loves, it's been a super hot and humid summer. and while i miss all the hiking and hammock lollygagging and other outside frolicking that this prevents for me, i'm loving all the indoor painting time. i've been busy splashing some color on canvas in between dayjobwork and organizing the studio and all the other bits and pieces of life.
the piece above is a reworking of a practice canvas (the surface on which i try out colors and marks and techniques). it's always funny to me how they end up being some of my favorites; probably because i'm not thinking too hard about what it needs to be. the stage above is the hardest part of the mixed-media process for me: when i am in absolute love with the way it looks, but i know it still needs some evolving. i don't want to let go of any of it.
that sounds a lot like life.
i finally made the decision about which parts would show. what i love about this process is that all of the beauty and mistakes are still there inside and the piece wouldn't be or look the same without them. this one is still in process, resting, waiting for more inspiration.
i finally got a proper mixed media journal. and above is my first spread. i love that the background is completely comprised of leftover paint and paper from other works.
i am completely in love with the stage of this work. it's the biggest canvas i've worked on, a commissioned piece. i'm stuck here and completely in love with the colors. it keeps telling me it wants to be something other than what i intended.
summer mornings on gypsy hill are the best. there is this moment when the sun just peeks over the treeline and rainbow rays beam through the forest. they are soft and intense at the same time. i love love love to paint outside.
a few months ago, i wrote a spontaneous poem where i'm from (you can read it here). i love it so much i've decided to capture a few lines of it in a series of smaller art pieces. the work above was a piece a did a few years ago which i wasn't very happy with. i reworked it a bit and now i love it.
the piece below is inspired by the lines, i am from strong women who are not afraid of dirt or silence. it features my paternal grandma, great-grandma and great-great-grandma before they made the journey west to california during the dust bowl.
