Abstract Paintings, Color and Brush Work

After finishing up the other paintings I had in the works I'm just loosening up and playing with paint to get the creative juices going.

This was on a tiny canvas panel. It started as an exercise in lines and then moved on to dots.

I continued to add other shapes and colors until it became this.

This last example is on an 12 x 16 inch canvas.

All I can do is tell you that it feels great to just be free with the materials without a set goal or design in mind and see where it leads me.

I keep going back and forth between painting knives and brushes as I use up the last of the heavy bodied tube acrylics and have had to add some liquid paints because I'd been down to only red, blue and green in the tube paints.

 

It didn't take long for my old habits to kick in and begin to make it look a bit like a floral. I'm not sure whether to follow that lead or discourage it and see if the work leads me somewhere else.

It could be the suggestion of a bird. It's early yet and there's still paint left so we'll see.

Changing Background on the Flowers in a Teapot Painting

I put a lighter background on one of my old paintings.

Here I am at the start of the process. As you can see I had tried a lot of things before deciding on this.

I prefer the brighter, fresher look that it has now.

I've been trying to finish up the last few paintings around here but am not feeling inspired by anything but an urge to get this stuff out of my way. I'm afraid it shows but here they are anyway.

This is the 3rd or 4th different background I've put on this vase of flowers and I'm still not happy with it. Maybe I should add more flowers.

This is a Birthday present for the sister that keeps bringing me garden gnomes for my yard.

This started out to be just yellow tulips but I thought it needed something for contrast so I turned some of them into Iris but still wasn't happy with it.

Each color I add seems to help add a little life to this painting.

Here I'm just playing with color and shape while designing wrapping papers and fabric.

One thing came of all of this and that was to remind me how versitile paints are and how much I enjoy them whether inspiration strikes or not.

The important thing is to smile and keep doing the thigs that bring you joy.

Getting Back To Drawing

The drawing to the left side of this page is from an old sketchbook and the right one was done a few days ago to see how much my style had changed in the 8 years between them. The reason there isn't much change is because I haven't done a lot of drawing in a long time which of course is why I thought that it was time to get back to it.

 I still kind of like this drawing and may put it on some products on Zazzle.

It's easy to see that this was and old drawing that I took colored pencils and markers to. I enjoyed adding all of the extra color and the 3 red flowers.

This was the most fun that I had just adding colored pencil to an old and dissapointing drawing. It made a lot of people smile including myself .

This just went in the mail to my baby sister. She paints in a lot of these bright, exciting colors and I thought it was a great way to let her know that she inspires me.

Cardinal "Selfies"

From some of the looks on his face we're pretty sure that he KNOWS there is a camera in the birdfeeder.

From the way he looks around he seems to know that something is there.

... and he's thinking about it.

...and wondering what we're up to. Maybe a bit cranky about it.

This is my favorite photo of him so far.

Lily Painting and Color Changes to an Old Painting

 I've been working on this old painting for 10 or 15 years, maybe longer but some of the lilies just didn't seem right.

You see it here in the middle of the change. It started with 2 yellow lilies and I decided yo make them white so they would balance better with the vase.

Here's a close look at the yellow one.

Here's a detail view where you see it with the others.

This is how it hangs on the wall now. I can't promise not to change it again but for now, I'm satisfied.

Painting Sunflowers, Daisies and Marigolds from my 2018 Garden

I tried a number of different backgrounds for this painting and ended up leaving it green because it will be removed by computer when I use this design on fabrics and other products.

Instead I focused my energy on getting the flowers the way that I wanted them. Here you see me changing a wildflower to a marigold to better balance my design.

At this point it's just a matter of deciding which end I want up in the final design.

I prefer it this way but on some items it really won't matter what direction it is. That's one of the really fun and surprising things about florals.

Winter Visitors in the Garden

One forgotten Broccoli Plant was left out in the garden. Wasted because the frost made it limp and hardly worth eating.

We really enjoy watching the birds at the feeders and I'm hoping to be inspired to draw or paint them at some point soon.

This squirrel makes it hard to keep the bird feeders full. He seems to have endless tricks to get into or onto them and eat his fill. he's got lots of company as we have both gray and white squirrels here.

We have a lot of chickadees most of the year around. They are very fond of the old birch tree in the front yard.

I haven't been outdoors with my wheelchair since the snow but will send someone out to get a few winter shots of the ward and the garden to wrap the year up with.

Between Projects

After I'd finished working on that new Lily painting I went back to arranging finished paintings on the wall and hoping for some sales.

As I was doing that it occurred to me that part of the trouble that I have in making a sale has to do with finding frames clients like or setting prices on vintage frames that I have.

This time around I decided to simplify things and take advantage of the fact that most canvases these day wrap around the fronts. I simply painted the sides to match the fronts and wrapping the image all the way around. that way I only have to sell the painting itself. The customer saves money here and can choose any frame they desire and can afford.

I am selling the small canvas panels at set prices by size and leaving them unframed as well so they can stack or go in small bins to sell. 

I was still quite excited about those pink lilies when I finished the painting and wrote a lot about it  along with photos of all the pink lilies I'd grown in my garden over the years or had received as gifts which led to pages and pages of all of the lily paintings and drawings that I've done. I just couldn't decide ho w much of it I should carry over into the blog here.

New Lily Painting

New Lily painting from flowers sent by my brother when I got out of the hospital.

This started as an abstract quite a while ago and I added one lily over the summer.  It was nice to be back to work on it.

As you can see I'm taking a looser approach to it this time around.

All I have available for paints this time are a few tubes of acrylic paint-Mostly Liquitex heavy body and Jo Sonya and a few bottles of craft type acrylics in various brands and thicknesses.

You would think that would present a problem but it hasn't so far.

I'm really enjoying painting for the first time in ages.
Part of it is the new studio and having both the time and the space to really relax and feel it all wash through me. 

As I continued to paint those lilies I was feeling better and freer than I have ever felt before. Feeling light, like I could float away in the happiness of it all.

A place of my own at last, doing what I've always wanted to do.

My physical limits don't really matter-I don't suppose they ever did.  Maybe that's what makes the experience so intense.

So much to consider as I reach yet again for my paints.

This painting continues to surprise and delight each time I go back to work on it,

Today the most change was in the flowers.

Here's a close up view to give you a better look at what I meant by that.

After studying my garden photos of lilies I began making changes to bring the leaves and flowers into a bit more realistic arrangements.

That kind of took the fun out of it for a while.

I'm walking away from it at this point until inspiration strikes again.