Paint Party Friday

I came across this on Pam Tucker's blog and thought it looked like fun. Given that my whole life is about painting at the moment it seems like this is a good things to join in with. But I don't know how to load the button so that others can join in. So click here instead Paint Party Friday

So these two paintings are what I have been working on this week. I don't really like either one yet. If you go to my whole blog you can see what they looked like on Wednesday. The one on the left is very textured, the one on the right has none - very unusual for me. What will they look like next week! Looking forward to seeing your work. Rosie

Red phase is now over

And there is a sense of phew! I have finally got to paint today and have done about half an hour. I need a fair few canvases on the go. I am using a different brush - after spending so much on the brushes I was using - and really trying to be free. Just putting up two pictures today.

This now what the grey scale looks like now. Coat #1 of many and it has no texture. Not sure how long that will last.

And this one is the citrasolv base that got painted red then got stuck.

It might or might not still be stuck. What I mostly got from the weekend is to free up. Whether this freeing up creates anything I like is yet to be seen. My plan now is to have a variety of canvases on the go, one of which will be the sunset again. I have got rid of the textured sea ( which I hated so much) on that canvas by putting a whole lot of texture over the whole thing. I think I will make that the new sunset base just to see what happens.

Yesterday I again looked at Robin Sierra's site I love her painting.

Procrastination Blogging!

I did an art class all weekend. Jolly good it was too. It was taught by James Lawrence I really like his art and how he makes it and also found that he taught very well. I went through my usual wall of I'm not good enough and I am wasting my time etc etc. But by the second day I was back on track with it all.

I took loads of my paintings in to show him and get some feedback which I got, apparently I don't have enough tonal range. So I painted a gray tone picture on Sunday then I splashed colour around on two canvases I prepped on Saturday. One by putting lots of texture on, the other by making drips. So, here they are.

At the end of the day James showed me a great way of using interference which, of course hasn't come out on the picture but is the blue circle, the blob top left and the gold streaks on the right on the one above these words.

When do I give up?

The Sunset - the failed sunset - is now The Failed Painting. Apart from being too stripey the 'sea'  was shit so I've tried turning it up and doing something else with it and its still shit.( Which means Store High In Tansit apparently!) I can't see anything other than a sunset on its side. This is where I kiss the canvas goodbye? Paint gesso over the orangey stuff. I think that's the solution and take it to the art class this weekend. 

I'll try again with a whole new canvas - which is already on its way and in the meanwhile I am going to make a SoulCollage about feeling useless as an artist.

And this one is just crazy - from Feb 15th to here!

I put this blog entry up a couple of weeks ago. But am putting it up on on Paint Party Friday today as I have done NO painting this week for a variety of very good but busy reasons. Now I am cooking for 18 at a Byron Katie workshop this weekend. It is a three day weekend starting on Friday. I took this picture into my weekend art workshop a couple of weekends ago and the tutor said it lacked tonal contrast. I like it but can see his point. I might do something to the side panels.

Anyway - sorry its not new new but its not that old and I really wanted to be part of Paint Party Friday, I enjoyed myself so much looking at all your work and getting comments on mine last week. Love Rosie

(Original blog entry) You have seen the progress and this is where I am now. This one has been turned up another way too.  I will be putting self leveling gel on the buttons and I like this leaping man. You  have already seen him on the Citra Solv one. Last night I thought I'd sew some beads on then I realised there is a support strut right where I want to sew. (Later) All the little buttons are now gelled and it's pretty much a matter of saying its finished!
P.S. The picture of the leaping man came from a the brochure for the Auckland Arts Festival so my partner and I went to see the show. It's from Taiwan - I can't remember what it was called I'll look it up and add to this blog later. It was a lot of very vigorous and exciting drumming.

I want to paint something I adore

And I haven't done it in the last five days! The sunset ended up being a) too stripey and b) the sea is crap. So I have turned it on its side and and making the stripes really stripey and will do something else with it, its no longer a sunset. I did though really like the actual paint. Lots of  irrids and interference and it looked very good. What did I say last night. Good execution crappy subject. It's mostly gone now, just looked at the pictures and there were some really good things about it, but not enough. Computer is on a massive go slow. I'm going to have to do a second post.

Having a bit of a break from RED

And have done this today. The figures aren't stuck down, the back ground was made the other way up.
But works this way up better and I will do more. My keypad keys are soo sticky with all the junk from my fingers!

This was a surprise!

I was working on creating a random back ground with magazines and just slopping them down on a 12 x 36 canvas  when I thought, Oh I could do it with citrasolve bits and paint on top of them. So - tra la, that's what I did and it was a lot of fun and where to from here? I have not idea. I think I have put too much on and now need to give my self some white or something but hey I LOVE those moments when I suddenly have an idea and do it and its fun to do and now we see what I can do with it next. Woo hoo!

So what I did with it next was paint the ubiquitous red over the top then put heavy matt gel over it which, cos its raining big time today, hasn't dried properly. For once, the picture looks better than the real thing! I'm looking forward to painting it and am doing another less frantic citrasolv back ground which I don't think I will paint. Watch this space!

New to Picasa

I have just spent an hour getting onto Picasa cos photoshop just isn't working. I hope it will be worth it. The problem is it wants me to do things I don't want to do like make it the default for everything, I may be willing once I have sussed it out but not YET!

Anyway here is the next stage of big red - I want to keep documenting. I will change the colours now but am still, once again, as always disappointed with the photographic rendition.

Ahhh - Photoshop isn't working

So I can't crop my pictures and make them look nicer. Spent all day working on VES and Red Shed so didn't get started with painting till late but... this is what I did.

It s kinda coming along. I will have proper time tomorrow and will get onto the sunset too.