Planting Art seeds in the UK

( These were scheduled to be posted while we were in Scotland and Ireland- but Blogger had different ideas. So- a little late but the art remains the same)

In preparing for our trip to Scotland and Ireland, I made a dozen or so ATCs.

For those of you who don’t know, ATC stands for artist trading cards. They are pieces of board or paper that are 2.5” x 3.5,” the same size as a baseball trading card. They are little tiny baby pieces of art that were originally traded, and now ACEO’s- art card editions and originals- are sold as originals or small series of prints.   The intention for mine was to plant them on both “islands” during our trip, giving them to people who I enjoyed or may enjoy a tiny piece of art.  So I thought it fitting while I’m in the UK, I’ll highlight them on my blog!

Magenta Grasses ATC

This first one I started with some alcohol inks, which I am currently in love with. It’s serious-want-to-get-engaged kind of love :)  I am going to need a cabinet storage area soon! Such vibrant colors, quick drying, and have awesome interactions with other materials.  It’s a loose start, but I like the proportions of negative to positive space…

Went a little crazy here…

So I simplified a bit with alcohol and some coarse kosher salt…

Sometimes there is a method to my madness- other times I love just foraging through my collections to see what feels right, making a right brain rather than left brain connection… that's how I happened upon some patinaed copper that worked beautifully with the magenta.  A wee bit of pressed goldenrod balanced the strong horizontal nicely, but still not feeling done….

Added “living in the moment” in white….

But once I added wax I lost the delicate writing. So added some abstract script, highlights on goldenrod and linear pattern with the contrasting white. 

Done, stamped, signed, and ready to be packed for the voyage!

Slainte!

The Commission Process Step 5-Imagery and Details: Shirley and Roger

Some parts of the process are exciting and quick- like the pour. But some are slower, more meticulous and exacting.  This week was one of those times.    I spent several hours two days in a row fine-tuning some areas of the painting, adjusting color, eliminating details I didn't like, accentuating those I did. Once I got it to the point that felt right- I the continued on with the next step- the grasses.

It was important to Shirley that the grasses retain their original “straw” color. I was going to use actual grasses- but during the process of attaching them, their color can become obscured, (or scorched by the torch!).  So based on feedback from Shirley on earlier pieces, I opted instead to silkscreen them on.  

  

I still wanted to use some actual botanicals in the piece, so I chose leaves in their color scheme, some dollar plants, and Queen Anne’s lace to incorporate.  Once again- I am very slow and deliberate about placement.  Composition – or the arrangement/balance of a piece- is very, very important to me.  I spent a good chunk of an afternoon going through my collection of pressed botanicals to find a good range of size and shape, and then laid them on in various configurations.  When I finally thought that I had a good arrangement- I left. ! Yes, I wanted to wait and see if I felt the same way the next day, looking at it with fresh eyes.  The next morning- I made some small adjustments, but went with the plan. Now to attach in the exact configuration I’d decided on!

I have done this process with with the encaustic wax on a smaller scale, but the larger scale here caused a couple of difficulties.  You must heat up the surface before applying wax, and to do so requires the use of a heat gun or blowtorch- both of which will blow all of my fragile and very light arrangements right off the panel!  I take a picture with my ipad so I can refer back to it- but then I weighted down the ones not being worked on to keep them in place while I heated and applied hot wax to attach the leaves or pods or flowers. It took all afternoon to attach them- but they are exactly where I wanted them :)

In the home stretch now- I hope! I think I am clear about the next step- 

but want to take a break and come back and look and see…

Here it is in its present state hanging on a small piece of studio wall painted in Shirley and Rogers colors....

The Commission Process Step 2-Preparing: Shirley and roger

So while I am waiting for the custom panel to be built, I have plenty to do. I spent an afternoon going thru my inks, paint, and pigments to see if I needed any more- and despite having millions of colors- of course, I did not have exactly what I needed!  So I ordered those.

Then- mixing and matching.  Spent a bit of time trying to match the wall paint exactly not only because it was important to Shirley, but also because I want to be able to mix it into other colors on the piece, and use tints and shades of it.

  Also played around with other color combinations until they felt right. I always try to mix plenty so I don't have to repeat this process in the middle of the painting!  I also painted a large piece of paper their wall color to hang the piece on to get a sense of how it will look on their wall. 

I looked thru my collections, and am very happy that I spent so much time pressing leaves and grasses last year.   I’d be stuck until late summer waiting for the grasses to mature if I didn't have any grasses left! But I have enough to work with, and also found some leaves that I think would pick up their accent color perfectly.  

  

 Now- if that panel would only hurry up!