Wednesday, July 31, 2013

AGED COPPER by Carol Schiff, 8x6" Mixed Media abstract

I have been playing with mixed media since returning from my Carol Nelson workshop last May.


Purchase here
95 + shipping


It's a whole new creative outlet for me and I am really enjoying the journey.  The fun part is finding ordinary household items and using them in new ways.  I do a lot of recycling with my materials too.


You know how I love texture!  This piece does not require a frame either.  Hope you like it.

If you have any interest in this area, I highly recommend Carol's workshop.




Monday, July 29, 2013

Finished Pieces

After all the excitement of the workshop, the shopping for products, searching for treasures, preparing of the pieces and experimenting I do have some final works. Here is a smattering of what I have done so far.

This is an iron oxide piece with various shapes. I really like the way the textures add dimension to the piece. If you look carefully you can see the faint outline of some words. In the corner is the remnants of a post card. What did this all mean so long ago?


Long lost






















Olio is combination of several techniques. I used the Custom Patch to do a stencil. I poured over the stencil then added metal paint, rubbing most of it off. I cannot seem to get away from some kind of collage on most of my pieces, this is no exception.


Olio
















I have a few more pieces finished with some techniques I have not talked about yet but will be soon. The best thing about all of this is not the pieces I have done but the ones I haven't done yet.



Saturday, July 27, 2013

The Pacific Northwest

Mt. Rainier from Crystal Mountain; we saw five volcanoes from there.
Denette and I, along with our husbands, just returned from Washington State. After a week in the Seattle area, we toured the Olympic Peninsula. What a place! Absolutely awesome sights, and such a variety: rocky shores, rain forests, peaceful bays; in one day we were cold, windblown, shrouded in mist, driving up mountains, and basking in sunshine. An amazing place. 

Rainier again

Hap, Carmen, Denette, Jack in Quinault Rain Forest

Through the ferns to a waterfall

Mammoth rocks on the shore

Posted by Carmen Beecher

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Even more play

After doing our pourings we started gathering our many materials and starting experimenting with a vengeance.
Custom patch was our first try. We started by spreading it on paper in small amounts then on supports. We had searched for anything with a circle, rectangle, square, oval or odd shape that might be used as a stencil. Our bag of goodies included everything from pieces of guttering from Home Depot to dish strainers from the dollar store, we tried it all.


Custom Patch stencils






















On day 2 we thought we would paint some papers with our iron oxide paint, which we were dying to try. The iron oxide can get really thick and acquire a strange odor but no matter we were excited to try it. After it dried we started putting found objects and shapes on pieces of the paper and misting it with rust activator. This, I think had the most amazing results. It was fascinating to see show the shapes showed up on the paper and then on the painted supports. It was great fun to rummage through my husbands tool box and cans of nails, nuts and bolts for treasures.

Iron oxide

















On Day 3 we tried the simple technique of squirting glue on Tyvek paper and then cutting it up and painting it different colors. These were relatively simple to do and you could paint lots of different colors in a short amount of time.

Tyvek paper with glue


















Tuesday, July 23, 2013

WILD AND WACKY WEDNESDAY at Carol Schiff Studio, "Grape Half" SOLD

I wanted to liven things up a little on my blog and have decided to feature an existing painting at a special price each Wednesday.  The painting below has been one of my favorites for several reasons.

SOLD
I did a series of fruits and vegetables cut in half and showing cool back lighting.  Most of them have found new homes.  This is one of my favorites of the series because I love the color interaction...it has such a nice glow, and the brushwork is just the way I like it.  This is a 7x5" original oil on canvas panel at a very special price.  Original price $65.95



www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Let's Play II

After I did the trees I wanted to start experimenting with some of the other techniques and materials from the workshop. Carol Schiff (who also attended the workshop) and I decided to try and have some play dates and just well....play.
We got some MDF board and my husband helped me figure out how to cut it up into various sizes we were interested in trying. Carol also picked up a "roll" of red resin paper. We got some metal paints, iron paint, rust activator, foil, paste and of course some more acrylics. We also scoured the aisles of Lowe's and Home Depot and our garages for interesting shapes and tools for stenciling and our mixed media ideas. We really had a fun time for a few weeks with our exploring and experimenting.
Before we got too into our new projects we also did some more pourings with Carmen one day. That was truly a play day. We had newspapers all over the place and plastics cups everywhere filled with pouring medium and paint. Even with all that and several pairs of plastic gloves we managed to get paint all over ourselves.
I just love the pourings, they are like stationary Lava Lamps. Here are a few to take you to the not so distant past.
This pouring reminded me of the ocean and when I ran a comb through the wet paint I instantly thought of jelly fish with their tendrils trailing in the water.


Tendrils

This pouring reminded me of the ocean and when I ran a comb
 through the wet paint I started to think of jelly fish.




.
Molten Sky

This painting looks like molten metal yet is very cosmic.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Let's Play

Since I got back from the workshop a lot has been going on in my little life. Some of it to do with art and some not. I am finally back to posting and want to share some of the projects I have been working on.
I learned a lot at the Carol Nelson workshop. A lot about new techiniques, new materials, new products and I think even a new outlook. It was a great experience in learning to see things in new and different ways with new and different eyes.
I have been playing around with several techniques and it always seems that one thing leads to another when I start playing. Having lots of new materials to experiment with adds to the winding path I am on lately and I think you will see from my next several posts that everything is quite different.
I am in love with mixed media, collage, found objects and Steam Punk in my pieces and that is what I have been working on the last several weeks.
I will start with some of the collage, mixed media tree type of pieces that I did when we first got back and progress to what I have been working on lately.
The first piece I started at the workshop and finished up when I got home. I fell in love with the branches paper that was in Carole's sharing box and just had to use it. The tree trunk is made from iron paint paper and the tree top from tyvek paper we painted and used an iron to melt. I liked putting some other paper and materials on for texture.



A Tree is A Tree is A Tree


In this piece instead of using the tyvek for the tree top, I used a crackling paste. The tree trunks are made from paper scraps. I again used the branch paper I liked so much.






Am I blue?

Donna Vines








































































Sunday, July 14, 2013

SHADES OF BLUE, 10X10" Acrylic Abstract Mixed Media by Carol Schiff

I am continuing on my path to abstraction and mixed media.  The highlight of this piece, in my opinion, is the intense and gorgeous color.  I am just not sure that the images will portray the depth seen in the actual piece.

Purchase here
135 + shipping
 This consists of a 10x10 stretched canvas with a 6x8 panel attached.  The finish is a high gloss resin type .



Are you able to see the depth of the colors?


They appear very rich, as if glowing from within...........





Such fun to try creating outside your comfort zone.

Ciao!



www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Saturday, July 6, 2013

ALL IN A ROW by Carol Schiff

I find myself being drawn more and more to the abstract and mixed media area of art.  In May I attended a wonderful workshop given by Carol Nelson.  She fueled my desire with her creative techniques and materials.  Since then, I have been trying to develop my own techniques.


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99.95 + shipping
I included some of Carol's techniques and some of my own.  I like this piece in both a horizontal format or in a vertical format.  The sides are painted and do not require framing.



It can hang on the wall or sit on a shelf.  It has just a touch of gold leaf to capture the light.
I have to admit.......I really enjoyed creating this.





www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Metallic Movement, 6x12" On Gallery Wrap Canvas

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110 + 13 in US


This reminds me of a slab of marble or granite with magnificent color running through it.  It is an example of paint pouring.  As with most things in life, it is much more difficult than it appears.

The brownish looking color is actually a metallic gold which brings incredible life to the piece when the light strikes it.

If you are interested in paint pouring, there are lots of videos on YouTube that explain some technique to help you get started.  From there, you develop you own style, much like painting with a brush.

Does this technique interest you?  Please leave your comments to help me guide future postings.

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Ballard Park, Original Oil on Canvas

  I had not painted outside in two years, so this was quite a challenge. It was one of those paintings I had to improve upon in the studio. ...