"COLORADO COLOR" ORIGINAL MIXED MEDIA PAINTING OF ASPEN © SAUNDRA LANE GALLOWAY

"Colorado Color"

10x13"  16x20" matted and framed

$250 includes shipping in US

ON HOLD FOR A SHOW

This was a new experience for me.  It may look a lot like my signature aspen, but it was done specifically to enter into the Colorado Watercolor State Show that will be in March at the Foothills Art Center in Golden, CO.  I don't usually like to paint FOR a show, but I was intrigued to see how I could adapt my work to paper.  They have very strict rules as to how you work...it has to be ON PAPER.  Any collage materials have to be PAINTED by the artist...no store bought paper for this show...and it has to be under PLEXIGLASS.  WHEW... SO, I started out painting on a 140lb piece of watercolor paper with acrylics...

THAT was pretty ok...although the paper buckled a lot so I had to keep ironing it flat so I could work...After that I took several types of paper and painted and stamped on them and then tore them up to add to my piece...After which I added three aspen (remember I did all this yesterday as I've been gone...so the fewer aspen the better)...which I ended up finding just right as I enjoyed the abstract background I'd created using my handpainted papers...and, the end result under glass and matted and framed was this...

After it is all said and done, I'm not sure I enjoy painting my own papers...It might have been my strict deadline...but, I more think I enjoy the art of choosing papers from the stores and seeing how they fit my vision...it is part of the creative process for me...but that is just one artists opinion!  I hope to sway the board of CWS that one day they accept more work done on different substrates for more of their shows...we don't want to have our creativity stifled now do we?? hmmm...?  :)  I won't even know if I was accepted for a month or so...but, at least it is DONE...YEA!  

My next projects will be for my family, as I do every year...this year I'm going to try my hand at painting my little grandson.  This will be a challenge as all the photos I have of him were taken inside with no interesting shadows from sunlight...but...we work with what we have...:)  I'll post things as I get them done...and encourage my family NOT to read my blog for a bit so they won't see what MAY be their Christmas present! HA...We will see how that goes!!  

HAPPY CREATING!

EXPERIMENT

Although I have already posted my handsome grandson today, I'm hoping this little experiment with my iPad will prove successful. I'm attempting to post AND include a pic I took WITH my iPad as well! Are you ready? Let's see if it works...




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Yea!! HAPPY CREATING!

HOME and on the run!

I have literally 5 minutes!  Two awesome days with my little guy and I'm back home and running off to work an art show! WHEW.  Need I say I had a great time holding my little grandson!!  He was a delight...laughing, talking to anything with a face!  It was heaven!!  I'm really crunched for time to try to complete a finished piece tomorrow to send off in the mail for a show on Tuesday morning...but for now...Paxton talking to his monkeys!!

HAPPY CREATING!

PAPER CAST ACORN PAINTING IN PROCESS

This painting is definitely in process...I've got my background in and my casts completed and placed with some oil painting on them...all fun stuff...and now I need to go in and add more...more paint, more collage items that I'm considering...but today my computer goes to the computer doctor, so I'm not sure when I'll post again.

Early tomorrow morning I'm leaving to spend a couple of days with my grandson and his parents in Omaha.  He is changing tons and I am missing it...so, off I go.  I'm going to take my ipad and ATTEMPT to post...but art stays at home, so they will most likely be pics of faces of those I love.  That is IF I am able to make it all work on that little ipad!  Wish me luck...and

HAPPY CREATING!

ON MAKING STAMPS and TRAVELS...

Before I go too much further I want to talk a little about making stamps for use in the backgrounds of your work.  The example above is from a short video I got from the EMPTY EASEL newsletter that I get through my website Fine Art Studio On Line.  For any of you who subscribe to this website provider I encourage you to read the Empty Easel as it often has very informative information to help you in your creative endeavors!  The link for this promo for this particular process is: http://emptyeasel.com/2011/10/24/video-making-styrofoam-stamps-to-use-with-collage-paper-and-fabric/.  The stamp above is a quick example I made to see how it would work using acrylics...Could be FUN!  And, would have worked on my acorn piece had I chose to use it.

The second idea is very simple...I used a little hot glue and glued a stencil on to a square of 6 mm of fun foam.  This is an excellent material to use as it washes easily!  Even though stencils are very thin, they still have enough depth to make a stamp as you see below:

The third is also not invented by me, but used by me quite alot when I need a stamp that is the exact size and design for a particular piece.  I have included this in many of my blogs...but as a reminder these are the stamps I made for some of my acorn pieces.  The process was brought to me by a particular favorite blogger artist friend of mine...Alisa Burke.  The process is simple...Using 6mm fun foam cut out a design on one and hot glue it to another block of fun foam.  It is washable and durable!

to get the design in the center you can do several things.  Use a wood burning tool...cut it with an x-acto knife...(even drawing a line with the x-acto knife will cause a line to appear when you stamp!)

Making your own stamps just increases the original material within your artwork, making it that much more desirable and HARDER to replicate...making it THAT MUCH MORE DESIRABLE...or so goes the theory! HA.

Next week I am excited to say I will be traveling to Omaha to see my now nearly three month old grandson...I am SOOOO excited to see he and my beautiful daughter and most wonderful son-in-law...I will be able to get NEW photos of this new little person we all love so much with his Nana...the last photo I have with him is right before I walked out the door in August (where I bawled like a baby for an hour as I missed them so much already!) lol

When I return I will be working like crazy to produce but one more piece I will enter in the Colorado Watercolor State Show.  The thing about this show is the pieces have to be done on paper and under glass. Any collage papers we use have to be painted by us...all original stuff...That is where I will be using my handmade original stamps for background papers in one of my signature pieces.  It has to be all water media and painted in the last two years...So...stay tuned for that what ever it will be!!

HAPPY CREATING!