Parliament Building Carving I - completed

I have just completed the  Parliament Building Carving I. It's only 7.5" x 7.5' approx. on Fabriano Artistico SP. I went for  a sun-drenched look contrasting with shadows in the recessed areas where I created  a lot of textures.
I will have to live with it for a few days before I can decide if i like it enough to continue with my intended series of such carvings.

New WIP - Small Parliament Hill Carving

I have started over the small painting of the Parliament Building carving. It's only 8"x8" and the face is probably smaller than 4" high. I am using Fabriano 140 lb SP  - not stretched, not adhered to canvas or wood panel - just plain approach this time:-)

So far, I like it better than my previous effort. I still have to remove some masking and paint around the nose before I start the more colorful background. The face will remain mostly unpainted as it is now with just the deep shadows.

I hope that you like this start.
Happy Sunday and a great week to all of you.

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"

Tech Activity Update

I have had great house guests for about ten days; consequently, I have done little painting. I managed to find some time though to play on the computer:-) Here is an update of my "technology" activity of the past two weeks.

FineArtAmerica:
Although I had joined this site over a year ago, I had never uploaded anything. I discovered all the great possibilities of this site this week and have started to upload a few images. I have received such a warm welcome: I have already received two features ( for my Coconuts and for my Queen of the Pond).

Red Bubble:

I am still having fun on Red Bubble and they continue to be very kind to me. My cherries and lace were featured in the Canadian Artists group.

My Inukshuk was featured in Painters Universe group while my Coconuts were featured in the Art Universe group.

On my own blog, I have added a few new earring images to my "Jewelry Page".

As of Monday, it's back to painting. I want to experiment with other ways to mount my watercolor paper in view of eventually varnishing the painting and displaying it without glass. Stay tuned.

Wishing you all a great weekend.