I had so much fun with this series. I painted first, with acrylics and/or watercolor. The first two have pots that were collaged by hand. I continued in Photoshop, adding collage with digital patterns. Some of which are just copies of paper patterns I have.
You might ask, “why not just collage the paper by hand?”. And that is a fair question. In photoshop I can change the color, stretch or shrink the pattern, change the direction. I can try everything. I can also change my mind in the final stages and rework the individual pieces.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. We are in the final week of the gathering now, and I have started a new series. But I will be revisiting this style in months to come.
I’m having fun with these. The first four were painted in acrylic or watercolor. And the patterns were added digitally in Photoshop. Not as easy as it might sound. On the vase above it took three times longer to add the collage and effects, than it did to paint it.
For day 16, I shared a work in progress. I will be sharing the final pattern soon. Here I created a plaid, which will act as the background for the rest of the design. The theme is Fika, Swedish coffee break. But it is so much more than that. Fika is all about bonding with friends and family. It can take place several times a day.
I knew that many would use the colors of the Swedish flag, And I wanted to do something different. I tried adding a weave texture, but as you can see, it darkens the colors too much.
Here in the valley we are enjoying a rainy, dark day. It’s been raining off and on since about 11 pm. It is cool, and the rain is not evaporating. This is a good long soak.
Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun. Mary Lou Cook
These tiny 2 x 2’s are fun to paint. A nice change. I think my favorite size hovers around 8 x 8 inches. Or 10 x 10. This weekend I will be continuing work on the bear. And I have started two other canvas pieces. One is 4 x 4, and the other is 12 x 12 I think.
The skyscape below was inspired by a real sunset. When I stepped away to get my phone, the light changed, and I missed getting the shot. The clouds were all shades of pink and orange, The sky was blue and lavender grey. Storm clouds moving through.
I first learned about the color Green Gold from Angela Fehr. She is one of the artist ambassadors for World Watercolor Month. Laurie Mueller uses it often in her work also. Or maybe it is her own blend, but it has the same jaw-dropping effect. Diluted, it is almost blindingly neon. But you can get a deeper, rich hue as well. It’s a favorite in my palette.
I am sharing two revisions with you. The scans came out too dark, and I was not happy with the “black” band at the bottom. I was behind, so I went ahead and posted them. In reality, The indigo was softer, and blended to a rich, dark green. The color bled into the wet areas above, and there are some soft “finger” like details. But I needed to blend the dark with the rest of the foreground.
I added a few more blades of grass, and I think they work much better now. What do you think? The revised scans are true to life, not as vivid as the first scans. The setting wasn’t right. I like them better now. To me, I think the green gold stands out more. The oranges are not overpowering. Do you like the first version better?
Stay firmly in your path and dare. Be wild two hours a day! Paul Gauguin
When art critics get together they talk about Form and Structure and Meaning. When artists get together they talk about where you can buy cheap turpentine. Pablo Picasso
