digital photo
I took this photo of a not-quite-open peony before the wind and hail and rain storms of the past few days. It’s nice to see a peony looking so fresh and new again.
Category: daily janes
may 18, 2017
8×14″ acrylic on paper
A little brush, a little palette knife, a little energy. Pure play.
may 17, 2017
4×4″ acrylic, marker
Blobs and lines and dots and dashes and highlights and washes—that’s what this is made of.
may 4, 2017
8×6″ acrylic, marker on paper
A shape like each of these appeared in my mind last weekend, so here is a first attempt to get it on paper. It’s not quite right (not exactly the shape I saw), but I enjoyed the process of painting it anyway (for the most part).
They remind me of “wildflowers” or what some call weeds. Resistant. Persistent. They find a way to live in the harshest of environments. And thrive. And spread. Yep.
april 28, 2017
3.5×2.5″ acrylic, marker on card
I’m not sure even what to say about this. It’s just a daily doodle.
april 26, 2017
9-5/8″x6-5/8″ acrylic, marker on 1903 book cover
In honor of today’s premier of the book-turned-series A Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu, and in dishonor of the 2017 Iowa Republican legislators, here is the cover of an actual book called The Perfect Woman, published in 1903. The book has lots of “helpful” advice to women that might make its way into future artworks.
I removed the two original, badly damaged photos on the front and replaced it with my own painted image. I enhanced much of the original decorative aspects (some of which were nearly rubbed off) with new paint. I tore off the front from the shell of the book cover after I had done most of the painting, which really is not a good time to tear apart something that old. But it worked out for the most part.
And no, this is not a daily. I have been pondering what to do with the book for a long time (and still have more ideas I will use the content/pages for at some point). I worked on this cover over time—removing, adding, drawing, painting, etc. I could have (and still might) work on this cover more. It just seemed like today is an auspicious day to upload it for now.
april 14, 2017
4×4″ acrylic, marker on cardstock
This was a color block painting wanting to be something more. So I added a thin, transparent layer of yellow and didn’t like that. I added some zinc white and only liked it over the blue. Then I added some marker lines on several colors. I like it better. Still not what I saw in my mind’s eye, however. I’m getting a little out of practice. I am working on a longer term project, though, and made some progress on it. Maybe next week? (I doubt it….)
april 7, 2017
2.5×3.5″ markers and acrylic on card
I made this on one of those cloudy, gloomy days we’ve had recently. I’ve been working on other artwork, but it’s longer term. So, here’s a little colorful doodle for today.
march 30, 2017
14×22″ mixed media on paper (acrylic, map, marker, currency strips)
This has been a long time coming—just couldn’t get going on it or figure out what to do with it for months. I’m still not sure I like it, but as with the daily janes, I’m calling it for now. I drew the route of the Bakken pipeline through Iowa onto a state road map. Originally I thought I would keep the map of the contiguous counties intact, but it made for an awfully large piece and seemed to just be a map of the pipeline route. Then I had the idea to cut each county out, and to place them in such a way that the pipeline lines sort of formed N-O. I collaged those onto an already painted paper. I highlighted the route a little more, then collaged some currency strips onto the blue and painted those.
march 23, 2017
2.5×3.5″ gel markers on bristol artist trading card
A little doodling without a plan turned into this. Scribbling is good for the soul. Seriously, try it.