This blog is my portfolio of artwork, a journal about my process of making art...and the things that I have no words for...

*Copyright notice* All photos, writing, and artwork are mine (
© Laura J. Wellner), unless otherwise noted, please be a peach, if you'd like to use my work for a project or you just love it and must have it, message me and we'll work out the details...it's simple...JUST ASK, please.



Saturday, May 30, 2009

Getting Ready for an Exhibition

My Fred and I are going to be part of a traveling exhibition curated by Courtney Rile and Roslyn Esperon (for details see the link to Price Check).

These are four of the drawings out of six that will be traveling from Syracuse, NY to Beacon, MA to New York, NY:
Things I have no words for..., December 14, 2008, mixed media drawing (watercolor, acrylic, and graphite pencil) on 8 x 8 Stonehenge paper, framed size 12 x 12 inches

River of Fallen Stars, October 4, 2008, mixed media (watercolor, colored pencils, acrylic and graphite pencil) on 8 x 8 Stonehenge paper, frame size 12 x 12 inches.

November Twilight, November 29, 2008, mixed media drawing (watercolor, acrylic, and colored pencil) on 8 x 8 Stonehenge paper, framed size 12 x 12 inches


Luna, February 7, 2009, mixed media drawing (watercolor, acrylic, graphitint pencil, and graphite pencil) on 8 x 8 Stonehenge paper, framed size 12 x 12 inches

This is very exciting, and we're thrilled to be part of the event!

My roll of BFK Rives arrived yesterday! Yay!! (I was on vacation from work yesterday so it was an extra special day!) I cut off two long slices from it and then cut them down to a pleasant variety of small sizes that I enjoy working in...Oh happy day, I'm going to play!!!!

And I see that I've just been given the One Lovely Blog Award by Annie at Ink Haven...Thanks Annie!!!
I'm working on my list of 15 blogs to pass it on to...I'll post them later once I've finished my picks...(it's so hard to choose!)

Monday, May 25, 2009

Work in progress..."Corrosion"

This is currently drying on my easel...I'm pleased as can be about this mess that I made today...I'm playing with modeling paste on cradled masonite panel...then I cut in shapes with various implements, used plastic wrap that I pulled from off the boards (instead of throwing it out, I put it to good use!) to squish and pull the texture, and then scumbled in the colors after it set up...

It's not done yet...almost...I need to live with it for a bit and see where I want to go with it next...I'm just loving the greens...in my line of work at the day job, I am around bronze sculpture an I love the polished surfaces, and even the corrosion is pretty...

Here's some shots of the details:


And I love ancient bronzes and such...and this thing too, it's an ancient machine that was found in the Mediterranean (I can never remember, let alone spell the name of the gadget, but I love it), has been an inspiration...

And then there's this lovely stuff...lichen


and this moss on a dead tree...

Beautiful stuff...

What have I been doing...

This is a little monotype from my sketchbook...I have a roll of BFK Rives on order so I'll have a supply of the good stuff soon (maybe by next weekend!)

I've been doing lots of things, and this and that, gardening, writing, making art...I've been off from work since Thursday, so I've gotten to the point where I don't know what day it is...but I guess it's Monday, and it feels like Sunday...so I'm late posting...but I've been busy making lots of art...so I thought I'd poke out a few...some of the pictures didn't turn out so well, so...another time...

This tall skinny piece has evolved over an extended period of time...I bought the canvas last summer, and had all kinds of ideas for it, but none of them "worked out"...so I painted over it all and started over...this is what I have so far...
I've been wanting to work on a "White Series", well, this looks mighty blue/green, but that's just part of the illusion that I'm working on...I want the color to show through below the white wash...I sat on the porch yesterday working it out...I'm more satisfied with this than I have been with the others...it's acrylic with some pencil...some monotype and stencil...I'm just having some fun...

Saturday, May 16, 2009

The latest...

I'm mostly fooling around with acrylic monotype, the little one on canvas (Wishes from the Lake, May 10, 2009, 6 x 6), and a few on paper in my sketchbooks have been fun and very satisfying. I really love that green that I made...it just reminds me so much of Lake Ontario...

I really need to invest in some good Fabriano or Rives to really make something nice, for now, I'm splashing and working out what I want to do...
I'm really loving this baby blue with naples yellow combination...


And this is Lavender Wishes...

My nifty birthday easel...(yes, I've gotten it "dirty" since the photo was taken!)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

What did I do for Mother's Day?


I made art...and enjoyed every bit of it! But I haven't taken the time to download the photos...some are still 'unfinished'...so, I thought I'd post this little Symphony from April 19, 2009, pencil wanderings on paper, about 5 x 8 or so...I just go with the flow...this little drawing makes me very happy...it makes me think of cello's...

It's a mighty cold day out there, feels like it could snow...the sky is very dark and threatening...there's a frost warning tonight. There's a fire in the woodstove again after many days 'off'...

I've enjoyed my back to back "Day's"...my birthday was yesterday, and my Fred bought me a nifty sketchbox easel (which I filled with tubes of paint and brushes, and I have a tiny canvas drying on it...it's a ridiculously tiny canvas (6 x 6), but I love painting small...

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Saying goodbye...


I always have a hard time saying goodbye, and I had to say goodbye to my graduate assistant, Kat, who has spent the academic year as my "right hand" at my day job (I train them to become good collection managers/registrars for art museums, send them out into the world to find jobs and to live happily ever after)...knowing this end was coming, I spent the month of April making art...lots of art, varieties of mediums, different colors, textures, fooling around with this and that, and just when I was beginning to fret, I stopped and I let the dust settle, finally, I picked this one to give her as a parting gift...she's called, New Moon, it measures about 4 x 4 1/2 and I think I finished the last splatter on April 9th...funny...I wanted to go measure it just now to check the accuracy, and then DOH! Remembered she's gone! Anyway she's a little mixed media piece of pleasure, watercolor, colored pencil (water soluble Creatacolor pencils) acrylic, pencil, and...the kitchen sink (kidding!)...she did get quite wet in the process and the paper is puckered in the right way...

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Doodling during a book signing

See, tucked behind the stack of books I have my box of assorted pencils and my small sketchbook with a work in progress...I'm always doing something...I have always needed something to keep me "busy" while sitting still, and doodling in my sketchbook during my book signing yesterday kept me busy during the lulls...


Here's the drawing that I quickly snapped with my camera this morning...

Pencil drawings are always tough to photograph, better to be scanned...I need to catch up on my scanning some day...

Here's a detail, my Fred pointed out the little bull in the corner...I am a Taurus, it seems appropriate...

Here's a little bit of this, and a little bit of that...I posted this work in progress a few posts back...I'm not sure if I'm done with it or not...

My favorite part is the lower left area...the red veiny looking stuff...