Spirit of the White Buffalo, Feb, 2016

I wanted to complete the raven and buffalo series with a piece on the white buffalo.  I chose to do this piece on the black paper with white ink and white pastel.  

Spirit of the White Buffalo, 9"x12", white ink, white pastel on black paper.

New Large Paintings Feb, 2016

I have been working on some new paintings in larger formats.  These are still mixed media acrylic paintings, but on much larger canvases than my usual pieces.  Hope you enjoy them.

24"x24" mixed media--background was applied with a VERY small (approximately 6-8") yarn MOP from Dollar General.  The mop was dipped in acrylic paint and then pounced on the stretch canvas.  Then I rolled the mop over the surface to soften the pounded marks.  I used the aqua and orange for the background.  The circular stroke was made with a (BRAND NEW) toilet brush that had a hollow handle so I pushed it on the opposite end of the mop.  By laying the canvas on the floor and using the long handle of the mop, there was a freedom to the brush strokes that was fun and playful.  I spritzed the bottom of the circular mark and let the paint run.  I then added the details to create "Spirit of the Leap of Faith" . 

"Spirit of the Mended Heart", 24"x36", Mixed media--scraped acrylic, acrylic, pastel, ink, embroidery thread.  This canvas was ordered through the mail and when it arrived it had a knife cut in the middle of it.  At first I thought I would paint, 'Spirit of the Broken Heart', but I decided I wanted it to be much more positive.  So I chose the Mended Heart and was really excited when I found some of my Mother's embroidery thread.  There is a quote I like that says something about God's light shining brightly through the cracks/broken parts of our heart.  

Detail of the 'mended' part of the heart.

Spirit of Spring Bursting Forth, 11"x15"Mixed Media--scraped acrylic, acrylic, white ink on watercolor paper.  I'm loving experimenting with the white ink on darker paint.  And I love the texture of the scraped acrylic on the watercolor paper.  

New Experimental Paintings--Feb., 2016

I have been having fun playing with some new techniques I've found on some u-tube videos.  Most of them are playing with background techniques.  Then I had to figure out how to add my style to these backgrounds to make the paintings my own.  It has been interesting and lots of fun and I am finding that the process if freeing my spirit!  

Most of the pieces are mixed media using acrylics, some pastels and inks on watercolor paper, 11"x15".  The watercolor paper picks up some interesting textures.  I am not sure if these are show quality, but some of them make me SO happy when I look at them.  It will be interesting to see how these processes impact my later paintings.  I hope you enjoy these.

(Well, I'm having trouble getting the photos to import into this site.  I will work on this in a few days.  Thanks for your patience.)

Small Spirit Painting, 1-20-2016

I have finished four 5"x7" Spirit paintings for four friends.  We are meeting next week and I want to give them each a piece of my art.  I have tried to choose the subject for each individual.  I hope they like them.

Spirit of the Hope of Spring--5"x7", mixed media:  acrylic, pastel, ink.

Spirit of the Heart of Gold--5"x7", mixed media:  acrylic, ink, metallic paint.

Spirit of Mountain Dreams--5"x7", mixed media: acrylic, ink, rice paper.

Spirit of the Cross #2--5"x7", mixed media:  acrylic, ink, lace (from my grandmother's curtain), pokeberry dye, wood.

Spirit of the White Raven, 1-13-16

I have completed the second raven piece, "Spirit of the White Raven".  I found this legend while researching the first raven painting.  I had never heard of the white raven before and found the legend to be beautiful.  (http://earthkeeper.freeservers.com/legend.htm, if you are interested in reading the whole legend)  I tried to incorporate a few of the main points of the story into the painting--the raven flying through the clouds gathering ice crystals that made him white; the relationship to the white buffalo, the loss of the white buffalo and the Creator's tears.  I hope you find both the legend and the painting to be interesting.

Spirit of the White Raven, 9"x12", mixed media--acrylic, ink, pastel on black paper.

Spirit of the Raven's Watch--1-10-16

I am experimenting with doing my Spirit paintings on black paper.  It is a totally different look and also a different way of looking at the concept.  This first piece is "Spirit of the Raven's Watch" and is a mixed media of acrylic, collage, ink and white ink, 9"x12".  Let me know what you think.

Spirit of Christmas #3--and His Light Shone Over All the Earth (2015)

This is the third in the series of my Christmas pieces, started the Christmas after I retired in 2013.  It shows the Christmas Angel/Star guiding us to the baby Jesus in the (cheese cloth) manger at the bottom right of the composition.  The baby is tucked down in the hay with only the top of His head and face showing out of the swaddling.  The word ‘emanuel’ is running vertical on the right side with the title, ‘and His light shone on all the earth’ running vertically in the left side.  The original piece is 8”x10”, mixed media of acrylic, pastel, ink, cheese cloth, and collage on illustration board.  This is the third in the series of my Christmas pieces, started the Christmas after I retired in 2013.  

 In this time of unrest in the world, may we all remember that God’s light will shine through the darkness and can touch all of our hearts with His love and joy and peace.  May you have a most blessed Christmas, enjoying all the miracles that surround your life and may you have MUCH GOODNESS to look forward to in the coming new year.