A different kind of art

Holly and I just participated in a wonderful 2-day collage workshop with Paula Van Huss, a wonderful artist in both watercolor and art collage. We played with paint and papers like pre-schoolers, having so much fun and learning lots of new techniques. The only element missing was our VIP partner, Karen! These are the 3 collages which I finished; now that I have had some practice and inspiration, I will be completing more, hopefully using the little bits of paper, flotsam and jetsom I've been hoarding over the years.

Mom's Pride

This mother-daughter duo seemed to pose for a photo together; they were a handsome pair. Both have unruly hair, and I'm going to tell my brother (who owns them) that he has to comb their hair before the next photo session! I plan to repaint them again in the future and try to use a looser approach.

"D-Crats"

I've been working on this study of donkies for a couple of weeks now; for some reason, they're more challenging than cows. And I even know the donkey personally! Changing the backgrounds to a complementary color seemed to help. They will be picked up tonight for donation to the Cobb County Democratic Party where they will be part of a fund-raising auction. I hope someone wants them!

Waiting Cactus

Yesterday I drove a friend to a medical appointment. While waiting, I sketched this ACEO with pastel pencils. I really like using the pencils but find the colors rather flat and dull and without a good variety of values, so I did add a couple of accents with Giraults.

Waiting for the Museum to Open

Holly and I were anxious to see the Celebrating Georgia Women Artists show at the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, especially as Karen won first place in Pastels! We arrived to find the Museum not yet open, so we had time to spare. Naturally, our first thought was of coffee and food. So we went to Sugar Cakes, a wonderful Patisserie on the Marietta Square. The pastries were so beautiful that we had to photograph them for painting and did just that today. As you can see, I love Bran Muffins! Check Holly's blog to see her favorite.

And, Karen, all our congratulations. We used some of your techniques from your class demonstration to start our food paintings. Of course, we strayed away, but that's another story......

Memories of the Summer

I started this painting of lily pads in class on Tuesday night and finished it on Wednesday when Holly and I painted together. The photo was taken at a wildlife preserve in Florida. It looked like the little Iris had chosen the lily leaves to showcase it's bloom.

A Little Fun

When Holly and I get together, we like to experiment with different art techniques. These little trees (3" x 3") are the result of one of our "play"sessions. We used acrylic and dimensional paints; it was so much fun that we can't wait to do more! Holly's are the bottom two, while mine are the ones on top. We could only have had more fun if Karen had been with us!