warm and cool colors – Gator Girl Art

Hi all y’all!

I am excited about this painting. I feel like it is gorgeous in the way The Kiss is gorgeous. I have carried this frame all around the country for more than 20 years. I think my mom picked it up in an estate sale. It seems very old.

One of the reasons that the painting turned out well is because I planned the painting. I know, wild, right?

I chose thin plywood, painted on 2 coats of black gesso, then marked the solder lines with chalk. I think this preplanning is key to the painting’s success.

The second reason I believe it turned out well is some kind of painting magic. I have had this painting in my head for a while. I knew I wanted her arms and hands out stretched. I wanted her strong with a few visible muscles and not super thin. The colors were important.

The magic part seemed to happen with the colors in her tail. They kind of painted themselves. I like how her hair floats with a tiny suggestion of light and a few bubbles.

Well, that is a lot of description.

Not the best photographs, but trust me.

I put words on the painting under her outstretched arms, “Take Up Space”. It’s a message to women who were never taught that it is OK to take up space. It is necessary to consciously think about this if it seems hard to do. Do you step to the side when people pass you on the sidewalk or is it mutual respect? Do you become small in a group?

This painting was fun. I have loved this frame for quite a while.

Take care. Remember to vote.

Gator Girl

Hi all y’all!

I thought I would welcome the New Year in with a little songbird. I had a plan to paint an alligator swimming among lily pads. I prepped a large canvas for this painting before Christmas.

When I got back into the studio, I felt like playing with art. I painted a few layers of abstract strokes and my favorite symbols. The key to playing with paint like this is to stick with the same temperature of colors in each layer and let the layer dry before the next layer.

I started with yellow, orange and red.

Then blues and greens.

Back to warm colors.

The fun part really begins when I added white.

Then black. I think white and black look great side by side.

I used a BIG canvas to let the New Year know that I am allowed to use materials however I want.

I wanted a woman. So I painted a face shape with white gesso over the part of the painting that I liked least.

The rest was going to be hair, but the hair was just too big. I liked the rainbow colors in what is now the tail feathers of the bird as well as the breast area.

It was hard to paint out areas I still liked. I was happy to paint over areas that looked like big blotches.

I kind of want to keep her blue, but I might give her flesh tones. Leaning towards a natural skin tone.

I smoothed over the gesso with a plastic hotel key card.

The Blush Ball is this Friday. If you want to come, contact me. The tickets are $40 and $60 dollars. We are raising money for women with children who need to get to a safe place and start over.

You can also buy raffle tickets.

If you can’t attend, I will deliver your winnings.

All for a good cause.