Mixed Media Express 2

Outer Limits – Mixed Media on canvas board – 10×12 inches

This is the last painting from the Mixed Media Express online art class I have completed with Julie Prichard.  Again, I used colors I wouldn’t normally use.  I wouldn’t use this much red.  I really like it though as the red is mixed with a brown which tones it down a bit.  I also wouldn’t think to use violet with red either, but it seems to work here.

Adding the marks at the end is always a challenge but it just came to me after staring at it for awhile!  There were some happy accidents when painting the swirls.  I used charcoal pencil and oil pastels which have been sealed with UV spray varnish.  All I have to do is paint on a final coat of acrylic varnish and then it is complete.  I shall do a batch in one go.

I enjoyed the course and am looking forward to the next one! But what I wonder? 🙂

Mixed Media Express 4

I mentioned previously that I have been doing an online course with Julie Pritchard.  I started Mixed Media Express 4 before I went on holiday.  I have only just completed it after working on it for about another week or so.  I have started a new contract, so I have been a bit limited with my painting time.  Here is my completed painting.

Mixed Media on Canvas Board – 10×12 inches

This painting has very little resemblance to the painting in the demonstration.  I did use the same colors though.  I think that is where the similarities end.  I used colors I probably wouldn’t normally use, unless I was painting a traditional landscape.  The yellows are on the earthy side and tend to have more orange tones to them rather than yellow.  I used a combination of Golden and AV/Vallejo paints, collage, and oil pastel.

I wanted to give up on this painting many times, but I persevered and now I think I have something reasonably interesting to look at.  I am tempted to call it Success At Last.  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Can One Have Too Many Paintings?

I am a firm believer that one can NEVER have too many paintings, or books.  Unless they are ones you created yourself!  I also believe that paintings tend to look better framed, unless they are on deep gallery wrapped canvas.  Although my cradled wood panels have narrow profiles (1-2cm), they will look great on their own or in a frame.  It depends on the size and whether you hang them in a group of other paintings or on their own.  You can see how they look below.

I’ve had to re-jig my gallery wall in my dining room to accommodate the new paintings I created.  I found some plain black inexpensive picture frames that I could easily pop the 10×12 inch paintings on canvas board into.  The narrow black frame really makes the painting stand out and is great to hang on my wall for the time being, but I would recommend a more substantial frame.  I also found an 8×8 inch square frame for my mixed media painting on cradled wood panel.   Although it looked good unframed, I think it looks better now as it is a small piece.  The sides also have a narrow profile which makes it easy to put into a frame.  I did the same for my yellow teapot, which I love even more now that it is framed.  My husband re-used picture hooks, the kind you tap into the wall, to anchor the painting to the frame as the profile didn’t protrude enough to use standard z-clips.

I’ve had to move some of the paintings from my gallery wall into other rooms or onto different walls. You can see that I found a bit of space behind my dining room door for the teapot and key paintings!  I may soon run out of wall space altogether.  I have picture rails in the main rooms of my house and hang paintings from them as I am constantly making paintings and moving them about.  This way I don’t have to worry about holes in the walls.  I am saving up for a tracking system for the hallways so I can hang even more paintings.  I have a stash of rescued paintings in the loft that are begging to be hung.

I can safely say at this point that I do have too many paintings!  If you would like to help me out, I have a coupon code for free Domestic shipping in my Etsy shop.  The code is: FREE75 and is valid until the 31st of August for orders of £75 and over.  To get to my shop, please click on the link on the sidebar of my blog.

I am considering free shipping for international orders and am working out a minimum spend price to make it worthwhile.  All suggestions will be considered.

Thanks for stopping by!