Most of the areas we've worked on have lots of things to do to call them finished. Some places it's major stuff. New chest of drawers in the bedroom. New rug in both the living room and the dining room. Curtains, throw pillows, etc., etc., etc. After ten long years I'm finally gonna' get my living room furniture reupholstered!!! And, there are rooms we have yet to tackle. Kitchen untouched. Guest bath also untouched. Laundry room tagging at the end of the line.
One of the areas we have pretty much brought to completion is the foyer. When we bought our first computer we didn't have a good place to put it, or the God-awful monstrosity of a computer desk we purchased for it. (I give all the blame to the husband for picking that thing out.) Since we rarely use the front door the niche area in our foyer was wasted space, thus it became our 'home office' area. Honestly, I'm glad I don't have the before and after photos to show you. Just the after. I don't even like to think about the before. Suffice it to say, it was bad, and over the years it I developed a progressively stronger and stronger 'hate this space' feeling for it.
Now, we have this nice, functional, streamlined work space ...
Pretty impressive what you can do with some plywood, stain, and peel-n-stick floor tiles. The husband did a great job. Just one minor problem. You see that big ol' open wall above the computer monitor? Screaming for a piece of art. I love the new space, and enjoying working at the computer now, but it's a little bland. Needs color, a touch of personalization and some warmth. Good thing an artist lives in the house! Also going to reupholster that chair, but that's another story.
Well, I'm on it. Paint barely dry on the last work and I'm at it again!
Right after I finished the White Lotus I got started on a new painting for the office/foyer. My original intention was to do something like this ...
Came across this image on the internet. Unfortunately, I can't find out who the artist is to give credit where credit is due. What I will say is I love the softness and simplicity of it. I love the contrast of the vibrancy of color with the subject matter. I also am completely enamored by the way the image travels across the canvases into a triptych.
When I sat in the chair and stared at the wall I wasn't thrilled with the way I thought a triptych would look between the shelves. Too linear. I got to thinkin' about some paintings my friend Kasey had done of poppies. Here's one I particularly admired ...
Poppies #4
I really liked them, had been inspired by them, and wanted them for my very own. Alas, that wasn't meant to be, but it didn't mean I, since I can paint, couldn't do some for myself! Ka-ching!
I think one of the things I love so much about Kasey's work is that her style is so different from my own. She has a freshness and spontaneity to her work. It's happy, full of color, texture and originality. Huge fan, I am.
Anyway, I copy-catted her poppy theme and began this ...
30" x 30" ... quick sketch of placement of poppies and some Golden Molding Medium for texture. Yeah, I know I said I wasn't going to go so big with my next piece of art but I couldn't help myself. I think the size will work very well on the office wall.
Base coat of black paint to create depth under the colors I will be adding ...
Glaze coat of chocolate brown to warm the black ...
Drew the poppies onto tracing paper, cut them out, decoupaged them onto the canvas for more texture ...
Smooshed more molding medium over the tracing paper, used a pallet knife to create a sort of ruffled edge to the petals, then used my finger to smooth the surface and give a bit of directional movement to the flower ...
Started glazing in browns and aquas ...
Building up the colors of the background and first coat of a deep orange glaze on the flowers ...
Still a lot of work to do, but it's getting there.
Namaste, y'all ...
No comments:
Post a Comment