Thursday, March 24, 2011

Owls in the Moonlight

Been really busy painting and getting my gallery/studio space all spruced up.  And I have been "burning the midnight oil" too. So painting some pictures of owls seemed to be the right decision.
Here are two little pictures I painted this last week. 

I had a blast painting "Moonlight Owl" canvas with acrylics.
He seems to have  alot of personality--- flapping a wing and watching out for whatever critters might happen by in the night.











Sometimes painting more than one at a time helps move the project along.  No overworking the paint and turning it into mud. No losing track of the shapes. Just filling in the images and working out the ideas, bringing the paintings to life.  

"Owl Duet". Just two owls, hanging out.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Caught the Art Bug

I really caught the art bug this last week at the Art and Soul Retreat in Las Vegas.  It was my first mixed media event like this and I had a blast. Jumped in with both feet and took four classes. Whew!
First one was a little overwhelming. We used  fluid acrylics, watercolor crayons, decorated papers, 3-D objects, and encaustic wax. It was "process overload" and not everyone was able to complete the steps. Personally I think the piece was too big to complete in the time.  I will have to work on this one on my own to finish. A disappointment for me.
Tuesday I took a soldering class which was satisfying, even though my piece shows that I am a beginner. Still I had fun smoothing liquid, hot silver over the charms. 
That evening Steampunk became the focus in the form of a metal shrine. The teacher was generous and it was a great class to take in the evening. I added the finishing touches at home and I plan to make some more.

"Over the Moon" Steampunk Shrine
Thanks to Lesley Venable and her inspiring class.


The bookmaking class on Thursday was super too. I had a great time in this one too, just want to do some more pages before I do the "final reveal".
Whew! I feel like I took a rocket trip to the moon and back- a marvelous mixed media adventure.