100% Pure Florida Exhibition

Featuring the Work of Florida's Best Artists

The Fifth Avenue Art Gallery in Melbourne presents their fourth annual 100% Pure Florida exhibition, opening September 4, from 5:30-9:00pm. Best of Show award will be presented at this opening reception.

The call for entries was open to artists from Miami to the Panhandle. Ultimately the jury chose 44 artists work to be included. The Gallery is located at 1470 Highland Avenue in Melbourne, it's a beautiful space with great lighting and display walls.

When my collage work won Best of Show there a few years ago, the whole block was full of activity and other gallery openings. The 100% Pure Florida show was so well attended that people were out on the front step waiting for the Best of Show to be announced, it was just too crowded inside!

Paper Painting to be featured:

Slice of Heaven | collage on panel | 17" x 25"

Painting Collage Papers, Part Four

Dry Brushing

This is a nice example of the dry brush technique. First I took this sheet of art paper and dry brushed dark green onto it with a dry brush dipped very lightly in fluid acrylics. I zipped the brush lightly across the sheet without much pressure. The nature of this paper is very absorbent, so the ink sinks right in and does not spread much.

After I let the dry brushing dry in the sun for about 10 minutes, I took the paper back into the studio and mixed up some lime green (analogous color, see older posts) with much water so that it was very translucent. I quickly but completely brushed this color over the top of the dark green dry brushing, to cover all of the art paper.

The effect is a nice green toned paper with much texture that would be very good for grass or tree leaves. I really like the way this sheet came out!

Painting Collage Papers, Part Three

Monoprinting

For monoprint, I create a pattern with the brush and heavy body acrylics, painted directly onto the plexiglass/trashbag surface. Then, I press the paper into the paint and pull a print. This process is very good for showing brush texture and interesting patterns. Typically I paint the paper a shade first (in this case the paper is yellow with fluid acrylic), let it dry, and then monoprint a complimentary color in heavy body OR fluid acrylic (in this case ochre in heavy body).

You can also monoprint first on white paper, let that dry, and paint over it with watered down fluid acrylic so that the monoprint shows through. Experimentation is the name of the game, using colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel, or analogous colors, look pleasant together because they are closely related. Orange, yellow-orange, and yellow are an example of analogous colors. Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh is an example of a painting that utilizes this type of color palette.

Art for Autism

A Good Cause to Create and Donate

A fiber artist who found me online and purchased my "A is for Art" postcard has asked me to donate a Paper Painting to Art for Autism. Leah Cottam's blog shows off her fantastic fabric work. She is offering a giveaway of her own work for the entire month of August if you follow some simple steps and consider donating your own art to this wonderful cause.

Having grown up with a handicapped brother, and worked my summers at day camps for handicapped kids and teenagers, I do have experience with children with Autism. My heart has a special place for this fundraiser and I do hope that you will visit Leah's blog to check our her fantastic fiber work, and consider donating a piece of your art to the auction. 

Painting Collage Papers, Part Two

It's all in your technique!

Beyond just loving and using fluid acrylics, I have some interesting techniques when it comes to painting my own collage papers. I don't just paint them solid colors, I spatter, I dry brush, and I monoprint, to name a few. 

Above is a photo of my workspace, I have a table in my studio on which I have a piece of plexiglass covered in a trash bag. I found out the hard way that if I let the painted paper dry directly on the plexi, it sticks! So now I know I have to let it dry on the trashbag if I need to let it dry indoors, then I can peel it off successfully. This time around, I just took them off the plexi and right out on to the grass so they could dry in the sun. That works best. 

I start with Japanese Washi paper (white rice paper, very absorbent) and art store papers. The art store papers offer textures and a variety of thickness. I also often buy art papers with some printing on them (and or glitter in them) that will show through the fluid acrylic application and offers nice texture. I also paint Connor's old workbook pages and book pages from old library books and used book stores.

The sheet of paper above is an example of the blotting technique. This is white Washi paper that I purchased on a roll. I tear off a sheet and keep it on hand to "blot" the excess drips and globs of paint from the trashbag between painting other sheets! Let nothing go to waste, I say. I can also enhance the blotting feeling of this paper by spattering some paint directly on to the trashbag and then blotting the Washi into it. Not only does this technique clean your work surface by sucking up all the leftover paint (remember, very absorbent?) it also makes for some wonderful collage paper when you get the color combinations right!

PS, that wrinkled look you are seeing, is the texture of the trashbag transferred into the paint, a happy accident!

Painting Collage Papers, Part One

Making a Mess!

I spent several hours this morning hand painting papers for future collage work. Every couple of months I pull out the paints and the plexiglass covered in a trash bag, and the brushes and the papers and I make myself a bunch of custom colored papers. It's so messy and time consuming that I only do it when I am really motivated. My friend and fellow collage artist Jo Reimer suggested  that I try fluid acrylics, since they retain their intensity when watered down. I said to her, "Jo, are they REALLY better? Because they are REALLY expensive." Well she said "YES" and I took her advice, guess what? They are REALLY AWESOME! 

You can water down fluid acrylics and spatter and splash and blot into them and they stay very intense in their color. This paper painting session I used them to the full extent! I loved experimenting and seeing what kind of new effects I could achieve.

Today it was really HOT in Florida, with a mild breeze. I knew this was perfect weather for letting the papers dry on the grass outside my backyard studio. My son Connor came out to help me by picking up the dry papers and bringing them in to me, what a help!

Stay tuned for some specific techniques and photos.

A Little Something Bakery

A Match Made from Scratch, in Heaven

Celebrations Gallery in Pomfret, CT just informed me that A Little Something Bakery in West Hartford, CT has purchased three of my cupcake collages for their interior décor! 

Jackie, my artists representative from Celebrations, was convinced that the owner, Beth (shown here in bakery T-shirt), would love my cupcake collages and she was right! Beth purchased all three cupcake collages that Jackie showed her. 

A Little Something Bakery makes all their cookies, cakes and cupcakes from scratch. Sarah (shown here in Newport T-shirt) will attest to that! They also bake muffins, scones and cinnamon rolls. All of this sounds so good, I think I might like to do some sweet small baked goods collages, what do you think?