Art Still GOING On

(I've been really neglectful of this space. Yikes!)  This summer we planted TREES on our property - spent so much time caring for them, and when not doing that, we tried to continue to GO traveling and camping.  Here are a few of the summer's 'additions to the stack in the studio'.  The gallery that I am a member of recently sponsored a week-long plein air event.  There are 3 painting below that I painted during that event.  AND I was on the planning committee as a PR rep.  I learned how to write and create press for different news media.  Exciting and fun!

"Andromeda" mixed media on canvas

"Sunrise Over the Wet Mountains" pan pastel on LaCarte 

(plein air outside my studio one morning)

"Snuggle Time" pastel on LaCarte

"Pure Purple" pan pastel and pastel on LaCarte

(plein air of MY petunias)

"Zinnias" pastel on LaCarte 

(this one won an award in the plein air competition)

"Wise and Wary" mixed media on Jack Richeson panel

"Pepper" mixed media on Jack Richeson panel
(I painted Pepper during the plein air event at Sky Fall Ranch 

in the Wet Mountains)

"Gnarly" pastel on LaCarte

Copyright © Dust Off the Butterfly and Pattie Wall/All Rights Reserved

Ruins in Mixed Media

 Carrying on with lessons - LifeBook 2023.  Years ago I visited Guatemala on a painting trip with other amazing artists.  We visited the Ruins of Santa Clara in Antigua, Guatemala.   - the perfect photo of which to use watercolor, gouache and ink pen.  This one was so comfortable to do.  Loose and NOT exacting - just what I needed this week.

Traveling a Mountain Path

 

This piece is created with collage, mat medium, inks, acrylics, pens, and watercolor.

The mountain silhouette is the one I see stepping out my backdoor.

The model was used from Unsplash - a website that offers free use of photos

supplied by photographers.  I often get good ideas by going there.

Perhaps a Journal COVER

 

inspired from LIFEBOOK 2023 workshop

collage, acrylic paints, Posca pens,

calligraphy ink on Canson mixed media board 

DAY 10 of Painting 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Lizard"

11" x 8 1/4"

mixed media on Art Spectrum

When life changed and we decided to move from KS back to CO, I was in the midst

of an online workshop "Merging Watercolor with Pastels" with Tonja Sell.  

They were wonderful lessons - and I loved the technique, it was a perfect

jumping off spot for me...always looking for something new to try

and different.

Again, I have to emphasize, an artist is always working -   in     their     mind,

if not at the drawing table or the easel.

I had a couple of surfaces prepared to use in my lessons and decided today

I would push some of what my mind was thinking about over time to one 

of these surfaces,

 some of the DOING I just mentioned.

Lizards - you either love them or you don't.  FOR ME - I am always drawn to 

them because they remind me of dinosaurs. The series of Jurassic Park books and movies are 

some of my very favorites.  This lizard sort of reminds me of a Raptor from JP.

It is stylized, I did not paint it PC...for that reason.  I was going for more fantasy.

But as symbols 

Lizards represent solitude,

adaptation

and FREEDOM.

My mix of media was colored pencils, watercolor, hot glue stencils and other

stencil materials, watercolor in pan and pencil, paint pens and pastels.

Sunday and the Girl with the Golden Goose

"The Girl with the Golden Goose"

8" x 10"

on Canson illustration board

~ at least my rendition of it.  I decided that I wanted my goose to

look real, so I didn't make it golden.  I used an 'inspiration' gathering exercise, where

I looked around my surroundings for items to use in my painting.

I love birds, hence the bird in the sky and I love my Pampas grass

that grows outside my studio window...so I included

a plant of that.

I used a couple of layers of different mediums in this one.

I used collage and some gesso ground for the second layer and then

more paint and pencil on the top layer.

This is done in mixed media, marker, gesso, collage, paint, watercolor and watercolor 

pencils.  

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 28/Row

"Windbreak"

acrylic mixed media

8" x 8"

Raymar canvasboard

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 26/Hearts

"Let the Heart Remember"

10" x 10"

acrylic paint, tissue paper collage, paint pen

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 25/Cave

"Looking Out From the Bat Cave"

13" x 19"

Watercolor, acrylic and inks

on Arches 140 lb cold press

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 21/Bird

"A Pause in the Feast"

10" x 10"

acrylic mixed media

(acrylic, collage, watercolor)

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 20/Eclipse

"Penumbra"

6" x 6"

mixed media/acrylic, ink, watercolor

on Raymar canvasboard

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 16/Redbird

"Redbird Highway"

9" x 12"

collage with acrylic mixed media

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 14/Snow

"Snowsquall on the Central Plains"

9" x 12"

mixed media/acrylic on canvasboard

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 13/Rose

"Singleton"

4" x 6"

pastel,watercolor ink and gouache

on sanded UArt board

Last year I was a resident at Loveland, Colorado's

Independence Gallery.  

Each year, the gallery owner, Billie Colson

sponsors an event that

highlights and benefits

Cystic Fibrosis research.

Here is a poster featuring this

year's annual event.

Thought I would take a day of my 30 in 30

to paint a rose and get it framed.

This rose will be headed to the gallery

as soon as I can cut the glass for

the frame and mat.

The source for this was from a photo

that my florist daughter supplied.

It will be in an 8" x 10" frame.

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 12/Raven

"Struttin'"

6" x 8"

acrylic/mixed media

(SOLD)

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 9/Deer

"Innocence"

7" x 9"

mixed media

watercolor/colored pencil/gouache

Painted from a photo that I borrowed from my

friend - Danni.  I loved

the sweet look on this white-tail's face

as he obviously was aware that

something was going on.

Danni has an awesome blog

On the Way to Critter Farm.

You can visit it HERE.

Thanks Danni!

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 8/Doves

"Mourning Doves"

5" x 15"

mixed media

on Canson Colorline/Heather

pastel and gouache

These doves are actually a pair that I took several photos

of, on my brother and sister-in-law's deck awhile back.

I compiled two photos of each dove

to make this plethora of birds on the railing.

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 7/Trees

"Twisted"

5 1/2" x 10"

mixed media on Canson Colorline blue

pastel on gouache

I loved doing this one today. These are my dead trees in winter, minus many twiggy branches.  I loved how the light was filtering through them creating such great shadows.

I am very fond of this surface but will have to make a few minor changes when using it next time - like mount it on a board...as it warps a little when you seal it with clear gesso.  It's very papery, too, Tape on top is very hard to remove without tearing the surface.  I used gouache to paint the trees and pastel pencil on top.

Yes, it is for sale, just email me.

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 6/Trout

"Rainbows"
10" x 20"
mixed media (watercolor, gouache and acrylic)
on wrapped canvas
(SOLD)

I have tried to 'fish' from time to time..catching only a few fish in my entire life, however,

I have been around a lot of fishing addicts who LOVE to fish so this quote seems

to make sense to me.

"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, 

there'd be a shortage of fishing poles."

-Doug Larson

Rainbow Trout, seem to me - the most beautiful fish, if you think

a fish could be lovely.  To me, it is.

Painting 30 in 30 - Day 5/Cranes

"Passing Through"

16" x 20"

mixed media

Acrylic paint and Dr. Martin watercolor again today.

While in Michigan this fall, we saw the sandhill 

cranes out in a field. 

Long range lenses come in so handy.

Onto Day 6 tomorrow!

To see more art by others in the challenge, click on the Christmas tree 

in sidebar.