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!
This medium intrigued me and I thought I'd give it a try.
uh oh
I was hooked!
You mix acrylic paint with silicone or dimethicone (found in Coconut Hair Serum), and a conditioner to make it pour easily, a little water, and then use different tricks for pouring it onto a canvas. Afterwards, it gets hit with a heat gun to create the "cells" or bubble formations that come from the heat making the additive rise to the surface.
And it is an ooey, gooey, mess of fun!
After a few days of learning how the paint moves and how to control it a little (haha, it is wayyyy out of control, but you can try!)
I decided to try some more representational works. Or as Sugarwings calls it, intentional pouring.
And then I discovered oceans…..
And I cannot stop.
This is why, the elusive cells. When they happen where I want them, it is a wonderful thing.
Some have more than others, but I can't stop chasing them and hoping I catch some.
While cleaning up a bit in the studio, I came across my old photo album of murals and painted furniture. I'd forgotten I had it and enjoyed looking back over the years as I flipped through it.
Which is why we do scrap books and albums right?
I apologize for the blurriness of most of these pics, they are photographed through the plastic covers on the pages.
And taking a photo of a picture isn't always the best (or smartest) way to do a blog post, huh?
But please forgive me as I indulge myself in showing some of these old pics. They were glued down, and if I had to remove and scan each one, it wouldn't have happened.
So, instead, you get a quick and crappy trip down memory lane with me and my smeary pictures.
Some are from antique mall booths, and of painted furniture.
This is from a baby's room.
This as well.
And here is a master bedroom painted a deep color that I was asked to paint blooming flowers all the way around the baseboards.
The iris "bloomed" all around the room.
This was for a boy's room, with all walls done in a planetary theme.
His sister's room got dolphins.
Extra blurriness for this one, it is in a dining room and is part of a scene that filled all four walls.
I can't even remember painting this one.
But back in the day, I did do a lot of pets on walls. Often, the furry little guys would pose for me in person.
This is a Velveteen Rabbit scene for a niece.
And some frogs for another little girl who had actually saved up her own money to hire an artist to come and paint her bedroom. She loved frogs.
I painted this landscape in my mud room, hated it, and painted over it. My home is layers upon layers of painted over murals. My son's rooms changed every couple of years as they were growing up.
A friend had me do this for her, and the best part was hanging out and laughing together as I did the work.
I did public spaces too. Here is a basement laundry room at an apartment building near the KU campus.
And a bar in Louisiana. This was huge, the whole thing was 20×60'
The sunset was done with spray paint. I'm trying to remember why there was a desert in Louisiana, but I just can't. It was a cowboy bar, and the guy roping the moon was the logo.
The little guy in the beer bottle was the logo for another bar, and I painted a wall of him in various poses all over the place. A larger version of him is holding the bottle. It was like a big, drunken hallucination and was such fun to come up with.
I painted this restaurant wall to brighten up a narrow space. (I did the faux finish too)
And I was hired to paint tropical plants at a country club in Florida.
Funny, years and years later, my husband is working for this company now and is actually a VP. He wouldn't ever have hired me, that would've been nepotism, so I'm glad he got the job later on. This was one of the most fun paintings I've done, I had a week to stay at their private hotel at the club, order room service, and sit by the pool contemplating what to paint next. I had free reign in the dining room and snack bar to create on the walls.
Guncle Randy always gave me free space to decorate his walls too. Everytime I visited we would paint together and add more to his art room.
I was lucky enough to get to do some Design Showhouses too. This was in a music room of a very old, wonderful home. The walls are bronze, gold, and copper. The piano bench is covered in sheet music and is used in front of the bench my son built and that I now have in my studio.
Some of these, I really enjoyed seeing again, others are slightly cringe-worthy. I always painted fast, most walls were done in less than a day, and at the time, I kept pretty busy with daycares, hotels, and so many other spaces. It makes me a bit sad that digital cameras weren't around and I don't have better photos of most of the work. Painting murals was quite an interesting job and I got to travel, experiment, and really loved the work.
When we added the new room last year, and had an electrician around, I had him do some updates here and there in the rest of the house. One was replacing smoke detectors. This one was white when installed and I ignored it for a year, much like the one up high in the 15' peak of the space we built.
I don't know why I didn't fix it right away. It is such a simple thing to do.
The trick is to not paint very heavily. I use a chip brush dipped into my paint, then wiped off slightly to have a dry brush effect. Lightly, lightly, with barely any paint on the brush, I daintily add a little color to the detector.
Then let it dry, and do it again, slowly building up tint. But not clogging or blocking anything.
I can promise you that the appliance still works, because when I burn cookies, it screams at me, even with a coat of paint on it!
And it almost disappears on the wall now.
The new slipcover, is actually a duvet cover. It is too big so is tucked under the cushion, but not in a very tidy way. I still love it with the soft tones of my vintage fabric pillows.
And since I'd washed the previous slipcover on the steam setting of the washing machine (oops!) I needed a quick replacement and had no time to sew.
Hopefully, everyone will be gazing at the new and improved smoke detector and not even notice the messy job I did.
While I had my paint brush out, I thought I'd do a few more flowers. This "WISHES" sign is done on an old cabinet door.
The word seemed to call for some sparkle. So, I accented it with silver glitter.
Here are some close ups of the rose vine I showed in my last post.
I hated to put away my brushes and paint, but it was time to move on, I have a lot to do to get ready for the holiday season, with Snowbirdsong coming up as well as a Christmas home tour.
Both of which I am looking forward to, but it was still hard to stop painting!
Although, I do have a few more of these egg ornaments to do, so it won't be put away for too long.
Last year, I dropped a quart of red paint in the studio. It splattered so far that I am still finding spots I didn't see before.
What a mess!
I cleaned up as much as I could, touched up paint on doors, cabinets, etc, and ignored the main sploosh that went up the wall and onto the ceiling, it was too much to face.
Eventually, I knew I had to deal with it, but since I didn't have any more paint in the wall color, it would mean that I had to repaint not just this red splotch, but the entire west wall of the studio, behind the computer, my storage, and the big, heavy, wardrobe I use as a treat cabinet.
As nice as fresh paint in a new color would be, I decided it was too much work. So I painted over the red blotches only.
And I am happy that I did! I really like having a rose garden in my workshop.
While the ladder was out, I touched up the red freckled ceiling with white, so everything looks tidy again.
Now, I just wonder why I lived with that ugly bunch of blotches for that long before I thought of this save.
There is a 50% off sale in the Boutique!!! To access the bargain prices, type in
LABORDAYSALE
at the checkout, and hit "recalculate" and watch the amount drop in half.
I'll be out of town and away from my computer and out of touch for a few days, so shipping will be next week. Please remember that the postage prices will be adjusted when I get the actual total from the USPS as I box the goodies up to send to you and I will refund excesses.
www.karlascottage.com
At the Darkening of the Sun festival my kids performed at, I was asked to help with the face painting.
The theme was tribal that night, and they didn't want to appropriate native designs, so we went with an Avatar/tribal look, with lots of blue.
I probably painted a dozen or so faces, and am afraid it was done so fast, I barely got photos. I thought I'd get them after the show, but the light was bad and people were busy.
(that is our Hippy Chic in the background, doing hair for the show, she is a master braider)
Here is one of our practice looks before the show and I had more time to do it, plus had white. I didn't have any white with me for the performance, which I think made the designs not as vibrant from the crowd.
But the troupe has asked me to do butterfly faces in the future for an act Sugarwings has in mind, where the aerialists start out as eggs, and morph from caterpillars to cocoons to butterflies.
I'm excited about that, I love butterflies. And it is nice that they are asking me to help again. I loved doing it, even with the rush with less than perfect results, they were ok with what I did.
I was afraid I'd let them down.
We used eye shadow for the shading and eye liner for the designs. I think I'll have to throw in some white paint too for more distinction.
The makeup help up well, so much so that with no hot water, a lot of the performers woke up in their tents the next morning with the look intact.
I was curious about how that effected the sun screen situation…. When they went up on the hilltop in the bright sun to watch the eclipse, did they end up with a sunburn in a tribal pattern?
I've got plenty of shots of Sugarwings in her makeup, since she hangs around on our laps as much as she can.
And Sylvan's face was done first, so the light was good and the line of performers hadn't gathered yet for me to work on them, so I took some of her.
Avahni was the only other picture that I took.
I gave Sugarwings my leftover paints and she has been face painting everyone who will sit still for her. Maybe she and I will go into business together.
