Help ... I can't stop ...

Hi Everyone ...

Hope all is well in your little corner of the world.  I'm missing connecting with you through Photo Art Friday and seeing all your creatively-edited photographs.  I'm still planning on bringing PAF back for June 14th (June 13th for early-birds).  The optional theme or challenge for that date is at the end of this post.

In the meantime, I'm still caught up in a painting frenzy - experimenting with as many new styles, tools and techniques as I can manage.  I tend to get a little obsessive when it comes to my creative outlets.  Hope to have it under control soon!  :)

 Here's a view of the studio from a couple of days ago.

 Backgrounds done ... now what?  Creates a lot of excitement and even a bit of anxiety as I face the 'blank' canvas!  :)

Here's an easy one that's finished.  While easy, it does take thought and time to choose the right colors and divisions.  The thin black line was suggested by my personal art consultant (my supportive DH!) and it adds just the right touch in my opinion.

Here I took a little 'walk on the wild side'.  I knew I wanted to pair shocking pink and a vivid orange, but it took a while to get the proportions devoted to each color the way I wanted them.  On an impulse I mixed paint with a special pouring medium and let it flow down from the top.  Probably ruined the entire piece.  But I'm learning what I like, what's possible and above all I am slowly learning that I have to know when to stop!  It's a bit like learning when to stop adding ingredients to a favorite dish!  Knowing when the piece is complete and that I need to STOP seems to be my biggest challenge right now!


If you take the time to add a comment to this post, I'd love to hear what you have been up to of late.  Please take a moment to share!  :)   I'm happy I took some time off but I'm really feeling out of the loop.


Here's a lovely little texture for you:

To access your free download of pdpa Eau de Cologne texture, just smile and click here!

So, since Photo Art Friday link-up gallery returns in only three weeks (June 14th), we need an optional theme or challenge for the photo art to be showcased ... Hmmmm ... how about:

Dreamy or Ethereal

Looking forward to seeing all your submissions to our virtual photo-art gallery in June!

... clinging ...

Pulled this piece of photo art out of my files for you.  I am still painting - and loving it!  It's been incredibly cold here in the northeast for this time of year - so I've had a great excuse to stay in the studio painting and to not work in the garden.

Temps are supposed to get back to normal soon, so if you are looking for me this weekend, I'll be in the garden. Wish you could drop by ... there are lots of sweet spots on our land for sitting, a hammock for dreaming and a babbling brook to sooth your soul. I'd bring you a lemon-aide and we could chat while you relax and keep me company and I weed and plant some annuals.....  One can dream ...   :)


NOTE:  PARC subscribers - please complete your downloads of textures as I will be closing the site tomorrow.  I've been seeing many of the textures released during your subscription in various pieces of your photo art over the past few weeks and it really pleases me to see how you use them.  It's been great fun ... thank you!

Checking in ...

When I look at the calendar, I see that I have not posted anything here for a couple of weeks.  Have to admit I've really been enjoying some time away from blogging.  In fact, I really had to talk myself into sitting in front of the computer today.  My body balks at sitting and my mind demands that I go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.

But here I am ... because my heart tells me I must maintain my connection with all you wonderful people.  Right now, YOU are what I miss about blogging.  I hope you are all well.

First, let me say to Photo Art Resource Cache subscribers that the full subscription of textures is up and waiting for you to download.  If some of you had trouble with the downloads recently, the problem has been fixed.  The site will close on May 15th, so grab your textures while you can and enjoy!  

A couple of you asked for a peek at my work (paintings) and my studio - so here goes ... Now don't get too excited ...  My studio is a just a portion of our large, finished and well-lit garage and my adventures in painting are definitely more therapeutic than artistic ...

Here is where I play with paints, brushes and spatulas.  I love texture (you already know that!) and find using spatulas (more than brushes) suits what I like to do (and am capable of doing).

This is the same collage as above, but with some text added to it.  The canvas in the upper left of this collage is now a painting hanging in a stairwell in our home.  The painting of two women was framed given to my eldest daughter for her birthday.  The two red pieces have evolved since this photo was taken and are waiting to be framed and hung.  The empty blue canvas laying on the table has been finished and is waiting for my son to pick it up. (You might be better able to read some of the words in the collage if you click on the image to enlarge it.)

Not the best photograph, but it gives you a bit of an idea of what became of the canvas in the upper left of the previous collage ...  I intended for the edges to look scuffed and textured.  Really ... I did!  This painting is really much brighter and more dynamic than this photo shows.  Really ... it is!

Canvases in various states of completion.  The blue one is one requested by my son - 'wide, narrow and full of blues' were his words.

 Here's a clipped view of the finished Pollock-esque piece for my son.

The black figure on a red background above is a study of a famous painting by Matisse and I am calling it, 'Etude Matisse'.  The one with a similar figure to the left of it has been claimed by my middle daughter and her partner and is now set off in a great gold frame with white matte.

Do you see the remnants of wool Berber rugs on my studio floor?  My husband installed them so that my feet would not get cold.  The garage is heated and rugs are totally impractical, but I don't complain when he is so thoughtful!  :)

Here is the painting for my middle daughter, sitting on a table in poor lighting in the studio, waiting for her to pick it up.  I saw a little something in it I wanted to adjust, so she could not take it home when she first saw it.

So ... as you see I just try my hand at different styles of painting and see what happens. And, yes, because I am a neophyte painter and have not yet discovered my own style, I sometimes copy master works to try and get a feel for their style. That is a common technique of art teachers, btw. (It can be a very demoralizing exercise, however!)

Right now I am trying my hand at some Rothko-style pieces.  It looked like it would be really easy, but as with many things, appearances can be deceiving.  I am finding it to be much more of a challenge than I anticipated.  You can see examples of Rothko's paintings here.

If I can paint, anyone can and I highly recommend giving it a try both as a creative and a therapeutic endeavor. If you love the form, color, texture and self-expression of photography and digital photo-art why not dip your toe in the waters (colors)?  Be warned, however, there are no 'Undo' buttons!  :)

Here's a free texture for you.  It does great things to skies, hence its name 'Sky Love'. The download button will be removed in a couple of weeks so download it while you can.

Download