Starting a travel journal

OMG!

OK, the workshop with Eydi Lampasona starts tomorrow and we had a 2 hr. demo this afternoon.  Let me just say that I've heard artists talk about how their workshop is going to loosen one up...but she may be the first one I've met who is just so crazy, wild, and energetic to do the job for me!  After the workshop I had a list of items to get that ranged from Betadine to a shower curtain for the floor.  I'm excited!!!  Wish I'd brought my house painting pants...but I'll just sacrifice one of my $4 thrift shop purchases.  ;-)

More to come......

Yupo workshop

Thursday Feb. 14, I attended a day long workshop on working with Yupo at FMBAA with Julie Nusbaum.  It was a very lively workshop (full house) and we had a great time experimenting.  I came home with 9 pieces...all of which are still in the "working on it" phase.

The technique we used to produce these she called "twin prints."  Two pieces of Yupo, both lightly spritzed with water.  On one piece of Yupo place dots of paint (straight from the tube) in your choice of colors (triad recommended for those who couldn't decide.) Next, with gloved hands, we "activated" the paint dots by dipping a finger in water and rubbing around in the paint.  At this point we were trying to keep the colors separated.

Dots on one of the moistened sheets of yupo

Smearing (activating) the paint with a little water on gloved finger.  One finger per color.  ;-)

Next, do your twin print by pressing moist surfaces together and rubbing around the top piece.  Often, she would swirl around the top sheet as she pulled it off...or lifted and moved, lifted more and moved...

From one of the twin prints she made another print and worked on it with various methods, much as you would to texture any watercolor painting.

She showed us how to create a rose by cutting out a "stamp" shape of rose petal from yupo.  Mix up your paints on the yupo if you want to.  Mash the stamp into mixed paint and "stamp" rose petals.  Later she added a stem with green mix.

The following are a few of the nine pieces I did that day.  I'm going to try smaller pieces and use two colors with white for the next experiment with yupo.

 Over the weekend I watched a Gerald Brommer video on Collage and Watercolor and started working on a few small abstracts.  First step was to take a few colors of watercolor paint and create a cruciform with negative spaces that were each unique.

Next, the instructions call for using various neutral rice papers and apply them to the painted areas with glue.   I used YES glue and kinwashi rice paper I was able to purchase from the Ft. Myers Beach Art Center for $4/sheet.

I will work on these tomorrow in the Experimental Group by adding more watercolor.

Stamps

These are two of the new stamps I made after watching the Anne Bagby video.  They are made with foam sheets...thicker sheet for the base and thinner sheet for the cut pieces applied to the base.  She had a good idea to leave space in the stamp for embellishing with 1) smaller stamp in different color 2) piece of decorated paper or 3) drawing.

FMBAA Winter Show 2013

The Fort Myers Beach Art Association has up their winter show now.  The prizes were announced a week ago Sunday and a gallery talk took place before the reception.  This is a show that is open to the area art council, so it draws from a large group of artists and always looks fabulous.

I went down today to take photos of just some of the paintings hanging.  I apologize for the glare.  The facility has a lot of natural light...and if you turn on the interior lighting or take a flash without the lights on, you're gonna get a glare.  I think you'll still be able to see the quality of the work.

Sue Pink did this one.  I've taken 2 workshops from her.  She usually wins something in every show here...and got an honorable mention this time.  The judge praised the First Place painting (I'll designate below) for not resorting to the "letters and numbers thing" that's done so often these days in abstract art.  

I hope to meet and talk to this artist.  It looked like bright color applied all over the painting...then maybe black paint or ink used to embellish.

Shirley Trevena-esque with the warped perspective.

First place winner by Michele Buelow, a member of the experimental painting down here that I paint with.  She was thrilled!

Ann Kittel did this piece and I love it.  She did a green, black, and white painting last year that is in the same style.  She says she teaches a workshop on the process...in March.  *sigh*  She said she can't look at a magazine now without picking out pictures of furniture she wants to "place" in her rooms....

This measures 3 ft. tall and is done in graphite.  Just beautiful.  

Yupo

Yupo.  This won a Merit Award.  The judge said it was "the best yupo painting she'd ever seen. "  The artist was at the gallery talk when this was shared.  She had that look that we all know:  "wish I knew how I did it!"

Another Sue Pink and this one won an honorable mention....in spite of the numbers.  

We decided this woman's studio must be spotless.  She did the large pinky red tulips in a painting above.

Abstract by another member of the experimentalists.

Yupo by the person who will be teaching a one-day workshop next Thursday.  The judge liked the painting, all except for the "green monster" at the top.  She thought it might show better cropped.