An Exploration

Exploring a Detail from a previous painting.  

I sold a large painting last year that I unfortunately didn't document.  It was an encaustic painting that continued my use of paper cast ammonites.  I do have some shots of the exhibit which includes the piece but I wish I had pictures of it for my portfolio.  I hope I'm never so happy for a sale again that I don't take the time to photograph my work!  

Anyway, this painting is from a small portion of that painting.   I wanted to explore the surface I had created a little further.  This surface is a cradle board I had purchased from jerrysartarama.com.  I built up the surface with balsa and bass woods I had from a previous project.  

The surface was primed with encaustic gesso and I began to layer wax and pigment onto the surface.  I enjoyed the process of carving back into the piece to add oil pigments.  I think I'll create at least on more painting in this vein before I move on.  While I felt like I had added a ton of color to this piece now that I can see it as a photograph it still basically reads as raw sienna.  That's another reason to remember to document my work.  That 'one degree of separation' helps me look objectively at my creations and hopefully improve.  

Coming in the next few months I'll be doing some vlogging and youtube videos for people who are interested in watched my process.  I hope they'll inspire my followers to create and explore.  

March Madness - making a miniature garden

April 11, 2016

I've been interested in making miniature art pieces lately.  A friend gave me a tea cup and I decided to make a small group of daffodils inside.

I did lots of reading and tried several tutorials.  One good source for making miniature plants is found at about.com.

The daffodils made of paper and wire are set in needle felted wool.  There is a small piece of Styrofoam inside so the flowers are secure.  I didn't want to damage the tea cup so I made the insert to be removable.  I like this idea and in my next tea cup I hope I can take advantage of having some 'hidden art' beneath the 'ground'.

Today I'm making my first miniature roses for my next tea cup.

There are two still 2 weeks left to see my pieces in an exhibit in downtown Fredericksburg called Not By The Book.  Please visit Water Street Studio.   Unfortunately, the studio is closing but it is well worth the visit.


More next time!