Figuratively.....

 I'm reading a new book and it's by the artist Rolina Van Vliet.  It's chalk full of great information on abstract painting, which I've learned I've never really done before.  I am a figurative painter because each of my pieces is based off of nameable, concrete subjects.  I've been trying to move away from that a bit and delve into complete abstraction, but more on that later.

 This is the first piece I ever painted.  It is 3ft by 3ft and I had named it "Anna".  We went home for a quick visit last weekend and it was fun to go through my parents' house and see how my style has changed over the years.  I had been drawing ever since I could remember, but was unable to paint until I was 15 years old and then THIS happened.  Over the next two years I felt so free to experiment.  the school paid for my supplies and I really felt no restrictions, and so I produced a lot of pieces, some of which I really still love. I was surrounded by art-loving friends:), and my mom has amassed a small gallery of my work (and one of my sister's:)).

 This is my style.  I had painted this about a month ago and just wasn't pleased with the outcome.  I hate staring at pieces and not knowing how to fix or finish them  I need to be more patient.  I added a thick layer of gloss gel and painted with liquid acrylics.  The effect that it creates for me is a sense of movement. It also adds vibrancy that I really love.

 I had originally painted this about 11 yrs ago, during a pretty dark time.  The piece looked totally different and a lot of people said that it looked scary to them.  I decided to give it one last chance and to apply some of the abstraction techniques I was studying.  I'm really pleased with the result and have named it "Origins". + There's something very satisfying about going "back in time" through years of experiences, and then changing the outcome, all with a few brush strokes.+

 My first true abstract, although I have to mention that I hate the harsh way that I chose to sign it...kind of ruins it for me.  I had fun working on this piece and like the colors I chose and um, the ABUNDANT PAINT SCRAPING!!!!!:)  I like that it has a feeling of movement.

 My second.  Not a huge fan of this (nice that it's small:)), but I think I will employ the technique again later.

 I might have to scrap this one for good.  I painted and re-painted and it's just not coming together for me.  It's from a beautiful photograph by Nathan Gillette and I will just start over again with a new canvas.  Holla if this one speaks to you, otherwise it'll meet it's end this week.

I am really excited about this one.  My two youngest and I went mule riding for the first time today.  It was a gorgeous day and we have wonderful friends.  This start is from a photograph of Terry from a few years ago.  Don't get too excited though because it might not turn out, then again it just might:) I LOVE the colors and plan to leave it loose.  I want to capture my impressions not just the photograph.
And that's it.  Still working on zentangles when I can't sleep, but I wish I already knew what I was doing.  Developing patients is so frustrating!:)  I'm also playing around with some Pebeo glass paints, but have nothing to show yet.  The moral of this post is: I like figurative painting; it's what I do.  The End.