NEW COMPUTER!

Sunday was a very looooong day – spent purchasing and having my new computer installed. Thank goodness for a friend who is a computer expert!

I want to thank all of you who weighed in on Mac vs. PC, but PC won due to the fact it is less expensive and I’m totally used to them. It will take me a little while to get used to the keyboard, etc. – but it looks quite dashing I think, since now I’m all color coordinated in fashionable black – the keyboard, monitor, mouse and tower!

Also purchased a new printer; my current one is getting bad on the b/w but still very good on color. There just wasn’t enough time in the day to get the new one installed, but when it is I’ll be putting on my “computer repairperson hat” and diving into the old one to see if I can get that b/w to print better (knowing the new one is waiting if I totally screw up!)

So, I’ll be getting used to some of the Vista features, the odd feeling of the new keyboard and mouse (feels kind of plastic-y compared to my old one) and having a few odd “Kodak moments” - apparently the folders I had didn't transfer, so I've got lots of "albums" just by date rather than by subject - that will take some getting corrected, guess I'll just have to work on it as much as I have time for, beginning with my newer photos first. Gee, I just love all this extra work!

But at least I’m functioning – and quicker too - not at lightning speed like you folks in the city, but at least faster than it was.

BATIK FLAG - Part 2

The red stripes have been waxed and the blue background (French ultramarine and indanthrone) has been painted in. I liked the area where the red had bled into the background – happy accident! I think it made more unity in the painting.

As you can see, I use a styrofoam plate for my palette when working in this technique.

After the blue dried, I applied the wax to any portion of the painting that was uncovered. After all of the wax was dry I crumpled the painting so that the wax broke apart. You might want to do this step holding your painting directly over a wastebasket!

Rather than using Sumi-E ink as some artists do, I mix up a dark, or black, with my watercolor paints. For this particular piece I used Maimeri Terra D ‘Ombra (burnt umber), Winsor Newton raw umber and Rembrandt Brun Van Dyck (Van Dyke brown), each mixed with some Daniel Smith Indanthrone.

Then I take an old brush and “smoosh” that dark paint into the cracks in the wax. And, did I mention it’s messy? You can see the wax floating in the water. (See why I say use OLD BRUSHES!)

After applying the dark or black paint, I lay tissues over the painting to mop up any extra paint that lays on top of the wax. (It makes me think of “101 Dalmations”!)

Here is the finished piece.

I adhered the painting to my canvas and turned 3 sides under. I then tore the last side to make it look like the flag was old and tattered. I sprayed several coats of Krylon matte over the flag.
This was just an idea I came up with, and the person who purchased the piece can certainly turn under that right side and frame it in a standard frame, or leave it as is – blowing in the wind!

Now – I’ll make you play the game – how does this painting incorporate the theme of seven???

The Veteran, 12x20, watercolor batik on rice paper (SOLD)

BATIK FLAG - Part 1

This painting got quite a bit of attention at our GCWS spring show, and quite a few people asked me “how’d you do that”!! This is what prompted my recent batik workshops.

Here’s a “how to” for you, in case you missed my recent batik workshop (hint, hint!!). If you live in the area and are interested in learning how to master this technique, give me a holler via email! I’ll be giving another workshop either later in the fall or next spring.

Here is my flag drawn out on white paper (upper right), the photo I’m working from and my rice paper with the flag drawn onto it.

My first step was to put a light wash of raw sienna all over to “dumb down” the white of the flag. You must be careful with the paper while it is wet, it tears easily. I had the painting laid out on freezer paper and set it aside to dry.

After the raw sienna layer had dried I put in the flag shadows, both light and dark areas, and let it dry. It’s hard to control the paint on the rice paper, it tends to bleed quite a bit, so I tried to use thicker pigment in some areas.

Here is my set up:
I lay down foil so that any hot wax drips will not harm my table cover. My wax heats up in a small electric skillet. Problem is, you cannot maintain a steady heat in the skillet – it keeps cycling – heating up and then cooling slightly, just enough to make the wax begin to solidify before it re-melts and it’s annoying! (I’m going to try to locate some wax heaters). I use Gulf wax which can be found in the canning section of the grocery. Just be careful not to let it get too hot or it will catch on fire.
I use an assortment of old brushes to apply the hot wax.

I’m ready to begin applying the wax and since I don’t want to drip it all over my painting, I have covered most of the flag with copy paper.

The stars and white stripes have been waxed.

The red paint has been applied, and as you can see, it ran a little into the blue field. As I mentioned, it’s hard to control the paint on the rice paper. (I think I used permanent rose, alizarin crimson and cadmium red).
I also use old brushes when doing the batik painting since I don’t want any wax to accidentally get into my good brushes or paint or onto my palette – a lesson learned the hard way!!

NOT ANOTHER PEONY . . .

. . . yep – another peony!!!!

This one is once again based on the Steve Blackburn technique.

This one takes you pretty much step by step through the process.

To the left are my first pours with the miskit on.

Then I removed the miskit and did another couple thin pours.

The painting is a full sheet of Arches 300#, propped on the easel, so there is a bit of a curl in some of the photos. After the pours were complete, I began working into the darks, slowly going around the painting, glazing up in several layers.

Developing the darks.

Developing the darks a bit more.

At the end I was having trouble with the top right corner and one of my students told me “my teacher says to turn it”!!! So I did and I like it much better now! (And I was a bit embarrassed!) We really laughed at that one!

I can't decide if it's too "purple-y" - but it's a done deal - framed and sitting on the easel!

Peony, 22x30, Fluid Acrylic on Arches 300# CP

CATCHING UP!

After a week of illness and a week to recuperate and get back into the swing of things, I’m still catching up – which is why I’ve been slow to blog.

Sunny Update
As you can see – Sunny is getting big (above). And that’s him with his mom and his other moms around the water trough! (below). They do like their umbrella, too!Computer Woes
I’m in the process of buying a new computer – and I’M AFRAID! But my computer is old – in dog and computer years it is ancient – and has been running v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. I’ve decided it’s better to update it on my time and terms rather than wait for it to die suddenly and then I’m really in a jam.
I always hear the horror stories, and I know I’ll have to go with that Vista thing and then all my Word documents will be different. And I must have access to all of my pictures, so I’m a little afraid of that process. And then, will all my “favorites” still be there? How does that stuff work?
Why do they have to change things that work just fine? “New and improved” – I did NOT ask for that!

This and that . . . .
Yesterday, a beautiful sunny, although unbelievably hot day, I spent a few hours driving with 10,000 or so of my closest friends on what we refer to as the “Cin-Day Corridor” – the miles of I-75 between Cincinnati and Dayton, OH.
And that’s when I felt YOUR pain. (Yes, YOUR pain!) Because I realize that even if your roads need fixing they will not be fixed, not this summer anyway. “Why?” you are asking? Very simple - there will be no orange barrels or concrete dividers in your area of the country with which to close down your roads. Because every single orange barrel and concrete divider in the country is located in the above mentioned “Cin-Day Corridor”.
Yep – they are rebuilding the road, and the ramps. And, did I mention they also built a new outlet mall. Which opened yesterday. And which was apparently only open for that one day, judging by the cars attempting to exit both Northbound and Southbound to reach it before it suddenly disappeared – managing to block all of the right lanes and part of the middle lanes to do so. Once again, great planning by the “powers that be”. Always open the new mall before completing the exit ramps to said mall, and, of course, wait until the entire roadway for miles in both directions is completely torn up. That’s a great day to open the new mall, don’t you think!
And this gets me to thinking of some other odd things we here in the Cincinnati area take for granted. We have a “Big Mac” bridge!!! (It’s actual name is the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge, but since it’s got huge yellow arches it’s got a nickname!)
We also have “sun delays” during the morning rush hour. That refers to our western citizens heading east on sunny mornings. Apparently we are the only city in the universe that has these, and because of a “sun delay” you can be late for work and everyone will understand! “Sun delays” can also account for a large percentage of accidents, since you can claim you did not see that car approaching because of the sun blinding you. (Most of those accidents are not fatal, although maybe some of them should be???!!!!)
We say “please” when we mean “what” or “huh?” We say “excuse me” when we really want YOU to get out of the way!
And apparently we are one of the top cities in the nation for road rage (something I’ve had for years and which now has a name!) Maybe it has something to do with sun delays and the Cin-Day Corridor!

Don’t forget the Giveaway!
RULES FOR THE GIVEAWAY:
1 - You must leave a comment on my blog – don’t worry – I have the comment moderation active so if you don’t want the world to see it, just me, that’s fine; just mention that in the comment and I won’t post it.

2 - Each comment you leave will equal 1 chance to win – (so vote early and vote often – ha, ha). I will pick a winner on September 1 by putting slips with your name in a “hat” and drawing the winner (i.e. if you leave 5 comments on my blog between now and then, there will be 5 slips with your name that could be potential winners!)

Good luck!

FINAL BATIK WORKSHOP and GIVEAWAY!

I got snowed under last week by a nasty cold, but revived just enough to give my final batik workshop. Posted here are their final works (see, I remembered the camera again!)

Here are Missy's masterpieces!

Here are Barb's:

And here is Sharon's:

I also want you all to know that I’m checking out your blogs - I enjoy seeing the new works, reading the stories, etc. - even if I’m not commenting on each one. Don’t think I’m rude, but I am finding myself pressed for time more and more and something’s got to give – so it’s the commenting! (but not the reading!).

And with that, just so you won’t give up on me, how about a giveaway – of an original Deb Ward painting (ooooohh, aaaaaaah I can year you all saying!!!!) This may be a small batik (or maybe not???), you will just have to be surprised!

RULES FOR THE GIVEAWAY:
1 - You must leave a comment on my blog – don’t worry – I have the comment moderation active so if you don’t want the world to see it, just me, that’s fine; just mention that in the comment and I won’t post it.

2 - Each comment you leave will equal 1 chance to win – (so vote early and vote often – ha, ha). I will pick a winner on September 1 by putting slips with your name in a “hat” and drawing the winner (i.e. if you leave 5 comments on my blog between now and then, there will be 5 slips with your name that could be potential winners!)

Good luck!

BATIK WORKSHOP - 2nd WEEK

The second batik workshop was this past weekend and I did remember my camera! I even remembered to take a few photos!

Here are some of the ladies diligently working on their masterpieces.

I set up in my living room for painting, and we had just enough room.

Here they are waxing in the dining room. Drying took place in the laundry room and ironing in the kitchen!

It's a process, that's for sure!

Here are some of the paintings in progress below. The bird's nest is taken from a magazine photo and Diane added the branches. (These are all for both educational and personal use, so that is not a problem).
Below is Teresa's sunflower.
Here is Diane's bird's nest - it makes me think I'm in the tree looking down at it!

Here is Pam's lily.

I forgot to get photos of all of the paintings before they left for the day, but overall I think they all were happy with their completed paintings - they left with smiles on their faces!

BATIK WORKSHOP

I spent part of last week cleaning the house in preparation for my first weekend workshop (ever!) in watercolor batik, and spent some time setting up all of the tables, chairs and supplies while my husband and son “spiffed up” the outside!

Anyway, Saturday morning I calmed my fears – after all, I’m the one teaching this, in my own home, what do I have to be nervous about??? (Other than – will they get lost, will they like me, will they learn anything, will they think I’m a bad teacher, etc. – you may be seeing some of my insecurities here!)

My worries proved to be unfounded. They didn’t get lost, I think they liked me and they learned something! And thankfully it was “do as I say and not as I do” because my painting was horrible on Saturday, although I redeemed myself a bit on Sunday!

But, like the dunce I am – I forgot to take a single photo! Next week I will, tho (at least I think I will remember, maybe???)

To see information about this weekend's workshop - check out Rhonda Carpenter's blog. Rhonda attended the workshop and was smart enough to bring (and use!) a camera (unlike me, the teacher - DUH). Rhonda took photos of her work in progress that you may be interested in seeing.

BLOG-I-VERSITY!!!

I spent part of Wednesday with Rhonda Carpenter who so graciously agreed to give me some pointers on blogging. Joyce from the GCWS joined us for part of the day, but when she had to leave early the session became my own private class at a "blog-i-versity"!!!
Not only did I get to learn something new, and hope to put those things into practice soon (Rhonda, note how I highlighted you!!!!) but I also got to see in person the original paintings she has received from Mryna Wacknov, Carol Carter and Chris Beck. I cannot believe how small Chris' is, and how skillfully it was completed - just beautiful!
Thanks to Jerry, too! (I think I kept him from his lunch, but he was too kind to say it!)

Today my husband, son and myself spent the day cleaning up this place inside and out in preparation for my batik workshop this weekend. Hope the sun is shining all weekend! I'm excited!

POSSUM PALETTE

The other day I couldn’t stand looking at my palette – just had to wash it off and clean it up – which got me to thinking that I should share the following info with you:
Here is a photo (and this photo is of the cleaned up version, believe it or not!) of the palette I usually use – it’s called a “Possum Palette” – and is a bit more expensive than traditional palettes. I have been using this one for quite a few years.
As you can see, it has round cups that fit into depressions around the palette. The cups are plastic with attached lids – I have a few of them open in the photo. (The only problem with mine is that the cups will fall out if I tilt the palette – the newer models have a ridge in the cup holder area and they won’t fall out).
It comes with 22 cups, but you can purchase more (I think they come 8 cups in a plastic box).
There are a few things I love about this palette: (1) the paint tends to stay moist for much longer periods in the cups; (2) I am not locked into using paints previously squeezed out into my palette – it’s so easy to pull out one cup and insert another; and (3) since I sometimes paint on more than one painting at a time – it’s great to pull cups out and place them into a butcher tray for different paintings.
I am personally responsible for 30+ people buying these palettes – hint, hint to the company!!! If you want one you can purchase it from Daniel Smith or Cheap Joe’s (wait for a sale for a better price!!!)
I also like the butcher trays, but have recently found another product – it’s plastic and a bit cheaper and does not have that curve in the center that you seem to have with the butcher trays. It’s made by Mijello and is called a peelable palette – since you can peel off traditional acrylics. (That does not work for my fluid acrylics, though; I just wipe them off and hope for the best!). It works just fine for my watercolors, too. I’m pretty sure I got it at ASW (or maybe it was Jerry’s).
Anyway – just thought I would share!

P.S. - SUNNY (as my husband says he will be named) is doing fine - getting bigger - but I only see him in the evening when we take our gator ride and my camera will not take photos in low light, never has and apparently never will. So, for now, no Sunny photos!