Stuck in the Drawing

There is a thing that happens to me (I'm sure it happens to other painters, too) when I begin working on an WIP.  I get stuck in the drawing.  The fluidity of the under painting is lost when the paint dries. I suppose this particular painting has an ambiguous ending, as I don't have any clear idea where it will end up. I enjoy the process of finding my way, usually.  Right now I'm frustrated. My plan is to scrape back some of the layers so only a ghost will show in certain areas, then work back on top. 

Progress thus far.

Keep on, Keeping on

Yesterday I went out to run a few errands and let my painting dry a bit. I wound up at the mall and found a temporary used book shop. I came home with a new(used) book Claude Monet by Nancy Nunhead.

I started leafing through it and found Wild Poppies.  

I love the mix of dirty whites and greens balanced by the vibrant reds and blues.  I think this color palette suits the new piece I've started.  This is the progress I've made so far.

  

   

Inspired

I started a new piece yesterday and it felt really great. It's been far too long since I've been inspired. I almost didn't recognize the feeling. Updates soon to come.

I'm Back.

This summer went by very quickly and I completed neglected this blog. Here's a bit of what I did with my time:

This piece is a single block relief print.

This piece is also a single block relief print.  It is one of six.

This is a four block relief print. One of five.

This is a monotype print with water based inks.

Another monotype.

Monotype.

Monotype.

Right now I'm working on a new series of oil paintings inspired by the sky. Pictures soon to come.  I'm going to try and be more active on here again. 

First Day

As always I was early for my first day; 45 minutes early to be exact. I was the first one there so I snapped some pictures of the clean studio.

Today I did a lino (linoleum) cut. I focused on a simple still life design it's very similar to a painting a did a bit ago...
Carving the lino is not too difficult but I'm pretty sure my hand is going to be sore tomorrow.
These are my first set of prints done on newsprint with Daniel Smith's water based inks in black.
After my first go at it I decided that I wanted to carve more of the background out.
Then I printed some more...

I'm pleased with how my first plate turned out and I'm really loving this class so far and it's only been one day!

Summer school begins

Summer school starts tomorrow. I'm going to be taking printmaking. I will also be posting a whole lot more!

It's Official

I'm on my summer break! It's all done. It's amazing how fast the semesters have flown by. I only have one more to go then I will officially be a college graduate. That's pretty exciting. I'm going on hiatus for at least a week while family is visiting, but then I'll be posting my summer experiences!