Loosen It Up

I decided that I would like to develop the abstract side of my art a little more. I took a class a few years ago from a very well known artist who did this type of art. It was a tough class because I had no idea how to create art like that. In the past, I thought there was nothing to it, a monkey could paint this way. When I took the class, I realized it was not going to be easy. The teacher wanted us to come up with our own original pieces , she did not want us to copy her style . The teacher had us take paintings that we had done, tear them up, rearrange the pieces in different order and then repaint the new picture. She also had us draw things and really exaggerate the form. By the time I was done with that class, I had a healthy respect for the abstract.

Raining Blue- Mixed Media Acrylic and Watercolor

I usually do very realistic art but I want to loosen it up a little bit and so here are some small pieces that I have done:

Heavens and Moons- Mixed Media Collage , Acrylic and Watercolor

Red Iris- Watercolor and Acrylic
in my Etsy Store

Siamese Twins

I have been working on some more watercolor , acrylic, ink paintings. I love cats but painting them has been a challenge for me. I have not used much acrylic either but I do like the boldness of the color and the ability to add texture if I need it.

This is called "Siamese" and is 12 X 15 7/8 on watercolor paper. Done with mostly watercolor, a little ink and acrylic.
$74.97

Dreams of Horses

When I was young, I used to dream of horses and played with toy ones every single day. I dreamt of riding them and jumping fences. I would ask for a horse every Christmas and every Christmas, under the tree, I would get a plastic one.I finally got my wish in high school. My school actually had a riding club if you can believe that. The lessons were great! I loved it but I still wanted my very own horse. I drew them and painted them ever since I was 5 years old.

Finally at the ripe old age of 27, I got my first horse. A quarter horse/appaloosa cross. She was chestnut with a blaze and white socks. Very pretty but ornery at times. We lived on a 5 acre farm so I was able to keep her on our property. I found a riding instructor that taught me Dressage and took more lessons. Since I did not have a trailer, I had to ride the horse 7 miles on canal roads to get to the instructor's house. It was harrowing at times as my horse would shy and rear. I thought I was going to end up in the canal. My instructor did not want me to get injured so she allowed me to board my horse at her place for free. It was very generous of her. I definitely was not a natural at riding but I really worked hard at it because it was my dream.

Then my kids came along and I couldn't ride like I used to. I gave up riding and I gave up painting horses, I gave up the dream. I still had my horse and I know she had a pampered life. I lost my horse 2 years ago at the age of 28 which is pretty old for an equine. I am sure it was the West Nile virus that got her.

I am a little rusty but I picked up the paint brush again and decided to paint horses. Worked about 3 hours on this painting until 1 am in the morning. Haven't used much acrylics but I do like them. Watercolors are so difficult to use. Many times you can save paintings by incorporating the acrylics. I love mix media and would like to do more.

Here is the result of my efforts:

Mixed media-Arabian Horse in my Etsy Store

Purrfectly Persian

I just finished a new watercolor, acrylic, ink cat painting. Long haired cats are challenging to paint and this is my first one.

My new painting can be found in my Etsy Store

Under the Sea Inspiration

I haven't had much of a chance to paint but with such a hectic end of the week coming up, I decided to fit it in. I was inspired by the beautiful fish I saw while snorkeling off the island of Maui. This was done in mixed media. The background of yellow, red and blue was done in acrylics, the trigger fish were done in watercolor and india ink.

This Hawaiian Trigger Fish can be found in my Etsy store.
I also am having a sale this week 20% on all my framed handpainted tile.