"Branching Out" Abstract Triptych Treescape

"Branching Out" is the newest treescape triptych to make it out of my studio, recently sprayed with a protective matt finish and currently drying in my basement. 

I wanted to do a multi-canvas painting and knew that I had something in mind that was really contemporary and abstract but I also wanted lots of texture, so I decided on a triptych treescape.

First I always play around with different shapes and sizes of canvas, orienting them different ways to try and decide how I want to lay out the painting.  Once that portion of the process is decided upon, I can than go ahead and make my sketch.

While I'm creating a sketch, I also start on my background which can take a couple of days for a painting this size as there are layers or color applied that must dry before others are added.  A heavy application of stucco gives the tree branches really thick texture.

 

The finished panels are placed together for the last time, just to make sure everything looks just right and the completed painting has emerged.





Painting Tiny - Bite Sized 3D Artwork.......

This week I decided I really wanted to paint small and so I went to my basement stash of canvases and ferreted around for a while until I finally found what I was looking for, some of the smallest sized canvases I have on hand, a 6" x 6" and a 4" x 6".   "This piece is "Sunburst Monarch" full of color and happiness.  I think I will make a tile trivet out of this design.......

I also felt like painting a dragonfly so on the 4" x 6" canvas I created "Jeweled Beauty".  Both paintings are created using acrylic mediums so they are 3D, you can actually see and feel the texture on each piece.  I'm finding textured work really has the effect of making you want to reach out and touch it when you walk by.  It is really fun to feel the different levels of textures under your fingers, very tactile.

Aside from painting, I'm dealing with a house that is in a state of flux at the moment (no end in sight either).  Some of you might know that Chris and I are moving to Orlando this year. We closed on our house the week after Thanksgiving and we will be moving away from NY in a little over 4 months so these are the start of some crazy busy days for us.  We're going through all our belongings, trying to throw away what we don't want to move with us , organizing everything and even though we'll have movers when the time comes, we're packing our more precious items ourselves. We're very excited to get started on our new journey and I dearly wish we could leave now but we have to wait a few more months, most likely till the end of May.  At some point when the time gets closer I'll have to pack up my art studio but not quite yet, I will keep painting for many more months, until the last minute basically.  I always find I miss painting when I'm away from it for too long.

An Abstract Tree-Scape

This week I got the bug to work on a contemporary piece, a quadtych (4 panel) tree-scape, "Extensions".  Sometimes when I'm planning a multi canvas painting, I will run down into my basement and grab a bunch of assorted sized canvases and just begin by arranging them in all different configurations on my studio floor.  I play around with the layout until I think I've got something that pleases me , as I try to keep in mind the design that I want to create as well being that has a great deal to do with the sizes of the canvas and the layout I have chosen. 

This piece has a very abstract background of different slashing shapes (((( and ))))) .  Many times with my paintings I work with  very wet surfaces and watery paints so I must lay the canvases out flat.  With this piece the varying background colors and shapes were done very wet, while the foreground tree branch was done in a dark, bold...thick black acrylic paint.    

The end result was exactly what I had in mind for this painting when I started it, contemporary, colorful and abstract.  All artists have a varied and unique process for their creations and for me, when I'm doing a multi-canvas painting, I like to play around and arrange things and then experiment with color to determine what the base of my painting will be built on. 

A New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I cannot believe it is here already. Where did the holidays go by the way? Come to think of it, my brain is still on summer and here it is winter already. At any rate, I often find I'm in denial when it comes to the seasons as my mind likes to imagine it lives in the warm weather. Actually, in a couple of years, that will probably be a reality for us and it is something I'm very excited about.

I do have some cheerful, beautiful Amaryllis to keep me from falling too deeply into the winter blahs.

Last year I think I was in a really bad place with blogging, I've been doing it for years and I guess I got bored with it, annoyed at times and yes, even put pressure on myself to blog.....that's just not right. I think for a while, I was on the path to shutting my blog down but since then, have changed my mind.

Why can't I after all, just blog the way I want too? What if I just sit down to write and post pictures every 2 or 3 weeks if thats what I feel like? I kind of realized I was self-imposing rules onto my internet existence that just didn't make sense. This is the new me, blog when I want to/can etc, no pressure, just fun.

I've been painting some new pieces over my break, lots of butterflies. These are 3 of the paintings but I have a 4th and final (for now anyway) butterfly triptych I'm going to be finishing up this week. These paintings are so far at least, un-named. I'll have to work on solving that in the upcoming weeks.

This new year's day also brings a brand new website for me....Chris has been working on it for months and finally it is mostly done and ready to go. A brand new, crisp, clean look that focuses strictly on the artwork is what I was looking for in my new site. With a few minor changes/additions in the upcoming weeks, it is for the most part, DONE!!! www.artfulcreations.biz .

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday....I hope to be back in a couple of weeks, no pressure, just for fun.

"Beyond The Depths" - Abstract Acrylic Triptych

"Beyond The Depths" is the newest abstract triptych painting to leave my studio this week. Would you believe when I sat down to first start working on this, it was supposed to be a hummingbird painting? After the first day I was thinking "ok, maybe I see a hummingbird in there somewhere." By the end of the second day this piece let me know that it wanted to be an abstract, one that focuses on the deep, dark and unchartered depths of the ocean. I think it is really important to listen to my work; my paintings always guide me in the direction they want me to take. Sometimes pieces turn out just as I envision them and other times, like with this painting, they take me in a totally different direction and it is up to me to listen.

The painting I'm currently working on was supposed to be a garden sculpture painting with abstract elements and instead, it turned into a fairy painting......see what I mean? I just listened and that is where the painting led me. Hopefully that one will be finished in the next few days.

"Beyond The Depths" measures 12"h x 24 1/2" w x 1 1/2" d. www.artfulcreations.etsy.com

Two Custom Acrylic Nature Paintings.......

Recently I completed 2 custom orders for one of my very sweetest customers....2 - 6" x 8" paintings on gallery canvas. The first piece is "Monarch Butterfly & White Lilacs".

This piece is named "Bluebird & Peach Roses". Both paintings are set against a black background with colors surrounding the subjects done with an abstract technique. A cheerful set of paintings to have worked on recently, especially with all the rain we've had in the northeast. www.artfulcreations.etsy.com

"Wheels Of Time" Acrylic Abstract

Last week I just finished my newest abstract painting, "Wheels Of Time". I had so much fun painting this piece, I would say it has to be one of my favorites. This painting was inspired by my weekly walks, I get a lot of wonderful ideas and inspirations from walking out in nature. One of my favorite places to end my walk each day is the cemetery right down the street from my house. Filled with lots of history and fabulous monuments, including that of George Armstrong Custer (my personal favorite) it always gets me thinking about the passage of time and the people who have come before me.

If you didn't think a comtemporary abstract painting could be inspired by a historic landmark....well, here you go, the above is proof that it can be. www.artfulcreations.etsy.com

"Epiphany" - Abstract Acrylic Triptych

Recently I've had the great desire to start painting abstracts and "Epiphany" was my first completed piece. Sometimes you can really surprise yourself with what interests you as well as the new directions creativity can take if you just let yourself run wild. I'm really having so much fun with abstracts that I'm currently working on my 3rd one right now. Anything is possible if you just open your mind to new ideas.

This painting measures: 12" h x 21" w x 1 1/2" d and is currently at Celebrations Gallery:

www.celebrationsshoppes.com . www.artfulcreations.etsy.com

"Essence" Acrylic Hummingbird Painting

The newest piece to come off my easel is "Essence" a hummingbird painting inspired by the sweet little visitors I've been seeing in my back garden. Each year I plant cascade geraniums in my hanging pots out back I always look forward to the hummingbirds they attract. I was just in the kitchen last night, cleaning up after dinner and was getting ready to close the blinds when I saw a little hummer visiting all 3 of my geraniums. Right before dark, this little guy was a real treat to watch as I was finishing up my day.

I had lots of fun with the background on this one and in fact, liked the effect so much, I will definately be creating more paintings with this abstract and fanciful style to them. The painting measures 24" x 30" on 1 1/2" deep gallery wrap canvas.

At least I get to enjoy this little hummingbird for a few weeks before he ends up flying out of my house. I hope you are inspired each day by the creatures in nature that come to visit in your own garden. www.artfulcreations.etsy.com

"Dancing Dandelions - Acrylic Triptych On Gallery Canvas

Now that the first of the year has come and gone, I'm back to painting in my studio....vacation time is officially over at this point. While I love taking time off, I'm always eager to get back to things in my studio, much as I enjoy the break, I charish my creative time and usually feel very refreshed and ready to hit the easel once again with lots of new ideas. My first new painting of the year is a bit abstract and a bit whimsical as well - "Dancing Dandelions".

This is an acrylic triptych painting on 1 1/2" deep gallery canvas.

Each panel measures 4" x 12" for a total of 12" x 12" in all.

There are many ways to display this set of panels and I got a little creative with arranging them on my wall, for what I think is a fun display.

This set is eye catching because I used quite a bit of metallic pearl white to paint the dandelions. The painting shimmers and shines when it is hung on the wall. Now available at my ETSY shop: www.artfulcreations.etsy.com . Just finishing up another triptych today so hopefully will be showing that one next week....stay tuned at any rate.

Inspirations For Wearable Art.....

I've been busy painting more wooden and sand dollar pendants this past week, trying to stock up on art for the holidays in my Ruby Lane shop. I was looking at photos of my purple Bearded Iris collection that blooms each May and decided to create an abstract pendant on wood, using that theme. The above is my abstract purple Iris.

I'm really enjoying painting in miniature on wood, it is a great surface to work with and has endless possibilities. I'm adding silver beads on each wooden pendant necklace and I think they set off the design very nicely. I'll be looking for beads in multi-colors for the future.

A freeform puffy heart painted in magenta on a sand dollar.

I've become very inspired by dark colors these days, sometimes being the main surface color and other times this being the color of the centerpiece of the painting. I had that in mind with the above wreath pendant.

I'm enjoying the abstract paintings very much....and can I help it if I end up using a lot of my favorite colors....purple and blue.

Looking back through all my photographs over the last few years, I'm always inspired to paint from nature. Both of these pendants were created from butterfly and rose photos, with a heavy dose of imagination added into the mix.

Most of these pieces can be found on my ETST shop: http://www.artfulcreations.etsy.com/ .

A New Line.......Hand Painted Pendants

I've been working really hard on a new line of hand painted pendants...actually, I've been loving every minute of it too. You know I love to paint in miniature and these pendants, some rather impressionistic and some a bit abstract, have been wonderful to create.

Each painting is created on a sand dollar, sealed to keep the design beautiful and then made ready to wear or gift by adding on an 18" black cord.

I'll be working on many new ones in future weeks but these are the first results of painting on this beautiful, natural surface.

Sometimes I have a clear idea of what I would like to paint and other times, I just let the paint take the shapes it wants.

The "design sky" is really the limit with these, I just let my imagination go wild and see what the creative outcome will be.

These art pendants are available on my ETSY site: http://www.artfulcreations.etsy.com/ .