daily janes

3.5×2.5″ acrylic, marker on ATC (artist trading card)

The scraping, using some leftover paint from yesterday’s daily, took on a smeared, dream-like quality. (The card has a very smooth surface.) I then used a variety of archival markers to fill in some of the bare areas and to dress up some of the colors.

10×7.5″ acrylic on matboard

This is a layered scrape painting. The colors of the original peek out here and there, but are mostly transformed by the second layer of transparent magenta and green.

approx. 8×10″ wool/mohair yarn

Remember when I asked you to vote between the fuzzy felted circle and the soumak knotted circle? Part of the reason I asked for input is that I really didn’t like either one (well, at least neither fulfilled the image I had in my mind for this project). (Here I should also note that I changed up the yarn because I realized I needed more yellowish-orange for this piece (even though I love the other yarn, too—it was too close in color to the paint).)

Someone (I’m looking at you Maggie! ;-)) mentioned that I should learn to crochet. *sigh* I think I have used only one crochet needle in my life, for pulling fringe through knots on the ends of scarves. But it seemed like it was worth a try.

I looked online and actually found patterns (inscrutable patterns, I might add) for crocheting circles. Instead, I mostly used the online tutorials for various basic crochet stitches, and some general concept of creating a circle using crochet. Even now, I really couldn’t tell you if I used a slip stitch or a single crochet stitch because I’m not sure I understand the difference! But using one or both of those, along with the chain stitch, is how I created this. I see mistakes, but I also discovered that freeform crochet is a real thing, so that’s a good cover story.

This image shows a close-up of the crochet spiral that I just attached to a canvas. I’m not ready to show the whole piece quite yet, but the painting, crocheting, and tedious attaching (with invisible thread) to the canvas, has been my daily work for a week or two. Stay tuned!

8×12.25″ acrylic, wool on matboard

This involves a few paint-scraping passes. Then I took some little tufts of wool yarn, leftover from my hand-knotting weaving, and adhered them to the piece. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

4×4″ acrylic, marker on paper

I know. This is completely ridiculous. When I scraped this, I saw a figure playing the piano, sliding downhill. But I decided to make it going uphill (or sliding backward downhill, perhaps)…just because. It reminds me that my piano is lonely these days, and that I need and want to sit down and play a little. Maybe this week….

4.25×5.5″ acrylic on paper

A scrape, a smear, and some wiggly lines cut into the paint. Back to blue, with hints of magenta and more below.

4×4″ acrylic, marker on paper

Here is a “quick” daily jane in three phases, combining paint dots, paint scrapes, and marker doodles. The end.

I realize that I should be posting the green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, but I have nothing useful in green right now. And I am prone to breaking the rules, anyway.

I have knitted and otherwise used up a bunch of the “solar downpour” yarn from my friend at Blue Gate Farm (via a gift from my cousin Melissa) making various sizes and types of yarn “circles” for a future art project. Now I’m about ready to start the painting one of these will accompany. The problem? I can’t decide whether I prefer the felted version (above on the left) or the soumak version (lower on the right). Tell me which one YOU like, and why? 🙂