The Gaze 12" x 14"

The Gaze - detail 

  

My Newest Painting: Very Different
For more info
"The Gaze" is a 12" x 16" varnished watercolour ( no glass required, regular frame) with some powdered gold pigment. It is in my series of Venetian sculptures, but I used a very different style to give it a modern twist. It is inspired by a carving by the Venetian sculptor Tullio Lombardo ( 1460-1532) and was painted on an1/8" Ampersand panel from Texas. Eventually, I will make a cradle for it and frame it with a floating frame ( no glass), but for the moment I want to offer it as is for a lower shipping cost. I am interested in your reaction to this new style....

Spring Beauty Miniature

Spring Beauty Miniature

Spring Beauty Miniature 4" x 4"

SOLD

 

This original painting is on an 1/8" Ampersand Aquabord panel that I love more all the time because of the vivid colors and very special effects that can be achieved on it. In "Spring Beauty" I had a lot of fun creating depth and using negative painting techniques to hint at leaves in the background. I finished the painting with a varnish, then glossy resin-like coating that increases the depth and the shine. These miniatures do not need glass!!!
I like to display these little gems on a mini easel which is readily available ; it is so easy to find a special little corner for them on a shelf, a table, near a computer. Naturally, they can also be inserted into a regular photo frame or a painting frame. 

Autumn's Gold

Autumn's Gold

 

SOLD

This original mixed media painting is painted on an ampersand panel affixed to a 1.5 deep cradled birch surface. This means that it has deep sides and is ready to hang or to display standing on its own on a shelf or on a table.
It is painted with watercolor and gold leaf and was sealed before a resin-like finish was applied to the surface to give an almost glass-like finish which is very reflective and enhances the depth and color of this beautiful painting.The finish adds greatly to the painting; it has just enough texture and irregularities to confirm that it was hand applied.
It is wired at the back, the sides have been painted black. It is ready to hang and enjoy by you or as gift by a special person.

Below are more photos of this artwork. 

Small "Happy Giraffe"

The (small) Happy Giraffe - 8" x 8" on 1/8"Ampersand  Aquabord panel. Background in gold leaf and giraffe is in watercolor. The entire painting is sealed and is to be displayed without glass...
Some of you may have seen my large framed "Giraffe" currently at the Kevin Dodds Gallery & Studio. I personally like it so much that I decided to paint a similar one in a small size. Before I get it framed, I am offering this little long-lashed sweetie online..
.Check it out at
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/…/c…/the-happy-giraffe/449974

It is ready to be inserted into a standard frame without glass. The ampersand panel is a most archival surface and I just love working on it.
The gold leaf makes this artwork so special, but it is almost impossible to photograph. When the sun shines on this piece, the gold leaf produces a simply stunning effect. The giraffe herself has such a happy and gentle look that it brings a smile to my face.

The Golden Nest

The Golden Nest 

SOLD

This original painting is part of my nest series, but this time, with a twist: gold leaf is applied on some of the twigs of the nest and on some branches...thus, the title "Golden Nest".

I love all the symbolism of the nest: family, home,safety, promises, future, hope, anticipation etc....
I consider this painting almost a semi-abstract. It is full of movement!
I used one of my favorite surfaces, an 9" x 12" x 1/8" Ampersand Claybord panel that is ready to be inserted into a standard frame.

"Anticipation" -Semi-Abstract Bird's Nest

"Anticipation"- SOLD

 Here is my latest "Bird's Nest" painting. It is 11" x 14" in acrylic on an ampersand panel. I framed it very simply in black.  In a semi-abstract way, I tried to suggest a bird flying with the bird's nest on top. I really enjoyed creating implied textures especially near the edges of the painting.
This painting is now on display at the Foyer Gallery in Ottawa.
Do let me know what you think.

"Colorful Zebra"

Colourful Zebra: My latest painting
16" x  20" plus frame
Watercolour (varnished) and gold leaf

SOLD

I painted a miniature zebra less than 2 months ago and it now happily resides in Wisconsin. I loved it so much that I wanted to paint a much larger one. I had great fun painting this colorful 16" x 20"guy against a gold leaf background. You have to see it when the sun shines on the gold leaf...

This painting is now on display at the  Kevin Dodds Gallery and Studio at 1101 Bank St. (near Sunnyside) in Ottawa, Ontario.On my facebook, I show a photo of this painting, framed,  in the gallery window...no sun, unfortunately at that moment:-)

The painting is on Ampersand Aquabord panel, a very unique surface I have been using quite a bit lately and now love...after almost giving up on it until I found ways to make it work for me. I am now planning a companion piece for this zebra...more to come soon.

If interested in this painting, please contact me

Hope you are having a wonderful October.

What I Have Been Up To

My last post was weeks and weeks ago! Unforgivable!

I have been busy in spite of a pinched nerve in my back and inflammation of the sciatic nerve....I am slowly getting better.

Here are some of my latest paintings...small ones, since my back was not cooperating:-)

Beautiful Giraffe -SOLD

 "Beautiful Giraffe "  is on a 5" x 7" Ampersand Aquabord that I am starting to really like. I have been working quite a bit with gold leaf and, as for "The Zebra" below, I decided that it would be perfect for the background: the gold translates the heat of the burning African sun.
I then sealed the gold leaf and varnished the entire painting and added a resin-like finish. This finish adds depth to the painting and its shine makes it look almost like a ceramic tile. Really interesting!
I am very pleased with this piece....I hope you will be too.

The Zebra - SOLD

 I found the perfect little frame for The Zebra. It sold the first day it was posted,on DailyPaintworks.

Below are two acrylic paintings with negative painting à la Linda Kemp with whom I took my 5th or 6th workshop in July. She is great!

The paintings of birds nests are on 8" x 8" Ampersand Claybord.I have not yet had a chance to look for frames for them. With their one and only egg each, the paintings are called "Precious I" and Precious II.  I would like to make a series of these and intend to try much larger sizes...The intricate interweave of twigs in the nests really fascinate me...perhaps because I was a hand weaver many, many years ago:-)

"Precious I" - Available

"Precious II" - Available

I hope your summer has been great so far! Thank you for stopping by!

Great Fun with Aquabord

For the past week, I have been playing with 4" x 4" Aquabord, the Ampersand panels made for watercolor.
I had tried this surface once before, but without success. This time, I really like what I am achieving. The result is not the same as a watercolor painting on paper, but it certainly has its advantages. The surface does not buckle or tear, paint lifts back to the white so easily, and it is very easy to varnish.
Disadvantages: well, when you paint in layers, the previous layer will have a tendency to lift ...and you need to adapt your painting techniques. I don't think anything will ever replace for me the pleasure of working on my Fabriano SP paper, but I am certainly having fun with the Aquabord.

SOLD

SOLD

   Above are three florals I painted in the last week. I think they look great on a small mini easel, but they can as easily be inserted in a regular frame for wall display.

What has been your experience with Aquabord?

Yet Another Painting of Leaves....and My First Dog Portrait

I thought my obsession with leaves and negative painting was over, but it seems I was wrong. Hopefully, you are not too tired of these... This painting is a small 8" x 10" acrylic on Ampersand panel. I love the textures that can be achieved on this surface.

Autumn Leaves- 10" x 8" - Acrylic on Ampersand panel

I am finishing a large watercolor commission that I have had for months. To relax in between watercolor painting sessions, I have been playing. Last week, I painted my first dog portrait and had fun making it very colorful:-)

Chleo, the Bassett Hound - 10" x 10" acrylic

I am pleased that I have managed to post more regularly lately.
Wishing you a great week.

More on my acrylic journey

I have to admit it: I am totally hooked on acrylics! I am also hooked on negative painting!

Here are three paintings I have done in the past two weeks:

"The Dancers Below the Surface"

 

 

This 12" x 16" painting on canvas went through many transformations. I started with reds and oranges and ended up with these muted blues.

"Shimmer on the Pond"

As you can see, I have also developed an obsession with leaves and water:-) This 9"x 12" acrylic painting is on a cradled gessobord made by the Ampersand company.

"The Last Waltz"

This 3rd acrylic painting is 8" x 10" and is on Claybord by Ampersand. This glass-like surface does not photograph well; in real life, it has a wonderful glossy surface. It requires getting used to, but it is wonderfully different.

I love to experiment and the last few weeks I have felt so energized by my new journey with acrylic paints. I hope that you will like these paintings.

I hope that you are all enjoying these summer days.

More Acrylic Fun: "Underwater Fantasy"

"Underwater Fantasy"

I seem to be hooked on acrylic and negative painting these days. Here is my latest done spontaneously apart from drawing one leaf shape to start. I should pay more attention to the composition, but creating all these seaweed shapes was so much fun!
This is 12"x 12" on a flat Ampersand Claybord panel.

FOREST WHISPERS

"Forest Whispers" - 8" x 10" acrylic on 3/4" ampersand cradled panel

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am becoming addicted to this negative painting technique, at least on this slick ampersand panel surface.  I started with the main leaf in the foreground, then "found' new shapes around and behind the this leaf as I intensified the values. Then I tried to imagine the criss-crossing of stems and twigs on the forest floor as well as little openings of light through the vegetation. This is so much fun!

I varnished the painting and painted the sides black. The painting does not need to be framed. However, I tried it in a black floating frame and it really made the colors pop.

Let me know what you think.
I am offering this painting through my Daily Paintworks site.

Still Playing...but learning at the same time

"Sea Waltz" - 5" x 7" x 7/8" on Ampersand panel

This weekend, I experimented with Ampersand Claybord panels that I had purchased in NYC two years ago. I used acrylics and this "structured and tight" painter  tried her hand at intuitive negative painting without any preliminary drawing or even a plan! My, what is happening to me???

Well, I had fun! I think by the end of the painting I was totally hooked on creating those little bits of light through and between the free-form leaves. I tried to stop before I had drilled a huge whole through those plants to reveal only the blue water:-)

What have I learned through this play? Well, I am better at understanding the concept of negative painting, I am more aware of what "lies behind or beneath", and I am starting to appreciate the surface of the claybord.

I think I will try something similar on a lager 5/8" thick Ampersand panel that is hiding somewhere in my studio.
Have a great weekend....and don't despair...I will return to my "serious" paintings before long.