Comfort Cottage

Be Kind To Your Dreams

This is a special post in honor of the fourth anniversary of Pink Saturday.  For the past four years, Beverly at How Sweet The Sound has been bringing hundreds of sweet and creative bloggers together in a celebration of all things pink.  I've come to believe that our weekly virtual gatherings  have far more to offer than a love of pink.  They are a celebration of life and friendship.  Each person who participates brings to the table his or her own special corner of the world.  It is here that we learn both how we are different, and how we are the same.  To all of the friends I've made, from every corner of the globe,  Happy Pink Saturday!!!

Over the years, we've shared so much.  I've come to view my world from a completely different perspective.  Everything I see and do becomes something I want to share with all of you.  My latest piece of art and the message it brings is for you.

 

 

Be Kind To Your Dreams

10" x 10"

Mixed Media on Canvas

 

To join our birthday celebration, just click on the Pink Saturday icon in my right sidebar.  I hope you have a lovely weekend!

 

Until next time,

 

Rise

I have a new mixed-media painting to show you, and I'm very excited about it.  Those of you who have become familiar with my art have probably noticed that there is not a face to be found in all of my works (At least, not a human one).  To quote Emerson, "Unless you have tried to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow."   Today, it was time to grow.

 

Rise

11" x 14"

Mixed Media on Canvas

 

I used gel medium to adhere various vintage ephemera to the canvas.  This was followed by sponging/tapping/splattering acrylic gouache.  I lightly penciled in the face before I painted it.  I added the bird, vines, flowers and my own words.  I printed out the words and the bird from my computer and adhered them with gel medium.  I used Derwent Tinted Charcoal pencils,  a Sakura Micron pen, and oil pastels to enhance edges.  After the paint is fully cured, I'll spray with an acrylic matte varnish.  The edges of the canvas are painted black.

May we have the courage to pick ourselves up...one more time.

 

Until next time,

 

Painting The Badlands

After a few days of vacation from my brushes, I was ready to paint again.

 

 

Timeless Wonder

9" x 12"

Watercolor and Pen and Ink on 140lb. Cold Pressed Paper

 

This is the fifth painting in my watercolor journal series.  I actually fussed less with this one, and I like it better.  The Badlands provide such an exciting subject to paint.  I hope you have a lovely weekend.  We're expecting two days of rain here in the Northeast, so I guess I'll be in the studio.

 

Until next time,

 

Finished Pages

Yesterday I shared the beginnings of two new art journal pages.  Today was a productive day in the studio.  I finished both pages!

 

 

 

How was your weekend?  I hope the weather where you are was as delightful as it was here.  Tomorrow, I'm off to New Jersey to see my niece's new Bernese mountain dog puppy, Moses.  I'll try to get lots of pictures!  See you again soon.

 

Until next time,

 

Art Journal Fun And A Gift For You

When reading a book I purchased recently, I came face to face with the art of Teesha Moore, who is well known for her beautiful art journal pages, amongst many other things.  The book is Creative Wildfire by L. K. Ludwig.  Teesha is one of the featured artists. 

 

 

Creative Wildfire is packed with ideas on approaches to art journaling, beginning to advanced techniques and interviews with many artists.  It will truly set a fire under the aspiring journal artist, and if you haven't started that journal yet, you will want to after reading this!

Being a fan of Teesha's art, I, of course, had to check out her website.  Wow!  It is an amazing and inspiring place.  She has wonderful videos to watch, including a fabulous series on art journaling.  If you have been curious about what an art journal is, or how to go about creating one, this is the video to see.  I've watched the first part of the series (It's free!)  and I've begun creating my pages.

 

 

The first step is simple and it gets you past "blank page syndrome".  You know the symptoms: vacant stare, eyes glazed over, mind empty.  It's easy to treat.  Just add color!  Simple craft paints will do.  Watercolors are great too.

 

 

Next, I added some borders.  Journal fodder can be found anywhere: old magazines, junk mail, scrapbooking papers, gardening catalogues, the phone bill (You might want to pay it first.)  Just don't think too hard about it - work from your heart.  No one has to see it but you.  It's your personal art laboratory where you can cause the kind of explosion that won't bring the bomb squad to your door:  a color explosion.

 

 

There is another source of collage material that's probably the most satisfying.  Grab some old collages or paintings you've done, or even some of your childrens' art.  Try scanning or photographing them and zooming in on small areas on your computer.  You might be surprised at what you discover.  There are probably dozens of interesting things within a single composition.  Enlarge isolated areas and print them out on regular paper.  You can cut them up and use them in your journal pages.  Your journal will begin to reflect your own heart.

 

 

 

I used parts of some of the work I did for Strathmore's Online Workshop, and some parts of existing journal pages.  I also used some of the free offerings I found on Flicker.com.  I would like to reach the point where I am using even more of my own art: which brings me to the gift part of this post.  I used watercolors, water-soluble crayons, markers, and gel pens to make something I can cut up and use in my pages.  I would like to offer you the use of this page for your personal use in your own journals.  Just click on the image to get the largest size and then right-click on it and choose the "save image as" option.  Be patient, it's a full-size page.

 

 

I'll show you more as I develop my pages further.  I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend.  Have fun journaling!

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dreaming of Paradise

It reached 78 degrees here in Pennsylvania today.  I pulled up the shades, threw open the windows, and dreamed of faraway places again.  My art reflected my mind's wanderings.  I pulled a photo of Lake Erie from my archives and was instantly transported to sandy beaches and churning surf.

 

 

I could almost feel the sun and the sea spray on my face!

 

A few notes on today's painting:

 

 

As you can see from the shiny areas, I used a masquepen to block out areas I wanted to remain white: seafoam and spray, and beach grasses and shell fragments on the beach.  I washed in the sky with a pale wash of Cobalt Blue mixed with a touch of Pthalo Blue (green shade).  I painted around the cloud areas and then wet the inside edges of the clouds to allow the sky mix to bleed into them a bit.  I used varying mixes of chromium oxide green and Pthalo Blue on the lake.

 

 

The fence posts we're added with a mixed of raw umber and payne's gray.

 

 

For the sand, I used a variety of techniques to produce the texture: splattering, stippling, varied washes of burnt umber and french ultramarine with burnt sienna.  After removing the masking from the grasses, I stroked them in with a 10/0 liner using a variety of mixes of sap green, raw sienna, cadmium red and burnt sienna.  I left some of the tips white to suggest sun sparkle.  The cast shadows from the grass were applied with weak payne's gray.   I used sepia acrylic ink and a fine nib dip pen to add details on the fence and sand.  The grasses were detailed with sap green acrylic ink.

 

 

 

For the rocks of the breakwater, I applied a wash of payne's gray.  While it was still damp, I placed crinkled plastic wrap over it and left it in place until it was almost dry.  This gave me a rock-like pattern.  I then added washes of raw umber and payne's grey and burnt umber.

 

 

At the base of the breakwater, I had forgotten to mask in areas for sea foam.  It can still be created after the fact.  I used a sharp razor and gently scraped the areas that I wanted to be white.  It makes a fairly convincing seafoam.  I did the same where the water meets the beach.  On the edges of the grasses on the far left, I wanted to suggest sun sparkle, so I used the razor to gently scrap away a little of the color.

 

 

We're still two months away from kayak season, so I'll just have to settle for painting the water!  I know many of you are taking the Strathmore Online Workshop with Cathy Johnson too.  How's it going for you?  I'd love to hear from you. 

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

Painting The Barn

Yesterday's post about the barn got me  to thinking.  What a great page for Strathmore's art journal workshop! 

 

 

Pennsylvania Barn

8" x 10"

Watercolor and Pen and Ink on 140lb. cold pressed paper

 

I took a few photos for you as I worked.

 

 

I began with a light pencil sketch.  I washed in the first layer on the barn with a mix of alizarin crimson and burnt sienna.  Using a crumpled tissue I blotted to create some underlying texture.

 

 

I deepened the wash on the window side and under the eaves.  I mixed in a little raw umber and paynes grey to suggest shadowing.  Using a  masque pen, I masked out some blades of dead grass and then washed the ground in raw sienna plus DaVinci Mauve (a deep purple).  I deepened the wash in places and placed touches of burnt sienna, raw umber and burnt umber.  I also splattered some of the ground mixes and also did some stippling with a dip pen and sepia ink.  I mixed darker washes for the ground below at the level of the foundation.  The evergreens were tapped in with hookers green and sap green.  I mixed a bit of burnt sienna in with the greens to tone them down a bit.  It was overcast that day, so I used a weak wash of Idanthrene Blue and Davinci Orange to get the muddy gray color of the sky.  I further deepened the area to the left by adding a bit more blue and some burnt sienna to the sky mix to add a little bit of drama.

 

 

I wanted to show you a close up of the grass before I removed the masking fluid.

 

 

The masquepen is a great way to block out fine lines for things like grass.  It preserves the lightest tones and whites while you complete the details, such as repeated washes, splattering and deeper strokes for the blades of grass.  When you're finished with those, a clean white eraser rubbed over the dried masking fluid will remove it easily.  Just don't leave it on for more than a day or so.  It might be tough to remove.

 

I did the roof in Paynes gray, bruised the paper with the end of the brush to simulate the grooves in the metal and then deepened parts of the wash further.  For the wood siding at the top of the barn, I washed in a mix of sepia and payne's gray.  I followed with varying mixes of burnt umber, burnt sienna, paynes gray, raw umber and raw sienna, stroked in with a size 2 round brush.  I inked in the details with a fine nib and sepia acrylic ink.  The dead tree branches are a weak mix of raw sienna and paynes gray.  I did some inking with sepia ink.

 

 

I love this old barn.  I hope it's around for another one hundred years.  If you would like to see the original photos and read about it's history, you can click here.  That's all for now!

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

 

Harbor Cottage

I've been busy working on another painting for Strathmore's online workshop with Cathy Johnson.  This is one of my favorite scenes in Bass Harbor, Maine.

 

Harbor Cottage

8" x 10"

Watercolor and Pen and Ink on 140lb. cold pressed paper

 

I worked from my original photograph.  I could move right in there.  This was a really fun scene to paint.  I did a fairly detailed drawing to start.  I know it's a bit difficult to make out, but it gives the general idea.  I used a 4H pencil.  It's a hard drawing pencil that doesn't smear like a regular no. 2 pencil.

 

I took some photos of the process of working the wood shakes.  The extra steps to create texture make all the difference.  I penciled in my guide lines:  without them, they would end up quite crooked!

 

 

Next, I mixed a pale wash of Payne's Gray and Burnt Umber and layed it in over the guides.

 

 

This was leaning toward the brown side.  If you'd like a grayer wash, add a little more Payne's gray.

 

 

Using a fine nib and FW sepia acrylic ink, I loosely worked in the shingles over the dried wash.

 

To give the shakes a more random and authentic appearance, I drew in cracks and deeped some of the linework with the ink.

 

 

I deepened the Payne's Gray/Burnt Umber wash under the shakes with a 3/8" angle shader.  This is not actually a brush that is meant for watercolor, but it helps to acurately place your shading.

 

 

I loaded some of the same mix onto a flat brush and splattered it for texture.  My splattering technique varies.  For this application, I held the brush close to the surface and tapped it on my finger.  You can leave the splatters full strength, or blot them to mute them.

 

 

Finally, I took a small sponge dipped in the same mix and lightly tapped it over the shakes.

 

This is the original photo I worked from:

 

 

I warmed up the colors for my painting and left out a few things that I thought were distracting.  There was a beautiful apple tree on the left of the house, but I didn't include the detail, as it would have pulled the attention away from the porch scene.  I also kept the texturing to a minimum on the cement (just a little sponging to give it a mottled appearance).  The cast shadows were done with Payne's gray.

 If you click on this link, you can check out the blog that Cathy has on watercolor journaling.  It's colorful and informative and it will inspire you to start your own watercolor journal.

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

 

Maine From My Brush Tip

Strathmore's second online workshop began yesterday.  Our workshop leader is Cathy Johnson.  Cathy has published a number of books over the years about painting in watercolor.  Her book Creating Textures In Watercolor was the very first book I purchased  on this wonderful medium.  I decided to make my trip to Maine last summer the subject for my art journal for the workshop.   I wanted to express my emotion for this amazing place in a more visceral way than I could with the camera alone.

 

 

Cathy is encouraging us to paint from life, but unfortunately, a congenital abnormality in my vision prevents this.  I don't see with both eyes simultaneously-my vision continually switches between the right and left eye.  My brain can't fuse the two.  Consequently,  when I try to draw from life without surrounding visual cues, such as the edge of a photograph, I end up drawing from two different perspectives.  Alas, I must take plenty of accurate photographs and paint in the studio :)

I'll share a little of my process with you, so you can follow how I arrived at the finished product.

 

 

I began with a very light pencil drawing and then started laying in color.  I did a gradated wash of cobalt blue, and then blotted out some of the cloud areas.  I used payne's gray for the dark areas at the top of the lighthouse, and cadmium red medium for the small roof peak.  I mixed the red with payne's gray for the lamp.  I mixed cad red, cobalt blue and raw sienna for a muddy gray to shade under the eaves.  It initially looked too red, so I glazed a bit of payne's gray over the shadows.

 

 

I worked the branches with raw sienna and raw umber.  I tapped in the foliage with hookers green and leaf green.  I toned down both greens with a bit of burnt sienna mixed in.

 

 

I splattered in more color for texture in the foliage.  I laid in a wash of raw sienna for the ground, and then splattered and blotted to give texture.  I used the same green mixes for the ground.  Very pale dry brushing and washing was added to the walls of the building with raw sienna and burnt sienna.

 

 

I deepened my colors and then began inking in the details.  I used a black Sakura Pigma Micron 02 pen to add a bit of line work around the windows, walls, and roof.  I used a dip pen with a fine nib for the rest of the line work.  I worked the details in FW acrylic inks:  sap green for trees and grass, sepia for branches and ground texture and cool grey for hints of brick work and siding on the building.

 

Bass Harbor Head Light

8" x 10"

Watercolor and Pen and Ink on 140lb. cold pressed paper

 

I'm looking forward to sharing more of my watercolor interpretation of the Maine coast as the workshop progresses.  I hope you'll join me for the adventure!

Until next time,

 

 

 

Summer Rental

It's that time of year when one's thoughts turn to spring, and the longing to be in some distant paradise grows strong.  It's all my hubby's fault :)  A few weeks ago, I came downstairs, groggily wiping the sleep out of my eyes.  Hubby had gone shopping, presumably for food. He called up the stairs to me that he had gotten me a treat.  I arrived in the kitchen expecting chocolate muffins, and didn't notice the very large box on the island.  As I searched the bags for those elusive muffins, he finally pointed at the box rather gleefully and said, "Didn't you see what I got for you?"  I nearly fell over as a bright and shiny new Epson Artisan printer stared back at me.  I wanted to tell you about it, but after my son was injured, everything else was pushed to the back burner.  But the plot thickens...

Last weekend, again, first thing in the morning, he went "food" shopping.   Now, let me explain that my printer wasn't the only piece of equipment that was standing on it's last leg.  My computer had begun to sound like a jet taking off, it didn't like to boot, and after my last experience with another of these infernal machines burning up, I had the feeling that I should have a fire extinguisher handy before I turned it on!  Unbeknownst to me, the tax return had shown up the day before.  My darling hubby presented me with a new computer, courtesy of our little windfall.  I need to start getting up earlier on the weekends to keep an eye on him :)

 

So what, you ask, does this have to do with longing to be in a distant paradise?  I began printing out photos from my trip to Maine yesterday!  Also, I finished a new piece of art - a mixed media collage based on one of my photos.

 

Summer Rental

16" x 20"

Mixed media on canvas board

 

I never thought that wall joint compound and plaster bandaging could be so exciting.  I used them to create a textured surface before painting.  After I did the inital laying in of color, I used some of the fire-trap-of-a-magazine-collection in my studio to add more color and texture.  Tearing paper is very satisfying :)  I adhered the paper with Liquitex Matte Medium.  I did the final acrylic glazes and enhanced some of the edges with a General's Carbon pencil.  It's not as soft and crumbly as a charcoal pencil, but it gives a good dark line over the paint and plaster.

I start Workshop 2 at Strathmore Online Workshops on Wednesday.  Watercolorist Cathy Johnson will be leading the workshop.  I had purchased her first book, Creating Textures In Watercolor in 1992.   She has a wonderful blog, Artist's Journal Workshop where you can find all sorts of ideas, inspiration, and other artists.

Her new book, Artist's Journal Workshop:  Creating Your Life in Words and Pictures, was released this year.

That's all for now.  Tomorrow, it's off to New Jersey to see my sister.

Until next time,