Flowers

I went to the Cleveland Art Museum and found this painting by Piet Mondrian of a chrysanthemum. I loved the outlining of the peddles and the muted color scheme.


So I decided I needed to paint one too. I painted a dahlia instead and used crackle in the background.

Today was my last day of spring break. I really didn't do anything too exciting this week, but I managed to do something productive today. I painted this flower on one of my canvases I've been saving. A lot of times I will make a painting based on an empty wall in my house, but today I just wanted to paint. My art is starting to pile up! I guess I'm just holding on to all of them in hopes of living in a house with more walls to fill someday.

I found some new crackle at the store the other day and I was so excited! I've been looking for one that gives more of a cracked glaze look and this is my first attempt. It is a little harder to use than the weathered wood crackle because you really have to layer it on thick. If there are any areas that have don't have enough medium it makes tiny cracks that aren't as noticeable. If you click on the picture you can see the details better. My next project is to combine the two different crackle techniques and see what happens.

Computer Sketching

I've been doing computer sketches of some ideas I have. What do you think? I want to use my tree image over patterned backgrounds. I'm not expecting the paintings to look exactly like these, but I thought it would give me a good idea before all the effort.

Here are some of my most recent paintings. I was inspired by the simple graphic pictures and logos. You can't really tell, but the one on the left has textured bark from the crackle. I'm not so sure about the flatness of the dark blue background, but I thought I would try something different.

I decided I'm really liking the crackle technique. I love how it makes these paintings looked aged, adds texture and gives them more depth. I also decided to branch out a little and add birds to my trees. Ha ha, yes, I am aware that was a very bad joke.

After some thought I decided I'm going to try and sell some prints of my art on etsy. I don't know if people will actually buy them, but it's worth a try. Even if I don't sell one it has given me an excuse to really start painting. I finished this one last week after it had been set aside for months. Most paintings can be saved no matter how ugly you might think they are. It's when I get to hate a piece that I really start to take risks because I have nothing to lose. I still need to get the paintings into a good digital format so I can get them printed. I'll let you know when I'm open for business!

Well it has been awhile since I posted some art. It is always hard for me to paint when I don't have a project planned for class. Now that I graduated I decided I have to make projects for myself otherwise I won't make art. I also realized that I am the happiest when I am creating. Christmas was a perfect excuse to start painting again. I was a little nervous about giving paintings because homemade presents often just turn into good thoughts. But I couldn't think of anything else to give my mother-in-law or Jeff's Nana. My mom had wanted a painting for a while and I know she likes anything I make (even when it's really not that good). So I made tree paintings in acrylic for the mothers. I made a smaller leaf painting for Jeff's Nana because I wasn't sure if she would want a big painting to hang in her house. Well, they were a success! They loved their presents and it helped give me some confidence. I still owe my sister Jessica a painting but I'm waiting for her to decide on exactly what she wants.

This tree was for Jeff's mom.