Yes. Yes, friends. That was a terrible joke. (Paul says "Super Bowl-og" is a better play on words. You be the judge.) Alas, however, that's just my nature. And as I'm writing this during the Super Bowl, it really was unavoidable.
Anyway, I'll try to stay focused. This past week, I accomplished a couple of things. First, I finished a painting of Chicago for one of my sisters. It was a challenge for me, to say the least.
Anyway, I'll try to stay focused. This past week, I accomplished a couple of things. First, I finished a painting of Chicago for one of my sisters. It was a challenge for me, to say the least.
This isn't the greatest picture of the painting, I will throw that out there, at least. I was trying to mess with some new media and textures, so along with the acrylic paints, I've got some modge podge, scraps of paper with music and information about Chicago, and acrylic matte medium scattered about the canvas, to various levels of success. Architecture is not something I have had a ton of practice with (which obviously brings it to the top of my list of things I need to work on), so this was the biggest struggle. It was fun, though! And hopefully Jess will like it, at least halfway decently.
Things really got pathetically exciting for me, though, when I got to spend most of the day on Friday working on these itty bitty watercolor and mixed media paintings. Upon trying to show them off, the response was... lukewarm. The biggest question was, well, let me throw some more detail in here first.
Remember this? :
Things really got pathetically exciting for me, though, when I got to spend most of the day on Friday working on these itty bitty watercolor and mixed media paintings. Upon trying to show them off, the response was... lukewarm. The biggest question was, well, let me throw some more detail in here first.
Remember this? :
The whole painting on tea bags thing? It's gotten more out of hand.
So back to the lukewarm response... Two of the three people I've approached with this new project (so yes, maybe my research wasn't the most thorough) have basically said, "So... Why are there teabags...?" And the be honest, it took my a little bit of time to come up with any reply except, "Well, I mean, it's fun." But let's be real. It's a new texture! It does new, weird things! It adds a layer of complexity and interest to the image! It adds constraints to the image, while simultaneously taking away a huge amount of control. For the sake of my own entertainment, it's just fun. I still can't help but think that there's more to it than that.
For a couple of these paintings, the filter paper serves no more purpose than just to add to the novelty of a small, quirky painting. This one, for example:
For a couple of these paintings, the filter paper serves no more purpose than just to add to the novelty of a small, quirky painting. This one, for example:
It's cute and fun, but it doesn't necessarily serve any purpose. While I still like it, I can see why it could make someone look at it twice, in a bit of a "...so, why...?" manner. However, a little while later, these guys came down the pipeline:
Now for THESE, those little layers have a PURPOSE. I just love how the colors from the paper show through the stains on the filter paper, subtly enough to avoid distraction, but in a dimensional manner that couldn't be attained by any other means that I'm aware of. I love it. It's been fun to play with, and more fun just to stare at later and marvel at. It's the kind of thing I wish I could do on purpose.
That, I think, is most of the draw to it. Using such a small format, and with materials that are so quick to use, it's not a labor-intensive process. In the past couple of days, I've made about fifteen of these little paintings, and at least five of them have been unabashed failures. It's not something I'm going to spend hours and hours of time on, only to decide when it's finished that it's mediocre at best. When it works, it's amazing. When it doesn't, though, I can just move on to the next one.
It's fun. I'm still going on these, so prepare yourself to see about a million more of them.
You've been warned.
Thanks!
Sarah
That, I think, is most of the draw to it. Using such a small format, and with materials that are so quick to use, it's not a labor-intensive process. In the past couple of days, I've made about fifteen of these little paintings, and at least five of them have been unabashed failures. It's not something I'm going to spend hours and hours of time on, only to decide when it's finished that it's mediocre at best. When it works, it's amazing. When it doesn't, though, I can just move on to the next one.
It's fun. I'm still going on these, so prepare yourself to see about a million more of them.
You've been warned.
Thanks!
Sarah