While Karen, Regina, and Randy were here from Florida, we got together at the Cottage for some flow painting. I showed them how to make an ocean scene.
And we made some book covers.
They all got messy with me, and we poured paints in the garage.
This is a "swipe" technique. The colors go on over black paint, then more black paint is drizzled over it, and swiped across to make a pretty design. The paint needs to dry for a while, when it is done, I'll assemble the books, and show you how it turned out.
Here is Guncle Randy's other painting.
WOW.
I love it.
I wonder if he will notice if it isn't in the box I am mailing to him when the paint dries….
I'd planned a lunch for us and was happy to have a chance to use the fall tablecloth that I found at the flea market we all shopped at.
We had beef pot pie with puff pastry, salad, and rosemary garlic bread fresh from the oven.
With "paint pour" cupcakes for dessert.
But that wasn't it for the day…
Karen started her morning at 4am, dove hunting at the camp we had been visiting.
She brought them along to clean and gifted us with a whole flock.
It is not something I've ever done before, but intriguing. There is definitely a bonus to a meal that you have hand crafted, whether from garden to table or from field to fork.
And well worth it, those doves were tender and delicious! We soaked them in salt water for 24 hours, before marinating in Italian dressing.
While the dove breasts soaked up the flavors, we took a Labor Day spin out on the lake.
After boating, I wrapped the breasts in bacon, and my husband slow cooked them on the grill. We served it with a cauliflower mash, asparagus, fresh made bread, and a salad featuring tomatoes just picked from the garden.
Thanks, for being such a great shot, Karen! And for sharing your bounty!
Sugarwings wanted some gifts to give to her birthday party attendees, and I wanted to make something special for a gathering I am attending this week, so we saved the drippings from our last day of painting to make some necklaces.
This is how it starts.
Ugly, huh?
She laid a piece of parchment paper under her work area to catch drips, then spread the paint with a spatula so it would be thin enough to use in a pendant tray.
The name for this is ugly too. These are called "skins".
Bleck!
But once you start looking up close, you find some lovely, little areas that are ideal for jewels.
A generous dusting of glitter went over the wet paint, then we let it dry a week.
The next step is isolate the pretty areas and place 1" glass nuggets over them.
They are glued to the paint covered parchment, cut out after the glue dries, then the parchment paper is peeled off the back and the domes are glued into pendant trays.
I use a decent sized dollop of glue, press the dome into the tray tightly, then clean off the excess glue that oozes out.
This one had a surprise heart show up.
After drying, I slide them onto a leather cord and tie slip knots onto it to make the length adjustable.
I've also tried just dipping the bottom of the glass into the paint, but I don't think it is as solid of a hold as gluing the paint skin to the nugget then gluing that to the tray. Plus you get more control over the paint this way, you can pick and chose where you want to glue the glass down.
Sugarwings also made this painting to give as a grand prize to the scavenger hunt winner. I was proud of her work, she knew exactly what she wanted to pour and how to do it. This is done with the end of a water bottle! We cut off the curved bottom of the bottle and placed it in the center of the canvas. Then, she slowly and carefully poured one color after another onto the bottle piece, and let the paint flow across the canvas to create petals of a flower.
This kiddo is growing up. She is attending Jr High, taking martial arts, and has a whole new sense of self confidence to go along with her joyful, zest for life. I'm impressed with her as well as her paintings.
Honestly, I haven't been doing much but watching Netflix for over a week, since I had a case of the dizzies. (Vertigo)
But before that, I was obsessed with doodling over some of the "losers" in my giant stack of poured paint canvases. The paintings don't always turn out as you'd hope, and can be poured over and redone, but man, I was sure going through a lot of paint to produce a bunch of paintings that just looked like backgrounds.
Then, I thought, well hey, lets use them as backgrounds!
This one was the biggest inspiration, I clearly saw a lady's form in the paint.
See what I mean?
I'm sorta embarrassed to show you that I even did this one. Its hideousness was certainly destined for the re-pour pile. But then, I thought I saw a dragon eye peeking out at me….
So I painted the eye and got the pens out to draw some scales
Ryan loves it, it is for his apartment. Which is why I was using reds and blacks in the first place.
I'd experimented with swirls as I poured this one, and liked it, but it wasn't quite what I wanted.
I think it came out kind of Beetle-juicy after drawing on it.
This one will be next, I think. I'd added some veins with a toothpick while pouring it, but I think it needs more. So far, I don't see a specific shape in it, do you?
My seascapes and other flow paintings are now available in my Boutique and on Etsy.
There are a variety of sizes and colors, all inspired by my favorite beaches.
Some have a ton of "cells" (the layered, textural, bubbly bits that you can create in fluid painting).
And some have a very few.
When painting, I've tried to enhance the "pour" that I did, after it dries, by touching up with a brush. But I do my best to not cover up all of the wonderful cell activity that I find.
(These are a few close ups to show you the details)
There are paintings from different times of day…
Although I do tend to love sunrise and sunset.
Prices range from $50-90.
Thank you for the interest you've already shown.
I've loved working on them, and can't wait to paint more.
Sometimes, a paint pour doesn't go the way you'd hope. The other day, I had one blah result after another. I'd scrape off the canvas after swirling the colors into a muddy grey, and start again just to get more boring paintings. I was ready to quit (before I went broke, I'd wasted bottles and bottles of paint), and get back on with my regular style of work and give up on this technique that was becoming sooooo frustrating.
At one point, I looked at the grey mess, and though, hey, that could be a pretty background. So, I poured this rose. It started as a pink blob. I added cranberry and white, then swirled them with a palette knife to get this.
After it dried, I added detail and depth with a paint brush. Here is a close of up the pretty cells that formed when I pulled the knife across the wet paint.
Nope, not gonna quit now. I want to go dump and swirl more paint!!!
You might have heard me mention pour painting…. I've been severely addicted. And especially with ocean scenes. I'm so in love with them, that I decided I wanted them to be around me.
All around me.
So, I might have gotten a tiny, itty bitty, carried away with hanging them in the bedroom. (These 2 are 8×10)
(These two are 11×14)
See what I mean? I've hung 8 of them in sets of two.
I knew it was not a typical way to style a room, but I decided to go for it anyway. They make me happy, they feel peaceful, and people who walk in to the space have said, that the room is really lightened up.
(I think I'll take down the mirror sitting on the built in cabinet behind the door)
Frames were on sale at Hobby Lobby, and I took a cartful of paintings with me to see who fit into what for cheap. I kind of chose the paintings I'd hang by how they fit into the frame and into the room, and by using a variety of sizes, not by choosing my favorites. Although, they all are my faves….
And I decided to go all out. If I was hanging a few, I might as well hang a bunch. (Even though it is the same scene over and over, in different lights or sized canvases.)
Some frames needed to be painted white, some were already the right color. I tried to get a variety of styles, to break up the sameness of the paintings inside them.
There was thought of keeping this large frame dark to go with the top of the chest, but after looking at it this way for a week, I felt like it was too heavy for the area, and slapped some white on it, then distressed the paint a little.
While I was going beachy, I thought I'd add some beach elements to the room. Not too many, just a few mermaids and shells.
This chest of drawers is new, from the West Bottoms antique district. I shopped on an extremely hot day, and was trying to find the exactly perfect item to fit this wall. Well, I thought I found it, a gorgeous, low chest with a giant, aged marble top. But it was higher than my budget, and looked heavy. I decided indulge myself anyway, then as I was starting to pay for the thing, the salesclerk said, "Wow that is a big, heavy marble top!"
On a sweltering day in the warehouse district, when I was already exhausted, the mere thought of getting it into the truck, then out and into the house was too much for me. I think I was delirious from the heat and couldn't rationally think about trying to figure out the logistics of getting the monstrosity home.
I backed out on the purchase, and went for this smaller, much, much cheaper, fixer upper instead. It was only $100, a nice shape, and just needed handles, and paint.
Also, it weighed nothing compared to the other one.
The top was attractive, it simply needed wax and elbow grease to shine it up. The base, I painted white and dry brushed with gray for a driftwood look. I found handles at Hobby Lobby, just to discover I was two short, and they were discontinued. So I returned them and settled for repainting the shiny brass handles that originally came on it. Because I was too lazy to drill new holes and patch the old ones to make a different style of handles fit.
When done, it fit nicely, has the space I need, looks good in the room, and is pretty. But you know what? Maybe I'd settled too much. Wrong hardware, wrong piece.
I look at it and wish I had the gorgeous slab of dreamy, aged, marble that I was too worn out and drained from the unseasonably steamy day to deal with.
It's a good thing I have such a serene, peaceful bedroom to calm my buyer's remorse angst. It is hard to be sad about a furniture screw up when I am embraced by walls filled with seascapes.
The seaside knick knacks were pulled from the cabinet in the bathroom, where they'd been on display previously. So, the bathroom got a bit of a redo too. Some of the art work that had been in the bedroom was used in there, and I adjusted the shelves to hide any gaps from removing all of the shells.
A grayed, aqua was already on the walls, and even though a fresh color of paint can really lift a room, I decided against changing it. This color suits me well, and I'm not ready to move away from it. Even though another blue might blend better with the seascapes, I enjoy the contrast and didn't want it too matchy.
The results are pleasing, and refreshing.
If you'd like to learn how to do a poured paint seascape, I have a youtube video with directions. But please forgive the lack of editing. And take a dramamine before watching it.
Or check back to my Boutique later this week, when I get some ocean scenes photographed and listed for sale.
While I have been celebrating my 60th from early April to mid June, my poor husband only got one day of partying for his.
He made up for it by mentioning his age (57) from the time I turned 60, until he turned 58 a month later. Hmm, yes, I heard that, Rich!!
I wanted to do something special for him, since he put up with all of my celebrating of my own holiday.
We spend a lot of time out on Lake Clinton, near our home. And we have a favorite area, a quiet cove that is ideal for swimming and picnicking. So, I took dozens of photos the last time we were there, and did this painting from them.
At first, I framed it. Then, took a look at it on the wall and thought it looked like a little old lady painted it. (which I realized that I am)
Once I popped it out of the frame, I liked it better.
Here is our cove from another angle. We are often the only people there when we go. Lake Clinton is a beautiful spot and I am always surprised at how quiet it is.
Although, we do our best to liven up that cove!
We have even convinced our son, Ryan to come out on the lake with us this season. He hasn't been as fond of the place as the rest of us, over the years.
For Rich's birthday, we packed a picnic and headed out to our cove to have dinner. It was only one party for him, as opposed to the 7 or so I had…. But I think he liked it. And I hope that he will enjoy the painting.
Around here, there are a lot of paintings, but I tried to make this one special for him.
Acrylic paint pouring is a real trip. You never know what you will get, even though I'm trying to control my paints, and I do use a brush to touch up and add detail after it dries, the paint itself has a mind of its own.
See how the "cells" develop? I adore that part.
Here is another close up of the cells. I call them Sea Cells.
This is the painting it is from.
I mixed the acrylic paint with water, a conditioner, and coconut hair serum.
This is how it is poured out onto the canvas.
Next, I use a cake server to spread the colors, much of it pours off the side of the canvas. What is left, I try to manipulate into waves and clouds.
It is hard to believe that this becomes…
This, huh?
The process intrigues and fascinates me. And since I am land locked, here in Kansas, it is nice to think about oceans.
Abstracts are fun to do too. This one was done with a "dirty pour". All of the colors are layered into a cup, turned upside down on the canvas, then I "swiped" across it with my cake server.
My typical painting style is too detailed, much better suited to illustrations than art to hang on walls. So, I've been using this technique to try to teach myself to let go a bit and let what happens, happen
Here is a tutorial on how I do these. Please excuse the mess and the lack of editing!
