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Medusa

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I have been working on Medusa for a few weeks. It has been cathartic to paint Medusa with the repealing of women’s rights in the US right now. As usual, when I paint something I know little about, I Google it. I also watch YouTube clips and read what’s written about it. Not a huge deep dive because I have a shortish attention span. While I was looking up Medusa, I saw what other people had painted and didn’t see my idea. That’s a win. I also found a poem by Nikita Gill that I love.

I am calling this painting, But Your Story was Always Written by Men. I was going to put on this redacted piece that I made on Canva, but I wanted something more positive.

I chose to write this part of her poem. I don’t like my hand writing. So, I found a “print to cursive” free site. I printed it and traced it. Then, I wrote over the tracing with a white ink pen.

I have 2 of these frames. My mother got them at an estate sale or garage sale, maybe 40 years ago. I finally decided I could use them. Blick Art Materials had the perfect size board. I thought that would be best to use because it is hard wood, smooth and not cut crooked. Painting on wood is different than canvas. One of the pros of using wood is that I can write with a regular ink pen. One of the cons for me was that I wasn’t used to painting on wood. When I figured out to just lay the paint on instead of scrubbing several layers on, it worked like a dream. Kind of like a dream. It took quite a long time and I don’t think her face is exactly like I pictured. Her expression is for sure what I had in mind. She looks to me like she knows so much about life and just deals with it. Skeptical for good reason.

I am pretty happy about her. I am also happy about having an idea that I wanted to follow through on.

In rage and resistance,

Gator Girl

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Cityscape

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I hope you are doing well. Life can be tricky to navigate. My strategy has been to act locally. I try to make something better in my community when I can. It saves me from feeling like I should help the world. It is out of my abilities to save the world, so it mostly saddens me. Someone told me recently that my paintings made them happy. It got me thinking about painting again.

I started this painting last summer. I got bogged down in the minutia of painting so many windows. So it sat. I didn’t start another painting, because I always like to finish what I start first. And probably, I have been a little depressed since November. I started watching a free journaling video and the woman was making a messy collage of a city street. https://courses.karenstampercollage.com/collage-the-street I finished the painting in 3 days and I had fun.

Last summer, I started painting this with no thought as to why. The person turned out to look a little British, a little like my first husband, and maybe non-binary. The city in the background reminds me of New York or London with the old buildings and little parks throughout. I think the tightrope person is addressing my fear of heights. Everything that I wanted to collage was in one Somerset magazine, except for the old photos that I used for people in the windows.

Before this gets too long, if I’m not too late for that…

Now for some closeups.

I found these photos in an album that someone gave my mother. She had no living relatives and had nobody to pass the album to. I think it is kind of fun that they ended up here.

These are my favorite people. The woman has some cocky attitude and the man in the elevator because he is in an elevator.

I lost the head of this woman. I looked everywhere. I can only assume that she didn’t want to be in the painting. I know she wasn’t happy with her dress.

See you in the streets. Stay cool.

love, Gator Girl

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Lil Wayne

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Good morning all y’all!

A Lil Wayne painting was a request from my lil daughter. He was fun to paint. I nailed the dreadlocks. I was anxious to get the face tattoos right, but then I didn’t have to worry because I wasn’t selling him.

Lil Wayne has a “C” tattooed above his eyes for his mom. I changed it to a “D” for Dom. I put a heart with mom on his forehead instead of signing the painting.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun and she loved her gift.

I normally would have chosen a black background to accentuate his dreads. I started covering the back with what was on my brush and I love the color. His teeth were ordered from Amazon and applied one by one with clear Gorilla Glue.

The painting is large, 30×40 inches. It is going in their music room.

Thank you for reading and I hope you have a happy 2025,

Gator Girl

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I’m Back.

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I haven’t painted much lately. I have been working in the yard and out in the workshop. I have been learning stained glass. Mostly by YouTube videos and trial and error. Sometimes I phone a friend. There is definitely a learning curve. Also, if you are considering making stained glass, it is expensive, especially to start up. The learning has mostly been OK. I can see the light at the end of the journey. I feel, just like painting, it comes down to the hours of practice.

With my first piece I bought a pattern on Etsy. I wanted to learn circles and have it look mid century to go with my living room. The edges are tinned.

My second piece is part of my painting, Heading North. I made the pattern. It got a little wonky, but I persevered. I put a zinc frame on this one.

I bought a pattern for my next piece. It is going to be a crow. I am using the small bits that are cut off to make a mosaic along the side of my porch. Because I have a contrary neighbor, I am going to mosaic some stealth protection symbols along the side of the porch. It makes me feel like I am addressing the problem without addressing the problem. lol

I am painting again. I am totally in love with the painting currently on my easel. I am toying with the idea of only selling originals and giving up the print business.

Nova Colors

Anyway, that’s what’s going on over here right now. I feel like Nero fiddling while Rome burned. Boy the world feels small. I also feel hopeful for the future.

Remember to vote like your life depends on it. Somebody’s does.

Gator Girl

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Nutria, a swamp rat

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I was planning to paint a series of animals wearing glasses. I ended up liking the nutria without glasses. I feel like his orange teeth are enough. Also, he has too many problems to also deal with glasses.

Nutria are native to South America. They were sent to Louisiana (and lots of other places) as a way to monetize their pelts. As with other get rich schemes, people gave up on their nutria dream and released them into the bayous and swamps. Now they are an invasive species destroying our wetlands. If you kill a nutria (people like to say harvest) in Louisiana, you can get $6 for his tail. It is always open season. If you want to take a deep dive, there is lots of information about nutrias.

Here is a link to a short video.

I recommend the video, especially if you don’t have dinner plans.

I don’t know if any nutria have had a chance to eat watermelon, but I am sure they would like it. If I saw a nutria and had watermelon with me, I would definitely share.

Their teeth are orange because of a high concentration of iron in their tooth enamel.

Nutria Hat

Nutria Fur Fedora Hat for Sale in Brown

Stay cool,

Gator Girl

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Speakeasy Winny

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I think that I finished Speakeasy Winny. I won’t sell prints because I don’t have the rights to use the photo of the bartender. It was featured in The New Yorker, taken by Matthias Clamer, who seems quite famous.

I printed the background on Strathmore Canvas Paper. I painted Winny on a separate sheet of canvas paper. I cut out Winny and glued her to the surface. I’ve always liked photographs paired with paintings. The first time I saw this was 30 years ago in Perche No! in Chico, California. Sisko (David Sisk) was having a show. He sometimes used a photo as a billboard and painted the background or vice versa. I vividly remember showing my girls the paintings and talking about them. I think they were 2 and 4.

Speakeasy Winny is #2 of 6 paintings.

Singing those summertime blues,

Gator Girl Art

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Skeptical of Bird’s Advice

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I painted this right after the world began to open up after the first wave of the pandemic. I wasn’t quite myself after staying inside my house for so many months. My enthusiasm for painting was low. Mostly, I was painting with on line prompts using someone else’s enthusiasm to spring board off. This was the first attempt I made to paint on my own.

I liked having bird around to give me questionable advice. Today, I decided to offer her to the world. There is one caveat. Take her advice with a grain of salt, or a grain of bird seed in this case.

Skeptical of Bird’s advice is an original painting. 16 x 20 inches. Acrylic, gold leaf, and varnish on canvas. Right now, I am offering her through etsy.com/shop/gatorgirlart and Where y’Art Works.

Thanks for reading!

Wishing you all the best in this holiday season, 2023, and beyond.

XOXO, Gator Girl

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Black Girl Magic

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I’ve decided that I paint my best when I chose exactly what I want to paint and paint exactly how I want. This is Black Girl Magic.

I found a board in the garage and a frame that I got at an estate sale of a local artist who passed a few years ago. The frame had some damage to a paper coating, that I knew paint wouldn’t cover. I ordered some party napkins that were black with gold dots. I separated the layers, cut them in strips and adhered to the frame with Liquitex Gloss Medium.

I love painting on a board, because it is recycling. It is very different than canvas. It has little absorbency. Board is not as forgiving.

I am including 6 stages of the painting. First, I painted 2 layers of black gesso and 2 layers of black acrylic ink. I drew her face with chalk. I tried out some transparent brown paint. At this step, I sprayed the painting with Grumbacher Matte Varnish to hold the chalk in place.

Next, I painted layers of transparent red and transparent yellow. I didn’t mix the paint. I used transparent blue for the shadows. (I am loving transparent paint.) I highlighted with titanium white on a dry brush.

Then, more layers of red, yellow and blue. Trying out some hair and a large bead necklace. I can see her personality now.

Feeling confident. Her and I.

I thought I was finished, but decided I didn’t like the stylized highlights that worked on Booker.

Finished, probably. I might darken her eyelashes a little. I never know how far to go with lashes.

Black Girl Magic

I am pretty happy with her.

I hope you are finding a way to keep cool.

Love, Gator Girl

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Vermont

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

In an attempt to put some carefree fun into painting, I veered from the usual Louisiana art. I think I was inspired by the Bernie memes, LOL. Maybe this is the start of a journey through the states. New Orleans has been and will be my main painting focus.

Or will it?

My scanner is a little bit smaller than my paper. I will adjust for this in the future.

I’m sharing this painting because I tried some new techniques. In the top right I made the cool music notes by spraying ink through a stencil. On the left, I painted with black gesso because it is a solid, creamy black. Then I added white Posca paint pen dots.

The parts I really like are in her face and hair. There are snowflakes in her eyelashes. The blue and red combination in her face makes her look so cold.

I don’t like to bore anyone with too much detail. If you have any questions, let me know. I withhold nothing.

Better days ahead,

Gator Girl

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Playing with Ink

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I have been rekindling my love of painting with a block of Arches watercolor paper. I haven’t painted on paper in many years and have never painted on a block of paper. My goal is to start painting as a practice not as a product. My expectations for myself were out of control.

I love using the block of paper. It wasn’t the most expensive, but it was about $40. You can saturate the paper until it looks like a mess and swells a bit. The next morning it is flat and feels lovely. It feels like smooth cotton. When it is completely dry, you cut off the top piece with a palette knife.

I also have really nice Schmincke watercolors now. Both the paper and the watercolors make a world of difference.

I am using watercolors, ink, paint pens, and acrylic paint. I am loving the ink. The ink bleeds through all of the top layers. That is cool for a while, then I spray matte varnish on the painting to stop the bleed and place highlights.

The Inks are Dylusions Postbox Red and and Vibrant Turquoise. The red puddled in the hair in the shape of butterflies, so I encouraged them. In the end, there were so many layers that I decided to sand the surface. It left some scratch marks that I really like. I smoothed her face with a stiff brush and Golden Titanium White.

It seems she has a lot to think about, but I’m not sure what.

All the best. Stay safe!

Gator Girl