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

Tangled Webs Are Woven, 12 x 16 by Cindy Michaud

"Oh what a tangled web we weave..."

Acrylic and graphite on board, colored pencil

How many of us know the rest of the quote?

In naming my newest piece in the Tree Series this sentence came to mind as

I carefully worked on the tiniest of the branches which entertwined

one with the other.

When I asked for my husband's input on title suggestions a version

of this quote came to his mind as well.

So I officially named the piece:

"Tangled Webs Are Woven"

It signals to me that (intentionally or not) our lives are

so caught up in the lives of those around us that we tend to

get woven into their concerns and needs and sometimes it is hard to know

exactly where one branch starts and another picks up.

But as I wrote the title I figured I'd better double check on the quote that inspired it.

And it was not Mr. Shakespeare!

The entire quote goes:

"Oh the tangled webs we weave

When first we practice to deceive."

and it is attributed to

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

I'm not sure these trees had any intention of practicing deception but I am going

to stick with the title as it captures the many thoughts I had while working on it.

Here's hoping that the branches of your life are all tangled up with

ones that add joy and meaning to your life.

 Framed in a black floater