Help!

I am in a quandary. Since I started doing abstracts I have found that I have no sense of whether my paintings are good or not. I need HELP!

I finished this painting last night and, although I like the colours, I am not sure about the composition. Should I sign it or just paint over the thing? I would really appreciate your opinions.

12 x 16 acrylic

Maybe it is time to put the acrylics away and go back to something I am more comfortable doing - landscapes in watercolour!

I hope you will let me know what you think about this one.

Thanks for visiting!

30 Paintings - Day 28

I often think that the hardest part of being an artist is not the painting but coming up with names for finished pieces. Take today's painting, for instance.

#1093 - ?????? - 9 x 12 acrylic on watercolour paper

I have no idea what to call this painting! I rather like it but it doesn't remind me of anything that I can use as a title. Maybe some of you might have an idea or two.

I think that I have finally  run out of steam for the challenge. Luckily I have a couple of extra paintings done because, although I prepped a few more canvases, I have lost my inclination to paint - at least for today!.

If you are interested in seeing some of the work from the other artists in the challenge, here is the link - Leslie's Blog


Thanks for visiting and if you can help with a name for this painting that would be great!

30 Paintings - Day 24!

One advantage of painting with acrylics is that you can always paint over your mistakes. Also, if you catch it before the paint dries you can wash off your mistakes the same way you might with watercolour. Today's painting was subjected to the second option.

#1089 - Red Rock, Blue Water - 10 x 14 acrylic on watercolour paper

I was very tempted to just throw this piece away but one of my students said 'Oh, I really like that!' This is painted on hot press paper - another experiment - and then washed off when I figured it was a horrible mess. The resulting stains reminded me of water rushing down a rocky bank so I added a bit of detail to strengthen that impression. I won't throw this away but I don't think I will frame it yet either.

I was asked if I am finding these abstracts easier to do now that I have done a bunch. I think it is easier to do pieces that are similar to those I have done before but it is harder to come up with a different look for new paintings. That will be my challenge as I go forward!

Have a look at Leslie's Blog to see a wide variety of art from almost 200 artists from around the world.

Thanks for visiting!

30 Paintings - Day 21!

I decided to do more of the paintings for this month on watercolour paper instead of canvases; they are much easier to store. Unfortunately, paper doesn't seem as conducive to the style I am trying to achieve.

#1086 - Fire and Ice - 7 x 10 acrylic on watercolour paper

I really struggled with this piece. It has a number of layers of paint. It actually started out green (lol) but that was washed off; then dark blue which made me cringe so I added a bunch of white and pushed that around until it was blended. The final touches of red and yellow were influenced by the cold weather - I wanted something that looked warm!

It is hard to believe that we have only 9 days left in the challenge so pop over to Leslie's Blog to see what others have been doing. Also, if you like abstract art have a look at these three artists from the challenge - Eric Bagwell, Sue Marrazzo and Peter Crane.

I hope you enjoyed your visit  - please leave a comment!

30 Paintings - Day 18!

Today's painting has a number of layers of paint and has gone through a number of transformations but I think I am finally happy with the finished product.

#1080 - Blocks and Curves - 16 x 20 acrylic on gallery wrap canvas

I have actually said finished to this canvas 4 times and signed the painting each time, but I was never very happy with any of the paintings. To fix things, some times I covered the whole thing with gesso, others I just painted over the parts I didn't like until I am surprised that the canvas doesn't sag in the middle - lol. I am still not too sure about the final result but I have decided that I am done!

Here is the link to Leslie's blog so you can see what the other artists are doing.

I hope you will let me know what you think of my latest - thanks for stopping in!

30 Paintings - Day 17

I have another experiment for today's painting! I wanted to see how some of the techniques I have been using would work on a heavily textured canvas. This the experiment was NOT a success. Instead of the look I wanted, I ended up with a mess that I quickly washed off. I played a bit more, adding more paint and even more paint until I was mostly satisfied. Here is the finished product!

#1083 - Pastel Textures - 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas

It reminds me of an aerial view of the mountains that someone accented with purple - h'mm I wonder if this shows the trail where my son went backpacking. I don't know if I like this or not - what do you think?

It looks like I will be shoveling snow this afternoon so I will get this added to Leslie's blog  (I hope you will check it out) and get ready to go outside.

I always enjoy your insights so please leave a comment.

30 Paintings - Day 14!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I haven't done anything remotely valentine-ish as I was too busy experimenting again. 

#1079 - Night Rain - 9 x 12 acrylic on watercolour paper

After my attempt yesterday Day 13 to do the same technique as the painting from Day 7, I thought I would try the it on paper. It was NOT a success! So, I had to fiddle around trying to 'fix' the mess I had made; a bit more paint, some spritzed water and a bit of palette knife work and I got something I think is very interesting. What do you think?

We are almost to the half way point of the challenge and I am wondering  what I am going to do with all the paintings I finish - I have no more room to hang things!!! One of the downfalls of living in a rural community that has - a large population of seniors (they have everything and don't buy much art), only a small public display space at the library, and is not a great tourist spot - is, that the art takes a long time to sell.

Pop over to Leslie's Blog  to see what everyone else in the challenge is doing.

I enjoy and appreciate your comments so please say something! 

30 Paintings - Day 11

Better late than never I guess. We spent the day hunting and gathering (shopping) so it is a good thing I painted this yesterday.

#1076 - Under the Sea - 12 x 16 acrylic on canvas

I had a lot of trouble with the "less is more" concept for this painting. I was having so much fun with the palette knife that I wasn't paying enough attention to the 'whole'. This was actually painted in landscape format (below) but I liked it better when I turned it around. That is one of the benefits of doing abstracts - who knows which way is up? - it is all in the eye of the beholder!

View #2

I hope you take time to pop over to Leslie's Blog and to leave a comment here - I would love to hear from you!

30 Paintings - Day 8!

This painting went through a number of transitions before I was finally happy with it. And, it ended looking nothing like I planned in the start!

#1073 - Forest - 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas

Once again, I am wondering "is this abstract?" It actually seems to depict something instead of leaving any interpretation up to the viewer, although it is a pretty rough depiction. No matter, I like it and my students today liked it too.

I hope you will take time to checkout the work of the other artists doing the challenge - Leslie's Blog


See you again tomorrow!

30 Paintings - Day 5!

I am back on track and quite happy with today's painting.

#1070 - Bursting Out! - 12 x 16 acrylic

I spent some time yesterday looking at Youtube videos as I was feeling a bit rudderless after the 'landscape' I did the other day. Youtube is such a boon to artists (and others, of course) as one can find a video on almost anything.

I like this but I think it just might be time to add more colours to my palette; I will see what inspiration tomorrow brings.

Don't forget to check out all the art posted on Leslie's Blog and maybe think about trying the challenge this year. It is a great way to get you creating and it doesn't matter if you don't get 30 paintings done - join for the fun!