Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Playing and Experimenting

During the last few days, I have played and have experimented.

Midnight Stroll On Broadway -SOLD

My first new piece is an abstract called " Midnight Stroll on Broadway" where I tried to suggest the lights, the colors and the movement of the ever-present Manhattan crowd . It  is in watercolor, but with the paper wrapped around the edges of a canvas. I still have to varnish it, but so far, I liked working on this surface. I used lots and lots of water to test the surface, and there is only one small spot (the dark blue figure) that seems to have warped ever slightly - I may be able to flatten it out with weights, but it is really not noticeable. I will see how my framer can frame this. The next time, I will use a gallery-depth canvas and will thus have the option of leaving it unframed. It is only 8" X 10". I am looking forward to trying this on a larger canvas.

Because of  the heat wave that has been hitting Ottawa, I have been dreaming of snow:-)Consequently,  I created another "Polar Bear" mixed media painting on a wood panel. Unfortunately, it was very hard to photograph because of the metallic reflections. I used all kinds of acrylic gels and medium: pumice stone texture, gold mica flakes, molding pastes. I also used layers of metallic foil for the bear and embossed it; the sun has metallic paints, the little stream has cheese cloth for additional texture.
"Land of the Midnight Sun" is 10" X 10" X 1"

Land of the Midnight Sun-SO:LD























































































                                                                                        




Do let me know what you think of these experimental pieces.
I hope that you are also  finding some time to "play"

18 comments:

  1. Wow! How fun! I love the textures and the abstractness that you're creating! Keep experimenting... something really special is about to happen here!

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    1. Katherine, I am not sure if anything really special will come out of all this, but I am certainly having some creative fun. I am very pleased that you like these paintings.

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  2. Fun pieces and so different from each other.

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    1. Bren, yes, they are very different. I like moving from one type of work to another once in a while.

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  3. I really like your colors and textures. It is so much fun to play and experiment sometimes.

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    1. Vicki, after doing a large or complex watercolor, I always feel the need to play and to take risks:-)

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  4. What can be better than playing and experimenting? And thank you for the ideas!
    I like polar bear very much. Freezing))

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    1. Thank you for dropping by, Irina...and that we share a love for polar bears:-)

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  5. Love the colors! Did you soak your paper before stretching it on the stretcher bars? I did not get any warping or buckling when I soaked it and stapled it a bit at a time. I find you really have to pull tight while stapling (like you are reupholstering ) Staple one side in the middle then opposite side then one end and then the other. keeping up the alternating stapling until you get to the corners. What weight paper did you use?

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    1. Krista, I did soak the paper and stapled it as you did. I can't say that I have any buckling, but one one spot I can just feel that the paper is not quite as even. I used 140lb CP.
      I will cover another canvas today or tomorrow:-)

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  6. Christiane, I love your experimental pieces. The Broadway piece is so beautifully colorful and I love the action.

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    1. Barb, thank you so much for taking the time from your hectic schedule to visit and comment. I have just varnished the Broadway piece and I like it...

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  7. They're both great, but I love the Land of the Midnight Sun because of the texture and the wonderful way you did the bear.

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    1. Thank you, Theresa. I'm glad that you like them. Congratulations on your recent sale on FineArtAmerica. I joined about a year ago, but have just started to upload some images.

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  8. Christina love your mixed media and abstract work. It is so much fun to play. Thanks so much for sharing.

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    1. Debbie, thank you so much for taking the time to visit and comment!It's much appreciated.

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  9. Hi Christiane, they are both interesting pieces. I am really drawn to the first one. I love all the color and movement.
    Wishing you continued enjoyment!

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    1. Hi, Laura, and thank you for your support. I think the abstract would look nice in a much bigger format...what do you think?

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