This is 4 by 4 $30.00 painted in watercolor on tissue paper which has been secured to claybord. It has a gloss finish and would look lovely for someone who like these colors. A bit of an abstract landscape.
So I guess you would call it a collage.
Not for sale but I would be happy to tell you how you could make your own.
This is the cover to a journal.
I made this today in preparation for a collage demo I’m giving on Tuesday. It has papers I created with tissue paper and acrylic paint. In the center there is a watercolor paper insert which I painted in WC but used a transfer from my sketch book. I also used wallpaper, around the edge I think they call it grass cloth plus various tapes and screens for texture.
If I cover it in UV varnish it should last many lifetimes.
Oh yeah… I forgot to mention…
I covered the whole thing in “Golden” Soft Gel Gloss.
The actual journal was a “composition book” you find in any drug store or school supply for $1.00. It has lined paper inside which is nice for notes, recipes, journaling and even some creative writing.
Most artists struggle. Either they can’t seem to get down their vision of what they want or they don’t know what they want, (they’ll know it, if they see it). I think this struggle is part of the process. Its too bad because of this constant push/ pull it sometimes seems not to be worth the effort. Its why some people give up doing their art. Also, I see people giving up their art because they don’t have enough buyers. Buyers equate “good artist”. No buyers (not counting family and friends) means not a good artist. This definitely is not the case.
We live in an age when people will buy a Persian rug for their dining area, cover their sofa in silks, and import tiles from Italy to decorate their home tastefully and expensively, yet these same people will have pictures of art rather original art on every wall in their house. They will pay more for a custom frame and mat then for an original piece of art. Go into any model home these days, same thing, prints everywhere. (Please, I have nothing against prints.. so don’t write me justifying your print purchases) Most from 18th and 19th century artists. I guess they feel pretty good or safe rather, that this art cannot be denied as good art. It has stood the test of time. The truth is… I think people don’t trust their own judgement when it comes to choosing art. They need someone to tell them what is good art. All they have to do is trust their inner voice that says “I love this” but they don’t trust that little voice so they listen to experts…But who? do you trust Gallery owners? Especially when they are getting 50% of the profits? Do you trust your own decorator who is going to choose a piece of art because it matches a sofa? You have to admit, even I may not pay some of the high prices for some art, especially when it appears to have been painted with a stick or a rag. People don’t like to be taken advantage of and they don’t like to admit they don’t “know” art. The other problem is a simple one, people don’t appreciate original art in the US as much as in many other cultures around the globe. Now as in the past, Art was OK as long as it was something to do as a hobby but not as a career. It isn’t real work. We have a very strong work ethic in this county and some parents often put creativity in the back seat while encouraging productive hard work, left brain thinking.
So, if we don’t buy original art and we encourage our kids to do anything but become artists, and we don’t support the arts in schools what we are we saying?
Its no wonder today’s artists may feel as though it isn’t worth the effort, that the struggle to produce good art is just that, a struggle. As an artist I’ll remind you, of a few important things.
1. Its takes a very long time to become proficient at something as complex as art.
In fact, if it were easy, would you still even want to do it?
2. Don’t take the advice from lay people. They won’t help you, even if they have good intentions.
3. Be a lifelong student, don’t plan to figure it all out right now. It really is about the journey not the destination. Its a journey for one, just you.
4. Do whatever you enjoy doing, even if no one buys it. Hey, its cheaper than therapy.
Here I am sitting for a minute before I start the painting…..probably wondering what will I paint next. Often, I plan, plan plan, but once I start, I usually forget the plan and just let the painting decide what it wants to be.
Here are some small pieces of paper waiting for me to just get a few minutes to start a painting. I think I was gessoing these .. I usually do the priming in an assembly line because it can get messy.
I don’t like to store all of my seldom used items in my painting area preferring to keep it tidy. Especially since My painting area is small.
Behind all these completed paintings are several things, a big box of mat board, slides, a light box and related equipment ( some things I can’t seem to throw out even though I haven’t used them in years) and framing supplies. Also framed bios which are ready to be hung with my photo for outdoor festivals or street shows.
I have a small TV in my work area that I can watch. Often I will watch DVDs or videos of other artist’s painting or giving instruction. Its a good way to learn and its very easy to trade DVDs or videos with other artists so you can always have something new to see and possibly learn a new trick of the trade.
This is a walk in closet that I keep most of my frames and also larger framed paintings. Many of these paintings are stored here after being in a show or in a gallery. As you can see… I also store my Bike here to keep it dry and clean.
Here is a sneak peek at many of my small paintings just waiting for someone like you to buy. They are stored flat and by size. I have four big drawers full of Daily painting.
This is my little area that I use to pretty much do everything from painting to shipping. The green cabinet straight ahead is of course my flat files with all of my stored paper which I buy in bulk, all of my customer information and my daily paintings, also many larger works and drawings. I got this flat file at a newspaper that I used to work for because as most of you know newspapers now use computers. Of course I’m old enough to remember when back in the day they did something called “cut and paste ” these files were used to store all of their materials for this job. These flat files became obsolete and if your lucky, you’ll get one for next to nothing from your local paper. These large files are sold for $500.00 in most artist’s catalogs. On top of the flat files is my mat cutter ( I highly recommend the Logan 650) but from this distance you can’t see it very well… also along the sides of the flat file are stored all types of supports and foam core. My router is on top of the flat file and my computer is across the room on a small table I use to package the paintings and get them ready to ship out.
This large cabinet is full of art books, sketch books, video tapes and DVDs of art instruction and art history books. I really love these books and go thru them on a regular basis.
This is a photo of my daily painting table with my dog SAM lying underneath. I have three large dogs and there is always one under the table as I’m painting.
If you go to watch my video on Utube this part of the video is bascically black because it’s evening and a black dog in the dark is a dumb thing to video unless of course he opens his eyes.
This is a table I use for pressing the daily paintings. I also do most of my own framing and matting for the watercolor paintings. I will usually send out larger works for shows but most smaller paintings I’m comfortable with matting and framing myself if I have time. The square item at the-top right is what I use to flatten out the small paintings. I place the painting right side down in between paper towels inside the little press. Then I use books or heavy objects to keep it weighed down till it drys.. the final result is a perfectly flat painting, ready to mat. All you need are two boards connected with a hinge. This was my brother’s idea, I used to just put a lot of books on top of the paintings which were placed inside of paper towels.
My cat is my best critic… she watches and comments.. Everyone’s got an opinion!
I had a plan to up load a video with music or some fancy editing but as luck would have it no time… so if you would like to see my work space you can go to YOU TUBE and I uploaded a soundless video of my painting space you can look for it by going to youtube.com and putting in “Shantiartist” and my studio tour should come up. I was really under the gun today so I didn’t have time to really put much together. I hope you have enjoyed this slice of my life and a view of my work area.
HERE IS MY PAINTING FOR TODAY…. DID YOU THINK I WOULD FORGET?
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I laughed out loud when I watched this… Thanks to David Darrow for pointing out this utube video. They have them on other topics too. I’ll never be able to sit with artists and discuss art again without thinking about the dog and his prints.
four inches by four inches mixed media piece & companion piece to the collage I put up earlier this week. I made the paper, painted it with watercolor, gesso and acrylic, then covered it with varnish. The reds and the tans are beautiful together. It looks great!
This is 4 inches by 4 inches $50.00 and it has a companion piece, which I’ll put up tomorrow. I made this paper by painting watereddown acrylic over art tissue paper, letting it dry and then putting it in the blender with water till it turns into a slurry. I tore it and painted it onto 100 % rag watercolor paper. Then stained it with watercolor and finally, I covered it with gloss medium for the shine.
This is mixed media (11″ by 11″) on illustration board. $50.00
I guess this piece would fall into the category of abstract expressionism. Its more about how I felt at the time I created the piece then what the piece actually looks like. I started out with a collage of handmade papers I made, then I used some gesso and allowed it to dry, then I painted a full watercolor over this entire piece, then used acrylics to paint over some of the areas. It has texture and some really wonderful passages. Its difficult to photograph because it has a semi gloss fixative which reflects back light into the camera lens.
I have been struggling with getting this workshop filled due to a recent accident my husband had on his motorcycle. If you know of anyone who may be interested please pass this information on to them. I only have six of the fifteen rooms filled and need let folks know about this wonderful opportunity. Usually I would go to the various art groups and organization and sign folks up but since I have been spending every available minute at the Hospital, I have only used closed friends and email to get the word out.
Remember…Non painting friends may also come along, there are plenty of things to do, napping, hiking, reading, writing, blogging.
Wild Acres September Workshop
Wild Acres and The Charlotte Art League will present a fall workshop instructed by Billie Shelburn, an artist in residence at the John C. Campbell folk school. The workshop will take place September 28 – 30, 2007 at Wild Acres, a 1600 acre mountain retreat adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway and thousands of acres of the Pisgah National Forest.
Billie has studied painting with a number of prominent watercolorists privately and in workshops. She has taught art classes to both children and adults and has served on the boards of the Dunwoody Fine Arts Assoc., the Georgia Watercolor Society, and A.R.T. Station in Stone Mountain, GA. Billie is a member of the National Organization for Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, and is the folk schools’ Resident Artist in Painting, Drawing, and Mixed Media. Her work is represented in numerous galleries and exhibitions. Says Billie, “Watercolor can be frustrating and difficult, or… wet, wild, and wonderful!”
This class will allow 15 to 20 students to delve into creative use of materials, working with photographs, sketches, or subliminal images. The workshop will focus on learning and mastering techniques to be used in conjunction with the student’s own style of painting to produce better work. Each class will begin with a demonstration by the instructor, and end with a constructive critique session with suggestions offered. A question and answer period about successful paintings will be covered. A mini workshop on Watercolor Mixed Media will be included if desired, featuring watercolor combined with collage.
The cost of $230.00 includes instruction, all meals, and a double occupancy room. Please contact me, Shanti at 704- 678-4442 or shantmarie@aol.com to reserve your place. Single rooms may be available; handicapped rooms are available on a first come basis.
They have a great web site… check it out… http://www.wildacres.org
Our group is being sponsored by The Charlotte Art League. I’m the Education Director and will be glad to assist you in joining us for this wonderful experience. If you live in or around Charlotte NC, there are others who are willing to car pool.
I think I will incorporate this little painting into a collage piece I have in mind. People say all paintings are self portraits so thats why I called this “self”.
watercolor on paper 3 by 4 inches
This 2.5 by 3.5 it will sell for $13.00 Plus 1.00 shipping.
I love painting these little painting because I learn so much about composition and also what I like and dislike. I will feel free to make changes and I allow the painting to tell me what it needs. Larger paintings you tend to feel a commitment to the original concept but for whatever reason not so with the ACEO.
This went thru a real metamorphosis. It started out sort of blue with gold then black was added some grey down colors finally the browns and the reds.
This piece is painted on one side with the trees and the other is collage of a pirates ship. It is on 300 lb archival paper and is for sale for $13.00 + shipping and handling. Get two pieces of art for the price of one! You decide which is the front. Cards are signed and dated.
Size is 11 by 11 inches Price is $99.00
This is actually more beautiful in person, the painting has more depth and more intense color that does not photograph well.
All the paper was painted in watercolor and is archival.
How to make a watercolor collage….
To make a collage like this, you must first purchase artist grade tissue paper. This can be found in most art stores and some craft stores. It looks like regular wrapping tissue paper but is archival. The regular tissue paper may yellow over time and is not recommended.
Since the paper is basically white…you use watercolor to paint ( I guess you can also use acrylic if you want)the paper in all kinds of colors and patterns. Get texture by splattering or dripping paint onto the tissue paper. Play with the paper and the paint and you will find infinite ways to make it look interesting. You can also make mono prints with the paper or what some collage artists call a pull off. If you look at my collage, the black sections of this collage were pull offs. After you make the paper ( its best to let the paper dry on old grocery store plastic bags or tall plastic kitchen trash bags ) and allow it to dry you have to carefully pull it off the bags and you take inventory of the paper’s unique qualities. You then take the painted tissue paper and cut it up or tear it, gluing it to archival mat board
(or watercolor paper / print makers paper)with artist grade gel medium. I use 1/3 water to 2/3 gel medium and put it in a squeeze bottle for ease. Some folks use decoupage but The gel medium is easy to use and is artist quality and will never yellow. You use a roller or a bray-er to make it lay flat. You can then glaze color over it as I did with watercolor and put on successive layers or just leave it alone. It can be spayed with fixative or covered with glass. I like the square format because you can hang it any which way you like. Also you can add other media like pastels, pencil, pen and ink… really its endless this also had an acrylic transfer but you can’t really tell. I put several layers over it so it sort of hidden.
This ACEO actually has two sides of great art work, on one side is the collage Gecko and on the other side is Evening Breeze a soft dreamy landscape. If you buy this artist collector’s card you can decide which is your favorite! $13.00 + 1.00 2.5 by 3.5
