Early to Bed

I've been wanting to paint this little beauty for some time, and I finally got to it today.  After a busy day of the gym, shipping paintings, visiting my daughter - the biting cold winds were less than appealing to this painter!  Taking care of those necessary computer chores, I turned my attention to the easel.  Oh, it felt good to pull my brush through my paint, even if some of that paint needs to be scraped.  I'll clean that palette another day, when I'm not chomping at the bit to paint.  I primed this panel in a different color - a grayed down plum shade.  I've been wanting to try it under my winter landscapes, but I just happened to grab it for tonight as well.  I like it.  I think the orange I use in the summer months is just too strong for the subtle colors of winter.  I also brought my favorite palette knife out to play!  I love the fresh marks this knife leaves in it's wake!  With this old cat's beautiful coloring, I will definitely be painting her again!  Painting number 1838 in 1838 days.

Ship on a Shelf

What a fun day this has been!  I have a new handmade watercolor sketchbook with deckled edges - and today is my very first entry!  Using a new tiny pan of watercolor paints (recommended by a friend)  and new watercolor brushpens, I armed myself for a morning of painting inside the Mission Antique Mall.  I've never used any of these supplies, so it was quite an adventure!  I first wandered around for an hour before picking a subject (I was so distracted by the antiques!)  and then, I sketched the ship out with my India ink pen on this fabulous paper.  It took me a minute to realize that I had to actually squeeze the pen before water would come out, and then it was right on to mixing my paints.  I finished this one and sketched out another, but alas it was time for lunch in the cafe - and it was wonderful!   A day well spent!  This painting is the 1400th in 1400 days!  It must be all smooth sailing from here :)

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Tansy on Cotton

Tansy on Cotton
Flower pigment, pen and ink on cotton, 8x9.5

This pounding is of tansy in my garden.  It blooms in yellow atop tall feathery fronds.  Used in teas, it is one plant I needed to keep away from cattle - as it can affect their milk (or so I was told).  Since we live in the country, that meant keeping it away from the fences and edges of the yard.  We no longer run cattle, but I still keep it far from fence lines!  The blooms are tiny yellow ball shapes in clusters, which here turned to the brown shades.  I wonder if cutting fresher blooms would result in more of their true yellow color seeping into the fabric.  I found that with sunflowers, I needed to cut them and pound them immediately, or their petals would release very little color.  Each flower is a new experience - and who knows the next blooms will bring!  This is Day 17 in the 30 day painting challenge and the 990th painting in 990 days!! Woohoo!

Roses on Cotton

Red Roses on Cotton
Flower pigment, pen and ink on cotton, 8x9.5

I learned several things with today's flower pounding experience.  The rose that was almost red to fall apart had the strongest and most defined pigment.  The fresher ones were just too juicy.  So, the next time I have roses ready to fall apart in the vase - I will pound them instead of tossing them!  Today, I am using unbleached muslin, which is thicker than the cotton I used before, and the texture is coarser.  It works well, but I wonder how something like batiste would work......it is natural cotton, but quite thin. Perhaps the pigment would be stronger just because there would be less fabric to bleed into to produce a good image.  The best part of this project?  I pounded the flowers ahead of time, allowed them to dry (with 4 others), and then took them with my to ink in the car as I waited for the boys to get out of school!  It is a fabulous project for waiting time, because there is no clean up, other than capping my pen and setting the cotton aside.  Much easier than shutting down my "in car watercolor studio" at the bel of release!  This is Day 16 in the 30 day painting challenge and my 989th painting in 989 days :)

Cosmos and Crape Myrtle

Cosmos and Crape Myrtle
Flower pounding, pen & ink on cotton, 8.5x9.5

Experimenting again, this time I am trying additional flowers.  You can’t tell what color will come out of them by looking at them.  For example, all of the antique brown shading  in clusters is from a pink crape myrtle!  The pink cosmos was very light, but the dark violet ones were true to color.  The greens kept their color, and did the pink vinca, and the purple morning glories had the strongest pigment of all!  The yellow centers of the cosmos also pounded out as brown.  It makes me wonder what will happen when I try sunflowers....will they be brown instead of yellow?  I really love the vintage appeal of these blooms pounded on cotton!  And, isn’t it cool to use the flower pigment as my ink? This is number 14 in September’s 30 day challenge and this painting makes 987 for me in 987 days :)

Crape Myrtle Sprig

Crape Myrtle Sprig
Flower pounding, pen & ink on cotton fabric, 8x9.5

Today, I am experimenting with flower pounding!  I have wanted to give this a try for years.  The first step is to pick some flowers and lay them on a natural fiber surface, cotton in my case.  Then, after covering the flowers with wax paper, I pounded them on a wood surface with an actual hammer!  I brought a large rubber mallet to use, but it did not force the stain out of the petals like a real hammer did.  Next step - allow fabric to dry.  I left half the crushed flower pieces on until dry, and then scraped them off with a plastic putty knife and stiff, short brush.  Next - and most daunting, was to define all petals, leaves and stems with an india ink pen.  I chose sepia color, to add to the vintage feel of this project.  Once this was done, I went into those lightly stained areas with just a bit of color, using my Tombow brush pens in matching colors, on their sides. This was SO much fun - I now want to run out and pound every flower in the yard!  This is painting number 13 in the 30 Day Painting Challenge, and 986 in 986 days for me :)