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Here is another ATC in the women series.  Got to admit I don't think I have ever worn a turban.  Matter of fact, it is a mystery to me on how the heck you would tie the thing.  I like this piece because of the blues - I don't paint a lot in straight blues very much.  Combination here of Ultra Marine, Pthalo Blue and Teal. Working on another collage, but it will be another day or so before I figure it out. Thanks much for stopping by.

Well actually this was yesterday's entertainment as well, and I finished it up this morning.  I am definitely going to do some painting today and give my poor brain a rest.  Yes, I thought the same things, what is so hard about finding, tearing, cutting and gluing?   Well got to tell you if makes my brain ache after a while.  As I said I don't have lots to choose from, so finding something that might possibly go together, well ... Once I find some images then it is trying to get them down with creases. Tried putting this one on mat board and it tends to bend as it dries.  So next time am going back to paper. The more I watch, the more I understand why so many collage artists do abstracts.  I also didn't follow the golden rule on the top illustration as you are only supposed to use about 40% of an image. Think I got away with that on the statute because I overpainted there.   It came out brighter than I really wanted, but my liquid gold leaf dried up and I needed it to s

This is a continuation of an ATC that I started yesterday.  Didn't work yesterday, so tried to salvage it today.  Why trying to work with collage?  Well, I think that will make me learn a bit more about composition, color repetition and picture balance.   All worthy goals.  And ATCs, because they are small and you can get them worked and the learning curve still good, a bit shorter. Well the title is Junk ATC, not necessarily because of the result, although yesterday's result certainly qualified as extreme junk.   But, rather, because I don't have a decent magazines so I am forced to go through our junk mail/ads to find something that I think I might be able to work with.   This started as a collage of printed papers for the background and then I painted a green frog on it.  It was so bad I couldn't even stand to take a picture to show where it was and what it turned into.  Miserable result, a bit of pouting and so, back to the drawing board.   Rather

God Will Provide Albert Einstein Portrait Collage HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND Not sure, but maybe I have a bit of ADD in me because I always have to try new things.  I found a lady on Instagram, deborahshapiroart.com, who is a collage genius, who has inspired me to look  more into this art form.  Spent a few days in the mountains and came back refreshed and raring to go. Made a stop to YouTube to find a couple of beginner collages to get an idea on just how to start. Ok, answer to the question is why would you choose Albert Einstein?  Well you have to go with what ya got.  Threw out so many books and magazines before we moved that I didn't have a whole lot to choose from.  So hence, you go with what ya got.  Next answer is why the title?  Well if you look at the name of the boat on the left, it is "God will Provide", even though you really can't read it well.  And we always need to have at least one genius in every generation to help

                                                            Grandmother's Hands                                                                       8"x10"                                                                      Acrylic Many thanks to Neil A. Kingsbury, one of my favorite photographers on PMP, for this wonderful reference photo.  He calls it Serenity, which is certainly is, but I loved the hands. Couple of challenges for me in this piece were the fabric (I didn't emphasize it as much as the photo because I wanted the focus points on the face and hands), the wrinkles (without lines) and of course the hands themselves. I am continuing to work in this new technique, I call it color blobs with water, and I like the way it gives me lots of texture and different colors and variations in the skin tones, what you would more naturally see.  No, it isn't super realistic, but I do think there is a lot of realism in the pieces done with this.  But I als

                                                            A Storied Face                                                                 14"x11"                                                                 Acrylic Finished the larger version of the little ATC card that I did.  Wanted to do the larger so I could further experiment with the wrinkles and well, got to admit that I really loved the skin tone.  Use lots of washes in this piece, colors that might be surprise you. Kind of interesting, there is some question on which sex the Storied Face is.   My first impression was a woman, my husband claims it is a man, Helen wants it to be a woman.   What do you think? Still uncertain whether or not to put a background behind the right side of her face so it pops out more?  I kind o like that it is picking up the color of the background but maybe a dark would be more striking.   So, looking for opinions!! Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.

Hope = Unlimited Love Hope = The Key to Dreams Decided to participate in my first ATC swap.  Going to try this group for the next 3 months as I feel it is a very safe environment.  Don't know about you, but I am reluctant to go to things online that I don't know anything about.  Especially if it involves financial dealings. This Month this particular group is raising money for St. Jude's hospital.  I think that is a very worthwhile cause so am happy to participate.  As you can probably determine Hope is the theme.  Again, doing themes isn't one of my strong points.  I am always so blown away by what, the number of ideas and the execution that people can come up with to do a theme.  They also have a FACEBOOK page and already their ideas are unbelievable. I believe that there are not only folks from the US in this group, but a fair number of international participants as well.  It will be kind of exciting to see what I end up with and it will begin my colle

I know I keep waxing poetic about ATC/ACEOs, but here I am again with the ones I just finished.  You can see that the techniques are very different in these two. The Lady I wanted to see if you could do wrinkles without using lines to show them.  Also in this one I used a piece of card stock that I  had gotten to cut and use as frames for these minis.  Surprisingly it handled the wet media pretty well.   I do tape these down and once they are dry I put them for several hours between two pieces of glass to try to imprint them so they won't curl or roll up. The lion was a bit of fun too,  also on card stock.  I had done him several ways and then came back and put some color and finishing touches on top of the original base. Also, because we are working small I thought I would show you the brushes that I used for these two.  Actually I use small brushes most of the time, even on big pictures.  I know, it's just my desire for control, but I really can

Well as you can tell I am pretty eclectic with my ACEOs, just like the paintings.  But so many things just catch your eyes. Val, you asked about ATCs.  Not sure if this is right but ATCs are kind of making a comeback right now.  No, like you I really don't have artists in my area who are trading cards.  But there are several online groups that are doing so and seems they are growing by leaps and bounds.   It is a fun way to meet people, get mail, and collect small works of art - most of which are probably going to be one off and original.  Hence if that is the case they now become ACEOs.  The other reason to do these is that a collector can have your art for a very small amount of money.  However, you aren't going to make a profit on these because they are probably more work than doing a full scale canvas. But, again I say one of the best things about doing these is the reward of learning and experience that you gain in the painting, drawing etc. The Art Sherpa, which

Vintage 80s Wind Today's entertainment has been working on a couple of ACEOs.  Every so often I get in the mood to work small.  You can do pretty complex pictures in a small space.  These little ATCs or ACEOs are only 2.5"x3.5".  but the huge advantage is that you can complete something relatively quickly and then take all that you learned and move on. Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.