An Evening Of Art~Making

Before I get to the heart of my post, let me express my annoyance with this blogger platform that makes me realize ever more depth to my patience.... I just published this post completely unintentionally, without any text in the body, by hitting the enter key while typing the title.... perhaps one day soon, someone will make my blogging life easier by having this software ask for a CONFIRMATION, before publishing...

Now let's talk artmaking and creativity.... I spent close to five hours last evening on re~turning to my three projects...you can see the beginning of the two paintings by clicking the below link:
http://creativesustenance.blogspot.com/2009/09/negative-is-fun.html

The last painting I worked on seemed to be asking for some stamp~ing all over the hearts...

I mixed a bit of Golden Liquid Acrylics Carbon Black and VanDyke and off I went spreading the mixture over a large text stamp. Next I depressed against the heart shapes letting the text flow in and out of the hearts....

I chose Golden Liquid Acrylics Transparent Yellow Oxide, bits of Gold Green, Turquois (Phathalo), and my ever favorite Quinacridone Nickel Azo (Gold) to fill the color into my hearts.... I rubbed of paint at random with a damp paper towel ~ aiming for much variety in color distribution and saturation...

Here's a close~up, as well as the very top photo of this post. You can notice the variations in texture... again I felt that the hearts and the text itself required a bit of aging that would accentuate the richness of the composition...

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the step in which I spreaded a very thin, somewhat watered down, layer of Golden Liquid Acrylics Titan Buff with my palette knife's edges. I wanted to bring up to the surface the uneven background first created with a coarse application of gesso by using a palette knife.

Next I applied two generous coats of Golden Acrylics Heavy Gel (Gloss) ~ again, aiming for much differentiation in texture....

Almost a finished painting (still awaiting a coat of varnish ~ I think Satin sheen is called for). The colors are much darker in the photograph than in reality.... The first photo of this post is very close to the true colors of my paining. By the way the title is ~ 'Love Letter'

The evening begun with the continuation of developing the painting from last week, which actually started about three posts ago with a creation of tissue paper based background.... I got lost in the process and, again, forgot to put my camera to use throughout the process.

I kept on adding more texture to the piece by using rich, deep shades of paints whose names started with 'Quinacridone' and/or ended with 'Oxide'..... I filled the leaves in with greens, reds, magenta, and golds ~ over and over until there was much depth to the underlying layers.... Next, I went over with my second favorite when it comes to aging~texturizing, Titan Buff around the outlines of the shapes and over the letters. I rubbed a damp paper towel over a, still wet, paint..... what to heck, let's add some more distress to it and see what happens.... I also added a heart in the bottom of the piece, but decided to preserve the previous Polymer Medium created shapes in the fore~ground of the heart by rubbing the the white paint used on the heart off the polymer areas.... Here's a good example of a 'picture being worth a thousand words' when it comes to sharing a creative process.....

I applied a very generous layer of Golden Acrylics Heavy Gel (Gloss) to the dried surface....

This is a finished painting ~ 'Fall' ~ mixed media on canvas board...

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Is There An Art To Arranging a Potpourri?

.... I am more and more inclined to say 'Yes' ~ there's a definite act of self-expression involved in making sure your potpourri looks 'just right' in your container of choice.... It seems to me that we buy a 'ready~to~use' bag of potpourri pieces that vary, from season to season, in terms of all actual elements of 4-D design elements ( your olfactory sense being the 4th D-imension) and we are left to either improvise or try to re~create the 'perfection' of a pre~packaged product in order to fully enjoy all of the 'visually promised' benefits. I don't know about you, but personally I'm always waaaay behind the season, and once I finally get to arrange my decorations around the house, I have very little energy left to be spent on 'playing' with an endless number of potpourri pieces.... today was no exception.

The above photo depicts a finale of a long and arduous 'struggle' between an XLarge container size (18'' in diameter decorative plate), a 2lbs. bag of potpourri, and my seriously limited attention span. But finally I settled on, what I'd call, 'an acceptable' arrangement... by placing a candle container in the center...

Since I find it extremely difficult to follow any explicit directions, I decided to pull out a box of moss-covered stones and en~liven my family room potpourri masterpiece.... my steady allegiance to the summer's abundance of the daylight will see me through the 'violets' and 'blues' of winter... in my latitude tanning beds and white candles are destined to keep me from over~listening to U2, Foo Fighters, and Snow Patrol. I hope.
Or should I mis~quote my friend and pose a rhetorical question~ why isn't Chicago located in the Caribbean?

Enough of whining!
I genuinely savor the moist, dewy air of late September. Each day the colors of vegetation seem to transform overnight.... as though re~discovering anew more depth and richness within...

What are your thoughts on fall? And are your frustrated or stimulated with a creative influx when a new bag of potpourri 'call your name'???


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Negative Is Fun!

... negative can be very Fun and a spontaneous channel of expression when it comes to creating a negative space pattern. I continue to derive more and more inspiration from a book I wrote about couple of posts ago ~ 'Celebrate Your Creative Self' by Mary Todd Beam. One of the chapters describes fun and easy techniques of using a negative space as a starting point for a new composition, and later on, becomes transformed into a surprising and contrasting element of the Big Whole.... anyways.... I chose heart shapes which I had first cut out from an old Dick Blick shopping bag (yes, there's an overabundance of those at my house and even more receipts awaiting a tax season....)

After few trials with various hearts' arrangements I settled on the above one...

While holding each separate heart in place, I begun to trace its shape and paint the background at the same time using a mixture of these three hot colors: Golden Heavy Body Acrylics Quinacridone Magenta, Golden Liquid Acrylics Permanent Violet Dark, and heavy body Dick Blick Acrylics Light Portrait Pink... I made sure that blending was kept to minimum in between this fun three~some, that way each color could accentuate the heart shapes more dramatically.

Once the entire surface of a 9''x11'' canvas board was painted I lifted all the hearts off the surface using tweezers... I will begin to work on this piece tomorrow and post my photo~art adventures accordingly....

As a I alluded to in my last post, I attended an Intuitive Painting Workshop yesterday.... I attended it first back in June 2008 and once I got an invitation to another workshop I felt that the timing was perfect. I've been trying to find back my own rhythm in the mysteries of creative self~expression after almost three months of 'others~oriented' life and 'struggle' is the closest that begins to describe my inner un-settlement.... So, I signed up for the workshop on the spot and all I can say is, I feel that I have re~discovered my own flow again. Throughout the workshop I was reminded of the the importance of Process over the Product and the teacher kept on posing numerous 'What ifs...?' questions as all the participants delved deeper and deeper into the mysteries of creation.... What if it was perfectly O.K. for me to use the colors I authentically wanted to? What would I paint if I didn't care about the final result? etc. ~ the questions kept on challenging the inner critic until what was finally left after over two hours of painting was my hand FOLLOWING the brush and a tempera color choosing me.... Like I've said, it is a purely experimental process that aims at suspending the critical, abusive voice of the inner critic long enough to let whatever wants to be expressed come forth without the stalling of the inner censorship. That entire workshop was based on the creative process first developed by Michelle Cassou and best described in her book 'Point Zero: Creativity Without Limits'. I just ordered my own copy to explore the process even deeper. Below is a photo of my painting which begun and culminated with nothing more than a repetition of couple different brush strokes repeated over two and a half hour period using about six tempera paint colors.

...A new painting is born...

In this painting experiment based on the book 'Celebrate Your Creative Self' I employed a 9''x12'' canvas borad agian... First I attached horizontal layers of a tissue paper to the surface using acrylic gesso.

I dipped my 2'' brush half~and~half style in variety of Golden Liquid Acrylics and dragged them 'with the grain' of previously dired vertical tissue paper ~ gesso attached pattern. I used at least a half a dozne different paint colors, way too many to list.... but these three played a predominant role in the creation of this composition's background: Golden Liquid Acrylics Quinacridone/ Nickel Azo Gold (of course!), Turquois (Phathalo), and Quinacridone Burnt Orange... I strongly encourage you to experiment with your very own choices ~ the ones that your heart calls out to be expressed at the moment. Trust it. Follow it. And admire what's taking place right in front of your eyes!

Befere letting the paint to dry completely, I used a wet brush to blend the colors' transitions as evently as I could ~ given a sensitive tissue paper surface.

I renewed my friendship with my stamps here.... I applied a thin coat of Golden Heavy Body Acrylics Quinacridone Magenta and Golden Liquid Acrylics Permanent Violet Dark to the surface of a large stamp and.....

... I impressed it against the uneven texture of the surface with all my might.

Next I returened my attention to the Polymer Medium (Gloss) and Golden Liquid Acrylics Iridescent Bright Gold (Fine) mixture and 'drew' some irregular shapes over the stamped area...

As the Polymer Medium/Paint mixture was drying, I kept asking myslef a question ~ what's next that this painting wants? Soon I realized that more stamping is called upon..... this time a 'text pattern' is impressed on the surface using a Golden Liquid Acrylics Carbon Black.

As I conitnued to ask myself the questions about the progression of this painting, I stumbled upon another image tansfer technique that was called upon ~ stenciling. So, I pulled out my 2'' stencils and dry~brushed the shapes with Golden Liquid Acrylics Paynes Gray.

The above is a dried version of the painting's journey....

XLarge Fun With Polymer Resist....

Yesterday I decided to follow my intuition and focus my creative energy on one painting only.... well, I almost did. The above photograph shows 'up~until~now' image. As a strata I used the somewhat chewed up 2x2 plywood board that my dog devoured back in May. I thought that it may convey a very believable look of an old, distressed painting.... so far I really like how the 'antiquated' texture progresses, though I'm not anticipating any additional chewing ~ my creative skills must suffice to deliver a quality aging, at this point only paint, brushes, wire brushes, and acrylic mediums are allowed in the vicinity of the painting. So, let me tell you briefly how this painting was born.....

I used my new toy, a large palette knife, I treated myself to the other day as I anticipated a new project that would outgrow small, plastic tools. I applied a very heavy layer of acrylic gesso over few sheets of white tissue paper first attached to the surface. As I worked gesso in between uneven layers of tissue paper I aimed at radical changes in texture.

Next I used a small plastic bottle with a pointed-end cap and I filled it 3/4 full with Golden Polymer Medium (Gloss). Then I added a generous amount of Golden Liquid Acrylics Iridescent Bright Gold (Fine) and gave the bottle a good shakin' ~ making sure that the mixture achieves a uniform color.

.... let the doodeling begin! I used the tip of my bottle as my drawing tool and enjoyed every moment of it!

.....an almost finished pattern~drawing. It reminded me of table cloth or fabric pattern when I took a step back when I covered the entire surface.

Let's dye the fabric now! As the moisture~hungry gesso was pulling in a very watered-down (not quiet a wash) layer of Golden Liquid Acrylics Turquois (Phthalo) mixed with a bit of Black Gesso, it felt as though I was painting a piece of fabric, literally...

I used a sheet of paper towel to remove moisture-paint from the painting to create a weathered, distressed, uneven color distribution throughout.

Can you create an authentically looking 'aging effect' without help from Golden Heavy Body Quinacridone/ Nickel Azo Gold??? Perhaps. But you can make a visual magic and enjoy the process by applying even a bit of this heavenly aging aid..... and glazing with Quinacridone, even a bright white piece of paper, will make you a life-long believer~worshiper! The best part of using Quinacridone is, that it's difficult to over~use it because it blesses any surface with a wonderful transparency and bestows brightness and depth to any underlying tones it is applied over.....

.... oh, yes! No believable, credible altered art work should be deprived of a wire brush deliberately removing, often more than one layer of paint~medium, at a time. For an extra fun, using a wire brush adds even more 'physical~ness' to the act of creation....

... a bird's eye view of the completed, thus far, two layers of the underpainting.... feel free to zoom-in, but that's the most detailed photo I have.

I painted all hearts with Golden Liquid Acrylics Permanent Violet Dark and Quinacridone Magenta and I was pleasantly surprised how much depth this cool~warm color mixture brought up....

I got such a great time with this wonderful coloring action going that I decided to accent every element of my painting. And so the flowers were adorned with a mixture of Cobalt Turquois and Turquois (Phthalo) and spiral shapes received a gentle treatment from Liquid Sap Green...

I filled the spaces in between grouped shapes with colors used at other places in the painting.... I wanted to see a correlation and cohesion of the 'big whole' while the variation was also meant to preserve a distressed character....

As of right now, this painting will shortly meet with a thin layer of Self Leveling Gel, that way the current state of design will be locked in before the rest of mixed media adventure will unfold....

When working on this painting yesterday and today, I was able to focus my attention more fully on the process at hand instead of thinking three steps ahead to two other projects. Staying with one brush stroke, one color choice at a time is the most rewarding manner of creation for me.... and incidentally that leads me to new discoveries, new heights and depths of this mystery called creativity. And to cultivate the process itself I signed up myself for an Intuitive Painting workshop for tomorrow morning. I look very much forward to it as I've participated in it over a year ago and it truly is beyond words to even try to describe it.... all I can say is that for me personally, those three hours dislodged a pretty heavy load of so called creative blockage and my painting from that remarkable workshop is probably the most cherished creative expression I've been blessed with so far in my life....

On a side note, Big Thank YOU! to everyone who came to my Caribou showing on Monday ~ it was a very special night for me.... Though I brought my camera with me, I didn't realize until everyone left that I'd intended to take pictures....

I've been told by the staff at the coffee place that everyone wants to touch my paintings and collages ~ what can I say, I do it all the time myself, it's not a museum ~ go for it and touch it to your heart's delight!

Having Fun Doodle-ing With Polymer Medium...

New painting, as of yet, untitled.... I can see a generous coat of Golden Self-Leveling Gel in its future for a final touch, before applying a gloss varnish....

Last night I put in few finishing color layers onto one of the pieces I've been working on recently... besides adorining my painting with Golden Liquid Acrylics Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold ( a serious 'must-have' paint color that will enable you to perform color~texture magic in a brush-stroke-minute while leaving you astounded with a transformation of 'pretty-looking' painting into a WOW-effect exhuding masterpiece!)... I also relied on a much needed aid from Golden Heavy Body Acrylics Green Gold glaze and both, Interefence Violet and Green layers. Feel free to take my word for a visible distiction betweeen color and depth-suggesting texture of the painting, as the light~camera combination refuses to present a true value of the color pallette... above is the image I'd describe by quoting the title of one of my most favorite movies... As Good As It Gets....

Moving along to the next project being continued from a previous post or two ~ this one had a plastic wrap applied to the surface first, then I drew same shapes with a charcoal pencil. Next I cut out the wrap from the right side and applied fiber paste layer followed by painting leafy shape. Over the weekend I cut out the remaining wrap, piece by piece, tracing the elements of design once again.

~ in the next step I mixed Polymer Medium (Gloss) with Golden Liquid Acrylics Sap Green in a plastic bottle

~ I set out to paint the outlines of shapes with a heavy layer of polymer-paint mixture for more definition~

~ having tons of fun with 'painting-drawing' using paint-polymer mixture, I pulled out one of unfinished experiments from couple of months ago, and used the remaining product to doodle few fun shapes over the surface....

P.S.

This morning I hung 7 paintings at Caribou and shortly I'll be off to meet with whoever will enjoy a good cup of coffee sprinkled with creative sharing of ideas.....

RE: Your Invitation...

Dear Friends,

Those of you subscribing to my blog via e-mail delivery just received two 'empty' posts as I unintentionally hit the 'enter' key twice while attempting to write this Invitation Post to You....

I'd like to invite You to the showing of my artwork this upcoming Monday, September 14, 2009 from 7-8:30 PM at Caribou Coffee in Glen Ellyn, IL. The exact address is: 495 W. Roosevelt Rd, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137 (located at the South-West corner of the intersection of Roosevelt Rd. and Main St.). As my Guests you can enjoy FREE beverage of your choice ~ but most importantly I'd love to have a privilege to share my art with You 'live' ~ instead of virtual/digital interface that leaves the human Spirit behind somewhere far, far away in the cyberspace... So, bring your friends or family for a decadent cup of coffee, tea or hot coca and let's sit on a cozy couch by a fireplace and re-memeber our Creative Gifts..... also, please bring a thimble of your favorite jokes!

My artwork will be on display at Caribou Coffee for a month, so if another day~time works better for you feel free to stop-by at your leisure...

As for a brief 'catch-up' I've spent 10 minutes this afternoon on bringing a leafy shape to life out of a previously 'drawn' Polymer Medium (Gloss) pattern .... take a look....

... Releasing The Flow...

~ literally and metaphorically~

After almost three months of having my life being put on a slight 'hold' due to excessive hostess~ing commitments I'm trying to find my center again and release my creative flow anew....

When it comes to a literal meaning to the flow release I've been experimenting with the medium called 'Flow Release' by Golden ~ funny thing about the timing that it has found its way to me now. I've known about it de-congesting properties when applied to the wet paint or a freshly painted surface, but somehow it didn't 'call my name' until my own Flow required some maaaajor re~leasing....

Yet I don't feel creatively blocked, it's more about finding, re~membering my own rhythm again. Listening while moving my hand across the canvas. Reaching for a tube of paint without pre~judging its aesthetic valor's, or as I call it: its good~enough~ness. I'd like to make a small digression here~ in the Judeo-Christian spirit of The Ten Commandments, the first commandment warns a person of faith against worshiping other gods than YHVH (or God of the Old Testament). When it comes to one's creative self-expression, the loud, critical, and, often punitive, inner voice demands our complete adherence to the illusory 'standard' of perfection AKA ~ good-enough-ness, which can only lead to our creative blockage. And that, My Friend, is putting a false, bullying idol before your authentic, peaceful, gentle, nurturing, and loving voice that champions your True gifts that you were born with and which's expression the world awaits.... But enough for digressions that, by the way, are NOT intended to promote any particular religious or theological view. I love exploring humans' connection to the Divine through a variety of religious experiences since time immemorial and I can't help myself but to 'connect the dots' here and there when it comes to the gift of one's creative self-expression that, in and of itself, is our connection to that timeless, universal part of us within...

...As for a more mundane subject matter, I just came back from the dog park and completely filled up the memory space in my camera with images of the summer saying its colorful 'good bye' in the prairie setting where Life never 'skips' its precious bit, even in a bone-chilling temperatures of Chicago winter.... If you ever witnessed dogs jumping into the the frozen-solid ponds, breaking through a thick layer of ice, just because it feels like a fun thing to do ~ you Know what I mean! I took couple dozens of shots which I'd like to 'play' with in my photo editing software later on, but in the mean time I'll share few originals of my trip and couple shots of two new paintings I'm working on simultaneously....

.... Please, share your creativity!.... that's how we come to know our gifts, by having a supportive witness~audience of our inner Treasures!

... that's all for a sample of dog park shots (including the photo from the top of this post)....

... a melancholic reminder of fall.... a foggy view from my patio last Saturday morning...

The above mixed media painting has gone through a lot of transformations up until now (reffer back to the previous post when the tissue paper and gesso gave birth to the richness of its layers and texture.... and it's still searching for its final expression...

I first applied a self-adhesive plastic wrap to the canvas before moving on to draw shapes with charcoal pencil and later cutting out selected shapes for deeper texture variation....

I drew free flowing shapes and later on ereased selected elements to create a design that's somewhat random, yet still captures the viewer's attention with a focal point...

Next, I cut out the 'background' parts of the plastic wrap for more definition of the composition.

Golden Fiber Paste is called upon for assistance to build a fill in and build a texture of the background.

I painted the background over the Fiber Paste layer with Golden Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide Heavy Body Acrylis paint.

The last step, so far, utilized Golden Polymer Medium (Gloss) poured out of a pointed tip plastic bottle, as 'drawing tool' to make some 'leafy' shapes...