2012/365 - Day 149

flowers and starting to paint a guy

My friends Andi and Punkin came over this morning to finish up the foxglove plantings that they (and Jackbrown) started on Saturday (with all the intermittent rain).  In the meantime, another friend -- Peggy -- brought me some plants that she was thinning out from her garden...especially some columbines (and "we" moved some columbines in my yard, too).

This was the beginning of the day...you can see all of the photos at my Facebook album here.

The plantings are so lovely -- it looks like the areas have always been like that!

Today I also starting painting a plaster cloth guy.  This is a creature I made for myself and haven't painted yet because I didn't know what I wanted him to look like.  I gave him a few layers of spray paint today in four colors of Montana Gold paint.  

This is the first two coats -- a yellow and a bright green.

Next came orange and olive.

It was hard to get shots of the color because the sun that was able to filter through the trees whited everything out.

Back in the studio on my desk you can see the orange and olive much better.  I intend to use that as a bottom layer of color and paint him with acrylics and brushes.

I really like the way the antlers look, though...

I like how they change color as you walk around them.

It is almost like they are lit up from inside.

I sprayed the painted antlers with a thick coat of Golden spray matte varnish and it clouded up a little in places.  Geez...if it isn't too cold to spray outside (to try to avoid fumes) then it is too hot or humid.  I think that was the problem with the clouding of the varnish...although I kind of sort of like how it looks.

A little while ago I decided I was going to lay on a couple of colors of green around his eyes.  Gah...I had this same sort of problem with earlier pieces I tried to spray paint...the paint tends to brush off.  It acts like colored dust on the plaster cloth.

This happened previously with pieces I gesso'd first and also with this guy who wasn't gesso'd first.  It probably has more to do with my spray painting "techniques"/lack of skill and my spritzing versus spraying on an actual coat.

I like how the colors come up through the layers of spray paint, though...this is just the first layer around his eyes...lots more to do.

I am glad this is a piece I am keeping for myself.  I am considering submitting it to that upcoming show but I am not positive I am ready for it.  (The show or the finish-painting.)

I may end up not submitting anything at all to that show either.  We will see as the deadline approaches.  Baby steps to ME being happy with my completed pieces.

OOOH -- that IS thunder in the distance (that is quickly becoming not-so-distant)...I am turning my computer off now.

365 Day 193

let's try this again...

Okay...take two. Today the plaster cloth changes to the cat-creature are dry and I can start to repaint it. I know it won't be the same as the first version, but hopefully I can get close because I liked the way the paint looked before.

This time I am doing ALL of the spraying in the garage. I learned my lesson(s) the first time -- this paint has VERY intense fumes. No drying in the guest bathroom this time.

It was already getting pretty dark out in the garage and it was hard kind of hard to see what I was doing (not that it makes all that much difference...LOL). I also forgot to take photos between paint layers...had to work quickly and leave time for shaking the cans.

I threw in another spray paint color this time. I went from yellow to poison to olive. I will do the rest of the painting with regular acrylics and a brush. Maybe in the morning I will touch up the spray...maybe not.

OH -- and I remembered to mask the eyes! Yay...less scraping later.




Gesso coat...admittedly he looks pretty creepy right now.

















back view gesso coat



















the three colors of Montana Gold spray paint I used this time














what he looks like so far...in the dark garage

365 Day 179

painting plaster cloth guys

Okay, I bit off more than I could chew when I made all of those plaster cloth guys for (potential) submission to that local show. The one where you can have up to twelve entries.














I am so NOT a painter. I would like to be able to finish these guys more quickly, but I can't. I am fairly happy with today's results with experimenting with Montana Gold spray paint, but I am not skilled with paint, mixing/blending colors, etc...yet. I can't expect to be able to just pick up a new tool and know how to use it right off the bat.

I want to be happy with these guys -- I have put a lot of work into them so far -- so I am going to keeping plugging away at them but I won't have any of them ready in time for the submissions deadline for that particular show. Oh well. There is another show with a July 15th submission deadline. I can probably get something completed in time for that one.


you can't tell from these photos, but there are quite a number of layers of paint on these guys so far...LOL



(Update: oooooh man -- these guys are intensely painty smelling...gotta take them out to the garage! I sprayed them outside and brought them in to dry and take photos...LOTS of off-gassing going on! They are in the guest bathroom with the door closed and I am in my studio with the door closed and I can smell them in here!)













I like how this one is starting out, but I was really surprised that a lot of the paint is rubbing off near the base














this one really looks different in person
















And it is not like all is lost. The student show that my relief print will be in is coming up on July 9th -- I am really looking forward to that!

365 Day 169

more new stuff with the glass "eyes"

If you read Day 168 you know I am having bad allergy days yesterday and today. This is about all I can creatively muster today -- but I am learning a couple of things today. And I DO need to get these eyes done so I can add them to two of my plaster cloth guys.

You know how I buy stuff and then never use it, right? Well, I have several colors of Montana Gold spray paint -- I keep hearing great things about it. Juana likes it a lot, too. I have been meaning to try it out and today is the perfect day.

I wanted the glass "eyes" to have a smoother, cleaner look than the ones I have been doing with acrylic paints and a brush. The spray paint is really great. I hit one of the pairs of eyes with a light spritz of Orange 2070 and then sprayed both sets with two coats of Poison Light CL6310.



outside BRIEFLY to spray some paint
















glass "eyes" sitting on top of tape to hold them in place -- these were hit with a short spritz of orange, then the green











how the plain green ones turned out











the orange/green ones -- I LOVE them --
both sets need to have the overspray cleaned off but I will do that later










WOW -- what a difference! I really like how these look. I will definitely be experimenting more with colors on more glass beads...the colors mix so effortlessly. I need to clean the overspray off of both sets of eyes, but I am really really happy with the results so far!