An Update on the Drip Paintings

You may have seen this post with the video about using High Flow paint.  Here are six of the finished pieces.  I am calling them "Splash", for lack of better skills at creating titles.  To me they are landscapes, evoking various moods, places, natural features.  #6 suggests to me the surface of the sun, or a warning about the earth's heating.

Splash #6

Splash #1

Splash #2

Splash #3

Splash #4

Splash #5

To me, a little of this dripping goes a long way, so covering up a lot of the initial layers of drips was important to the process.  Thanks for visiting.  The above are available as prints on Fine Art America.  I just added some other product options such as throw pillows, duvet covers, tote bags, etc., which you will see when you click the individual images on FAA. 

Fabulous Idea from Carla Sonheim

Carla Sonheim, an artist / illustrator that I much admire, sent a really fun newsletter with three good reasons why one-liners matter.  One-liners are drawings you do with one line, never raising your drawing implement from the page.  I included Carla's idea of one-liners in my Sketchbook Practice online class.  Here are a few of my one-liners - of CHICKENS, of course!

In my one-liner exercise, they had to be completed in thirty seconds or less, which is why two of the chickens are missing their heads.

Here are Carla's two elephants:

Check out Carla's Special Newsletter here.  And try some one-liners, for fun, or for any of the reasons Carla gives you.

My Work in an iPhone App Video!

Well, this is a surprise.  Check it out:

My work is available as prints on Fine Art America.
Check out the video on their site.

Another Group of Work

I am really drawn to work that is more spare than I can seem to manage.  In several of my workshops this year I have had students working in this way.  Maybe 'spare' is not quite the right word.  Central cluster, breathing space around all four sides.  Here are just a few images of student work ('student' isn't quite the right word either, as these are all experienced artists)
 

These are gel prints by Leslie Fry, who is a sculptor.

One of many "studies" or "starts" by Sarah Bunker.

Ann Crain worked so fast and furiously in my workshop, I could not keep up with her!  Fascinating to see her process, and the pieces definitely capture her loose, free, expressive style.

These are studies done by Kate Webster, who kindly assisted me in Gloucester and at Omega.  I just loved these bold and confident collages.  She doesn't have a web site.

The above two images show the work of Linda Hazell, who was at the Omega workshop.  She doesn't have a web site either; I hope she makes one soon, as I would love to see more of her work!

I am actually TAKING one of my own online workshops - 100 Drawings on Cheap Paper.  It is actually a continuation of the one that began last August, for a small group of students who wanted to continue in a self-directed way.  We have two-week blocks in which to make our own lesson, and then make ten pieces that address the parameters of that lesson.  I am thinking of exploring this central cluster + breathing room for my next "lesson", but I have to define it a little more clearly. I'm taking some time to play with the idea freely.

Sixteen starts. This is the easy part.

One of the starts, unadulterated

The piece above with a bit of collage and spattering

This one might be even finished!  Beginner's luck.

All of the above are 30cm x 30cm (10"x10"). 

High Flow Paint, again

OK, here is a little video on some of the ways I use Golden High Flow Paint:
And a few works in progress that make use of these techniques:

Stage 1 (ground with High Flow spattered and dropped)

Beginning to articulate the form

Continuing in a landscape direction, still in process... 25 cm x 25 cm

Here is the piece on which I used the water gun.  In process, 25 cm x 25 cm

This is stage two or three:  red ground, drip painting, then fog...

Defining a horizon

Making it into landscape, possibly finished

Another work in progress

Possibly finished landscape

work in progress

work in progress

We'll see where this goes. So far I am working pretty small, 25 cm x 25 cm and 30 cm x 30 cm.  I would like to see how this might scale up.

Calendars! Journals! Phone Cases!

I've licensed artwork to WalkingDots for calendars, journals, phone cases (any iPhone model) and tablet cases (again, choice of models).  They are FUN!  Nice thing about the calendars is that you can start on any month of the year.  You get all twelve months, but since they are print-on-demand, they can format them to suit. Now, of course, it's a good time to get a calendar for the year of 2017.  There is a horizontal format calendar with twelve images, and a vertical one.

This is the goofy cover of the horizontal calendar. The twelve images inside are of my work, not of me! 

This is the month of June.

Cover of the vertical format calendar. All of the images in this calendar are from my series "100 Drawings on Cheap Paper", which are all 9"x12".

This is July.

The journals are 5"x8", lined.

Phone cases are available for six different phone models.

Tablet cases for iPad and iPad Mini

You can always buy prints of my work, sized and framed to suit, at Fine Art America.

Working in Series - a Perennial Topic

Many of us tend to work in series, whether intentionally or not.  What I mean by 'series' is really just a group of piece that hang together in some way, be it thematically, or in terms of visual vocabulary or technique.  Here is a video I did a couple of years ago about beginning a series:

I am offering my Series As Process workshop at Madeline Island School of the Arts in July.  MISA is a new venue for me, and I am excited about it!  Northern Wisconsin in July, studios open 24 hours, and housing and meals on campus.  Sounds like the perfect retreat!  

This is the one I worked on in the video. The next three are subsequent pieces in the same series.

• Working in series allows you to explore ideas more thoroughly, give them some breathing room.
• Working in series gives you the opportunity to try out different solutions to visual “problems”, and explore multiple possibilities.
• Working in series gives your art practice focus and momentum.  Rather than face the blank canvas with too many possibilities to choose from, the parameters of your series create clarity of intention.
• By considering the series the basic unit of art making, you lose the preciousness of the individual piece, the fear of “ruining” it, which can keep you stuck.  Get un-stuck by working in multiples.
• Committing to a quantity of pieces allows you to push through blocks and discover new solutions.

Below are three more series:

This is an ongoing series of 4"x4" pieces which can be mounted in different configurations.

This is part of a series about edges, each is 12"x12"

A subset of the 4"x4" series I did a few years ago.

 

In this workshop we emphasize the series as a way to format your art practice, rather than a method of creating a group of finished pieces.   Get un-stuck, and give your work new focus and momentum.  It's FUN!

Drip Paintings

I've been fooling around with dripping paint onto my pieces, with various tools and from various distances.  I am using Golden's High Flow paint, which is the consistency of ink, so you can really fling it around.  I am also experimenting with fluid acrylics mixed with Flow Release and other Golden mediums.  I haven't come up with specific formulas or recipes yet, but if I do, I will certainly share.  Another interesting variable is to drip the paint into a coat of wet medium.  For example, I brush a coat of Tar Gel mixed with a little water onto the panel, and drip paint into it.  GAC 500 is another good option. 

This is the upper left portion of a 20"x20" panel.  After experimenting with dripping, as describe above, I did a little squeeze-bottle drawing in white. 

This started with the bright colors and dripped High Flow paint, and water. The white area with green drips is the new experiment.

Then, of course, I covered up most of the painting.

And more...

This is where it is now; I added more of the white with drips and spatters.  I think I'll have to start with another bright-colors-with-drips, and see what else I can do with that kind of beginning.

This is a portion of an 18"x24" canvas, in process.

More experiments, this one on paper, done over a work-in-process or demo piece.

Ditto the above.

 Thanks for visiting!  When I figure out some specifics on this I will do a little video and share.  In the meantime, I'm just fooling around with this stuff.  I urge you to do the same,  if it interests you.

I usually get my paint supplies from Blick Art Materials, and here are links for the above-mentioned products: High Flow Acrylics, Fluid Acrylics, Flow Release, Clear Tar Gel, and GAC 500.

If you have specific technical questions about the materials (what is the difference between GAC 500 and Clear Tar Gel, for example), contact Golden.  But first read the extensive information on their web site.  It is a generous source of information.  Try other brands of mediums as well.  Have fun!