Progress...a little at a time...

It took some time to make the positive ID, but judging by the crinkles I think I got the right one...this is what I had last week...loved it then...but knew I had to be brave to go beyond this lovely start...

This was yesterday morning's effort...oh, I was so bummed after I added the burnt sienna, I thought for sure I ruined it, then I went into it with a dark brown, and then laid down some white on top of it while it was still a bit wet...I oooo'd and ahhhh'd, and so I loved it more...

This is today's work...I love it better...there will be more, stay tuned!

Seasonal colors...

Elemental Autumn, Samhain, 10/31/2009, acrylic monotype on sumi paper mounted on canvas, 12 x 30 inches

I think it's finished...well, it's still sitting on the dining room table, I've picked at it all week, adding bits of this and that, I've given it a name anyway...if I make any changes they might be small ones...nothing drastic...unless I go crazy and decide to obliterate it...which I don't think I will do...

Bones of the Earth, Bronzed, 10/25/09, acrylic monotype on sumi paper mounted on canvas, 18 x 6 inches

This little guy...is from last week, I had to think about it, it started out red and then the red wasn't working, so I made it go away...it took a few layers...and I was ready to give up, but then I plopped that gold red that I used in Samhain all over it, like a glaze, and fooled around a bit more and now I think it's "done" the pale green square saved it for me, I might ponder it a little more, but, like with Samhain, I don't expect too much will change (of course if I do anything too crazy I'll be sure to post the results!)

This has been a rough week, my Fred's father is near death, these are difficult times...
an emotional rollercoaster...which has put many projects in limbo...exhaustion is taking its toll.

Work in progress...this is an orange one...

I worked on this lovely orange painting at the dining room table while I cooked curried butternut squash thai soup (OMG was that yummy!) on the woodstove...still much to do...I originally started with a delicate wash...then made a mess of it by going too dark too soon with the dark moss brown that I love so much...dang...so I painted over it all with pale umber, stone gray, and a white wash...then I went back at it again, the red gold wash (the color in jar on the table) and played with a pale green and the dark moss color...more to come another day!

And then...I picked this little painting off the wall (I originally worked on it back in August 16th) because I "saw" something that needed to be done...I think this time it's done...

Bones of the Earth, Granite Fieldstone with Lichen, 10/25/09
acrylic monotype on sumi mounted on canvas
10 x 10 inches

Bones of the Earth series

Bones of the Earth, 9/29/2009, acrylic monotype on sumi paper mounted on canvas, 30 x 12 inches.

I just love the subtleties going on in the top half, it didn't come through so well in the full shot...so here's the close up...there are layers to this...first a wash of the moss brown, and then I started impressing layers of color with various surfaces, glassine, mat board of various shapes and sizes, and the various circles...the texture of the paper and paint surface comes together like a surprise...I had no plan, it just happens...

My little buddy Kennedy Bear helped hold the drawing for the snap shot...I'm still working with it...still lots more to do...

It's a keeper...

Elemental Autumn, Twilight, 9/27/2009, acrylic monotype on sumi paper mounted on canvas. I finally resolved the left side to my satisfaction, it kept changing, and I would like it for a little while, and then...I wanted to do better.

Bones of the Earth, White Stone, 9/26/2009, acrylic monotype on sumi paper mounted on Stonehenge paper, 8 x 8 inches.

This little one...purely accidental. It started out much brighter, and then I messed it up, and then I tried to fix it...made it worse, and then I just went into "oh, f' it" mode and did this and that just to see what I can do while waiting for paint to dry on the others I've been working on...and so...when this stony surface happened with lots of the under coats showing through and the paper texture doing its thing in spite of the layers of washes I had a "that's it!" moment...

My vacation is over...

Labor Day labors...

Oh, I've had a fun day...I creatively kicked ass...
Bones of the Earth, Deep Ore, (Labor Day) 9/7/2009, acrylic monotype on sumi paper mounted on canvas, 10 x 10 inches.

I stepped away from my lichen encrusted stones and felt like making something with that lonely tube of vermillion sitting in the box next to everything mossy...the dark is actually the same dark mossy brown/green that I use in the other paintings, it just looks black against the red...

And then I added more bits to the long horizontal that I've been working on...and I'm in love wit it too...

Bones of the Earth, Upstate Fieldstones, (Labor Day) 9/7/2009, acrylic monotype on sumi paper mounted on canvas, 12 x 30 inches.

And I also finished the final touches to my manuscript The Fractured Hues of White Light, I just need to do some formatting and one more pass through with the spell/grammar check before I pass it to my Fred for designing...

It's been a very productive and positive long weekend!

Work in progress...Bones of the Earth

Detail of left side...

I took a break from my editorial work on my manuscript The Fractured Hues of White Light to fool around with my colors...there's still much to do with this canvas (12" x 30"), it's pleasing me so far...lots of little things going on, still some big things necessary to work on...so far so good...I'm lovin' it...for a moment there, I thought I messed up the middle, but I think I pulled it back without losing too much of the pretty stuff that I had going on...tho' (drat), this picture doesn't really do it justice...

Detail of right side...sorry, everything is a bit crooked...

The weather has been gorgeous, so I've been on the porch most of the weekend (when I'm not napping)...I intend to be back out there in the morning...alternating between laptop and studio table...(the book is nearly done, I'm so close! Go to my blog Upstate Girl to read all about it...or read a bit about it.) I'm a bit on a literary high, I just had a reader finish reading my little ghost story Dusty Waters, and she wrote a sweet 5 star review on Goodreads.com (I've been doing little happy dances all day!)

New work...

Detail of The Waves (I was thinking of pink dolphins), 7/23/09 for Maryanna, acrylic monotype on paper...


This little monotype was given as a present to one of my students at work, she's leaving us after two years, I wanted to make something that reflected her sense of "magical"...yes, pink dolphins exist (in the Amazon I think)...well, they're in there somewhere...

Celestial Phases, Summer Twilight...7/25/2009, acrylic monotype on canvas with sumi paper

This little canvas, 8 x 8 has gone through multiple layers of changes for over a month, I had it hanging in my dining room since I first painted the original, and it kept "bugging" me, so since I didn't really like it so much, I attached the sumi paper to the surface and began to splash...oh it was fun! I think it's done (finally!)


Bones of the Earth series...this one is Granite, 7/25/09, acrylic monotype, 8 x 8, chine colle, Sumi on Stonehenge paper

The last one...


Bones of the Earth, Fieldstone, 7/25/2009, acrylic monotype, chine colle, sumi on Stonehenge paper, 8 x 8.

I keep making more...it's what keeps me happy!

More Bones of the Earth...

Moonshine, July 4, 2009, Bones of the Earth series, acrylic on sumi paper over canvas, 10" x 8"


Since the Fourth of July on my acre of the country was chilly, gray (at times later in the day partly sunny), and too breezy to be enjoyable for long periods of time, so I stayed inside and made more art...

Landscape, July 4, 2009, Bones of the Earth series, acrylic on canvas, 12" x 31 1/2"
Fooling around with a used canvas that my Fred gave to me (he had made a painting that he didn't like, and instead of making something he did like, he gave it to me to use because he prefers the thicker canvases, but I don't mind the low profile)...so paint over it I did...white first, naples yellow next (while the white was wet), squished it around with the brush, then pulled on it with mat board scraps to make textures...while it dried I rotated around working on other pictures...and then added the dark green/brown (that mossy terra verte, raw umber, burnt umber mix that I like so well), the lichen green, and some white were added later...using mat board plates for the monotype textures...some brushwork, not much...and my tape roll, plastic lid circles...lots of playing around...I was happily "in the zone", lost track of time so there was no potato salad to go with the coneys...oops! Thankfully, my boys don't seem to mind (our son grilled the coneys...they were yummy!)

Stone Cold, July 4, 2009, Bones of the Earth series, acrylic on sumi paper over canvas 8" x 8"
This one I made over a painting from last April that I didn't like very well (I sort of liked the idea of it, but it was pale and wishy-washy...not very interesting.) This one has that stuff going on that I'm enjoying very much, I love the ragged edge of the paper showing through...

It's a nice day out there, it's my intention to make more art today on the porch...I just need to set up and go to it!