My art desk

This was a particularly productive weekend of painting. On Labor Day, I didn't even put makeup on because I was so focused on completing some projects that I've had "in the wings" as they say. I have had a few people ask me to do some things for them that I just haven't had the time to get to...and maybe my motivation or inspiration hasn't been at full blast...so I did it. I got 23 Art-o-mat paintings prepped, 3 Frozen blocks nearly completed and 3 started, and another painting started that someone asked me to do. OH, and that funky painting in the background? The one with the different colored squares? That's the one I painted over and did the palette painting on that you'll see in a post somewhere below.

 

This was a good and satisfying day! I made a mess in the process, but I was on a roll. I find that I don't like to waste paint...a clump that has dried up on my plate almost makes me want to weep. I think that's the starving artist in me...but that was a bit of a catalyst for me in getting all this done. As you can see, blue and green were the strong colors of the day.

Latest experimentation with a palette knife

8"X10", Acrylic

I'm loading all these pictures at once today, so they are a bit out of order...but this was a painting I had done that I just wasn't happy with. Didn't know what to do with. An experiment gone wrong. I kept the canvas in front of my work space in the hopes that some day the lightbulb would go on and I would proclaim "YES! THAT is what I wanted it to be!". Months have gone by and this stupid thing was staring me in the face. Then I daydreamed. I've been thinking of ways to use a palette knife to create a piece of work. Wasn't sure how I wanted to do it and I kept having visions of a flower - and using really THICK globs of paint, but it just seemed daunting. Didn't quite make sense...but it wouldn't leave my head. Then, it happened. I had that moment. I was driving home - which is when I tend to daydream about stuff (dangerous I know, but I pass by some wall art on my way home every day and I can't help but dream about projects). It hit me that I needed to try this. And I had the perfect canvas to do it with! I immediately started on it when I walked through the door. I have to say I'm quite pleased with it. I experimented with the colors and for awhile it was very dark with the blues. I experimented with scraping paint from my plate and applying it to the canvas. I experimented with putting paint directly on the canvas. I experimented with the colors I used (yellow and orange are very weak colors). Success! And it was liberating to do in the process. I'm definitely going to try this again.

Aaannnddd more mini paintings

This is the latest batch ready to be sent off to Art-o-mat. A cool thing happened about a month or so ago. I troll Instagram and one of the hashtags I like to look for is #artomat. Well, one day I was flipping through the pictures and I saw a post from someone of a painting they had gotten from an Art-o-mat machine - AND IT WAS MINE!! I was sooooo excited!

A piece I did for Yellow Springs Art Council

4'X4' panel, Acrylic

This is possibly one of the first "Call for Artists" I have answered and by far the most out of the box for me. I have been focusing on little art for awhile and big pieces are a little intimidating. I did the fence mural for Erma's House a few years ago, so I knew I could do it, but not something I seek out. I'm not even sure why this one stuck out to me, but I answered it. Yellow Springs Art Council was looking for artists to design and paint 4'X4' panels to hang on a fence to hide some construction that was going on while building a new hotel in downtown Yellow Springs. This is a very artsy community and they didn't want the piles of dirt and the dirt movers to stick out like a sore thumb, so they covered the surrounding area with art. I did this entire painting in just a few weeks and super coated it with varnish, so I think it may live in perpetuity...at least that's my hope. It really just needed to last until construction is complete...but I don't have anywhere in my house where this huge monster can go, so I'm hoping (if it's not hanging on anyone else's fence once the project is over) it will hang on my fence...or my Florida room...or somewhere. I'm happy with the way this turned out.

 

A piece I did for a friend

Acrylic and indelible marker

 

My technique for this painting was a lot of swirls with the brush. It was whimsical and fun to do and it has some depth to it...possibly satisfying my desire to slather paint all over a canvas. I also incorporated a little zentangling to give it a little more oomph. Again, thinking outside the box and I think this one was fairly successful!

I was so excited to be a featured artist on artomat.org's site!

More mini paintings...I can't keep track of the number!

Last year, I submitted a prototype for Art-o-mat, which was accepted. I painted 50 of these little paintings for the initial order which got distributed to 5 Art-o-mat's around the country. Months went by and I didn't hear anything...then one day I got a check. And my spirits lifted! Then I got another check and a notice that all 50 had sold out! Around April/May, I sent another 50, and just a few weeks ago, I got another check and a notice that they were out again! So, I've prepped 50 more and I have canvases to do...oh, I don't know...another 300 or so. I'm ready and super excited!