One a Day in May - Day 4

I had to push myself to produce something this evening.  After working all day I succumbed to a nap and then I had a meeting to attend which is for a very cool project to market and sell the arts in our region (The Enterprising Artisans Project).  Then I came home and submitted some photographs of my work for the power point presentation they are doing at trades fairs in the region to promote the project.  And then there was 'Survivor!'  So I really did have some excuses but I knew if I used them today, I would find new ones tomorrow and the next day and pretty soon this One a Day in May challenge of mine would go the way of my diets.

Mixed media (acrylic, watercolour, ink) mounted on kraft cardstock card.

One a Day in May

This winter felt longer than usual, partly because it really was longer (we still have snow), and partly because of other life 'stuff.'  The bottom line...my muse didn't like it so she took a holiday.  But the ice on the lake has finally melted, my muse is back and we're ready to make some art.

I had Chinese take-out with a friend last week and my fortune said, "Your life will be prosperous if you use your creativity."  Everyone knows that it makes good sense to base important financial decisions on a fortune cookie so I ordered a new kiln!

"Prosperity" - May 1

To celebrate spring and re-awakenings, I plan to create at least one piece of art in any medium every day in May. I always love to hear from you!  Happy, happy spring!

Sun Worshiper (Encaustic)

Once again, the road in my journey was twisting and winding so I got a bit lost but then found myself somewhere I liked better than my originally planned destination.

Sun Worshiper - Mixed Media Encaustic -12x12 on cradled board

 This is a mixed media piece using both encaustic and oil stick.  It was a challenge to both let go and keep control.  I think in my next painting I'm going to drop the control part and see what happens.

Melange Team Monthly Challenge (Rain)

This month's challenge prompt on the Melange Team blog is "Rain."  My ideas for this one were as dried up as our forests right now but while creating a different piece yesterday, this one evolved.

MacArthur Park - Encaustic Mixed Media - 8x8 cradled board

This is my favourite encaustic painting so far.  I want to sing MacArthur Park every time I look at it but hopefully I get that out of my system before I show it anywhere!

Encaustic Day 3, still having fun...

...but I have to admit, I'm a wee bit frustrated, too.  The learning curve is climbing.  I would sure love a workshop right about now!

The first thing I did was 'fix' my Dream piece from yesterday.  I could see that the balance wasn't right as soon as I posted it so here are the before and after.

This next piece is a mixed media collage.  It's not the piece I started out doing.  The gummy heap of wax from that effort is set aside for another day.  For this one  I used music, end paper from an old book, pressed flowers, handmade papers and a tjap impressed into the wax.  I coloured the incised lines with oil stick and wiped away the excess.  Clear encaustic medium was used on each  layer.

I can already see some changes I'd like to make but not today and maybe not at all.  We'll see.

Playing with Fire

I am learning very quickly that encaustic is not an easy medium to master.  But it sure is exciting!  These two very different pieces each started out as sunsets.  They each changed direction dramatically after about 5 minutes.

Encaustic Collage ACEO - 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" - Dousing the Flame

Encaustic collage 8x10 on cradled board - Dream

Melange 'Antique' Challenge

The prompt for this month's Melange Team mixed media challenge is 'Antique.'  The monthly challenges are open to everyone so please feel free to join us any time!

My friend, Donna, surprised me with a few antique store finds this spring...some great old books to use in my mixed media.  Inside one of the books we found a wonderful bonus;

this old negative of a steam locomotive

So I scanned it into my computer and used it to create this mixed media piece.

STEAM LOCOMOTIVE :  Mixed media on cradled board, 6x6"

I cut a map of Canada out of a 1950's Canadian atlas, mounted it on card stock, and washed it with titanium buff fluid acrylic paint.  Then using a two step crackle compound and a gel stain, I created the antiqued finish.  When this was all dry, I applied digital grounds for a non-porous surface.  After drying the grounds overnight, I printed the locomotive onto the antiqued map.  I used my handmade stamps to embellish the surface and added black ink around the edges for a smokey, aged look.  I painted the cradled board black before mounting the piece with heavy matte gel.  A satin varnish was sprayed over the surface.

I debated about adding other elements but I didn't want to detract from the locomotive itself.

There's Always a Way Out

I finished this mixed media canvas last night and posted it on Etsy this morning. It's such a great feeling to finish a piece and know that this is how it was supposed to turn out.

While I'm working I sometimes despair that I will ever reach that point. It's sometimes hard not to just give up or to act like a
two year old and have a nice satisfying tantrum!

This painting started out as something entirely different and as I was obliterating the original sunny little scene, I started building a new story. Just as I was wondering how to finish the piece to clarify the message, my husband returned from the garbage dump with a pile of treasures from the recycle shed. Among those treasures was an old romance novel with these words on the back cover, "She was imprisoned by a torturous love." Oh, how I love the dump!

No traditional message of love in this piece but it is about love - self love - and having the courage to make difficult choices.

New Beginnings

I feel like I am on a learning curve that goes straight up! So far I have tackled Etsy, Facebook, a fan page, and Twitter. And now I'm starting a blog. Two months ago I was only thinking about opening a shop on Etsy.


So I opened my shop just before Christmas, http://lizannasonthelake.etsy.com/, and thought, like in Field of Dreams, I would list and 'they' would come. Apparently not. So here I am in a whole new world. I love the blogs and getting to know some of the wonderfully creative people behind the art in this intriguing on-line world.

And now that I've done all of this work to bring people into my studio, I guess I should get busy or 'they' will come and I won't have anything to sell.