Artistic Renderings: November 2012

Altered Paintbrush Snowman (Musing)

Most of the time when I do a swap I choose to work in a semi comfort zone....with this one....well

I must get to know my "inner child" a bit better because this is what came out.... NOW, there are times when I look at it and I feel "kinda" like "I like it" and there are other times when I look at it and tell myself "throw it away" QUICK and do something different. This is very much a piece that is BEST viewed at the 6' range... outside the red ropes, etc.

NO, it is not "pretty", but do things always "have" to be pretty? If you will look close you will see that two teeth are "visible" and I have no idea why that happened, except that as a child I had

buck teeth....... and I have worked in kinda angular lines (love Monika Britt), and rather than a smooth snow ball-ey form I chose a LOT of texture a random look of ins and outs, ups and downs,

straight and curved lines, convex dots, etc.

I wanted to do the "snowman" "snowperson" mostly in copper paints, embellishments, etc. as I seem to be hung up on the "colors" that are involved, so I used copper and green here and there just for a little bit of color...and to accent the texture a bit. I wanted the design to be a little steampunkery so I have used some of my steampunk buttons....

On the back I have used a vintage spoon (which I think might be a childs spoon) so that it can be picked up this way...

Am I done? I don't think so....but don't ask me why...I just don't feel that it is quite complete so I

am going to live with it for the weekend and see if I come across anything that might tie in and be "fun" to use.

And yes, the hair sticking straight up is the top of a Mop Brush....

Specifications I want to achieve: Things that I need to do:

1. I think that I need to do some shading between the snowballs of the snowperson.

2. Maybe some "tiny, little, clear swarovski crystals strung on some wire or elastic thread to catch the light? (This will incorporate the jewelry aspect of art) so will need to try and decide where that

would work the best.

3. If more than one "style" comes forth either go with one or even the "styles" out so that not more than one style is predominate.

4. Use the dremel tool (Thanks Sister) to remove a little of the paint to look

Becoming active in a "group" and participating really does help to work outside of ones' normal

"box" and merge into other areas... I find that sometimes I understand a piece and then there are other times when I just "don't" get it....so that doesn't become my favorite choice as a creative outlet.

OR, I may decide to down tone things so they aren't as "far out". Art is strange. I find that my style is similar but takes on a different look as I work back and forth between mediums. Which actually is like changing a substrate and working in your same style. ie: I love to paint landscapes and my

jewelry fluctuates in color like the seasons... and right now I love the sublteness of blues and whites

and bringing forth the "feeling" of cool, and now I seem to want cold and hot together in the altered paintbrush.......

Whether I paint, make jewelry, do mixed media, using canvas, glass, etc. it is to learn something, try something to obtain a look that is mine... and to be content when I am done.

SO..... join a group. Try an altered paintbrush, do something in copper..... hmmmmmmm.

I think I need to be thinking about an altered landscape.....

Create Texture, Color, Balance, Depth....

Winter Ice Bracelet

I love winter. The snow, ice, wind, scenery, etc.
So it was only "fitting" I try my hand at a snowy, cold feeling bracelet with some wintery charms.

The charms are from Tierra Cast and I love the quality as well as the intricate, clean designs...
They can be purchased at http://www.dragynsfyre.etsy.com

I also used frosted white and pale translucent blue
daggers that remind me of icycles and the silver
findings (Tierra Cast) just add the right touch. I also used white furnace glass that is handade in Pennsylvania. (I try my best to use American made products whenever possible, and support the different artisans from all over the world.)

This bracelet will be listed for sale on my Etsy site
as well as others as they are made.

Stained/Hand Painted Necklace Stand

This is a photo of the wooden handpainted necklace stand that I just finished painting and will be selling on Etsy.

My daughter brought 3-4 different pieces for me to see and she offered to leave hers for me to start painting and when my order comes I will replace hers. They were just a raw wood when she brought them....I have stained this one and I painted the back, stand, and leg with a metallic bronze paint. Tomorrow I will work on the hand or the smaller necklace stand.....

These would be great for decoration, for jewelry shows, or for using as intended as a necklace stand. On the back is for pegs where you can wrap the chain around to keep secure.

As you can see of the closeup below the rose is a beige/white.
Each one that I paint will be different. They say that brown is the new black and I tend to agree after seeing the lights and darks in this piece.

Mayan Mixed Media OOAK...Nearing Completion

Copyright 11-12 Diana Putnam

This is done......and it was a pleasant learning jourey of experiences. The one thing I am contemplating is the additon of something on the edges of the plaque....it seems to just end ...which is OK but I feel I want to add something even though the edges are beveled and am thinking "twine" just wound around the piece and glued, nailed or stapled in place. I just brushed on the finish coat everywhere but on the statue and have it setting so the fan exhaust will blow on it softly.

It was fun making pieces fit kinda like a puzzle, trial and error. Oh, and there is a light wood bead beside the earring on the right and a brown feather that is just soft and fluffy goes there.

I was taking this photo and using my floor as a wall so the pieces look as if they are crooked....but they aren't.

It will hang in my studio for a couple of weeks.

Vintage White Tags

These are the vintage white tags that I received in a swap from AFTCM yahoo group. Although I entered this swap I am not a paper artist so I will be outside my area when I start mine tomorrow.

Tristan Blakeman is the artist of these tags and they are awesome. Some neat techniques were used, the frozen charlotte which I think he made and the gorgeous thread lace.

They are hanging in my
work area where I can see them, and admire his work. Thanks Tristan. I hope mine will be as appealing as yours.

Earrings

Even though I don't have pierced ears I really enjoy making earrings for others who do.... they are

easy, quick, and a neat gift for others as they are pretty much one of a kind and not earrings you see

many of.

I use gemstones, Swarovski crystals, Tierra Cast findings (they come in copper, brass and silver)

clasps, which are made in the USA, and are plated pewter and really top of the line in quality with

intricate, clear details. The handmade lampwork beads that I use are made by two SRA glass

artists.

Doing jewelry helps me to relax, get kinda "lost" in thought, and really seems to help the creativity

flow through open channels.

My next project that is waiting for me is a bracelet made using handmade lampwork beads, smooth smotth sea stones, and what I think is Jasper,,, I picked it up in a consignment store and was not marked.

I am not sure just what else I will add to this piece...or who the recipient will be.....or if it will be for

sale.

Patricia Reichenbach

Patricia Reichenbach is one of my favorite design artists......my problem is she works in oil and I don''t.
(Published in PaintWorks back in 2010) but Patricia is a steady artist with this publication.

Rather than just not paint any of her awesome pieces I decided to use her design, Liquitex acrylic paints in heavy and soft body using just her picture as a guide and chose a 5" x 7" portrait grade canvas board.

I also found the Traditions Medium worked great for me to work wet on wet, shading and highlighting.
I painted this with Dynasty dry brushes .... because they worked for me. I flyspecked with white, purple, and Ice Crystal Glamour Dust paint by Americana and I totally basecoated (slip slap technique)
the entire canvas with green and black.

My decision was to paint the design in the upper right hand corner where Patricia painted hers in the bottom right hand corner pointing down. The piece could actually be hung 3 different ways which
is a nice option ..

(A Christmas present for friends)

Colored Lights

Our neighbors across the road were putting up Christmas lights today and they look SOOOO pretty....so this is the picture.... How Neat. Thank you Camera.......sure cannot claim artistic license on this one.....

Mayan Mixed Media (IN PROGRESS)

Mixed Media art is new to me and one I walk in to slowly...and with some apprehension. Takes a different kind of thinking than painting, more research, and supplies to look through to find what you want. The sequins on this piece are a blue and they show up a little in the photo....I can already see that I need to do a bit of work on the left eye to increase the middle.,,, I am using Liquitex acrylic paints, texture medium and Americana Glamour dust Paints...the substrate is an MDF plaque. and the brass pieces are embellishments I have collected. I still have quite a bit more to do before I can say "done" but it is progressing nicely which is a good feeling... so I am hoping it continues... Kinda stopping now and then and doing something else has helped a lot, plus running across items that "work"... through my artists' eye.

Swap Exchange

Our instructions for this exchange:

Winter, Glittery using 3 spools.

I chose to use a vintage skinny spool and do a painted winter scene as it is my FAVORITE season to paint...I love show, ice, fog, pine trees, sunset, etc. The design has been painted on a piece of Roc-Lon. I have had the material for awhile and hadn't taken the time to try it out so this was the perfect time....AND...I LOVE IT. ( Maybe because I like
portrait grade canvas). Another spool is in the upper left hand corner where I used a piece of lace around the spool, some sequin studs, along with blue and silver ribbon which also is used to hang this piece. The last spool is in the bottom right hand corner where I glued to the painting, applied Glitter Sno Tex, and atop is a tiny, perfect size red cardinal... Just a splash of color... I have used plenty of Ice Crystal Glitter, and here and there I have glued on some sequins. The Snow Tex right in the foreground really adds to the impressionistic/realistic appearance. Right at the mouth of the river up into the trees is some "Freezing Fog" BRrrrrr but by far one of the most beautiful of Mother Natures gifts to us.

I used Liquitex Acrylic artist grade paints in both Soft and Heavy Body. My brushes are
the new Dynasty IPC brushes, Dynasty Decorative Series Brushes: Foliage Wave Brushes,
Dynasty Dry Brushes along with the Faux Squirrel Rounds, Liners, shaders and angles.
These brushes are the best brushes I have found for working on all different surfaces.
To me brushes are important and have to become a partner with me, and the paints I am using. The Dynasty and Black Gold Lines do this the best for me and is really an artist preference as to what works the best for them..... My hats are off to FM Brushes.....

So my finished piece is on its "way to my exchange partner......I hope she likes it...and winter. I know she gets snow but I don't know if it is a love or hate relationship as many of the people I know here in Bend hate the winter....I am the exception.

Important things when you are painting water, a pathway, road:
1. Your strokes must be very horizontal using the bottom of your canvas as your guide.
If you don't your water, road, path will look tipped..

2. Repeat your sky colors into the water.

3. Narrow and light at the top of... Darker and wider as you get to the bottom of your surface. Normally the bottom will extend and encompass about 1/2 to 2/3 of the widith of your suface.

4. Whatever color is used in your sky area closest to your horizon line will be the FIRST
(top color) as you work downwards (when you are painting water, snow, etc)

These are tips I have learned along my pathway, road journey and are kinda nice to pass along to maybe help some of the newer painters who visit my blog.

Mayan Statue

My next design is going to be using a Mayan Statue as my "reference" and painting it for some friends of ours who live up the road from us for Christmas. I am not sure if they celebrate Christmas so if they don't it will be an early welcome 2013.

Colors will be Easy... as I am going to follow the statue colors exactly and I am going to add the little "extras" I want in negative space areas.... I am going to use an MDF plaque from my "stash"....about the only piece that was the right size horizontally and vertically. Finding the right piece is an important part of the "procedure" IMHO and for what it is worth.

Finding a photo to use as reference and then drawing to enlarge or diminish scale is one of the hardest techniques to learn..... The drawing by graph paper is too slow and too exact.

My plaque is basecoated and I have done a "technique" I have never seen done before so I am anxious to see "what happens" with what I did when the finish coat is applied and how it "reacts" with the design and if it "adds to" the full design.

My goal is to enhance the negative space area as dramatically subtle as possible to enhance the point of interest, create dimension, texture, and be able to draw the
viewer into the painting...to make them think, explore, speculate, etc.

I have written all of my ideas down in my sketch book as sometimes ideas are "fleeting" .. Techniques I want to try, items I might want to use, something I want to try just to try to maybe achieve a new technique..., so with this piece....because it is so different; it will most definately be a learning experience which will help me with the next piece I do with this design..... new ideas, things I want to change, effects I want to achieve. etc.

Next I order any items that I KNOW I want and don't have, which in this case is chain to hang the piece.... and this is where Etsy saves me so much time and allows me to support a fellow artist ....

I also want to paint this image as a necklace so I will be continuing to think of a surface for this .... beads to use, colors, accents, etc.

SO much fun to step into my own zone.

Miss Pru's Portrait

Yesterday and today were wonderful as I sat and did a portrait of Miss Pru..... She is done on a portrait grade canvas using the Liquitex Heavy and Soft Body Artist grade paints.

The canvas is setting so that I can make the final adjustments......and I already see I need to darken up her ears a little and see if I can poof out her whiskers and make her face just a tad fuller.

Tomorrow I have to go to town so I will be looking for a glitzy, blingy, gawdy frame...and I am hoping I can find one big enough that I can also mat.

This was a FUN, fun piece to do.... I tried to capture her personality which I feel I succeeded in....and is, I think, the first animal I have done on my own with one of my photos and a bit of artistic license here and there. I did not try to paint exact..... I just wanted to see hair growth, dark and light areas, the eyes, ears, etc.... to help me along.

When I was all finished I added my FAVORITE effect by using some of the American Glamour Dust Paints in Ice Crystals to the eye area....a nice finishing touch.

Today I went back downstairs and redid the chin area of the portrait and I am now pleased with the
results that are shown here. She doesn't have much of a chinny chin chin but somehow I had to
locate and paint the difference..... This was so much fun watching her come alive.....and with the glamour dust paints for the eyes well, it really animates her.

I have been dabbling with the Traditions paints but have gone back to my Liquitex as they are the easiest for me to use, I like the "little bit" of gloss I get that the Americana and Traditions don't provide me...and I painted this with a minimum of brush types but several different sizes.....With the Dynasty/Black gold line that I have been using for about 8+ years..as well as the Liquitex so I guess I need to stick with what works and just play with the Traditions....

2012 President Obama

Tomorrow is here....and winding down. President Obama has been re-elected. Some are feeling good about the win....others are disappointed... this will always be. Nothing different from other elections that were controversial.....
We are on the same rough, rugged, road to a better tomorrow, a long road which will no doubt be full of dead ends, detours, and we will learn a lot. Many areas will band together and work towards the little goals of making our town better, which will improve our state ..... and if we all just take on a little bit.... do quality work..... we will reach the end of the road much quicker and then sit back and reap in the rewards of accomplishment.

How we vote is definately a personal action....based on feelings, intuition, judgement based on what "we" believe is best for friends, family and self.... Who we feel will do the best to get our derailed train back on the tracks.....

UV LIGHT (CURER) FOR RESIN

Since I have been doing a lot of resin work and would like to do some more I splurged and purchased this UV Curing Light (which I will be carrying in my Etsy shoppe). The unit comes with a UV Bulb and additional ones can be ordered.

Power 9V, Voltage: 110V-24OV 50-60Hz, Weight 0.37 um.

I am hoping that this item will fit inside a medium flat rate box for shipping purposes although the item comes in its's own cardboard box.... so kinda figure this as shipping amount for those here in the US.

The Unit with lightbulb will run $40.00.

This is a visible light wavelength and is harmless to the eyes, but is recommended that you not look straight at the light bulb for long periods of time.

This cure lamp is great for use on cloudy days or just for the added convenience of working at your art area. Typical cure time is 5-15 minutes under the UV light, dependent upon size of cure area and thickness of layer.

I will also carry Lisa's Magic Gloss which comes in a mini, small and LARGE volume dependent upon how much you use. Also available (I will carry squares and rectangle) molds for the resin and also the pendant metal bezels if you prefer this way.... as well as a pad of 50 deli sheets which have been precut.

I have ordered the items and expect that they will be here about this time next week..... I am just going to use the resin this week on top of 1 x 1 collage photos on a scrabble piece and will let you know how that goes when I am done and how the cure-er works...

Because it seems as if I am always working in an area that is much too small there have been times where things have moved, a mess mixing 2 elements together to get one, etc. so I am thinking that this machine and the Magic Gloss just might be the answer to my frustrations.... Plus if you have animals you don't have to worry as much about any pet hairs if you put the item immediately into the Curer.... not to mention our cold, damp winter days..... sometimes we have sun sometimes not...so this will get a lot of use. Just have to keep it away from those who are using the new resin Nail Polish.

LOOK UP

I love trees, fog, or in this case freezing fog, and clouds. we don't very often look "up" but when I was younger I used to love to lie and look at the clouds.... This was painted using a photo I took a few weeks ago and some artistic license.... on a rectangular gallery canvas. I will be repainting this design, matting and framing. This one was my 'test' .... to achieve colors, brushes, techniques, effects, etc.

There is another photo on my table so I am going to work from it tomorrow using an 8 x 8 portrait grade canvas.... Mt Batchelor will be the subject, first snow, and some evergreen boughs. The inspiration and "have to" feeling has hit so I have learned to take advantage of these times.....

China Hat

Today was gorgeous here in the Oregon high desert so we decided we needed to take advantage of it and take a quad ride over in an area that is called China Hat....and this is one of the more spectacular views/shots I got. It is about a 5 mile trip for us from our house to the unload spot. I used my zoom for this shot of Mt. Batchelor between the trees....

Steampunk Flowers

I worked diligently and as a result I have a goodly amount of my Steampunk flowers done and ready to pack for their trip to the East Coast.

There is another "layer" below the ones on top.

I even found some small, round brass pieces that worked just great for some buds....and I used typewriter keys for these...and attached the stems a bit different so that the buds are angled upward. I really enjoy putting these together and hunting for the "flower petals".

Knit Cable Stitch

I haven't spent a lot of time knitting and crocheting in a long time so it has been fun loooking for that special item to do. This will be a scarf when it is finished...and there is a nice wide lacy crochet openwork border that is done around all sides of this piece which really was the deciding factor for me. I knew it would work up quick, the elegance of simplicity, and I love the color of this one. The next one is going to be done in a varigated type yarn that will be pretty and enough different to NOT look the same.

When I went to the store looking for a cable knit stitch holder I was surprised to find many different designs and not JUST the one I was used to; so I chose the Ushaped holder which I feel was the right one for what I am doing and I have been pleased as I use it.

I am anxious to finish this one and start the next.......

These handmade items will be my evening projects.....I get a lot of satisfaction from hand knit and crochet items.

Seamstress-ing Tools

The items to the left and below is an antique hand-crocheted sewing book kit and a metal sliding sewing measure dated 1890 that was sent to me by a friend who finds and has some of the neatest older items. (Her Etsy vendor name(s) are Willowsnest and Remindersofthepast where she sells her vintage/antique, unique and handmade items.)

These items are to cherished and are "out" so that I can see, enjoy and wonder about the first owner.

Since my Grandmother was the "town" seamstress back in Pennsylvania these items have
memories attached even though they were not hers. Her name was "Sarah Alice"....so old but such a pretty name for a little bit of a woman who was feisty as the dickens....

After the holidays I will study the crocheted piece and see if I can figure out how it was done and reproduce it. It even has a bit of a binding on it where a ribbon has been woven in....

Artistic Renderings