gel matte, molding paste, soft gel gloss), if you don't already have those in your studio.  You may even want to buy an Ampersand Encausticbord to use as your board.  (Looks like I'll be buying art supplies with my Christmas money!)

This demo was taken from Sandra Duran Wilson's article in the latest Acrylic Artist magazine but is also in her book, Acrylic Painting for Encaustic Effects.  She shares 45 step-by-step techniques in the book, and I think I may also be buying that soon.

ACRYLIC ARTIST WINTER 2015 ISSUE - DEMO 1

There are a couple of interesting articles in this issue, and one demo I want to try.  So, after the rush of the holidays slowed down to a manageable crawl, I got out the materials and began.

The step-by-step demo, written by Sandra Duran Wilson, shows you how to create an encaustic effect painting without the wax, heat or new supplies.  

All you need is a board, some acrylic paints (not fluid acrylics), some plastic wrap, a bit of alcohol, and some acrylic mediums.  

The article says to first paint the entire board (after misting it a bit) with Apricot (I didn't have Apricot so made my own - close enough - using Alizarin Crimson Hue + Indian Yellow Hue + a little Titanium White to lighten it).  Sandra used Ampersand Encaustic board and I used birch board I had - unfinished (so I hope that isn't a problem).

The first layer of paint has to dry before doing the second step.  

Next, paint the top half with Orange (again, made my own from what I had - added a bit of Hansa Yellow to the mix to lighten the mix and make it more orange)
and the bottom half with Quinacridone Gold (used Indian Yellow) + Magenta (used Alizarin Crimson).  While that is still wet, lay down some plastic wrap, making texture as you scrunch it around in the paint.  Let that dry completely for hard edges, lift it off before drying if you want softer edges.  I wanted hard edges so left that to dry for a few hours.

After that dried and the plastic wrap is removed, apply Magenta (my color = Quinacridone Magenta) to the top half and, while the paint is still wet, add drops of alcohol across the surface and let that dry.  (I didn't see much of an effect of the drops of alcohol and I didn't blot it - it didn't say to blot it so...)

Then add Payne's Gray (I used Quinacridone Red + Ultramarine Blue) to the middle area of the painting and, while the paint is wet, apply water drops with a spray bottle across the surface.  I like spritzing so this was fun.  When the paint is dry but the water drops are still wet, blot with a paper towel.  Let that dry.  Now, if you wait until the paint is dry and water drops are still wet, that isn't going to happen - so I waited a few minutes and blotted to get the texture look of the middle.  Unlike the top part with paint and then alcohol drops, this created a neat texture look in the middle. 

Come back tomorrow for the next steps - and if this sounds good to you, pick up the latest issue of Acrylic Artist (Winter 2015 issue) and try it.  It has a lot of good articles and beautiful work from a variety of acrylic artists - which reminds me, I need to renew my subscription! 

END OF THE YEAR 2015

Yesterday, Peru's Tree Service arrived with 4 guys, a huge crane, a wood chipper, and a bobcat to work on cutting down our very tall, very large, very dead ash tree that sits between our house and our neighbor's house to the west.  Talk about a nerve-wracking job, just watching!!  

I don't know how these guys do this but they were A++, working quickly, efficiently, and the boss, Jesus Izquierda, was there all the way, directing, running the bobcat (to put the large trunks of the tree into the chipper).  The guy who was hoisted on the crane into the top of the tree couldn't be afraid of heights or danger, but it made me hold my breath until he got his feet placed on a solid trunk.  

The company is named Peru's Tree Service because the owner, Jesus, is from Peru.  He works 7 days a week while he is here, closes up the business December 20th and returns to Peru to see him family for a couple of months.  This job was delayed from Monday (when we had rain and wind and rain and wind and...you get the idea), so I am so glad it could be done today.  

After the man in the tree cut large sections of the tree away, the crane lifted it up and over to the ground in the front yard or close to the road, where it was cut up into manageable pieces to stuff into the wood chipper.

You see all that junk leftover from the tree touching the ground and the limbs being cut off?  They did not wait until the end of the job to clean up, but cleaned up the roadway each time so neighbors could drive in and out without going over all that stuff.  Very good cleanup along the way and I was impressed with that.

When the parts became too large for one or two men to load it into the chipper, Jesus got into the Bobcat and lifted and pushed the larger parts in.  

After several sections were done, the trimmer finally got to the trunk of the tree (still almost even with the roof of our house).  Cutting that away, he then stood on the deck and cut away the largest trunk piece.  While this was going on, they were cutting down a yew bush that was taking over the driveway, it was growing so large; and another guy got into the oak on the other side and trimmed some dead branches away.

We didn't have them take it down to the roots, just down below the deck.  I know the shrubs and other stuff will grow up around it soon enough for the birds to still be happy - and they didn't harm the oak tree that was right beside it.  Nothing fell on the house except small limbs and sawdust and they did a great job cleaning the yard and the neighbor's yard - and even stacked and oak limbs for our neighbor to use as firewood, putting it in his backyard for him.  

This job ended a week of catching up from being away for 2 weeks (why do you always need a vacation a week after you return from vacation??), errands, doctors appointments and tests (for my mother), worry (tests turned out normal for her!), running, sending out cards, shopping, etc., and I am glad to see the end of it.  Now, on to wrapping those last-minute gifts and planning those wonderfully relaxing (pass the bourbon, please!) holiday visits with family...

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season.  Take care of yourself and each other - we're all we've got!  (And just for fun, when at a drive-thru or in line at Starbucks or a restaurant, pay it forward and make someone's day!)

See you in 2016!

JUST A FEW SMALL PAINTINGS

One of my favorite places to visit on Anna Maria Island is the Olive Oil Outpost, a gourmet shop that also serves the best cafe con leches.  They don't make them with just espresso and milk (or cream).  They add a secret sauce and some gourmet sugar to the mix and it's liquid heaven.  I begin my visit with a trip there - and end it with a trip there.  Yum!  If you get a cafe con leche anywhere else on the island, you get espresso and milk (and they tell you that's what cafe con leche means - like I don't know that).  Anyway...

I took a photo of the owner, Kelli, making me a cafe con leche last year and, just before leaving, I painted this small painting in sepia and raw sienna with a little lunar earth for the coffee in the cup (wanted it to have a old-timey look).

I took it to her the day she was working.  Everyone seemed to like it and I hope she puts it up somewhere in the shop at some time - but that's up to her.  

I did take my Holbein travel kit and my Stillman & Birn watercolor sketchbook - I almost always take them with me when I travel for a week or more.  But didn't get my supplies out until the 2nd week.

Did a watercolor sketch of a pelican from a photo.  Just a reminder of the visit this year.

And just some color play.  Not pointy enough on the ends to be a starfish so just a colorful thing.

And another painting in the sketchbook of a pelican.  Could use a bit more but I like to leave the sketches as is from the time I did them - just reminders of a trip.  

This is a watercolor copy of the gouache resist painting of the pelican I gave Cindy as thanks for letting us stay at her house.  That one has already been shown but I'll try to find it and show it again to compare...

Here it is - using the gouache resist technique and ink with watercolor added at the end.