Textures R Us

You may be wondering what these photos are and why I am wasting time and valuable Internet space with them. Well, by way of introduction, let me say that I discovered something about myself last weekend. While at the Artist Within event on Saturday evening (refer to previous posts for more info), I found myself looking down at the floor in the lovely bathroom/locker room of the golf clubhouse. (We did not have Italian tile floors and carved wood lockers when I was in high school.) Knowing that I look down a lot at tile, the textures, the colors, the veins, the value nuances, I realized that if I were not an artist, I could sell tile. It would probably be more lucrative, too.

Anyway, I am finally admitting that, as an artist, I not only cannot get away from texture, but I am drawn to texture of all types in many different places. I have decided that I am just going to hand it over to my higher power and give in to the need for texture in most everything I do.

So about these photos. One of our students brought back some slate roof tiles from Canada all the way to Florida in her car. Did we not teach this woman well, what is important in life and car space???? Anyway, thanks to Lea, I have a lovely piece of slate to play with. I have no idea what I will do with it but I am looking forward to finding out, and I will definitely enjoy the process. I wanted you to see what it looks like before I start. I will update you as it proceeds, and suggestions are always welcome.

Oh yes, I know what you are thinking, roof tile!! What's next, painting on saws? Can Elvis on black velvet be far behind? Don't worry, not going to happen. Although velvet has a wonderful texture and I love the colors of rust on metal, hmmmmm.........

Peace and love,

Kelli

Gold Skies

Avocado Grove

5x5

Ah, it's Thursday and that means studio day! I love Thursdays. I'm getting ready to start on some more of the these little landscapes. I thought I'd add some different pieces to the Etsy shop. I have a number of texture pieces on there so landscapes are in order. This particular one is from a photo I took in my cousin's grove in south Florida. It was a beautiful summer day as we walked between rows of lush green trees. The late afternoon heat of the day inspired me to use gold leaf for the sky and I love the effect. There's also some gold under the tree where the light is peaking through and warming the fallen leaves.

Peace,

Carlynne

New Work

Hi All,

This is another installment in the bondage series. The metal is copper that has been distressed with balsamic vinegar. It is thin and easy to bend into any shape as well as cut with scissors. To get the distressed look, I simple put pieces of the copper that I have already cut into shapes into a zip lock baggie along with balsamic vinegar. I let it soak for a few days, turning it about once a day. It comes out with beautiful colors and patterns on the metal. After washing and drying, I attach it to the canvas with heavy gel medium and let it dry. I then put acrylic texture mediums around it and painted it after drying.

I don't really know what direction my art is heading in right now. I am wanting to work with metal, leather, wire, cords, found objects and just plain old what not! However, I am not sure what forms this will take or where it will lead me. I am feeling drawn to more 3 dimensional work than flat work right now. I suppose that is a natural transition when you get into textures. I am also interested in putting these materials into jewelry. We'll see what happens there.

I am still working on my goals for 2008. Our marketing group, Out of Hand Artists (OoHA) meets tonight to share our goals and help each other achieve them. I'll let you know how it goes.

Peace in 2008

Kelli