The end of a beginning

I will describe these in more detail in the next few days.

I accepted the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge group by Leslie Saeta on January 1. It was me setting the course to add more joy through art to my daily life. A promise to get better at time management to allow for art. An opportunity to explore a new medium, to make new friends and to renew a commitment to blog daily. I finished my 31st tile last night. Painting daily is quickly becoming a routine and the DESIRE to push other things aside to sit at the easel. Art is uplifting. Even when I become my worst critic the exercise of creating takes me to my happy place. These tiles are some of my favorites. Some represent a form such as a landscape or flowers and I am comfortable when I can attach a label. Others challenge my need to label and are simply abstract; a combination of colors I found interesting.

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Catching up…AGAIN!

Day 21 Sunflower 2

Day 24 Over the Rainbow

Day 22 Sunflower Sunset

Once again I find myself behind on posting my daily 30 in 30 challenge tiles. I choose to take my cue from Project 365 where there are no negative points when I fail to make my goal to post daily and gold stars when I do. Today is a gold star day. 🙂
I have been faithful to paint just not faithful to post. I have been a little discouraged when I attempt to upload my photo to the 30 in 30 web page as it times out before it posts. So I will share here and not sweat the small stuff. 🙂
Day 21 Sunflower 2.
This is my second attempt at sunflowers and still not thrilled but I keep reminding myself it is a process and a journey, and not necessarily a destination.

Day 22 Sunflower Sunset

Day 25 A Leaf of One

This tile began as a sunflower, hence the title.  I had a lot of ink on the tile and the sunflower looked terrible. I opted to make lemonade. The AI groups refer to these as dreamscapes.  I am still feeling my way around this process.

Day 23 Quilter’s sky

Day 23   Quilter’s sky

i began by dropping random colors of AI hoping to try my hand at purely random abstract.  Before long, I “named” the sun and all I could see was a another landscape.  It seemed incomplete so I decided to wipe it out then this evolved. Funny how art just HAPPENS.

Day 24. Over the Rainbow

Since my last attempt at abstract didn’t work, I tried again. This time placing the rainbow spectrum ink colors in a single row diagonally across the tile.  Finally, something I didn’t have to “name” and force to BE something.

Day 25. A leaf of one

i follow a collage artist who posted this inspiration photo of a leaf on the pavement. I tried to not fussy it to much.  The yellows got a little muddied so this one is on my to do again list.

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Day 19 & 20 Push On

Yesterday we finally got back to our Monday After School Art class. The weather last week kept us from resuming our schedule on the 12th so it felt good to have 22 students filling the room. When I finally got home after the gym and supper, I sat down and inked out these two gems. The daisy is okay. I worked in the negative space something my friend, Regina, keeps challenging me to do. I think I will stamp some word designs over the top of the background. It is after all only a tile and what’s the worst that can happen. I don’t like it and I make another! It is all about the journey.
Day 20 on the other hand, has me grinning from ear to ear! I LOVE the result. I had used sharpies to ink up the daisy but I used AI straight from the bottles to lay out the sunflower. It was so exciting to watch it evolve. I added some turquoise and purple to the background but didn’t like the way it detracted from the flower. I used my aquabrush filled with alcohol to lift off all but the faintest hint of color. I think it could use a little more dark brown in the center and perhaps a petal or two lapping over the center but I think it is best to just paint another with some of those intentions. Especially since I foresee a bidding war between my daughter, my mom’s sister and her friend, Joni!

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Day 17 and 18

I am having a blue day. It is Sunday. I should be excited about the privilege to go to church. I tried to get out of bed and shower. I tried to rationalize this was unnecessary and unreasonable. But for now, I concede. It is what it is. Perhaps I am just overwhelmed. Too many different thoughts swirling around in my head. At least if I post day 17 and 18 art tiles, I can put a check in the “to post” box and try starting my day afresh.
Fire in the sky is going to be another favorite of mine. I am considering the addition of a few outlined winter trees but I haven’t committed yet. Will it improve it or destroy it? One more thing to swirl around.
The flowers I called Vibrancy. I am still exploring abstract so in spite of my best efforts, it takes on form. I am consistently growing more pleased with the end result though. The first day or two, everything was forced as I tried to make the free form, unpredictable medium of alcohol ink conform to my more rigid intentions. Vibrancy is clearly a pot of flowers but it began as blobs of purple and butterscotch and only took on form as the result of flowing inks.

Vibrancy

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Rising sun day 14

Creating abstract art is so foreign to me but I am enjoying the process of experimenting and learning to let go and let it be.  I don’t have to name everything and every mark doesn’t have to be planned. It is enough to play and see what happens.

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Nice ice day 15 & 16 too

I am following several AI groups and a fellow artist posted a picture she had taken of her windshield on a cold frosty morning. It seemed like the perfect challenge to see if I could replicate it (see photo) I used Adirondack stream and wild

plum plus several shades of black and blue sharpies, alcohol and Saran Wrap. It was the first time I had played with the wrap on the tiles. It was a lot of trial and error because the wrap smooshes the color and causes great lines but if the ink is too wet when you lift it, it all flows back to a puddle. Too dry and there is no visible crease. I thought I could twist and turn the edge of a credit card to create the funny star effects but I wasn’t very successful. I did learn that I like the way the “dirty” Saran Wrap left a little added color behind every time I laid it over the top of the ink. Like we say, it’s a journey.

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Day 13 Spring dream

Well now I am up to date. Hoping I can stay that way.  This is a simple tile and sometimes simple is okay. It is the hope of spring on a dreary winter’s day. 

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Backtracking Day 7,8, and 9

I realized it would be wise to number my daily submissions in the 30/30 challenge.  However when I laid them out, I saw that I was short a tile.  Not only was a short posting to Leslie Saeta’s blog, I am three days behind posting here.

Day 7. A friend posted this picture of her pug snuggled up on a day when the temperature had hit single digits.  I loved his expression but when I sketched out his face I realized I had started to big and there wasn’t room for the cover.  This will definitely be one of my try again projects.

Day 8  I needed a break from my less than perfect pug so I kept it simple and played, letting the AI do as it wished.  The shapes seemed to be flowers so I added a short vase and it is one of my favorites.

Day 9. The forgotten tile.  I tried stamping an image with Stazon ink.  It is OK but it gets a little lost in the background.  You have to start somewhere so for a first try, I can live with it.

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Day 12 plus

I got busy yesterday and didn’t post my 11th project of my 30 in 30 challenge. Trust me, I had it painted. This art stuff takes time! Ha! I used to be an avid reader but once I started a book I felt compelled to finish it, no matter what the hour or what other projects needed to be done. I am finding I have the same obsessive tendencies with this challenge. Once I sit down, I start the “what happens if” moments and before I know it a SIGNIFICANT amount of time has passed. I had such rave reviews to the abstract-ish tile I completed for day ten, I set about to see if it was just an accident or if I could create another. The jury is still out on that decision. I took several progress pictures because AI reacts to every little adjustment and can quickly evolve into less than what you planned or if you are lucky, more than you expected. Day eleven, had I posted, is another sunset. It is okay but looks a little forced. Just another reason the try again. Day 12 is purely an abstract. See, I CAN do this abstract thing. I dropped AI on the tile added some alcohol and blasted away with my electric data duster. I picked up the tile to add more but I took a good look at it and realized, I LIKED IT. What do you think?

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Graying Gracefully

Day six of the 30 in 30 and I continue to be captivated by this medium. I drew Julie but wasn’t satisfied with the shape so I spritzed it heavily and before I could wipe it off decided I liked what was happening! Even though Julie is black she is also quite gray now. I liked the suggestion of color as opposed to the heavy color I used for Tucker. It doesn’t quite capture her personality so I am certain I will be doing this one again. After all it IS only day six!

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