One for sale-

This is the third painting from GuessWho? I have it back at home and will sell it to the first bidder at $100 with $50 going to the Food Bank - just the same as at the GuessWho? sale. While we made over $2000 for the Food Bank and had some fun and even excitement, I think we would have done even better if we had not had the horrible rainstorm. Anyway, we'll give the fuschia a chance to add to the good. This 10" x 10" painting is in acrylic with some added collage for more drama. Acrylics are good in a kitchen as they can be wiped off if necessary - so are very durable.  However, this also might be what a powder room needs to brighten it up. Fuschia flowers are a bit like exotic dancers. The tender ones that you see in pots are more like ballerinas. This kind is perennial on a shrub-like plant. It was another of my "taking risks" pieces of art.

Same painting, two photos

This is my painting for the" Go-go Grannies" here who work to support the African Grannies who are raising their grandchildren when the parents have died of Aids. I wanted to paint a sort of "universal" subject- a grandparent reading to a grandchild and passing on the gift of literacy. I was also interested in African fabrics and wanted to have something authentic as part of the painting. I downloaded some African fabric samples and then had them duplicated several times so I would have enough to collage them onto the canvas. The problem is, that the painting is dark and the light reflects off it- Maybe I should have  tried photography with a matte varnish and then added the satin varnish after- ? Maybe I will be wiser another time! So I think I will send the first photo in - better to have a bit of glare in the lower corner than on the face. Funny, the colours are truer and warmer on the first  photo too. It was done indoors under halogen lights, the second was done outdoors - sunny day, in the shade.

Into a New Year

This one is called "Waiting Time" and was done last year at a workshop. The project was multi-media and the plan was to move a little bit more abstract. We had a model as a "starting point" reference.  The idea also was to put some personal feeling into the piece. Several things in my life then involved waiting so I felt a waiting and a time theme would work with the pose. This is painted on a cradled board. Three are several bits of collage = a textured wall paper strip makes the shelf- the original colour is the green at the right. That in turn inspired the green for the dress. I textured that  as it needed something more. The small clock is collaged and also several bits of the necklace and part of the earring. The figure is simplified and the neck lengthened- all experimentation. Next Sunday we have a painting session with the same model but a whole different theme and it will be just paint, not collage - as far as is planned. Of course, collage can always pop in if the work calls for it.

Back to the tools

A while back, I did a small series on old tools that used to belong to my Dad. They were "mixed media" pieces with some collaging from construction diagrams in the backgrounds.  Recently, I was clearing out some more tools - most of which were happily taken away by my son- when I felt that just maybe it was time to paint some more. This is the only one completed so far - and is, of course, a keyhole saw. I felt it almost had a personality! At any rate, it was fun to do. There may be more to come. I have a screwdriver that has so much more to it than the modern screwdrivers. I want to record that too.

Collage completed

It was nice to work upstairs where it is a little warmer - so I worked on the collage and got it done. It is very time-consuming but interesting work and I ended up putting a few different twists on the actual model set-up. He got a tropical garden - or is a conservatory?- to be near. I think he looks like a magistrate or official. Could he have some power in a more tropical place? Or was that a winter wish on my part? At any rate, I have decided that one of the few perks of winter is hot chocolate! I'm not sure if this collage will be "shown". I think it needs to be under glass and that is a whole other level of expense. I may look into some kind of interchangeable frame and then just always do collages the same size.