What's happening...

...in the studio this week?  Mostly colour playtime, I'd say, with little putting-together-of-things-to-make-new-things actually accomplished.

Because I have so little paper in my stash (can you see me laughing hysterically?) I felt obliged to make more.  It seems I just can't get enough painted paper in my life. 

Of course there was some paint left over to colour some dryer sheets.

Painting paper is fascinating, and excellent training in both patience and letting go.  The papers take overnight to dry (at a minimum), and one just cannot predict what will materialize.

Depending on the amount of paint and water applied,  you can find bold and brassy 

or somewhat subdued.  This one is much quieter than I expected.

I also tore into the alcohol inks on white-on-white wallpaper...the current heat wave has me blasting colour like a furnace.

The wallpaper below was meant to be a cover for a new book style I'm trying out, but an errant chemical reaction of the red stamp pad ink with the (totally) dried alcohol made the ink impossible to dry.  I wiped off what I could, reapplied red paint, and still have some moisture continuing to show.  Not sure about step # 4, but if I find a solution, I'll keep you posted.

The signatures linger impatiently while the mad scientist experiments.

And just so I don't leave you with that boring white photo above, I thought you might appreciate this purple glory houseplant.  It's an oxalis triangularis, but I think purple glory describes it much better.

I hope your week has been wonderful wherever you are in the world, and that colour rules your days!  

 

When the muse...

 ...is fallow/dormant/inert out to lunch, I head back into my black and white journal.  Because it's a small size and I occasionally store some sketchy ideas there, it's a good working ground.  Started sometime in the fall of 2019, I expect it to be finished during the next pandemic if my present rate is any indication.

I have done a few pages, though, and thought I'd share them here.

And of course there is always something (else) on the go in the studio.  

I've been playing with the chopped off ends of papers (yes, I save everything), but judging from the pile, there's a lot to do yet.  I've got a project in mind for the paper above, and right now it's resting under a stack of books while the glue sets.

And of course there is another book form in progress; I still have several thousand styles to test.  These signatures need punching and setting into an accordion file.

All in all, there's more than enough to keep me busy as we wait for the roads to open from the west coast and supply lines to resume.  This is some interesting year, isn't it?  

Stay safe, my friends, and keep in touch.    

Can you hear me cackling?

I've been in Mad Mixed Media Scientist mode this week.  For some time I've been wanting to test dryer sheets on wood panels with the same technique I've used for cheesecloth.  Here's one of the results, used on a painting background.  

It's luscious whether used over another colour, or on a white gessoed panel, don't you think?

And I finally managed to find a roll of Typar house wrap.  I've been on the last of my 100', seven-year-old roll, and knew I needed more.  When I scored some, I just had to whitewash it and then throw some alcohol ink at it, followed by stencil work.  While it's not done yet, I think it's looking pretty juicy already.

The closeups are even more fun... the grey house wrap gives a subtle textural look underneath all that colour.

Now there is a reason for the madness, of course.  I want to create a cover for the second Coptic book in process, and I'm all about the subtlety, right?  😄

The stack of signatures awaits the completion of the cover 'fabric', and with some beeswax to wax the thread, I'm definitely going to be in business.  

On another corner of the table, I've got a stack of toppers which have been created through Ruth's studio time.  Every time we had leftover mediums of any sort or unused paint, we threw it at a piece of canvas.  They're going to make fabulous cards for sale at her November show.

There are other projects on the go, of course, and a list as long as the taxman's reach of things I have yet to try.  Here's to experimentation, failures and successes!