Easter Cards

 This is an Easter greeting card inspired by the collage of Romare Bearden.

Each card is collaged on to heavy weight watercolor paper which is 5" x 7" (finished sized).

The background on each card was painted before adhering the eggs and edges of eggs.

Romare Bearden was a contemporary artist famous for his portrayal of life in African American communities.  I watched a documentary about him and decided to try making some small collaged card.

The paper for the eggs came from art magazines so each egg is from a masterpiece but now decidedly different!

Here is a shot of my art table with the "debris" of collage art.

Christmas Hemlock Card

This is the photo of the scarf that was the basis for the color selection for the Hemlock Painting, below.  I did this as part of a color exercise while taking a mixed media class.  We were to choose a favorite object, or clothing or anything.  Then, replicate the colors in a painting.

This Hemlock Painting uses the colors of the scarf.  Quite a lot of experimentation went into finding the right combination of watercolors to approximate the colors of the scarf.  

The painting technique relies on negative painting to get a highly textured result.

I painted this on a quarter size sheet of Arches Paper (11" x 15").

This is the Christmas card that I had printed by Vista Print.  I selected the card imagery from many, many choices.  Then I uploaded a digital image of my painting into the white space provided. I also created the inside of the card and the back (not shown here).

Then after using the painting for my Christmas card, I framed it and hung it on the front porch in a sheltered corner out of sun and rain.  I will leave it there until spring, I think.  Then, I will find another painting to use in the same spot.  I have done this before and had no problem with weather damage--didn't even get spider nests on the back!

Southwest Passage

 "Southwest Passage" is an abstract of many textures and acrylic paint.  Some paint was "floated" onto the paper.  Many types of gel started the undersurface.  There are layers of stained paper and rice paper.  There is a little stenciling of squares along with highlights of foil.

This mixed media piece is about 5 " x 20" and beautifully framed with black core matting with a lightly textured wooden frame.

 Asian 1

Acrylic Monoprint

4" x 8"

Asian 2

Acrylic Monoprint

About 4" x 6" 

Asian 3

Acrylic Monoprint

About 4" x 6"

These small monoprints came from colors placed onto the plate while painting another painting.  I plan to frame these individually with lots of white mat around them with an appropriate frame.  I will enter them into the Essex Studios Walk on December 7 and 8.

The way that I paint these is to use fluid acrylic paint applied to sheets of plastic.  They are then left to dry.  Then, a coat of gloss gel is applied to special printmaking paper, the plastic coated painting is laid carefully onto the gloss gel.  It is again left to dry overnight.  Then the plastic is peeled very carefully away from the acrylic painting and the transfer to the paper is complete.

Sunflowers

Sunflower--watercolor and ink

Sunflower--watercolor on poured background

Both of these sunflower paintings were composed from a photo of my daughter's lovely sunflowers that she grew in a pot in her yard.

Mixed Media Bookmarks

      

          #8                        #9                        #10                     #11                       

     

         #14                   #15                    #16               #17                     #18

    

        #19                      #20                    #21

Here are more bookmarks made from strips of unsuccessful watercolors and donated mat board embellished with ink, stamping, markers, foil, and stained paper.  They are being sold for $3 each and many have sold.  If you want to purchase any, contact me and indicate the identifying number beneath each bookmark.  If it is still available, I will ship it to you for $3 plus postage.  We will work out the details via e-mail.

Mixed Media Collage Bookmarks

 #1

 #2

 #3

 #4

 #5

 #6

#7

Each of these bookmarks is a small piece of real art. Each one is layers of old watercolors cut into strips, mounted on hand decorated mat board.  Then each one is embellished using ink, stained paper, foil,  paint, stencils, and stamps.  The neutral background that is shown here is for photo purposes.  Each bookmark is edged in ink so that it has a nice finish to it.

When I showed these to art friends they were really enthusiastic and immediately bought some!  That's very encouraging so I have now made over  40.  Each is different because each comes from a portion of a watercolor so no two can be alike.  Each presents a challenge to me and it usually takes me 20--30 minutes just to figure out how to design each one.