Day 13 - 100 Day Project

Day 13 - 100 Day ProjectFollow me on Instagram @KathrynJNeale, #100Days20minptgs, #100DayProject Click here for official webpage.

*****************************************

Little late with my posts today! Technical difficulties when internet went down last night. Still have to catch up to Day 15 but I will finish those posts tonight.

Process 4.10.15_Happy Accidents!

IMG_4106 IMG_4107 Accidental marks and blobs and whatever are just a part of the painting process. Yes you can get tight, detailed and very controlled painting. But "freestyle painting" I guess it has been referred to today, means to me, free, loose, natural, organic, and barely controlled. I LOVE accidents! And you have to be totally OK with stuff going wrong. Just like raising a kid - this paint combo between tool and paint just has a mind of it's own. And your job is to roll with the unexpected and make that "accident" work for you.

The above images clearly show that as I was using a rubber patterned roller, because the paint's thickness is slippery, and the fact that the paper is not great for this kind of technique (really I should be doing this on fabric or the wall!), the roller literally slipped with the paint and smeared all over the place. The top image shows smearing top-left to the right-down areas. In this second image above, right in the middle you can see those flowers are not crisp at all! Totally smeared and blending into one another. But that's the beauty of it! It's not perfect. I'm not trying to render a beautiful pattern (although that is what these rubber rollers are meant to do of course). I love the "suggested" patterned effect. It also makes it visually more interesting, the eye is challenged and stimulated by the irregularities, and is surprised (perhaps annoyed but that is ok too) of the slight variations and always a joy to disrupt what is "expected" for the viewer. It also suggests some kind of worn, vintage look. Things eroding falling away, not perfect.  IMG_4109 This is even more obvious in the painting above. I did not "properly" even out the paint in the roller so it blobbed on in uneven marks. Super gloppy and then super faint. But still suggesting some kind of pattern and uniformity that I think is quite interesting.

IMG_4111

And finally, the above image show that as I was completely running out of paint, rolling it over and over onto the canvas, the pattern completely disappeared leaving random, almost brush-like strokes reminiscent of a Gerald Richter painting abstract painting. An effect I totally couldn't have possibly come up with in my head! Proof you have to try and try and experiment. Roll with it. I'm never disappointed so you have to open your mind and let yourself turn those "mistakes" into those precious parts of the painting that is UNIQUE, special, one-of-a-kind, different, unexpected and beautiful.

 

 

Day 12 - 100 Day Project

Day 12 - 100 Day ProjectFollow me on Instagram @KathrynJNeale, #100Days20minptgs, #100DayProject Click here for official webpage.

*****************************************

I must admit I had to work a little over my 20 minutes with this one because of so many layering and lot of drying (for paint to dry!). I feel like this one is a little "odd" - I started with the dark patterned background and knew that I needed to paint over a lot of it to keep it from getting overly busy. The pattern itself is real pretty but because of the darkness and bright colors, it's very "eye-catching."

So I started working through some painting elements and colors. I knew I wanted to try the circle idea and blocking out sections of the background. Towards the end though, it started looking like 4-5 big blobs like a "figure" and just didn't like that. So breaking up the circle shapes was crucial as well as experimenting with the tape. I had to move things around quite a bit because it was still looking like "arms." Then . . . I flip it around (I will write a post coming soon about importance of rotating your canvas or whatever!!). And voila! Definitely preferred the landscape version.

Again tape is adding some weird element to me. It's a forced element something I don't have that much control over. It's a fantastic exercise to "make it work" with the geometric fixed shape, deeling with what's below when you peel it up to reveal that rectangle and then where you put the tape because it has all these other elements confined in that space. It's really fun. So had to take a little bit more time to figure out what was working for me.

The weird thing about this idea is that you need to keep the viewer's "interest," but also feel like it's "ok" for you. If you absolutely hate it then by all means, paint over or whatever. But there's this space between feeling uncomfortable and "ok" with what's happening visually that adds interest without being too "off." there are no rules of course in this way. But sometimes you want symmetry, my work is always asymmetrical. But there is a sense of "balance" but not too much. There's space for the eye and more complicated areas. As you get better at painting and balancing these elements you start to understand what is working for you. It's the "gray" area that's hard to explain.

For example, anyone can make chocolate chip cookies right? But one of my best friends when she makes them, they are just . . . .SOOOOOO GOOOD! Delicious! beyond The little nuances that she has developed in her process when making them start to be intuitive and they are hard to explain or write down step-by-step. It's just her style of cooking and the process when making her cookies - she may feel the oven should be at 365 rather than 350. That she cook for 11 minutes instead of 10. That she only beats in the wet ingredients to the dry 44 strokes with her wooden spoon, or that she uses extra vanilla, the dark brown sugar instead of just brown, and the real high quality chips like Ghirardelli's or something etc. But it's the way in which she combines all those little things into her process that makes her cookies special verses mine. Mine are ALWAYS flat as pancakes. I don't get it! But I probably should experiment and test more like my friend to discover the little things that make it work for me.

Painting is all about this process. And so many people (especially newbies getting started) fret and stress out over the END result of what the painting should look like. It's just like life or like anything, you miss what's on the way!

tips & tricks #1 - Japanese Paper

Tips & Tricks - Japanese Paper Tips & Tricks - Japanese Paper One of my favorite techniques has always been to use Japanese paper. Now there's a lot of different variations of this type of paper and I am now looking for variations on the paper that I currently have because it's not available anymore from the vendor I used to get printmaking paper. But the kind that I love using right now is very airy, soft, super delicate, transparent, handmade and easily can tear etc. So stay tuned because I have to experiment pretty soon here with different kinds and I'm not sure I can find the kind that I love pictured here! But oh well. Have to move on! But I have always loved to draw over this type of paper and then to paste the paper itself into my paintings as these soft layers that give this beautiful translucent effects. You can control how "translucent" you let the paper get when you apply a basic medium to "glue" it to any painting surface. Add more water and it becomes more transparent.

I also highly recommend using your own photos. Here I have photo of flowers I took in England and I liked the composition enough to just play on top. I loosely drew my flowery sketches not caring at all if they were "exact." It's just a reference.

If you use other images, make sure they are general, like general patterns or other neutral imagery so you don't get into any issues with copying other people's stuff if you want to sell this painting. But it's really more fun to use your own stuff and get inspiration from yourself.

But the effect creates a loose, sketchy look like you really did draw onto the painting surface but also includes some kind of layered effect. Experiment with different paper and all different kinds of colors of pens, pencils, charcoal you name it. Sky's the limit!

In this series below you can see where I applied this effect.

Day 11 - 100 Day Project

Day 11 - 100 Day ProjectFollow me on Instagram @KathrynJNeale, #100Days20minptgs, #100DayProject Click here for official webpage.

*****************************************

This one felt very "spring" from the start! Taking out that blue from a pre-made sample is very "Easter/egg-like." I was kind of thinking I would go in the direction of yesterday with some neutrals but that's just not what came out nor was it the colors I picked out this morning. Another prime example of just rolling with it! Whatever!

Another one with tape today - might do it for a few more days. I like the "surprise" when you pull it up and place it other places and the fact that it's totally geometric in nature it's jarring in one sense to my organic painterly style. And for some reason another painting with a bright red/orange final! It worked I think for this one.

Day 10 - 100 Day Project

Day 10 - 100 Day Project Follow me on Instagram @KathrynJNeale, #100Days20minptgs, #100DayProject

Click here for official webpage.

*****************************************

This one I like a little bit different. Tried to keep it kind of neutral (for me!). And I love experimenting with tape - it's fun to block out areas and then like you see, rip them up and place the tape elsewhere. It creates an interesting effect. You can still see hints of the pattern I used underneath but I like that - this one is more subtle with the pattern.

Thinking of my day today. Yesterday was his birthday (65), but he's been in the hospital for almost a week. Friday is my mom's birthday (yes they are Aries twins!), what a way to spend beginning of 65. He's always had issues with his heart his whole life. Yet my mom, sister and I all agree it's one of the great ironies of this life that even though his physical heart is so incredibly weak (it's a miracle he's lived this long!), he is the gentlest, kindest, sweetest man. Again I don't know why he has had to go through these touch challenges all his life, but of course being Aries and having a weak heart has beaten a lot of the Aries down in him which in some ways is sad. We all send him so much love and support.

Times like these are so crucial to take the opportunity to not only show but also just tell the ones we love how much we love them. We forget in our busy lives what it really means to cherish each other. And it starts with us, with our family, with our friends. Then we can turn ourselves outward to bless the world at large because starting with ourselves we only contribute to the healing of the world - instead of turning to hate, turning to love.

This post is really not meant for anything else but myself, I know no one is reading this but it's helpful to write out what I most need to hear. Tough times indeed. The prognosis not looking good.

Day 9 - 100 Day Project

Day 9 - 100 Day Project Follow me on Instagram @KathrynJNeale, #100Days20minptgs, #100DayProject

Click here for official webpage.

*****************************************

Day 9 was actually pretty fast. I liked the geometric background to build upon. I usually like organic imagery obviously but it's a different feel to react with my organic painterly style to an already highly graphic structured pattern.

Day 8 - 100 Day Project

Day 8Follow me on Instagram @KathrynJNeale, #100Days20minptgs, #100DayProject Click here for official webpage.

*****************************************

First painting I've strongly felt should be landscape but can't do that for instagram cause proportions are more portrait (vertical) format. If I had more time obviously I would still work on this one. Perhaps pushing some parts into the background (fading) and highlighting as well. I confess I took a little bit more time just because it takes so long to dry the parts so that I can also apply the patterned piece of paper. That's probably what frustrated me the most about this process, I don't mind working fast at all but I get annoyed when I have to wait for things to dry with a hair dyer. I much prefer letting things dry on their own - much more interesting effects when I come back a day later or couple hours later. You just can't beat "natural" drying process with pigments floating and settling on their own.

I also had little bit of fun with some pastel and then painting over the pastel with watery paint. The paint immediately falls to either side cause it's different dry material so it doesn't absorb the water at all it repels it. So it's a fun effect. Probably will have some more fun with it in a little bit.

Seeing this past week's and assessing - definitely into just the watery bits and pieces of painting right now. I haven't painted consistently in so long - since my son was born for sure (and really before that because come on, in the 3rd trimester I just wanted to lay down most of the time to rest! My son was BIG!!). I don't really have any "plans" right now for myself. I'm just not thinking about anything, sitting down, choosing my colors and keeping it real simple. I can see similar color palettes of warm reds, warm yellows, ochres, etc. and accented with cooler colors of blue and green. But not too much. I know that I'm subconsciously attracted to this palette because it's springtime here in St. Louis and after a harsh winter, it's lovely to be drawn to the beautiful, strong colors of spring into summer.

proud to be a gatherer

IMG_4092"Gather: To cause to come together; convene.To accumulate (something) gradually by means. To collect into one place; assemble To draw about or bring (one thing) closer to something else To conclude To summon up To attract or be a center of attraction for"

"a person who gathers; 'they were a society of hunters and gatherers.'"

I have so many awesome and insightful memories of my late mother-in-law (who was, hands-down, the most passionate and erudite woman I know, someone who just accumulated a database of random, but useful knowledge in her information brain bank). One interesting tidbit of info she said (I barely remember the context, but it always struck a chord) that somewhere in her findings, she said biologists and anthropologists conclude that men and women still have in their biological makeup, the need to "hunt" and "gather" in their DNA. That might seem quite obvious in some circumstances. Obviously one of the universal and stereotypical complaints of husbands about their wives is that there's way too much "crap" in the house. Uh . . . DUH! WE GATHER, COLLECT, ORGANIZE (well I hardly do actual "organizing" part, but I would say most women are known as excellent organizers!) and SAVE crap too. Yes, there's always exceptions to the rule, but for the most part, it seems true enough.

As my mother-in-law and I brainstormed together we realized, yes absolutely, we both are obsessed with gathering stuff! She LOVED all cleaning supplies . . . yet she had a cleaning service come every 2 weeks to clean her house. But anytime we went to The Container Store she couldn't help herself and she would buy all those orange funky sponges or mops that looked like some Sesame Street character designed by some Danish industrial line, and while paying for them at the cash register (and no they weren't "cheap,") she would sheepishly grin at me that they were so "pretty." She also obsessed about shoes - there were 4 closets filled with them. And she was notorious at work for having piles and piles of paper, folders, files, you name it, scattered around her office, but ask her where something was and she would carefully pluck a sheet from the MIDDLE of a 5 inch pile without a blink of an eye and silently hand it to you.

IMG_4096I, on the other hand, am an "artist." I can't help but gather as much crap as possible because 3 years later-- I really will see it as the perfect found Target patterned paper for that art piece I can now use it for-- so I can't help it! Not only gathering supplies, I LOVE books and magazines. Obviously, I tell myself, I'm just fulfilling my creative impulse to fill as many drawers, tubs, boxes and sketchbooks as possible with my images that catch my eye for future projects, piles of torn pages from magazines and books. I can't ever through those away.

I have amassed (no joke!) I believe over 1,238 bookmarks in my firefox browser alone, mostly on art, artists, design, interior design, travel and of course favorite bloggers websites. I have hundreds of images I collect over the internet from favorite artists I like. I also have thousands of random images I keep of my own artwork from over the years, art from museums I've visited, random shots of random things I though pretty, and from every single international trip, I've taken thousands of things I thought were interesting . . . which coming home I asked myself, "wait . . . why did I take a photo of that again?"  I have every single piece of music composed by Beethoven, (obviously LOVE classical music), as well as almost every single DVD series from the past 10 years at least from BBC or PBS British Classic Drama! I'm obsessed with books - but not just the normal romantic or historical fiction kind no -- I always hunt through the art, design, craft and photography sections seeing if there is anything interesting in there. I always start in the magazine sections -- this gives me a clue to what I'm interested in at the moment (like what music you want to listen to sets the mood!). I love the ancient mysteries and New Age section and occasionally skip through the cookbooks to see if there's something interesting that I would love to aspire to cook but pretty much hardly ever do.

But it's not jut STUFF, it's other immaterial things too like ideas, information, stuff to research. I LOVE brainstorming sessions. With my mother-in-law, we were the world's brightest think tank solving all the world's problems over a mountain cookie and twin Starbucks hot chocolate! She routinely watched the daily morning shows, which we realized too are just a smorgasbord of random info pulled together mainly for . . . a woman's audience! She also loved reading every Economist issue front and back as much as a good historical novel about Elizabeth the I.

The worst though is that I'm also quite messy. I have "reminder piles" I call them lying around my house. They could be clothes I need to fold or hang or want to wear in the next couple of days. There could be shoes at the front door, dishes in a pile for putting in the dishwasher, books, random papers, anything lying about that "reminds" me that I need to do something with it. I gather everything and anything! If I don't see it I literally don't remember it. My husband gets uber frustrated with me! He remembers everything . . . in his HEAD. And I cannot remember a thing unless I see it in a pile of stuff that I've gathered together.

IMG_4095This rant also does relate directly back to my artwork and painting process. It's messy but there's a purpose to it. When I work I get everything out at once and work on all pieces of artwork, bouncing around in my "piles" of painting and paints. Gathering different media to collage into. I like having all my paints out, my brushes everything so I can see them and make decisions quickly based on what I see. I always leave everything "out" until I finish all of the paintings. Then I pack everything up at all at once to clean and put things away. That's the way I cook, that's the way I do laundry, that's the way I work on projects. I realize I tend to wait and wait until things pile up and I gather enough stuff to do something with it.

And on top of those things above you may think, "well that sounds like anyone, everyone has their interests, their quirks and their unique habits about acquiring random stuff physical or digital."But the female gatherers are unique -- if you are doubtful, just look at all the fabulous blogging women out there! They "gather" everything and anything that's beautiful, useful, informational, decorative, fashionable, unfashionable, vintage, new, kid-related, cooking-related, crafty, DIY projects, technological, etc. you name it! Thousands of successful and thoughtful blogs on whatever topic is fascinating to them with their own unique spin is an enormous resource out there right now. It's damn impressive actually! And we all eat it up! Why Pinterest is known for being 90% women who are gathering images of everything from travel to weddings to cooking to house paint.

IMG_4093So, yes, we women, have it in our blood pointing to the inevitable factoid that we ARE GATHERERS. I embrace this! It must be because we love learning new things, new ideas and new ways of doing something and then we love sharing it! We communicate, share, learn, share and communicate. It's a fascinating network--we gather for each other, learn from each other and then bring back new insights to the whole. It's a very enriching and healthy process! And the more we learn, share and grow, the smarter we all are.

So, I have formally decided to embrace this label. It seems a word that has so much potential for me. The possibilities of gathering and then piecing together to see the bigger picture gives my brain ultimate pleasure. I finally realize it now and stop blaming myself for my compulsive behavior. The more I research the web, the more I'm sincerely blown away by the creative worlds I want to be a part of, the people I would love to connect and meet with someday, the ideas that blow my mind and make me inspired, and the stories that touch my soul.

I am PROUD to be a "gatherer," and so should you.

Day 6 - 100 Day Project

Day 6 Follow me on Instagram @KathrynJNeale, #100Days20minptgs, #100DayProject

Click here for official webpage.

*****************************************

Actually did Day 6 & 7 tonight since it was the weekend. Lots going on of course and it's REAL nice to sleep in on Saturday and Sunday (well as much as an 18-month old will allow!).

Day 5 - 100 Day Project

Day 5 - 100 Day Project Follow me on Instagram @KathrynJNeale, #100Days20minptgs, #100DayProject

Click here for official webpage.

*****************************************

Interesting this morning. It's Friday and I'm a little out of it. Not used to waking up at 5:15 that's for sure! I LOVE my sleep!

So not quite sure about this little guy, I'll have to just let it "sit."  I had other intentions for this piece - mostly I covered up more of the patterned circles then I wanted but that's ok. Here I decided to use the patterned background and give it more of a dominant "role" instead of just having it in the background like Day 4. So I drew circles from a template and just painted around them in neutral gray. I like effect because the circle shapes create the foundation of this piece.

You can see upper left corner little light blue "blobs" well another instance where I was hovering and blobs dropped randomly on the page. I accidentally got some on my finger but instead of just wiping it off, I used my finger to blot them into the piece. Then decided might as well use my finger for other parts of the light blue.

Also experimenting with different paint does different things. I have pre-made house paint samples that the Martha Stewart brand used to provide at Lowes. The paint is couple years old by now so it's very "gloppy" and thick. And the brush/cap thing is horrible but great for just hovering over the piece and gently swinging the brush, you get this weird, rubbery "line" that just plops onto the page. You don't have much control but it's a weird paint-line, scribble effect.

Then knew I had to add some dark to it but might have been little too much. Don't mind the sketch-look with the dark line but went back in to blot out with paper towel some of the areas so it "fades" and has more dimension not being so "heavy."

Then my timer went off and still needed a "highlight" so took bright yellow with knife and blotted some yellow highlights to help assist moving the eye around the page.

Day 4 - 100 Day Project

Day 4 - 100 Day ProjectFollow me on Instagram @KathrynJNeale, #100Days20minptgs, #100DayProject Click here for official webpage.

*****************************************

This morning was fun because I felt like painting on top of a design - paper ("found paper" we artists call it!) from Target or Michael's I think that comes in a packet), and it's a great exercise because instead of making stuff, you are reacting to what's already there. You have to decide what to keep and what to delete or "push back." I was constantly trying to "push" back some parts of the sketch because all of the elements of the design is 1 color tone - meaning there wasn't highlights or dark places, that sometimes is what a pattern is. So when I applied paint, I needed to decide some darker elements and lighter to make more dimension in the piece (foreground vs background etc.). Also helps you think about negative space because you are creating that negative space with your brush to knock back or cover up parts of the printed pattern underneath.

I think it turned out ok. Still quite busy! But the challenge here for me is that these pieces are such a small space that it's hard for me to get that proportion so again, it's all good practice!

Day 3 - 100 Day Project

Day 3 - 100 Day Project Follow me on Instagram @KathrynJNeale, #100Days20minptgs, #100DayProject

Click here for official webpage.

*****************************************

Not particularly liking this one a whole lot because it's tough to start with a dark background and work backwards into light and get enough mid-tones and highlights to work. And hard core blue with green can be problematic colors to work with because they are opaque and feel heavy. But it's an experiment! And certainly and interesting exercise.

Day 1 - 100 Day Project

Day 1 Got up this morning for first time in my life at 5:20 am. I'm NOT a morning person at all and I love my sleep. But this is the perfect opportunity to commit to getting up and "being there" just like this project is intending. It's only the first day - you have energy, lots of optimisim and a "go-get" attitude. I am not that idealistic, I know I will not want to do this and also I know life will get busy and I'll probably forget, etc. But patting myself on the back, just for today, I showed up.

I'm participating in the 100 Day Challenge through The Great Disconnect with Elle Luna starting April 6th!

I'm going to create 1 painting in 20 minutes every day for 100 days.

Follow me on Instagram @KathrynJNeale, #100Days20minptgs, #100DayProject

What Is the 100-Day Project? It’s a celebration of process that encourages everyone to participate in 100 days of making. The great surrender is the process; showing up day after day is the goal. For the 100-Day Project, it’s not about fetishizing finished products—it’s about the process.

Click here for official webpage.

*******************************************************************************

I love to show stuff like this - I wanted to open up my gray chalk paint and I fumbled the lid and out came BLOBS of paint on my painting! But that's the fun of it. I had to work with it and take from that. It was a lot more gray paint then I was intending. And to be honest, the image above not digging it -- it's really busy, all over the place and there's a lot going on in this little space. But that's OK. This is not about making great artwork. It's about the process and just doing it.

Day1a

 

 

 

100 Day Challenge Project!

Screen Shot 2015-04-05 at 8.45.14 PMI'm participating in the 100 Day Challenge through The Great Disconnect with Elle Luna starting tomorrow, April 6th! I'm going to create 1 painting in 20 minutes every day for 100 days.

Follow me on Instagram @KathrynJNeale, #100Days20minptgs, #100DayProject

What Is the 100-Day Project? It’s a celebration of process that encourages everyone to participate in 100 days of making. The great surrender is the process; showing up day after day is the goal. For the 100-Day Project, it’s not about fetishizing finished products—it’s about the process.

Click here for official webpage.