Cracking the Code - Day 24 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Cracking the Code" - 18" x 24" acrylic on paper - $295 includes free shipping

This piece took FOREVER to finish!  I began by laying down two thin coats of gesso onto the 140# watercolor paper; then added a 3rd coat of black gesso to give it a solid black look.  Afterwards I used a yardstick to draw 1" squares all over the paper with a white pencil; then used my masking fluid to "paint" various designs in the squares.  I wanted a planned yet random look, and originally began with the double "ss" and "x" marks in a pattern.  Then I expanded the patterned look to include the six dot squares and the small circles, then began filling in the empty squares with random marks including the triangles, horizontal and vertical lines and mini dots.  

After the masking fluid dried, I got a can of moss green acrylic paint and sprayed it over the sheet. Once it dried, I rolled on two light coats of white paint then gently added some umber; sienna; ochre and Golden's Payne's Gray (which is Navy Blue in my eyes!) with a brush.  (you have to work lightly when using masking fluid because it's easy to remove the gummy substance when using a brayer or paint brush).

The fun really began once I started removing the dried masking fluid with my rubber cement eraser. Because of all the layers of paint on top of the designs, it took a long time to remove the paint, and some areas removed more layers, exposing some of the moss green paint.  I decided to let the scrapes and scratches remain which wasn't easy because I wanted to go in and make each mark perfect, but I forced myself to walk away and left it to dry overnight.

I'm glad I did - I absolutely love the finished, rough organic look.  What do all the lines and patterns mean?  To me, it's a life's code type of thing, and each person can read into it whatever they wish.  I haven't determined my meaning of the piece yet, and I probably never will.

Snow Bound - Day 23 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Snow Bound" - 18" x 24" acrylic on paper - $295 includes free shipping

Eye in the Sky - Day 20 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Eye in the Sky" - 18" x 24" acrylic on paper - $295 includes free shipping

Flames in the Mist - Day 19 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Flames in the Mist" - 18" x 24" acrylic on canvas - $295 with free shipping

This piece took me for a bit of a loop.....I had been going for the moody yet peaceful neutral grays, browns and whites and kept working the painting until I got the composition to where I wanted it to be.  But it screamed for color, and as I listened I was led to the small bottles of Golden's Indian Yellow Hue & Quinacridone Burnt Orange.  Armed with my gel medium, I added a dot of each color (separately) and spread them on the paper.  Such boldness!  My eyes needed some rest so I got out my spray bottle of water and lightly misted some dots over the orange and yellow mixture.  When I lifted the water, I was delighted with the little dots dancing through the glazing and yet still wasn't satisfied.  So I added some more water then applied a very small amount of dried pewter metallic gouache, which exploded into a fine silver coating.  Done!  Yet OH SO HARD to properly photograph the true beauty of this painting.

Flooding Waters - Day 18 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Flooding Waters" - 24" x 18" acrylic on paper - $295 includes free shipping

Land Slide - Day 17 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Land Slide" - 24" x 18" acrylic on paper - $295 includes free shipping

The Elements - Day 14 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"The Elements" - 24" x 18" acrylic on paper - $295 includes free shipping

Wind Dancer - Day 13 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Wind Dancer" - 24" x 18" acrylic on paper - $295 includes free shipping

Steady Drip - Day 10 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

So here's another minimalist painting I created using the Daniel Smith masking fluid that I like so much. The background on this piece had many layers of various earthtones, and with the fluid "dots" and a coat of my special white medium paint that I mixed up, it allowed the darks to still show up and made the dots stand out while blanketing the piece is a peaceful, zen white look.

Many years ago I used to paint with watercolors and gouache, and I always used masking fluid in my designs because I loved that element of surprise that you get when you finally remove the dried fluid from the piece.  These last few paintings have brought back that excitement and I hope you're enjoying these new designs for the 2nd week of the challenge.  Not sure what week 3 will bring, but they are guaranteed to be abstracts on paper in neutral colors!

"Steady Drip" - 18" x 24" acrylic on paper - $295 includes free shipping

Alone in the Cold - Day 9 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

It's hard to believe I'm nearly 1/3 of the way through the 30/30 challenge already.  The adage about "time flies when you're having fun" is definitely appropriate as I've been having a blast with this new series.

Here's "Alone in the Cold" - another visually textural piece in light gray blue shades.  And I've put together a little collage of all nine paintings to date - check it out!

"Alone in the Cold" - 24" x 18" acrylic on paper - $295 with free shipping

Collage of the first 9 paintings for the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

Denim Skies - Day 8 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

I wanted to do something a little different today so opted to mix up a fabulous denim blue color to add a "shibori-like" appearance to my painting.  I masked off the small "x's" and singular "o" with a liquid masking solution from Daniel Smith, then painted over the dried designs with the paint and a gel medium.  After the paint dried I removed the masking solution with a rubber cement eraser which exposed the original surface. I wanted some visual texture to show through the designs and am happy with the results.  I'm looking forward to doing more of these mark making pieces for the challenge in rich earthy tones!

Here's "Denim Skies" - my 8th offering for the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge and my "The Wisdom of Winter" series.

"Denim Skies" - 18" x 24" acrylic on paper - $295 incl. free shipping

Fall From Grace - Day 7 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Fall From Grace" - 18" x 24" acrylic on paper - $295 includes free shipping

Starting Over Again - Day 6 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Starting Over Again" - 24" x 18" acrylic on paper - $295 incl. free shipping

Beneath the Surface - Day 5 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Beneath the Surface" - 24" x 18" acrylic on paper - $295 incl. free shipping

New Beginnings - Day 4 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"New Beginnings" - 24" x 18" acrylic on paper - $295 includes free shipping

Day 24 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge - "Bay Breeze"

"Bay Breeze" - 36" x 24" acrylic on 1.5" canvas

This piece reminds me of the windy day on the beach in the Spring - flower petals dancing in the air with a gentle sea mist floating over the sand.  I enjoyed working with the pastel colors on this painting and making the various squiggles as I painted over the layers. 

Day 23 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge - "Time to Grow"

"Time to Grow" - 24" x 36" acrylic on 1.5" canvas

I've been fighting a respiratory infection this past week that has unfortunately turned into a case of pneumonia, so painting for the remainder of this challenge will be happening as the meds continue to work their magic and in between bouts of coughing and dizziness. 

I really liked the painting that was painted over for "Time to Grow" - and I almost set the original aside to keep intact.  However, an inner voice guided me forward with the knowledge of what I was doing was indeed growth as a person and an artist. 

The original was rather dark and very personal - it was one from my dress and cups stages.  This new painting covered all that darkness, and at the end I decided to collage one of my canvas house pieces over a particularly personal area.  I just noticed it now appears as though it is "housing a secret" which indeed it is. 

Isn't it amazing at what appears when we let our psyche's through and hand them the control of the brush? 

Day 22 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge - "Sweet Surrender"

"Sweet Surrender" - 24" x 24" acrylic on 1.5" canvas

More soft and subtle colors in this abstract painting - covering up a mid-range palette with lots of marks.   With the exception of a couple of paintings thus far, I can safely say I'm loving this new style that has been emerging from this challenge.  

Day 21 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge - "Inner Peace"

"Inner Peace" - 24" x 30" acrylic on 1.5" canvas

This painting gave me everything BUT inner peace while painting it....in fact it was painted over and over and over again before I finally said "enough."

The original piece had a ton of texture - molding paste; fiber paste; gel sand; gel medium.....and at one point I became so frustrated I actually grabbed some more molding paste and started texturing over the texture!!

No matter what I did (graphite lines; ink drips; bold cruciform composition) I couldn't seem to create a focal point of interest.  And then it hit me.....I didn't NEED a focal point!  The texture WAS the focal point and the soft, blended colors that danced over the surface were the perfect background.  I added gold metallic highlights and that sealed the deal.

I know the photo sucks and you can't really see the shimmer but you can see the subtle colors that  float on the surface.  The finished piece has so much depth it is actually quite beautiful.  This one might just stay in my personal favorite stack!

Day 20 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge - "El Pueblo"

"El Pueblo" - 24" x 18" acrylic on 1.5" canvas

I love the way this piece turned out....the colors are very subtle Southwest colors (hence the moniker "El Pueblo") and there's an inkling of a homestead/house in the upper right corner.  I didn't want to commit to a decipherable form so left it very abstract, then added some metallic gold for good measure.  And because for some reason I can't seem to get enough of the shimmer right now, I threw in some powdered silver gouache to make it really glow!  The gray areas are really the silver spots, but when I tried to get the photo, the glare was blinding.

One of the biggest problems I'm having with this challenge is with the old names of the pieces.  Because these are all "do-overs," most of the canvases were already named.  So trying to make a new piece work with the name sometimes doesn't work - like at all.

The old painting for this canvas was called "Decisions" and was a geometric work with numbers and letters sprayed on (yes, I went through that phase....).  However, when I was painting this piece, the name "El Pueblo" came to me and my rule is once a name comes to me, I know it's time to stop painting. 

I don't want to white out or gesso over the previous name, so will somehow blend the names (ie Decisions - El Pueblo).  Maybe it will attract a buyer who can't decide which house to buy?  Or someone inthe  real estate industry?  I'd be happy if it just attracted a buyer, period!!

Only 10 more days to go - and today I pulled some large canvases out of the shed in my backyard.  Watch out, folks - things are going to get freaky now :-)