Artists Must Be Fearless

 

Different colors than I have been using, and they would not have been possible without a scosh of brown mush.

 

 

I think the main thing I learned from the art classes I have taken over the years is to be fearless.  Experiment with color.  Wipe off paint and see what happens when you add new texture.  Who said you can’t have two eyes on one side of a head?  Today, I took a perfectly good, but fairly bland painting and realized I didn’t want to “fix” it, I wanted to use it to start another painting.  Alcohol (not the drinkable kind), and  lots of brush strokes later and I had what all artists know as brown mush.  Brown mush is the stuff of legend among artists.  We all fear it.  We are taught that it is a sign that you have gone too far, and a painting is ruined.

I fearlessly reached for the toilet paper (okay, the visual does kinda ruin it), and dabbed mush away from the painting.  Then I added some new color, and a few hours later, this was the result:

 

 

 

How To Pack for a Camping Trip

While most people would suggest that you should pack necessities such as food water and perhaps a good book– not me. Instead, I made sure I had prepared at least four more background paintings so that I could have something to work on at the picnic table beside the camper. I can survive, for a very short while’ mind you, without food. But, without painting …
   I’ll be sure to post the results when our weekend with RVing Women is over.

I think that I shall never see…

A poem as lovely as an alcohol painting of a tree on Yupo paper!

Today’s painting.

Apologies to Joyce Kilmer, but after a night of sleeping with a cat on my face, the combination of cat dander and antihistamines meant the only way to stay off the couch this morning was by working on another painting. Thought I’d share some pics of the creation of this newest work. Enjoy. As always comments and shares are welcome. If you want to follow this blog, click on the big black ” in the right column.

The beginning

Background complete.

If you’ve done it right, by now your hands look like this!

Before the final details are added.

Closeup of tree with final detailing.

A Gallery of my Recent Work

I’ve collected lots of work since my recent obsession with alcohol inks and Yupo paper, so I thought I’d compile a few here for everyone to enjoy. Comments and criticism are welcome!

The secret of my style is simple, I outline the design in black ink to set it off, then outline that design in white gel pen to make it really pop. Sometimes I stare at the alcohol ink backgrounds for days before I see the design I want. If I don’t see a specific design, I often use the design that is there as a background for an acrylic painting. I don’t use any other colored pens except the occasional blender pen. Enjoy. Don’t forget to comment and share!