Flash Mob

“Flash Mob”

11x14” acrylic on canvas ($150 unframed)

This is a very different style of painting for me.  I rarely paint abstract, but decided to take a break from animals yesterday.  Not sure why I don't do it more often because it is fun.  It was just the distraction I needed and a blast to paint. 

I had done the first 2 layers of this painting, set it aside and started something else.  I was looking through my paintings this week deciding what to take for the sale at the Loft Gallery in Occoquan, VA. and I found it.  It was too busy and too red.  I looked for areas to block out as quiet spots and added more shadows for depth.  

If you think you'd like to give this method a try, I recommend checking out Mary Todd Beams' “The Creative Edge”.  I had the privilege of taking one of Mary's workshop a few years ago.  She is such a talented painter, delightful, lovely person, and very generous about sharing her techniques in her workshops.  My favorite was Mary's "spreading" technique which I used it to paint "Mob Flash."   

Use a mix of fluid acrylics to bead and blend colors on your choice of white surface.  Drop color along the top of your surface, 2-3 colors work well.  Then use a "Spreader" to spread the paint which stains your surface.  A "spreader" can be any hard plastic tool with a straight side.  I like to use small grout spreader or credit card.  Then the magic happens.  You can pull the paint straight down or move your spreader back and forth to create pattern.  The width of the spreader will not be the width of your surface so you will make multiple pulls.  That makes the stains more interesting.  After each pull, wipe/clean off your spreader and pull again until the entire surface is covered. If you have some white showing that is OK.  Once you've pulled the paint, let that first layer dry.  Now look for shapes and figures.   You will be surprised to see birds, fish or figures.  You bring any of the shapes you want to keep to life using opaque paints.  

The staining technique works on canvas, crescent board or any type of fabric. Black fabric looks great.  If you are using fabric pull the fabric tight over a piece of cardboard.  You may need to tape in to keep it tight.    

I hope you try it.  It really is fun.  

 

Mom - the Tennis Player

"Tennis Anyone"

10x20” acrylic on canvas (NFS)

"30 - Love"

10x20” acrylic on canvas (NFS)

I just visited my parents and hung these 2 paintings I did of Mom in her room.  I hope they give her a little joy when she looks at them.  

My dear Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's last fall and had to move to a memory unit in assisted living facility.  When I saw her room in February I knew she needed something bright for her walls and something of her past.  I decided I'd paint Mom playing tennis from some old photos of her playing tennis just a couple of years ago so she would have been 79 or 80 in the photos!   I hoped the paintings might also help her remember how much she loved tennis at least for a little while.   Mom, who always was a gifted athlete but didn't have time to play sports when we were kids, started playing tennis when she & Dad retired to Florida. She became an excellent tennis player who could even beat the grand-kids!   She played 5-6 days a week until a few years ago and "cut back" to 2-3 times a week until she had to shop playing about a year ago.  

What these paintings have taught me was I loved painting them on all sorts of levels including they made me feel closer to my Mom.  Love you Mom. 

#21 - April Showers

January 2014 Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

April Showers
6x6" acrylic

As I left the National Art Gallery in DC last spring and waited for the light to change I thought all the people in front of me hurrying through the rain with their umbrellas and raincoats might be fun to paint.  

# 20 - Thai Again

January 2014 Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

Thai Again 
5x7" Acrylic

I will be playing catchup for the 30 in 30 challenge.  You haven't seen me posting for the past week because we were celebrating our anniversary on a 7-day cruise from Baltimore to the Bahamas.  I knew I was going away for a week in January when the challenge started and almost used it as an excuse to bow out this year.  Then I decided to heed Leslie's comments that this challenge was about painting and not about numbers.  Feeling a bit guilty about leaving in the middle of the 30/30, I decided I'd paint on the cruise.  I've never watercolored so I lugged acrylic paints along knowing oils and water (cruises) don't mix.  Did I mention I have the large tubes of acrylic paint (i.e. they weigh a lot) because I never take them out of the studio.  Still, it all seemed like a good idea until I actually tried painting onboard.  My intensions were good, but here are my reasons I 'finished' two paintings instead of seven.   (Thai Again is one of those two) 

1. I didn't take into consideration two of the 7 days are packing/unpacking plus all the time it takes to board, disembark and drive to and from. 
2. Lights on ships are dim.  Maybe it's not a bad thing you can't see what you are painting, but not good when trying to see the still life. Those paintings were pitiful!
3. I never considered taking photographs with me and was lucky to find two old ones tucked in my sketchbook because that's what I ended up painting.
4. It is very hard to paint when a ship is rocking, but it will loosen you up.  
5. If you are leaving from Baltimore in January it is too cold and windy to paint out on the deck for better light...and once you are in warm weather painting isn't the first thing you want to do! :-)

It is nice to be home but I'm already missing the warm weather and someone else doing all the cooking. 

#7 - New York, New York

      2014 Leslie Saeta's January 30/30 challenge

New York, New York
5x7" Acrylic

I've been planning to paint some of the pictures of the New York skyline I took while we waited for our cruise ship to leave from Bayonne, NJ and the challenge seemed like a great time to do some studies.   We were lucky to be on the side of the ship with a great view of the city.  

#6 - Little Green Apple

      2014 Leslie Saeta's January 30/30 challenge

Little Green Apple(s)

4x4" acrylic

Today I started a scenery and wiped it off.  I'll try that one again tomorrow.  I was looking for something around the house to paint and saw the apples on the counter.  

The Art of Comics  

Broom-Hilda by Russell Myers (1/6/14)