Florence Baptistry - photo reference for in-progress painting

Baptistry - Step 6 - refocusing central element and background

So, do you remember this photo I was turning into a painting? Well, I’ve continued to work on it, and it’s continued to develop. It still has quite a bit of work. I’m going to do something different with the right side of the painting so that the focus is really on that main building. I found that having the background building inserted with the windows caused too much chaos for the eye and made it difficult to focus on that beautiful doorway that I wanted to have as the focal point. And, since I’ve spent so much time on the painting and the details of this building that so inspired me, I’m willing to take a chance on the background and try something new. It will change some of the dynamics of the picture, but I think it’s for the best. I’m taking my artistic license here!

Sedona Photo Reference

Sedona Landscape in progress

And I’m also working on a painting from a photo I took when  Joanne and I went to Sedona. Joanne and I ended up taking the same photo, and both put it on our MacBook desktops. Mine has been that way consistently since. When we were there, I was incredibly inspired by the rock formations, but I didn’t work on anything on canvas. I knew it was time to take this photo and try to render it on canvas. It’s not done yet. I still have some additional work to do on it. But It’s coming along.

Four Abstracts

In the meantime, I’ve been working on a small series of paintings. Each panting is 10″ x 10″ and they all developed together. Each took on a life ot its own, but they’re all related. I will likely put them all on the wall in this order. I have another mini-series of four more in progress.

So there’s the update for a while. I hope I have more to share soon!

Today is Easter Sunday and it’s quiet in our Jewish home. While my husband is preparing to do a talk, I figured I have some time. SO much has happened since I last blogged. I’ll get into much of that at a later time. Let me share with you some art, since that’s what I most wish to share.

Untitled - Abstract Intuitive Painting - Acrylic and Colored Pencil on Canvas Board

A while ago, I sat down and painted some canvas boards. I didn’t have any expectations of where they were going to go, or what I was going to do with them. I went the intuitive route. With all the impressionistic work I’ve been doing based on my travels, this is a good thing for me sometimes – to just get out of my head and let the paint do its thing. I worked on two canvases simultaneously and each came out completely different – different color schemes, different shapes, different composition, different subjects. It is one of the things I love about intuitive work. I start with no expectations and I find little gems in the painted surface that lead me to my next step. I really don’t start with anything in mind.

The Couple - Abstract Intuitive Painting

The most interesting part of working this way is that I tend to see things that come out of me I didn’t know were there. It’s a good way find out what is really going on in my own head, so to speak. These paintings took several weeks. Each one was on its own schedule, really. And I’ve learned that sometimes, a painting needs to sit for a while – weeks or months (sometimes even years!) – before I feel it’s ready to share in any way.

Travel Pack Front before painting - BORING color and not a good color to go with my wardrobe!

In addition to these paintings, I also found some time to do some decoration of a leather travel pack. I bought this leather belt bag for $4 because it was missing the strap to convert it to a cross-shoulder bag. The color is a beige – not my color at all. I tend to wear a lot of pops of color with my wardrobe. It needed something and I knew what I wanted to do! I might add a strap, but I wanted to test the waters of decorating leather by using some fabric paint and then decorating with Sakura’s Permapaque Pens. I just played with shapes and color to add interest to this travel pack.

Travel Pack Front post-painting

I found that I really liked working with the Permapaque pens. I’ve used them in the past, but mostly in my visual journals. I’ve never used them on leather and so this was a risk. But it was one worth taking!

So, I’ve been keeping busy. My hands have been active, my mind has been creative. I’ve also created some journals and I’m working on two more realistic paintings. I always have my journal close-by. I will photograph some art and share some photos from visits with family and friends in the next few days and try to get those to you, too. None  of the art pieces are finished, but they’re either on the easels or sitting and waiting for me to figure out what’s next.

Travel Pack Front Inside - post-painting

Times like this remind me that art is really a journey. The destination for me is the exploration of what I can do and what is possible. It’s not always the finished painting. I’ve learned to accept that. I know it’s hard for friends and family who don’t do art to understand that. They often ask me when they’re getting a piece of art from me or hint that it’s their “turn”. Well, really, my art is, at its heart, for me. It’s something I do to feed my soul. If something comes out of it that is worth sharing with the world – whether on my own walls, on this blog, or in my Artfire Shop, that’s a bonus. But so much of my art goes un-shared. When it starts, I never know what I’ll end up doing. I just start, playing with paint, line, and color. I play and art follows. Whereas when I try to plan out a process for a particular piece, I get caught up in the perfectionist mindset. The art loses its magic. It loses its draw for me. It loses its soul. That is the exact opposite of why my art is what it is.

Baptistry - Step 4 - adding in some more layers of color

Here are more photos of the Baptistry.

The first was taken after I completed my early-afternoon work on it.

Baptistry - Step 5 - adding back in some of the detail

I waited for the paint to dry and an hour later, I came back in and did more work.

I don’t expect to be able to do any work on it today. We’re going to a Bat Mitzvah and I actually have to get going on my daily exercise and then getting ready to go to Temple.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Nature Inspired - by Tracie L. Huskamp

Nature Inspired: Mixed-Media Techniques for Gathering, Sketching, Painting, Journaling, and Assemblage arrived in my studio late last night from Tracie Lyn Huskamp of the Red Door Studio. I pre-ordered her book because, knowing Tracie, I knew the book would be fantastic. And, I was right! Tracie’s calming, soothing personality comes through in the book – through the photos and the text. I highly recommend this new book to anyone who is interested in mixed-media or painting nature.

Baptistry - Step 3 - adding in some more color

I also, as promised, am posting another picture of the Baptistry. I plan to work on it more today, but I haven’t gotten to it yet – exercising and laundry come first! More to come…

Lantern completed - Mixed-Media on 24" x 36" canvas

A few weeks ago I completed all the detailing on the lantern Ive been painting on the 24 x 36 canvas. And I made some changes to the background to give it a bit more depth. Im happy with it. I added some of the detailing with watercolor crayons and sealed the details and then the whole canvas with matte medium. After adding finishing coat, I brought it to the intended recipients- my in-laws. We immediately hung it in their dining room.

Florence Baptistry - photo reference for next painting

I’ve also started another painting. I have been looking at this photo for a while now, wondering whether I was ready to take the plunge and start painting it.

Well, just before Art Unraveled, I did. I drew in the main parts of the buildings with a watercolor pencil and then I added some water to create sone depth and shadows. This helps me to understand the space each area will take up. Then I started to add in some base color. I know the colors look like a cartoon version of this scene, but it will get there. Its all part of what has become my process. Right now, rather than Florence, Italy, the painting looks like it is of Key West, FL!

Baptistry - Step 1 - Sketching in the main shapes

I’ve done more today on the painting, but it still has a long way to go. All the white areas are now painted in and they have several layers of color. The blue background has been painted over so it doesn’t look like water or sky. I don’t have a photo because the light changed in the studio, but I’ll have more to show as I get further on in the painting.

Baptistry - Step 2 - adding in base color

I’m planning to try to blog more often, even if it’s just a single image and a short statement. The way I currently blog takes a long time and that’s why I go weeks without anything for you to see. I hope this will keep me more on track!

Venice Doorway - Calle dei Ormesini, Venice

That’s what has been going on here in the ArtsyFran studio! Lots of painting. I completed two more paintings of Italy for my husband’s office. I plan to start another one today, in-between varnishing the completed ones.

Line drawing of door in Venice

To the left there is a painting of a door in Venice. We sat in what would have been the outside “cafe” portion of a restaurant while it was closed on a Sunday and drew. I drew the picture that you’ve already seen (right) and then decided I needed to take it to the next step and paint it in acrylic.

From there, I went and looked at more pictures from our trip and I found the one on the left, also from Venice. I was very taken by all the windows in Italy. There were flower boxes outside of almost every window we saw. It’s clear that people love having areas where they can plant fresh herbs and flowers. Since I don’t garden, living in the desert as I do, I was amazed at how these little spots of life were thriving on this island of buildings. From the photo, I’ve spent the past week painting my version of these windows.

Venice Window - Second floor windows of a building in Venice, italy

Now to look at the photos of Florence to see what will be my next subject. I loved Florence, so it’s time to focus on that beautiful city.

Monday is my treatment – already! But I hope to get quite a bit of painting in for the next few days.

Venice Window - Second floor windows of

More to share soon, I hope!

In Flight - WIP

Last week, I returned to a canvas that I started back in December. It sat for a while. I just really doodled with the color. I wasn’t sure where it was going and I was working completely intuitively. Unfortunately, for all the time it sat there, I cannot find a photo of it before I revisited it. So, you’ll just have to believe me when I say it changed significantly. Like I often do, I worked intuitively, with an idea in mind, but not making myself focus on that. If something else developed then I’d help that to happen. And that is what happened in this case.

What did it turn into? Well, to me, it looks like someone flying over the darkness. It was over a desert at one point. I’m not sure it’s done yet. I think the face needs some detail, but maybe not. I’m planning to let it sit for a few weeks to see what I think when I step away from it for a while.

Como sketch based on a photo from our trip to Italy

And, while I was working through all the photos to create the posts about Italy, I thought it was time to use those photos for my art. I started to sketch from the photos. I created the sketch to the right from one of the photos. It’s done with watercolor and pen and ink. I tried out some new things, since that’s what I do in my journals. It was good practice for what I decided to do next.

Yesterday, I met Dave for lunch at his office. I think I’ve mentioned before that the majority of my art goes into his office or into our home’s decor. In this case, I had visited him and he needed something with more color. This time, he didn’t want medical art, just something with color. I love it when he asks for things like that. It gives me a chance to just do whatever! I immediately came home and pulled out two 10″ x 10″ canvases.

Menaggio alleyway - WIP - first day

I planned to just use my acrylic paints but I had no direction from there. I decided to try something different for me. Using photos as inspiration, I started sketching out an image of a Menaggio alleyway. The way the buildings were all connected and created the streets in Menaggio was charming. So, I started with a rough sketch that ended as you see on the left. I let it sit and moved on to the next canvas.

Verrano Ferry Station - Day 1

I sketched an awning that is the entrance to the Verrano ferry station. I didn’t want it to be literal, but I wanted to start with the idea of it. I created some buildings behind it based upon the different buildings I saw when we were there. It ended like the image to the right last night.

Menaggio alleyway - WIP - second day

So, this morning, I was all excited to get back to work on these canvases. I started with the Mennaggio alleyway and grabbed a black watercolor pencil to create some detail, including the delineation between buildings, adding a door and adding in some windows. I’m not sure about the placement of the door. I might need to push it back further into the painting for balance, but we’ll see. It’s not finished yet, but it’s done for today. I’ll likely pick it up tomorrow again for the third pass.

Verrano Ferry Station - day 2

In between allowing the layers on this to dry, I worked on the Verrano painting. It has changed drastically since yesterday. I lightened the center building, added more depth to the awning and changed some of the colors there. I even added some definition in the trees and balanced out the blue that is on the left with some blue tone in the building on the right. Like the other one, it’s not done yet. I still need to add in some details and it will be going through a third pass, as well.

I’m really enjoying these paintings. I’m trying hard to keep a balance between the inspiration and some abstraction. It’s a change for me from completely abstract or drawing from life – sort of a hybrid, but I’m glad I’m trying it.

More tomorrow!

Car and truck in front of us in our traffic jam on the Autostrade from Florence to Milan

Before we get to Milan itself, we have to talk about the drive from Florence. It was supposed to be three hours. But we got into a traffic jam. on the Autostrade on the way there. It took an hour for us to get through it. While we sat there, I did what I always do when we have time. I drew! I don’t often try to draw cars and trucks, since they’re so complicated and I have trouble getting the parts to fit together on paper, but I was really with this one!  I was, however, much happier when we started moving and heading to Milan.

First two levels of the Duomo, Milan, Italy

We got lost on our drive into Milan, but we finally found our hotel. We stayed at a very trendy hotel, Hotel Straf. The first thing we noticed was the crowd of people outside the hotel – on cusions and ottomans that were on the sidewalk and in the street that was closed off to traffic. I was concerned.

We were tired, we wanted a cozy hotel room where we could sleep and relax. We found this hotel as we find most of our hotels, through the Frommer’s guides. It was listed as a “find”. Well, it was, um, different. Very dark and sparse – in the lobby, the doors, the walls, the furniture were all black. If I hadn’t seen someone go in to the elevator, I would not have known it was there!

Corner of the Breakfast Room, Hotel Straf, Milan, Italy

When we got to our floor, there were no doorknobs. There were instructions on the key envelope describing how to open the doors. Not homey at all! We were tired and hungry. Luckily, there was room service, which we called as soon as our luggage arrived.

This was the art in our room at the Hotel Straf

The room’s decor was quite sparse, too. Concrete floors and walls, black furniture (if you want to call a slab of wood furniture), and a large painting in black and off-white.

The next morning, we went for breakfast downstairs in the hotel. There was, well, some interesting techno music playing very loudly. The room was sparse – incredibly sparse.

Milan's Duomo with its Gothic feel

The techno music was jarring. It was an interesting way to start off the morning, even if it’s not our choice of how to do so. We shall never forget Hotel Straf for its trendiness and sparse industrial feel.

Center door to Milan's Duomo

We walked around Milan, exploring. Near our hotel was the Duomo, another amazing structure. I, of course, had to draw it and did! We were across the Piazza Duomo at a cafe when I drew this. It was interesting to draw it from so far away, with so much detail I inevitably missed. But I got a feel for it. As we got closer, though, I realized just how much artistry went into this structure – sculptures, frescoes, niches… Every time I looked at it up close, I noticed something else I hadn’t before.

Piazza Del Duomo, Milan, Italy

There was, however, quite a bit of incongruity in this part of Milan. There, next to the Duomo was a huge screen. On the screen, advertisements flashed. It seemed so out of place and I didn’t quite know how to talk about it. So, instead, I took the photo to the left.

Modern Sculpture next to Duomo, Milan, Italy

And you may see below it and to the left in the corner there is a red statue. It is outside of one of the museums, there was a large red modern sculpture that interested me. As we got closer, I saw that it was not just a red sculpture; it was also interactive with very dark music and dark text all over it. As we got closer, I noticed that there were steps leading into the sculpture so you could walk through it. We didn’t spend a lot of time there, but its incongruity next to the Duomo was intriguing.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II Historic Centre

We walked around the shopping area near the Duomo and just did some window shopping. There was nothing we couldn’t live without, with the exception of a new artist’s journal from the Fabriano Boutique. Otherwise, we just enjoyed our one full day in the city by walking around. We had a flight the next morning out of Malpensa and needed to go back to the room to pack. We decided to grab dinner at a little restaurant a few blocks from the Duomo, where the menu looked good. The restaurant was the Royal Cafe, and the food was excellent! A great way to spend our last evening.

Street View from the Royal Cafe, Milan

You can see some photos of our trip that I’ve not highlighed in the past few posts by going to my flickr set. Thanks for joining us on our trip!