Rebirth: Everything Happens for a Reason

To paraphrase Dickens, "this is a tale of two canvases..."

All year I've been taking Donna Downey's CANVAS CREATE classes. It's a different canvas and technique each month. I've really enjoyed getting out of my rut and trying new things.

This is the finished piece.
The photo below is where I started.

Donna's May canvas was done on a black canvas. And I tried twice to get the technique to work for me, but never liked the results. After the third try, I decided to give up and used another technique of Donna's to use up the paint in the palette cups. (There's a video on her blog, but I can't find it...)

When I finished this version my thought was....'THIS LOOKS LIKE A FOREST FIRE."

Then the Waldo Canyon fire had me evacuating...UGH!

Coming home again, I stared at that "forest fire" canvas for a long time and kept thinking I should just throw it away.  Then I decided to redo the canvas and create something I liked.

I started with modeling paste.  (Have I told you that I'm addicted to modeling paste now???)

And watercolor pastels, sprays, and Inca Gold.  IN LOTS OF LAYERS.  When I got to this point I didn't know where to go.  In the end I glued a flower bunch on the canvas that pulled all the cool colors together.

"Everything Happens for a Reason".

Yes. I believe that!

Canvas Create: March

I loved February's piece...but this topped it. Can a mother have a favorite child? If so, this is my new favorite!

Donna played with pom-pom flowers.  I used some paper flowers that came in layers (so it was easy to remove a layer).

This canvas is covered in strips of fabric and then painted. It adds SO MUCH TEXTURE! And the paint reacted to the material in interesting ways too.

I can't wait to see April's canvas.  In the meantime, I'm going to catch up with TIm's Chemistry 101 classes!

Canvas Create: February

I'm been trying to catch up with a few classes! Right now I'm doing Donna Downey's Canvas Create and her PanPastel classes...AND Tim's Chemistry 101.

I'M BEHIND IN ALL OF THEM!

So here's my Canvas Create piece for February. Donna's had a big heart in the middle. I love the piece but I didn't want to look at hearts all year. So, I changed to bubbles.

I started with a 14x1 and covered it with Modeling Paste. It took about 24hrs for that to dry completely. The rest is paint.  It was hard to get a good picture of this.  It's more a golden/orange color with raspberry and lime dots. 

Tomorrow, I'll post March's canvas.

Canvas Create: January

I've become a devotee of Donna Downey. I love her "go for the gusto" mixed media creations. I haven't started a art journal yet, but as soon as I get a few things off my plate I will.

In the mean time I signed up for her newest series: CANVAS CREATE. Here's my January canvas. Mine came out a lot darker than hers but that's ok. It's my canvas.



Donna loves masking tape. Me? Not so much. But I did use torn paper and washi tape. I really like the feel of this.
I'll be working on February's canvas soon. (grin)