Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas

8x6in oil on canvas panel $140. SOLD

Artist Note

It is hard to believe

 another year has passed.

I am not making any 

New Years Resolutions 

as I am grateful for so many

aspects of my life.

I am learning to be a 

little more forgiving of 

my shortcomings. 

What a shame it 

has taken me so long

to get to understand that

just like my paintings,

some parts of me 

are better than others! 

 Also, I can correct, erase, 

and improve

when I can "see it."

I am truly grateful for all 

my blogging friends,

and to all the artists

who honor me 

by allowing me to be their mentor.

I love painting and teaching.

They both satisfy me on a deep

emotional level.

 I THANK YOU.

Wishing you all the 

very best for 2017.

...catch

these 

blessings 

and hug!

Tis The Season...

Wishing
for
PEACE

and JOY 
in your heart

during this very special season.

Blessings and thanks
for your 
wonderful support..

Julie

Moonrise - Ink On Copper.

Moonrise

6x20 in alcohol ink on copper SOLD

Artist Note.

These images are from 

my Avian November show

This one got lots of attention.

The copper gleams through 

and creates an inner light.

I really liked working on it.

As I mentioned 

in a previous post,

I pushed myself to try 

doing some creative work

for my avian series.

I KNOW

I was totally creative with 

the one below.

The nest is actually
made of rust...

the bottom of a rusty bucket.
I wanted to use the walls
of the bucket
for a different project so

gently tapped out the bottom 

and when it fell to the ground

I saw it shaped like a nest.

I treated the rust and mounted it after 

I had painted the background shapes.

  It looked like a nest to me, but I

felt I wanted to pop an egg in.

Painting the egg was the

hardest part. 

If it was wrong 

then there would be 

no way to correct it.

(click to enlarge)

Rusty Home

18x21' treated rust mounted on

black acid-free foam board
painted with acrylic.
below - close-up of rust piece.

I was pleased I could break 

out of my usual imagery.

Waiting - watercolor on Yupo

Hoping
(Window from Chimayo, New Mexico)

8x10in watercolor on Yupo  SOLD

Chimayo is famous for
El Santuario de Chimayo
and the documented healings
from the "sacred earth"
The link is worth the visit.

Artist Note.

Watercolor on Yupo
is pretty remarkable,
 allowing for stress-free
painting due to the
clean lifting ability

Different techniques
are fun to try...
like in the one below

Threesome

9x7  watercolor on Yupo  SOLD

Life Cycle

l

Life Cycle
13x10in mixed media on paper SOLD

Artist Note

Yes - a little different for me but
I did enjoy using acrylics
in this piece.
I love the colors of turquoise
and earth tones together.

My process...
after layering acrylic
colors and disturbing the surface
all over with the fracturing
technique,
I restored certain outlines
with
water-soluble artist's crayon.


I have been really busy.
I enjoyed a trip to
Art Basil
in Miami where I saw lots
of work, I wouldn't call art.

I also saw many brilliant 
paintings
which fed my soul.

I came back refreshed
and went right into
my fracturing workshop.
Lots of talented painters
with great attitudes.
They were all established
artists so a lot of good paintings
 came out of it.

It is always great for my moral
when I can help an artist
find a new direction to their
painting style. A great thing
about the fracturing technique
is you can use it a little or a lot.
It is really neat to see how
they adapt to their own
personal preferences.

Thank you for trusting
me to inspire you,
 Brenda, Kay, Carol,
Ana, Marilyn, Lindy and Candi.

Life is good.

Family Time

Family Time

11x15" Acrylic on paper SOLD

Wishing everyone a

Happy and Peaceful Thanksgiving.

Bouquet of Yellow

Bouquet of Yellow

6x8in oil on canvas panel $140.

Purchase HERE

Artist Note.

It was fun to get back to the 

fracturing technique in oils.

I find that although I use the 

same technique in other mediums,

only the acrylic comes 

close to the same effect as oils.

Another from my avian show.

Waiting  13 x10"

acrylic SOLD

Quite a fun one to paint

pushing into the abstract.

I used the fracturing 

technique a lot

It doesn't really show,  

but first I wrote 

all over the white surface 

with my thoughts 

about the avian world 

and then painted over them.

Small areas of it

appear here and there.

Sunny Lunchtime

Sunny Lunchtime

12x9in alcohol ink on yupo

Available HERE

Artist Note.

This one looks a bit like a batik

to me. I loved the way it 

turned out. 

The photo was taken in 

my daughter's garden where she 

had the tallest sunflowers

I have ever seen.

I did another watercolor 

on yupo with the same theme 

only it was a goldfinch

playing a camouflage game

with the sunflowers.

Edgar & Poe plus Nevermore!

 Edgar & Poe

10x8in acrylic on paper sold

Nevermore 

10x8in acrylic on paper sold

Lovebirds

11x14 acrylic/watercolor on paper sold

Artist Note

I really enjoyed doing these 

three pieces and am disappointed 

that the images do not show the 

mellow feeling of cohesiveness

I see/feel in them.

 These paintings were 

started as random 

mono-gesso prints

see HERE

for a link to the process

if interested. 

The only difference

 is, I used paper 

instead of board

The emerging images I saw

in my magination

 came out of the three values,

(black to white)

and were already 

very much 

 like birds.

I used lighter colors to develop

the negative background 

with the ravens 

and darker tones

to bring out the white of

the doves.

  Creating the 

birds out of a messy

blob

was fun.

I made a stamp from 

corrugated board for the 

bottom areas of the 

two different raven pieces. 

I took some picture of ravens 

through

a picket fence once and 

that has stayed with me.

I developed the Lovebird nest

in  my usual way. Love the leaf

near the front!

The acrylic paint dries 

slower than the inks so some 

interesting mark making 

 and layering can go on.

Working on pieces 

which are not planned, but 

learning to respond to 

what I saw in my imagination,

added to the feelings of 

discovery and excitement

which are important to me...

especially when working 

on a large series. 

Prevents the sameness

- the security!

Berry Picking - and other stuff

Berry Picking

13inx10in  Alcohol Ink on Yupo  SOLD

Artist Note

Painting a series allows an artist

to experiment freely with 

different media. The Alcohol Inks 

were a real adventure into

the unpredictable.
I enjoyed it.
I had 9 out of thirty paintings
done with the inks.

Below I am looking happy
that all the work was over
on the night of the opening.

My house became a real mess due 

to a knee injury which 

prevented easy access to the 

steps to my studio.

Guest room

and dining room below.

The kitchen table was worse

so no pic of that!

Invaluable lack of complaining 

and total support from hubby

earned him a few gold stars!

Life is getting back to normal.

Everything picked up and clean.

Daily painting has resumed.