Landscape No. 4

I haven't really painted many night time scenes before, so for Landscape no 4/100 I decided to paint a starry sky. It was definitely a challenge, but I loved the colors so at some point I will try another one again.

I realized I hadn't included in my previous posts what medium and materials I have been using for these. So far, all of my landscapes have been painted using acrylics on panel.

Landscape No. 3

For this landscape painting I chose a scene that allowed me to focus more on color than shapes. I love painting water- but it's one of those things that I could work on forever and still find something else to add. Even though I tend to be very critical of my paintings, I am trying to keep the larger picture in mind: after painting a hundred landscapes, the way I paint everything will evolve. The way I paint water will change too, and I'm kind of excited to see where I will be at the end of all of this.

That's it for now... on to the next one!

Landscape No. 2

Here is landscape No. 2 of my 100 landscapes project. I wasn't very motivated to paint this week- I kept coming back to this one for short amounts of time. One thing I learned from this painting: painting sand is difficult! Somehow I find it easier to paint water than sand. I kept going over and over it until finally I just decided to stop. I could probably keep going on it endlessly, but I should probably move on to my next painting.

This landscape makes me wish I was at the coast this week. It's sure been hot here. Maybe that's why I haven't been super motivated.

On to the next one! ...

Landscape #1

Here's landscape # 1 of my 100 landscapes project. This one is painted with acrylic on panel. It's a little bit Bob Ross-y right?

On to the next one....

100 Landscapes

I am setting a new goal to complete 100 landscape paintings by the end of this year. It seems a little crazy, but I am trying to find some direction in my artwork and I feel that this may lead me somewhere... hopefully. Why landscapes? I guess because I always seem to come back to them as a subject for my artwork. I always used to tell my students that landscapes are the best subject, because they allow for a lot of freedom when you are painting or drawing them. You can let the brushstrokes and lines go where they want, nothing has to be precise- just focus on the lights and the darks.

We will see how this goes. I have the summer off from work, so I have some time to get started. I plan on posting all of the paintings on my Instagram account as well. Hopefully, writing here will keep me accountable.

I'm not counting these as a part of my 100 landscapes, but they are a couple of landscape paintings I've done this year. 

Weaver Fever

 Sand, Sea and Sky 2015

So, I've been hooked on weaving lately... I've always loved those slow, meditative processes. This is the latest one that I finished a week ago.

A little closer view. I was experimenting with adding beads to this one. I haven't done that before. The beads are wooden craft beads that have been painted with a gold metallic paint. 

I'm getting so hooked that I started constructing myself a new loom out of an old canvas frame I had lying around. I had been previously using a cardboard loom (you can see that one in the background). I'll post more pics when I start testing out the new loom. 

The Zen of Weaving

I taught myself how to weave four years ago, when I started at my current teaching job. It was an art project that was already in place as a part of the High School curriculum and I had to learn it in order to teach it to my students. Somehow, I had never learned before, not unless you count those finger-potholder- thingys everyone makes as a kid.

As I was working on teaching myself how to weave, I became hooked on the process. I tend to be drawn to repetitive, meditative type art methods, probably because it helps calm my anxiety prone mind. 

I like to use twigs to hang my tapestries on, I have a lot of them around that have fallen from the Oak trees in my yard. They are free, repurposed, and look cool. 

As you can see, I weave on a very simple cardboard loom, which I made myself. This is the way I teach my students how to weave. Eventually, I will buy myself a loom, but for now, this works great, and it is portable too! 

If you are interested in learning how to weave, You Tube is a great place to find tutorials, and of course Pinterest. I get tons of great ideas from Pinterest.