Experiment I

I have been experimenting again with abstracts.  I found a wonderful workbook at the Library called The Artist Unique: Discovering Your Creative Signature by  Carmen Torbus.  I liked it so much that I check Amazon to see if I could buy a used copy and they had it for free if you have a Kindle!! That is a great deal.  Happily I did upload it. 
This is one of the exercises from the workbook.  I used gesso, gel, texturing tools
(aka a plastic fork and credit card), some old sheet music and acrylic paints.  Once I collaged the sheet music on I decided to stick with black and white.  The enjoyment of this piece is seeing how the paint reacts to the surface.  It run, puddles and settles in all the nooks and crannies.  This was a fun exercise that made me want to try again with different textures and colors.
Donna Vines

Metal Looks

By know you all know how much I enjoyed Carol Nelson's workshop and what a fan of hers I am.  Not only do I admire her talent but her fearlessness.  She just goes for it.  She is not afraid to fail and go on to the next thing.  Most of the time we are too intimated to stray from all the set rules.  Play and take risks should be a sign in all our "play" spaces.
This is another technique Carol showed us.  I loved doing this one because it not only used found objects but made them look like they had been around for ages.
For this exercise use anything you have from your garage.  I used washers, paperclips, a button and  some old gutter screening.  I glued down the found objects with gel medium and the screening I used as a stencil and spread some gel on and let dry until it was hard.  Once the glue was set and the medium dry I covered it with heavy duty aluminum foil.  I glued the foil in the back with gel medium then burnished around the objects with my finger.  Once all the shapes were outlined I spread a mixture of watered down acrylic paints till I got the finish I wanted.  This look is very "Steam punk", which I love.
Donna Vines

Steam punk
 

Funky Bar Stools by Carmen

These bar stools are old and the fabric was faded and stained. Since I long ago lost interest in the torture that is called Upholstering, I got out my acrylic paints and painted them to strategically hide every blemish. I did use some tape to mask the lines so they would be straight, but I added a lot of wiggles and dots. Look around your house: see anything you would not normally think of painting? Try it, it's fun!

Carmen