I was so fortunate to take an alcohol ink workshop from one of my old students, Theresa Gram. She gave us a great price for the workshop and then sent all the supplies HOME with us! It was a tremendous offer, workshop and so much fun to boot! We worked on black and white ceramic tiles using many techniques. I LOVED the MAGIC of this medium. I truly felt 5 years old when the wonder of art IS pure magic!
These are the beginning tiles I made at the workshop. The various techniques were (top left, down and then up to the right): 1. using water with the ink to give a more transparent background. 2. blowing/running wash. 3. (square) applied ink then spritzed with alcohol leaving a wonderful texture. 4. black tile using WHITE ink then dropping color into the white and blowing with a straw. 5. (larger rectangular tile) used finger tip to 'draw' the petals of the flower and then outlined detail with small brush.
These were all the supplies that Theresa gave us to take home! Left is samples of different papers that could be used with the alcohol inks; top center is the spray can of air and the blue, red, yellow inks and a blending solution, the sample tiles I made and the white tiles that I didn't get to (4); right is the storage box and 2 brushes ! JACKPOT! Thank you Theresa!
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
These are the beginning tiles I made at the workshop. The various techniques were (top left, down and then up to the right): 1. using water with the ink to give a more transparent background. 2. blowing/running wash. 3. (square) applied ink then spritzed with alcohol leaving a wonderful texture. 4. black tile using WHITE ink then dropping color into the white and blowing with a straw. 5. (larger rectangular tile) used finger tip to 'draw' the petals of the flower and then outlined detail with small brush.
These were all the supplies that Theresa gave us to take home! Left is samples of different papers that could be used with the alcohol inks; top center is the spray can of air and the blue, red, yellow inks and a blending solution, the sample tiles I made and the white tiles that I didn't get to (4); right is the storage box and 2 brushes ! JACKPOT! Thank you Theresa!
