Made You Blink!

That's the feedback I got on this 4" x 4" chunky page that I did for a trader called LisaB at illustratedatcs.com. All she asked for was a zetti style card. I'm not really sure where the inspiration for this page came, but, I hope she likes it. It was created with watercolor and ink.






This is another card that I created just for fun. I started out as an interpretational piece and ended up being this "High Wire Cat Act". I don't know... it just kind of made me chuckle. It was created with ink, watercolor, acrylics and a tiny bit of collage for the clouds. I had fun making this one.

My next swap is called "Who Let the Dogs Out." As you can well imagine, the theme is all about dogs. I may try this technique for those cards... or maybe the loose style of artist Marita Freeman. I just love her brightly colored acrylics.

Thanks for stopping in. Until next time...

More chunky pages

Here are a few other pieces I have been working on. These "chunky pages" were created either for me or for a one on one trade with another artist. This format really appeals to me since it is larger than the traditional artist trading card.

"Kansas Farm Silos"

watercolor

While on a road trip last summer I spotted these unusual silos with their red and blue tops. On the flat Kansas landscape, they really caught my attention.

"Mashed Potatoes"
mixed media

This is dedicated to my mother-in-law, who recently broke her hip. Her favorite food is mashed potatoes.

Study for "Growth"
watercolor and ink

This was one of the precursers for the larger acrylic "Growth" image shown a couple of blogs ago. I still don't think I'm done exploring these shapes.

Sturgis Pair

"Sturgis Pair"

acrylics on canvas

While visiting Sturgis, South Dakota during the rally last year, I spotted this man and his dog (and wife) on their motorcycle. Although I am not a motorcycle person, I couldn't resist painting them. They were the perfect subjects to try out this new painting technique that I've been wanting to try with acrylics. I watered down the paint and applied it in a watercolor-is way and totally avoided using black, creating my shadows with color instead. I'm very pleased with the way it came out. From realism to abstracts... what's next you ask? Well, I wish I knew myself. I suppose it depends on what inspires me.

The Green Show

Some people are late bloomers. I'm one of them. After 35 years of painting and drawing, I finally have a painting in a show here in Denver. Not sure why it took me so long.

It was completely surreal walking into the gallery during the opening and seeing my piece up on the wall. I got a great location right next to the door as you enter the space and I thought I represented well with the other work on display. I didn't take best of show or even get an honorable mention, but, to me, it was amazing just being in the show.

The theme of the show is "The Green Show." Artists were to create pieces depicting what the color or the word meant to us. I have been experimenting with these circular shapes for a few years now, and so it just seemed natural for me to explore that more. They represent the earth, individuals, organisms or even cross cuts of trees. I wanted to stay with a positive feeling, thus the color choice (which seems a little off in these photos). Wendy says the color reminds her of watermelon. I like that. What the photos don't show is the texture I added with tissue and the newspaper swatches about earth day and being "green" under the paint. The word "green" is also peeking through on the lower left corner. A little detail I like to sneak in.

If you happen to be in Denver's Art District between now and May 24th, stop in at Core New Art Space and check out the show.

"Growth"

Acrylics and graphite on a reclaimed canvas

(in other words, I found it in a neighbor's trash)

This is a detail.