Here is a spontaneous drawing that I just created!  I drew it with little conscious thought about process, standing rather far back from the paper and sketching freely in large strokes.  

Recently I had bought a book, "Expressive Drawing" by Steven Aimone.  It talks all about freeing up the creative source within oneself, and this little exercise that I did was based on the first exercise in the book.  

While drawing, I thought about the year that it had been, and how I had lost my cat Clementine, and how soon now that I'd have to say, "That happened last year."  I was also aware that my cat Bruce was watching me very closely, almost getting ready to pounce onto my drawing table!  He found the gestural strokes of my arm to be very inviting.  

The more that I paint and read about art, the more I realize that creativity, and not technique, is the essence of art.  Of course I've always known this in my heart, but it takes a while for it to sink into the mind, when one is so busy trying to copy reality as it appears to us everyday.  We must strive not to be limited by rules, expectations and the constraints put upon our eyes.  As the great artist Paul Klee said, "Art does not reproduce the visible;  rather, it makes visible."  

I look forward to doing much more abstract work like this, in 2013!    

"Improvisation #2"
Wax pastel on paper, 14" x 17".

Well, here is the last painting of the year.  :)  Happy new year, everyone!

Acrylic on MDF, 5" x 7".

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I'm working on a new painting again, if you'd like a quick look at it so far:

Painting complete!  :)

I call this one, "Afternoon Threesome".  Formerly called "An Afternoon with Fruit".
Acrylic on MDF, 10" x 10".

I had to let this canvas dry for a bit, as it was getting loaded down with wet, sticky paint!  But it's finally ready for more work, so here's a new peek at it.  Still plenty left to do on it.

  

The progress is coming along!  :)  

This is a new work in progress!   :)  It's a bit larger than usual, being 10" x 10".  Should be fun.

I didn't want to go to bed until this was finished!  I don't think the photo does it justice, though.  Anyway....   :)

Acrylic on MDF, 5" x 7".

I just had this painting framed at Phoenix Art Supplies & Framing, in Doylestown.  It looks really sharp, I think!

Just to see what it looks like, I slipped this previous painting into one of the frames that I decorated a while back ago.   :)

Another quick update on this one:

A second peek at the new one!  :)  Hopefully this layer of paint will dry overnight, and then I'll continue working on it.

I used Liquitex brand paint for the initial raw umber layer, as it dries really quickly, and allows me to proceed painting again almost right away.  But when I start suggesting actual colors of the painting, as in this second stage, I use Golden brand's OPEN acrylics, which have a slower drying time.  That way, blending colors will be easier!

I just began a new painting!  Here is the first stage.  The only paint color here is raw umber.  

Can you guess already what this will be a painting of?  I'll give you two guesses:

1)  Twenty chihuahuas getting belly rubs and special doggie treats.  

2)  A still life with fruit.

I guess it could go in either direction at this point!  

Today I went back to this previous painting, and did some refinement!  I felt like it needed more paint in some areas, as well as some color additions and value adjustments.

I just finished this painting!  :-)

Acrylic on Masonite, 6" x 6".

And now I shall run off to see an art show.  :)

Here's an update on this one!

I'm calling this one finished.  :)

Acrylic and molding paste on MDF, 5" x 7".

This is the beginning of a new painting!  

Time for something embarrassing!  It's a picture of me, with my class from the third grade at Northlake Elementary School, in Garland, Texas.  (I put a red circle around me)!

Either I'm wearing a ridiculous pair of red pants, or the girl in front of me is wearing Supergirl's cape.  I can't tell which.

My teacher, Ms. Wilson, was very kind.  She treated us all with respect, and never laughed about me wearing red pants.  

This is the start of a new acrylic painting!  I'm using a heavily textured surface for this one.

I'll let this layer of paint dry, before moving on to the next layer.  

Also, yesterday I applied for the ability to accept credit card payment, from clients interested in purchasing a painting.  I think this will make things easier for everyone!  I made this little sign, which I hope soon to display at my table at Rice's Market.   :)

This one is pretty much finished!  

Acrylic on MDF, 5" x 7".

I took some of my paintings to Rice's Market today, and sold my "Two Eggs on a Plate" picture!  :)  While I was there, I started a new painting, so that people could see what I do.  Here is the current status of that painting.  Three little kids were helping me work on the big green apple.  :)

   

Quick update on the current oil painting...

I just finished this painting!  I enjoyed creating this one.

Acrylic on MDF, 5" x 7".

Here's the newest status on the oil painting!

All of my oil paint colors, with the exception of phthalo turquoise, are of the classical mineral type pigments.  These pigments are known for becoming more gray when mixed with each other,  their color intensity noticeably reduced.  In particular, mixing titanium white with a mineral hue will create an opaque, flat and chalky color.  If you compare this painting with my current acrylic picture (see yesterday's post), which uses a lot of intense modern pigments without white mixed in, you can see how dull the oil painting is in comparison.  

It's useful to be aware of the differences between mineral and modern pigments, as depending on the effect you want, you can favor one type of pigment over the other, for a particular painting!  

A lot of artists come to settle on a particular palette of colors, after much experimentation.  But the more I play with color, the more value I see in having a large selection of colors available (although any one painting will rarely use more than about 12 colors).  Most colors are manufactured with a real purpose in mind.  When you consider all of the color bias possibilities (such as a violet blue vs. a greenish blue), plus the usefulness of having both an opaque and a transparent version of a color, your list of colors can get quite large!  I like to build up my inventory just a little bit at a time.  :)

  

Here's another peek at the progress made on the current still life!  I'm using some modern pigments in this painting, such as hansa yellow, quinacridone magenta, and manganese blue hue.  It makes for some glowing, radiant color!

I've put some nice frames on a couple of my paintings!  :)

This is another new painting that I'm working on!  This is a little bit different, as it is oil paint, instead of acrylic (normally I only use oils when I'm at class, since I don't have great ventilation at home).  Anyway, this is a rough beginning.  :)  

I've put aside the Christmas painting for right now, and am working on a new fruit still life instead.  The current status is shown below.

Also today I created a small color mixing chart.  I wanted to experiment with some different brown paints that I have, mixing them with a few other random colors to see the results.  The color chart helps to appreciate subtle differences in appearance.  Just thought I'd show that as well!   :)

I've done some more work on the Christmas painting...

This is a newly finished painting for you to enjoy.  :)

Acrylic on MDF, 5" x 7".  

Here's the very beginning of a new painting.  It's going to be a Christmas scene!  :)

Here is a new painting, "Still Life with Mango"!  It's mostly finished, but will probably be touched up here and there.

Acrylic on Masonite, 6" x 6".

My cat Bruce has something to say....  Frankly I just appreciate his honesty...

This painting is now complete!  :-)

Acrylic on MDF, 5" x 7".

One last peek at the progress on this one, before I leave for work shortly.   :-)

Here is the latest on my current painting...!

I've started a new still life painting.  Here is an early look.  :)

No fancy mixed media on this one, it'll just be straight acrylic on MDF.  

Thanks for looking!

Here's a quickie.... "Two Oranges".  Took maybe a couple hours to create.   :)

Acrylic, wax pastel, pigmented india ink, and molding paste on Masonite, 5" x 4".

This is a small abstract painting that I've created.  It's called "The Result of the Experiment", in the spirit of my new efforts to work in abstraction.   :)  The main goal here was to get some color and texture going, while staying representational enough that the picture is simple to relate to.

Acrylic, pigmented india ink, wax pastel and molding paste on Masonite, 5" x 4".

This version of the painting has just some minor adjustments made to the lemon and orange.

I should be getting this image added to my website by tonight...

Here's a new artwork!  I wanted to create something in the spirit of a Paul Klee painting, and something to just have fun with.  Klee painted pictures which were simple in their representational aspect, but which gave the eye plenty to look at in terms of texture and color.  

Acrylic, wax pastel, and pigmented india ink on Masonite, 6" x 6".

I have an exciting new assortment of Caran D'Ache wax pastels.  :) They are water-resistant, and can be drawn with over dried acrylic paint.  The only problem is that I'm afraid to use them!    :-|  They are new to me...

This is pretty much finished, except maybe for touch-up here and there.   :)

Acrylic on MDF, 5" x 7".

This painting is getting to have a lot of layers!  And it's still in progress...

More progress on the fruit still life...

Here is an update on the new still life painting!

A couple of the colors that I'm using, are Hansa Yellow Light, and Transparent Red Iron Oxide.  These paints are transparent and help to produce some interesting color effects.  They sort of seem to glow!

The orange uses Cadmium Yellow Medium and Cadmium Red Light.  (The shadowy area includes some Transparent Red Iron Oxide).  The Cadmiums are classic mineral colors, and are not transparent, but they do mix a very nice, clean orange color!

This is the early phase of my current still life painting!

More and more, I like to mix colors directly on the support, rather than on the palette.  The painting process is more free-flowing that way, I think.