Painting As Therapy

I found out today, after waiting three weeks for results, that I tested negative for Lyme disease but the lab failed to test for the other tick borne diseases. When I saw the doctor three weeks ago I expressed my concern that I thought I might have babesiosis this time. And I still don't know if that is the case.  Guess I should be thankful that it isn't Lyme this time. (Though it could still be; negative results are not a guarantee that it isn't present and active.) Have to go for new lab work. Sigh...

In the meantime, I have been pushing through my days, doing what I can and resting when I need to.
I did start the Cosmos Flowers mixed media paintings on Tuesday. I've completed the first and am working on the second today. Here is a progress shot:

I'm also developing ideas for some collages. Here is a shot of that:

Garden Songbirds Set 4 Completed

Back in February I began another set of collage backgrounds for the Garden Songbird Silhouette series I was working on. I finally had the opportunity to finish this set.

Evokes Springtime, don't you agree?

 

These are available for sale. Contact me via email or visit my Etsy site. Both links are to the right hand side.

 

More Garden Songbirds

As I've posted previously, I am enjoying creating mixed media collage paintings lately. Since re-organizing my studio last June, I had planned to spend the winter months creating collages to use as backgrounds for paintings or prints. I have more paper of all types and ephemera than I will ever be able to use up!

While working on the Garden Songbird Series, I kept coming up with different papers and colors to try. Here are two sets I've just completed.

With these, I began adding old loan payment stubs which are stamped with the date the payment was made. I found these among the papers my grandmother saved. I'm not sure what the loan was for, but it was paid off between 1977 and 1979. It looks like she made weekly payments. She probably made weekly trips to the bank to deposit her paycheck and made a payment on the loan while she was there. Since each date is unique, I have decided to use them to name each mixed media painting. Also added to these collage paintings are handwritten notes of many types which I retrieved from the recycling basket over the years. These include computer programming homework dating back to 1997 when my husband returned to school to study that. Also included are calligraphy practice done by my daughter and music notes from when my son took bass guitar lessons. I have also added pieces of the many to-do lists and other notes I write on pieces of scrap paper. These may be obscured under the colored tissue paper or the paint applied on top, but I know they are there. Working with these pieces of family history, I am connected to my family, even when they are not physically with me. 

These six mixed media collage paintings are available at my Etsy shop.

Garden Songbirds Mixed Media Collage Paintings

Enjoying the process of creating the mixed media collage paintings of the foxgloves as well as the finished product, I decided to use this technique again for some small bird images.

Beginning with pages cut from old books on birding, assorted ledger papers, snippets of decorative paper and hand written notes, these were glued to matboard.

 

Next I applied torn pieces of assorted Asian fiber papers. On top of that I added line drawings of garden songbirds. The first two came from the drawing it did for Birdsong and two other monoprints. I have also used this drawing for the title page in a visual journal. Wanting to make this a trio, I added the finch-like bird. I was originally going to paint the birds brown, but decided to make it more spring-like so used a robin's egg blue acrylic paint.

Garden Songbirds I

Garden Songbirds II

Garden Songbirds III

I am happy to say that this set of three has found a new home.

Foxgloves - Latest Work

About a month ago I began a series of three mixed media paintings. The subject is foxgloves, the wonderfully old-fashioned English cottage flower equally at home in the perennial border or herb garden.  Working from a sketch and photographs and using some favorite materials, this is what I created.

 I began by making a collage of old book pages, ledger paper and hand written notes. 

 
Over these papers I glued hand colored archival tissue papers.

Did the base drawing.

Added gouache on top of the drawing, more colored pencils, final fixative, two coats of matte acrylic varnish.

An Attitude of Gratitude Journal - Appreciation

Continuing along with the month long Attitude of Gratitude Journal challenge, here is Day 29:

 

Today's technique challenge is to incorporate a decorative paper napkin. Here the top and middle layers were adhered to the journal page with acrylic matte medium. Simple and elegant. 

What do you appreciate most in life?

My response: The simple things - a smile, a hug, the sunshine, birds.The ability to use words and actions to convey my thoughts, feelings and appreciation for the people and experiences I have had in and throughout me life. (May I take every opportunity to do so.)

An Attitude of Gratitude Journal - Dreams, Wishes and Travel

Continuing along with the month long Attitude of Gratitude Journal challenge, here are Days 26 and 27:

Day 26 is about Dreams and Wishes for the future. Day 27 is about Travel. One of the things I wish to be able to do in the future is travel out west to see the grandeur that exists there. The photograph above is from an issue of The Nature Conservancy Magazine. The landscape is somewhere in Utah. Gorgeous!

The technique challenge for Day 26 is to make your own "washi tape". Another product I do not have so am skipping this one. Day 27's technique challenge is to use an art medium you rarely do. I chose my Derwent tinted charcoal and pastel pencils for this exercise, but wasn't sure how to incorporate them. I wrote out the quotes, scriptures and responses to the prompts. Looking at the whiteness on the page, I decided to do a quick sketch of the scene in the photo.The left page will receive the pigment of the charcoal and pastels as the pages are pressed and rubbed together with use.

Just two more days to complete!

An Attitude of Gratitude Journal - Creation

Continuing along with the month long Attitude of Gratitude Journal challenge, here is Day25:

Today's technique challenge is to use a glue stick as a resist. I tried it and it didn't work. Maybe because I didn't have the brands used in the demo video. I decided to try acrylic matte medium instead of the glue (top of page). I applied it through a stencil and let dry. Using Derwent Inktense color blocks and Niji brushes, I applied color over the matte medium and wiped off with a damp paper towel when dry. Applied the second color on top.
I also tried the Vaseline resist technique (bottom right), since I was unable to use it on Day 11. I really like this technique!

Autumn's Bounty - Milkweed Seedpods

Week 3 of Fundamentals of Natural Science Illustration: Autumn's Bounty focused on seedpods. I was attracted to one particular branch of milkweed seedpods because the inside of the pod was tinted pink.  I have collected many milkweed seedpods for papermaking and have never seen one tinted like this one was. I thought it was stunning! Here is my rendition of it.

Asclepias incarnata seedpods

The assignment was to complete one part in graphite and the rest in a combination of micron pen, walnut ink and colored pencil.