I apologize, my site is being transferred to a new server, and there have been issues that caused the site to be down. It may still be offline, on and off, for a few more days.
Here are the last two weeks of the Gathering.
I tried another new watercolor technique with the coneflowers, above. A looser style. I didn’t quite get it right, but I was happy with how they turned out. I will be trying that again. The last two florals are mixed media. I am really having fun mixing watercolor, collage and digital collage.
The final days are like a blur. Time was passing so quickly. I think that is a good sign. I was in the zone, and having fun. I tried a new style, inspired by Lucie Duclos. I signed up for Sketchbook Revival, and followed her session. She uses a clean, simplified style. Also a bit retro with a 60’s feel. Really a fun way to approach collage.
The large pink collage was also inspired by Lucie. I had so much fun with that, I did not want to stop. I painted the background. Some of the elements are hand panted as well. But the collage work is 100% digital.
Many of my favorites were from the final week. I am so thankful that my energy did not dwindle. In the next post, I will share my collage for the month, and also my favorites. The group gallery video will be up shortly as well.
Thanks again for following along. Happy day to you!
I’m posting week two, and some extras. The server for my site was under repair for a few days. There may still be some hiccups. Fingers crossed.
I have transitioned from acrylics to watercolor. The acrylic pieces require so much time. And I had been posting really late each day. I still have ideas floating around, so I may be working with collage and acrylics again before the month ends. These are all 8 x 8 inches, except for the landscape. It is 4 x 4 inches.
It’s time once again for the Art on 45 Auction and exhibition. Hosted and organized by Christiane Drieling. I am thrilled to say, my piece was accepted. This will be the final Art on 45 event.
I was thinking of my Dad, when I came up with the idea for this. I remembered all the road trips we would take. Late nights driving through the desert. How brilliant the sky seemed, and how open the landscape was. The 45 is debossed, and I did not want to cover that up. If you zoom in, you can see the Chrysalis butterfly logo, Leo Sayer, and more. It is completely legible in person.
I have had so much fun, as a contributing artist for the last several years. Congratulations to Christiane, Markus, and everyone who has made this event possible!
Catching Up
I don’t need to tell you, I was silent here, on the blog. For 4 months. Yikes! I was busy painting. I just wasn’t busy blogging. Below is a brief recap.
In October was busy painting Christmas gifts, and this chicken. A birthday gift for a friend. She had found a picture that she liked, and asked me to paint one like it. I changed a few things. Made the weathered wood grey toned, to work with her interior. This is on a deep edged canvas, and the details continue around the edges.
I continued by finishing up some gifts I had started in 2021. These were for a friend’s grandbabies. I had started the bear, and completed the three florals (below), prior to having Covid.
I had to paint Coco melon ( the boy), and the lavender flowers. These are all on deep canvas.
Coco & the bear are 4 x 4, the florals are 6 x 6. The group of chickens is 6 x 6, watercolor. (A second birthday gift.)
The floral wreath is 4 x 4. A gift for my doctor’s new baby girl. For the wreath, I covered an ugly dollar store frame with plaster. I sanded it for a rustic look, sealed it, & it really turned out nice.
I designed a logo for a tech friend. IDE stands for Integrated Development Environment.
Building A Desert
I built a simple model train layout. A desert scene, of course. I intended to keep it fairly flat, so it could be stored away easily when needed. The tracks are not attached, merely resting on top.
I found a scenery sand, textured paint. But it was much too dark. Dark brown. I painted it, 8 or 9 times before I got the look I wanted. I added pebbles, rocks and boulders that had to be painted as well. The tiny pebbles along the outer edge forced me to use my magnifying glasses. But the task was surprisingly fast. I also found some miniature bushes. They are meant for an arctic scene, but they look just like sage brush to me.
Bachman N scale Thunder Valley electric freight train.
This has been an ongoing project. A late birthday gift to myself (last year). I had fun working on it. Part of the reason for my studio make over (June 24, 2023). It is an N scale. Below you can see just how tiny that is. There are actually 4 sizes smaller than N. Only one is shown here. The most popular for models is O scale. The larger ones, G, you see in parks or zoos. Outdoor displays.
The engine lights up, and it is fun to run at night. Meditative. You might remember, I’ve had a slight fascination with trains for a while now.
If you are curious, this shows how they are made, (5 minutes). This is more in depth a factory tour, (16 minutes, more explanation). And this is a look at the real trains, and how they clear the snow off of Donner pass. You can skip forward to the 19:30 mark, and view to 23:00. The trees are so pretty.
I know, I’m a geek. (This is one of my tiny things, Dotty.)
That is the end. Whew! Thanks so much for stopping by!
