Maprox Abstract

Sunflower Trio

This was the demo piece I did for my class today showing how they could make their own collage papers and use them in a painting.
Several of the petals and the pot in this painting are from a recycled paperback book.

There are almost 50 individual petals on these sunflowers - each one torn by hand from my supply of painted papers.  Since I use professional grade Golden Fluid Acrylics to paint the papers, I am confident they will retain their vibrant colors.

For more information on this painting, click here to go to my website.

Tree Party

I had fun painting this one because I just threw caution to the wind and used whatever colors I felt like.

Never seen red, turquoise, or purple trees? No problem in my world.

This painting was a demo for my experimental acrylics class.  Sometimes it's hard to create "on demand" in a class or workshop.  My effort in class was not satisfactory to me.

The next day, home in my studio, I could see the problem more clearly.  I tore off the large corrugated paper tree that WAS on the right side and replaced it with a lighter weight paper and added more trees in the foreground.

For more information about this painting, click here to go to my website.

Headlines

detail

I am excited about this piece.  I consider it a keystone painting, in that I have never successfully done anything quite like this before. It could signal a new direction I may want to pursue.

It does not fit into my current series of geologic abstracts or forest abstracts.  It is totally nonrepresentational. 

I would say it is a celebration of texture, somewhat muted color, and composition.  Creating a painting like this somewhat like a Japanese Zen garden, where every stone, every plant, is carefully placed to create a harmonious environment.

As I worked on this painting, it was a matter of placing the various patterns and texture elements, then building up layers until it looked harmonious, or Zen-like, to me. There were several points during which I had to step away and do something else, so that when I came back to the painting again, I saw it with fresh eyes.

As with all abstracts, I did not have a vision in my mind of the completed painting.  Instead, the painting evolved as it was being created.

Surprisingly, my husband did not say YUK when he saw it - he's not a fan of abstract.  He even came up with the title, which I kind of like because of the lettering and the complexity of the piece.

For more information about this painting, click here to go to my website.