Dynamic Dots

Dynamic Dots

Continuing on my theme this summer of resolving paintings and drawings that have been languishing for quite some time. This one was started in a class that explored all kinds of experiments with golden proportions – according to the scrawled notes on the back, dynamic rectangles in a square in this case.
Fun colors and scribbles and when the white dots made an appearance I decided to declare it resolved.
The #100dayproject did its job

The #100dayproject did its job

Instagram hooked me again back in February, and I’ve just completed another 100 day project challenge.
Did I cheat?  Kind of.  My goal was a 5″x5″ piece every day, taking no more than 25 minutes.
I didn’t create every day, but I caught up, so I made 100 pieces in 100 days
I didn’t work more than 25 minutes, but I often took less
I used watercolor, I sketched in pencil and pen, I used collage, I used gouache, I used acrylic
These two pieces aren’t part of the work I created but they are the reason I decided to do the project.  Consistent practice helps me loosen up.  It helps me remember how I did things in pieces I like, how to avoid effects I don’t like, and how to fix things that go wrong.
So, when I decided that I wanted something to change out the two hallway picture frame images before the weekend, these two pieces came quickly.  They aren’t perfect.  They could be worked on some more, for sure.  But that’s always true.  The 100 day project reminded me that it’s just paper and paint, and I can let it go, because there will be another chance to create tomorrow.
Working toward Resolution

Working toward Resolution

So I made a little reel and posted it on Instagram, showing the lead up to a series of 10 paintings I working on right now – six out of ten finished, I think.  The project started  years ago as the last assignment in my Composition class, just before I moved from Atlanta to Chicago, and languished for quite some time
 
 
I joined the Creative Strength Training this year, and also one of the focus groups focused on creating in a series, and it finally pushed me to get the original sketches transferred to paper and then to get to painting.
 
They won’t be perfect, of course, but working through the puzzle that is resolving a painting is a frustrating joy, and since “resolve” was my word of the year, it’s appropriate that they will finally, literally, come out of the closet.
 
Here, take a look, I start with the “still life”, which I made 30 drawings of , each 20 x 30, from different angles.  Those were layered over one another, three at a time, rotated and flipped until I got a composition I liked.  Then, I was inspired by the color palette of our favorite Italian villa, which led to the mess of paint tubes and pots full of mixtures – now I’m fully in to the mixed media layers of it all!
 
 

 
Transformation or Resolution?

Transformation or Resolution?

I’m carrying on with revisiting some old mixed media paintings – some I knew were unfinished, some I thought might be unfinished.  It’s really fun to reword these.  This one is an example of a piece I thought might be finished some time ago, but either I was wrong or I have changed since then, because it just demanded to be reworked.  It’s always a surprise to see what form that takes – in this case it was clearly more than just a few tweaks.  Is it better now, or just different?  Am I better now, or just different?  More to come.

Before and After #1

Before and After #1

Moving on from collage to mixed media painting.  I have a stash of unfinished pieces that need some resolution.  Love working in layers, but boy if you get interrupted it can sit there for a while in a pretty unattractive place.  Sometimes I just lose the thread altogether and reinvent.  I can see traces of the collage series here in using the big bold shapes on top to frame the rest of the action.  This was fun and faster than I expected, more to come!