Exploring Mediums

To me, art is about experimentation. Playing with materials and pushing the limits of what your mind can dream up is an adventure worth having. If you find yourself, as an artist, stuck in a creative rut then set your paint brush aside and look around for materials to experiment with. I even made an outdoor installment to cover a TV box on our deck.

Look how cool it turned out!

The past two years here are just a few materials I have enjoyed using:

1. Plastic bottle caps

2. Aluminum can tabs

3. Plastic bags

4. Computer keyboard keys

5. Wires, both encased and stripped

6. Self-drying clay

7. Tea leaves and tea bags to make pigments

8. Branches and pine fronds

9. Dirt and sand

10. Floeteral
    
    

May Art Exhibit: Traversing Life

Join me on May 6th at Academy Bank at the Crossroads for Traversing Life an exhibit of watercolor and acrylic paintings and some clay sculptures. Walk through the exhibit and enjoy the insights into inspiration, technique, and get full of visual diversity of color, pattern, technique, and thought. The theme is in celebration of our journey through life. Special thanks to Academy Bank for their commitment to the KC art community. So glad we can travel through life together!

I Lost Track on this One!

I Lost track of time, unaware of my surroundings, no concept of time… just the paintbrush, and the canvas. ..my eyes scanning and jumping focus back and forth from foreground to background… my brush switching from heavy to light strokes… my brain pulling images and shapes that define the background… while forming an image-laden jungle in the background.

In the foreground, the monstera philodendron grows, with smaller leaves just sprouting up from the bottom of the canvas while larger leaves reign visually supreme and claim and dominate the space.

This painting,“Manera Monstera”, was inspired by one of my favorite plants and it’s large canopy-like leaves. These lovely plants require a lot of space and require rich loose soil. In the painting, rather than having it grow in its natural habitat (like in humid tropical forests of Costa Rica) I painted it growing among things that keep it struggling and make it a challenge to stay alive much less grow. The background soil, sinews, brambles, insects, and other hard to find objects represent the struggles of life. To me the beauty lies in the contrast of the vibrant green leaves of this plant that thrives despite its surroundings.  I hope it can inspire others and serve as encouragement that beauty and life can thrive in the most challenging and difficult places of our lives.

Did you know?
“Manera” is the Spanish word for “Way”

The Background Matters

There are times, as an artist, it is easy to have a razor-sharp focus when detailing a particular subject. Like when I was working on this watercolor and ink of a Zebra. I was caught up with the Zebra having enough contrast and depth while still maintaining a sense of crispness and clean lines. It would have been easy to completely forget the background and leave the heavy off-white cold press paper blank. But, it would have been a mistake!

The background of this painting tells a story that is equally important to the viewer. While perhaps the colors are dark enough to recede and the Zebra stands out… a closer inspection shows that the background serves to both emphasize the main subject and to provide additional “story” to the piece.

YEP, BACKGROUNDS MATTER!!!

This background in particular is a collage of blues, greens, and purples that when further inspected and zoomed in appears like a topographical map. This is not a “happy accident,” like Bob Ross might say. This is a purposeful plan to draw your attention to further reflection… on color, form, and shape. Intentionally meant for you to get “lost in it” so to speak. The most enjoyable part for me to paint (and to appreciate) is the area where the colors meet the Zebra’s mane. They almost appear to melt or blend into the mane.

I hope you enjoy viewing this work. Don’t forget to check out the background too!!

The Value of the Work

My latest art project… took a very long time. I layered the paint, sanded the layer, layered some more, sanded more, and continued for a smooth, silky effect to this elephant. I call him “Elfon Musk” after being inspired by seeing a young male elephant in musk during our safari in South Africa. He basically was so annoyed with our vehicle that we had a stand off with him for what seemed like forever but was actually only about 30 minutes! What an imposing figure!! That’s probably why I choose large scale… a 48 x 36 canvas.

The creative process in this just further reinforces my strong belief that art is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. Perhaps that is why art, as a noun is so often referred to as a “work of art.” For the artist there is so much that goes on behind the brush, the process, methods, discipline, and the hard work required to create the final painting. I hope you budding artists, art lovers, and other creatives continue to persevere and be diligent, knowing for yourself the fulfillment and joy that comes from work!!

It is not my intent to imply that all art must be prescriptive and difficult. I understand and respect the beauty of simplicity in art. Although, personally, I am far more appreciative of the artist who chooses the more difficult challenges and pushes the boundaries of skills, material usage, etc.

I look forward to jumping in fearlessly into the next creation!