More abstract practice...

I just received Robert Burridge's workbook and his "Goof-proof Color Wheel" in the mail. I love his thoughts on being a painter and letting go. He covers the all the emotions that I go through and actually validates them. That's a good thing for me. He says we never really "arrive"--it is a constant reinventing of our "style" by practice and creativity.  I am looking forward to taking his workshop in February. This one is back to a 5x7 because I painted it in my little "closet" studio here at home. I have some 5x7 pieces of prepared paper ready to go.  I think the colors appeal to me. I have my niece and her three precious ones coming into town this weekend so I won't be able to post but I am thinking about something which I will do next week.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Still small but thinking about bigger...

Conversation in my head goes like this...Right brain says, "Go ahead, Martha, you can do it. Just go on out into your place in the red shed and you can paint the big one! You don't even have to worry about dripping paint!" But the left brain says, "Yeah but it's hot out there and your flowers really don't look like flowers they are just smudges of paint that don't even look that good anyway." Right brain says, "Martha, if you listen to that left brain then you will never paint the big one. Just go do it!"

Ok, I think I am going to listen to the right brain and go for it. Really I am! When, I am not sure, but I AM going to do it! I need to get me an air conditioner out there.

Pears and---a yawner...

It's funny how things some about really. These pears are painted over a painting I did several years ago in another online class. The painting just hung around and stared at me and I never really liked it. It was just basically a background. So I put a little collage paper on it and started painting the pears. The pears were looking rather ho-hum until I started wiping off some of the paint. Then it became more interesting. And below is another floral that really doesn't have a great focal point. It's not bad but it was not as I intended. 

As I said somewhere before, painting like this is not only a loosening of the hand but a loosening of the mind, 

rules and intentions. It's all good. Brush time...that's what it takes. Lots of it.

Lavender--Yikes

How did this happen?  I say I don't like lavender but apparently I must because I keep putting it in my paintings. I think I got in a background color rut so I think this is why I picked up the lavender. This one is a small one- not even 5x7.  Can you see the subtle texture on the background? I like that. I am keeping a little jingle in my head--..."dark against light, light against dark..."

On a canvas

Ok, I held my breath and painted on a canvas! (..like I have never done that before...) Well, I have never painted this loose on one before. This one is similar to a red one I did the other day. I really like these colors together. It works for me!

Hey, guess what?

Yes, it's about that time! We will start on August 15th.
  Come join me if you can!

Small again

This one is back to a 5x7 size.   Painting like this is a lesson in not only loosening up my hands but loosening up my expectations. They never turn out like I expect but that's really the fun of it. Robert Burridge writes down his goals for each piece in his sketchbook. That's a pretty good tip if you ask me! Now I just need to get myself to do it!

The nature of the process...

This one is an 8x8. Maybe it doesn't look like it but I am struggling with keeping it loose. My right brain is screaming at me again saying "that doesn't look like a flower!"  Does anyone know how to make the left brain be quiet? It's very interesting that every painting carries a different experience. Sometimes it's easy and it just flows and other days I struggle. I think that is just the nature of the process.

Getting a little larger...

This is a 10x10 so I am getting larger now. I will probably stick with 10x10 then go on up to 12x12 the see where it goes from there. Bigger is definitely harder but my goal is to paint the big one!!! I will be going to a workshop in February (God willing of course) with Robert Burridge and I am excited about that. The Workshop is called "Large and Loose" so at least I know I probably will paint the BIG one then.

More abstracts

I like these colors together. These are painted fairly quickly with as little tickling as possible. It's hard not to "tickle." "Get in and get out!" as Burridges says. This one works for me.

Abstract FLowers

Here is the painting du jour. The "table cloth" is handmade collage paper. I painted some deli paper black then stamped it with white acrylic.

Here's one more. Sometimes a painting will turn out to be a "turkey". This one is almost a turkey--I hear a faint gobble gobble in the background.  I am going to go a little larger now. These are still 5x7.

Mixed Media Pear

Well, one of these days I might pick another fruit to paint or even a vegetable. This pear started out as watercolor and ended up with acrylic on the bottom with stamps.  I am trying to go back to my original goal when I started this blog...to do a painting a day. Sometimes I make it and sometimes I don't.  But  doing these exercises with the Robert Burridge's videos it's easier to paint every day because it's fast. You know I am into fast!
Here is a journal spread:

Palm Tree Play

I am still playing around and practicing with these light and dark studies. I put all my paints in little screw top containers so it's easier to get to the colors without continuing to squeeze it out. Again I have put some embellishments and actually these look pretty good when I put the mat over them. It's amazing how much better things look when you put a discarded mat around them just to check and see what it looks like.  More tomorrow.

Maybe getting a little better...

Maybe these flowers are looking a little better. I am trying to not fiddle too much. Get in and get out as Bob says. It's hard to do--to not fiddle, but the more I fiddle the more I make mud. I have always been a good mud pie maker! And painting the illusion of water in glass is tricky.  This is still 5 x 7 done fairly quickly so I will start to move to the 10x10 and progressively get larger. That's my goal, paint big! I will let you know if I get there. By big, I mean maybe 2 feet by 4 feet or so or 24" by "48. Yikes!

Working with triad colors

I am trying to paint with triads to see what happens. I tried to pick out the best ones of the three. I could probably just paint the pear with "pear" colors but that would be too easy! I always have to torture myself a little bit every day. These little 5x7 paintings took way longer than they were suppose to. Bob Burridges calls it a sketch painting not a masterpiece. (Thank you, Bob!) I fiddled and fiddled and "tickled" way too much and finally in a last ditch effort to save the pears I used one of my hand carved stamps to add some interest. Actually when I put the 5 x 7 mat around each one they look better. The flowers started out really bad but got a little better as I "ticked.". That is usually what happens with my paintings. They look terrible at first but usually I can save them. There is a saying about that but I can't think of it.  It's something like "your painting sometimes has to travel through hell before it gets to heaven"... but I just made that up. Pardon my french...:)) But I am not quite sure these made it that far!

Here they are all together on 15x 12 strip.

And here's a little cutie:

Yep, that's my boy!

more pears...

I wasn't watching the video along with him when I painted these pears. These exercises are just to establish lights and darks but I couldn't leave well enough alone and had to add some stamps and punchanella. On a few of them I also added the dark charcoal which may or may not have helped. You can see that I didn't put the charcoal on the aqua one on the right. All in all I am having fun trying to get really free and loosen up.

Loosening Up with Acrylics!

Oh my, it looks so easy when Robert Burridges does it but it's harder than it looks! Here is my first attempt using his methods which are way fun to do! He goes so fast but I can see that it's important to do that so we won't over blend or think too much. These are 5 x 7s . I can really see the "value" of doing this exercise to establish darks and lights but cause if they are not in your painting then the painting is dead and lifeless and as I say, "hokey." I don't want to paint hokey paintings so I will keep doing these exercises...and it's fun. Can you find the magic floating ball?

It starts like this...

I hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th weekend. I was thinking about doing a better evolution of this spread and I actually tried but my little camera at home just doesn't do as well as this one at the studio. I really enjoy drawing the faces in the journal because as I have said before each one is a surprise and different from the others. Most of them look like they could be sister or cousins. I use my copic markers for the face and I have to double up the pages because copics go through the paper. They are wonderful for faces though because it's fast and fairly fool proof if you use the right colors.
Also, here is my newest favorite teacher, Robert Burridge.  I bought one of his DVDs recently and he is funny and entertaining and I love the way he paints.
Here is his motto, "Paint what you know...teach what you have learned...love what you do."
So simple and so true for me.

Two days in the big journal...

I do think I have been recharging somewhat lately but anytime I create and write in my big journal I am recharging. My goal is to one day to paint a big masterpiece in acrylic or oils but that day hasn't come yet. One of these days  maybe I will but in the meantime, I will enjoy my journals and my little color drop flowers and the Poppies...and the calligraphy of course. And my girls... I love to paint my girls...they keep me company here at the studio.