New Work. New Inspiration.

Hi there. How are you?

For the past month, my studio time has been very limited.  Life has simply gotten in the way! Finally, things are slowing down and are mostly back to normal.  It's time to get back to work!  I'm looking forward to a productive July.

An new abstract drawing.

This new original drawing is shown here with a virtual frame. Click to purchase!

Virtual Framing is Cool!

I just finished up this new piece last night. With the power of Photoshop, I was able to show it here in a "virtual" frame. Adding that frame gives it a little more polish. Don't you agree?

Inspired by a Walkabout

You may notice that this hole motif is new. It was inspired by something I noticed along my neighborhood walk the other day.  Light was breaking through the leaves on a tree to create this pattern on the sidewalk. I'm quite taken with this idea, so expect to see more in this style in the future!

Ballpoint pen, Prismacolor marker, and a white gel pen were used to create this abstract work. Click to purchase!

An Experiment with Color

I also did a little experimentation with Prismacolor marker last week. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you probably read/saw the struggle I had with this piece. I almost ruined it when I added the marker!

I shared this artistic misstep online. (I think it's good to show the good, bad, and the ugly sometimes!) I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback I received upon posting. Some liked it as was, others had suggestions on how rectify the composition. All that virtual love was inspiring, and I decided to give this piece another shot. The next morning, armed with some good suggestions, I went back into the studio. With just a little bit of white gel pen and a touch more black ballpoint, I was able to resolve this composition.

All three of these original drawings are now available in my shop. Click to purchase!

Now Available

All three of these new original pieces are available in my shop. They all measure 8.5" x 11" and would work as a trio or could stand alone. I've decided to offer these drawings unframed for a couple of reasons. Framed pieces are difficult and costly to ship and I also think it's nice to be able to tailor frames to your own taste and decor. This pieces were all intended to fit in a standard 8" x 10" frame, which are available everywhere.

One More Thing......

Would you like to purchase these pieces as prints? Do let me know and I will be happy to oblige. Thank you for your continued patronage friends!

Ciao.

Painting my Way Back

Hi there. How are you?

If you've been following me on Instagram or Facebook lately, you've seen that I been painting again. For the first time in at least 4 years, I've put brush to canvas.

Long before I was a mixed media artist, I was a painter. I liked to paint big, bold, and intuitively.

This was the last painting I worked on.  It was a  huge collaborative piece that Matt and I made back in 2009, shortly after we started dating. Entitled "Aloha", this piece measures 84" wide by 43" high and proudly hangs in our dining room. Prior to this piece, it had been years since I painted. I didn't really have a space to paint in and I was tired of the setup and clean up time required with painting. Especially with oils!

So now, the artistic tides have turned once again, and paint was calling to me.

In our studio there was a large canvas painted a flat aqua, that used to function as a faux headboard back in my bedroom. One day last week, I had a large block of time with nothing to do, and went to work on it.

At first, painting was slow going and it felt awkward.

I put this first coat of magenta down, and left it at that. After so many years of making stuff, I've learned that if the process doesn't feel good, it's best just to step away for a time.

The next day, I was back at it.

Things were beginning to flow. My painting felt less forced and more intuitive.

I added a little blue the next day.

I intended to add more, but had to go to my day job. When I came back to it the following day, it looked more complete and whole, closer to completion than it had to me the prior day. As I've talked about at length, deciding when a composition is finished is always always a struggle for me. It's especially challenging with abstract works. I hate to overdo, but I don't want things to look unfinished either.

I decided not to overdo. So instead of laying down a lot more paint, I just fixed up a couple of spots that were bothering me and called it done.

Here is the finished piece.

 I took this canvas outside to take these shots, so that the color is more accurate. It's not easy to photograph things in my basement studio! In these photos you can see that the negative space is not white, but actually the pale aqua.

I may look at this painting for a while and decide to rework, but for now, I'm satisfied. It was a good first dive back into painting.

Do you like this piece? Get in touch if you'd like to purchase!

Ta-ta for now!

Bird Alert!

Hi there. How are you?

I've been neck deep in art fair prep. All studio time has been spent pumping out new work for my first show of the year. (If you're in the St. Louis area, do come see me at the Art Fair at Laumeier Sculpture Park over Mother's Day weekend.)

I've made a flock of new birds. Well, maybe not a whole flock, but some! I've been having a tough time capturing the actual look of the graph paper on these pieces. It either shows up a little too strong or drops out entirely when I try even out the white balance. Even so, I'm still really liking working on gridded paper and have done most of my new work on triangular isometric paper.

This new collection is a bit more minimalist than those I have done in the past. I'm trying to simplify in my art these days. I have to constantly fight not to over-do things. To read about how I create these birds, click HERE.

All of these new pieces are for sale, but are not listed on Etsy. If you are interested in purchasing, do give me a shout!

Hope things are well and springy in your world. Ta-Ta for now!

P.S. Do you Pinterest? I've got a great "Bird Nerd" board going there. Go see and follow along!