Finally finished

"Into the woods" Acrylic on 8 x 10 inch panel

Finally, the painting I've been posting about is complete.  So many ideas percolating on this one (and more to come on future paintings) I just had the hardest time finishing it.  Returning to some ideas I've had before about layers of meaning, layers in general, touches of the surreal, and a simpler approach to the figure.  A little detail:

With that complete, I'm excited to get to work on the next one, though I hope it will go a little faster this time now that I have a better idea of where I am headed.

A little more about this painting, the inspiration for it came from here.  In the 1800's, Elizabeth Parker stitched a sampler but rather than full of flowers and letters showing her embroidery expertise, she writes in delicate letters of her traumas and attempted suicide.  That needed a painting.

A little update

A little detail shot of that work in progress I shared before.  It is taking considerably longer on this painting than I anticipated but that is so often the case with new ideas.  Loving this little section so far though it has changed just a bit since I took this photo.  A little more translucent paint, having fun with layers.  I'm hoping in just a couple more days this piece will be done (I promise to show it here when complete).  I'm excited to try these same concepts on another piece and see how that goes.

By the way, in case you were wondering, this is all acrylic on panel.  I just picked up yesterday some Golden Acrylic Flow Release.  Still tinkering with it, but so far I like how it allows the colors to flow with less brushstrokes.  I have found myself using mostly Golden fluid acrylics in this piece which is a return to my first acrylics.  I like the fluid paint, though it does dry so quickly.

Visit Habit of Art today for an inspiring artist interview by Callie Thompson.  I particularly liked her advice for artists just starting including this very important reminder for all artists, "You can make a whole new rubric just by making what you make confidently and abundantly. Allow your work to evolve, each piece informs the next."  Think I'll have to clip that and the rest of her answer to that question above my work table.

Work in progress

I am working through some new ideas with larger paintings this month.  Here is a work in progress with still much to be done:

This is an 8x10 inch panel so when I say larger I don't mean very large.  This I hope gives you an idea of where I'm going though much detail and refining still to be done, obviously, as well as some details hidden by layers of paint.  Many ideas I've had are at work here and it feels a bit overwhelming at times but I'm hopeful I'll like it in the end.

Speaking of overwhelming, whenever I'm trying out new things my workspace can get a bit chaotic:

Soon I hope to have a larger work table but I suspect it won't get better with more space.