SO, by request, the Fall Tree Workshop has two one more dates coming up. The first is October 24th and the second is November 6th! Here are is the flyers for each the workshop, sign up by contacting the gallery that is hosting the workshop (click the flyer and it will take you to their webpage). Hope to see you at one (or both?) to get your creativity on! 10/29/2014 NOTE: The topic for the October 24th workshop has been changed from Fall Trees to Moon, Sun & Stars!
Similar in style to “Monochromatic” that was posted last week, this whimsical creation at least let me dream about being somewhere tropical! Here are some images taken during the creative process:
This piece was created last winter/spring and never made it to the blog. So, belatedly, may I present “Monocromatic”! Creating using a mixture of markers, charcoal and ink here are images of the piece in progress:
Original outline drawing
As you can tell I was busy creating instead of taking photos of my process. It happens sometimes!
Next post will be another tree from winter/spring, this one with a tropical feel. Look for it soon.
This was a fun project that I started for one reason and finished just because I loved making it. 🙂 Originally thinking I’d enter it into a competition, I didn’t get it finished before the deadline but that didn’t stop me from completing it. The drawing/coloring of all the mandala “leaves” was much more time consuming than what I thought!
After getting them drawn it was on to adding the background paint and then it needed to dry for a while, it had gotten quite saturated!
Once it was dry, the first details I tackled were in the tree trucks.
Then on to the leaves. That was the slowest part of the process.
I used a semi-limited pallet so that the piece would have some continuity, which added to the challenge.
The finished piece is still in the studio as I decide how to frame & display it! I’m also thinking it needs a better title than “Mandala Tree” – what do you think??
Okay, so I know I’ve been trying to catch up with all the upcycled/recycled artwork from last year but in the meantime I’ve been doing some other fun art so I thought I’d take a little “time out” and share something new with you before we finish up with the last half-dozen or so pieces from last year. My obsession with trees continues, both in my art and at home. Both in the form of bonsai trees! I’ve adopted a little juniper bonsai tree and have two other types I’m trying to grow from seed (as I wait impatiently for sprouts!). I’ve always loved the “personality” of trees, how they branch this way and that, twist, lean and each just seem to have a story to tell us if we listen closely enough. With the way bonsai trees are pruned and trained into such interesting shapes I suppose it would be inevitable that I wouldn’t be able to resist them and, after trying for several years, I gave in. My sketch book is slowly filling up with trees from my imagination and now I am producing some in a more presentable manner. The first three started together with a (very) rough outline of the trucks and limbs.
From there I added some softly blended layers of color to the background areas.
After that dried I began adding the areas where the leaves would fill in the image.
I am always amazed at how much difference adding some shading can make in an image. Suddenly the tree has some dimension and looses that flat feeling!
If you know how I like to make art you might have guessed what happened next. Yes. Doodling, Zentangles, whatever you want to call it…lots of tiny detailed patterns!
After the patterns were all added then came the color! I’ve clumped together the rest of the progression shots, you can click on them to enlarge the images and scroll through at your leisure.
Since this is the first one that I finished I took lots of progress shots with my camera. When I share the other two finished pieces there is not near as much to see!
Here’s the third piece of artwork created from a section of an old metal filing cabinet, titled “Carefree” –
“Carefree” mixed media (metal, copper & paint) 22×48″ SOLD
Unlike the pieces I’ve shown previously, the piece of metal wasn’t cut apart but instead I used the plasma cutter to etch & cut the design in the metal, cutting openings within the design. Here’s an image of the metal after cutting and sanding, before anything else was done to it.
The next step was to paint the entire piece black, using spray paint.
From there it was time to start adding in all the details. I spent a lot of time sprawled out on the floor of my studio with paint pens adding each little mark! I love creating tree art, no matter what the media, so what some might see as a long, tedious task I enjoyed each moment of.
Once all the details were finished I mounted the piece on a large wood panel (also painted black) with pieces of copper sandwiched between the metal and the wood. I am happy to report that this piece has found a wonderful home and I had the honor of being invited there to see where it had been placed. I couldn’t have been more pleased to see how it seemed like it was just made for it’s location. The light from nearby windows made it dance and change as the sun moved through the sky and the room lighting highlighted it perfectly as well. As an artist you can’t ask for more than that!
Another new piece of art today…or at least MY version of it. If you recall I had posted the line drawing of this image on the blog and Facebook page giving people permission to download it and create their own art. It’s been so much fun seeing and hearing what people wanted to do with it! I’ll post some of the images in the future. It’s still available to download if you get inspired!
Here are some of the progress images of my version of the piece:
Finished detail drawings
Close-up image to show the shading that was added
Entire piece with shading added
After the drawing process I painted the piece with watercolors and added highlights with ink. This shows the details, shine & surface of the finished piece, you really need to see it in person to appreciate it!
It’s true, everyone LOVES something free! And, since I’m just nice like that, I happen to have one for you today! You are welcome to download this line drawing to use for coloring, painting, zentangles, digital artwork, collage, whatever strikes your fancy. Of course there IS a catch…
“Spiral Tree” – how will you get creative with it? Click image for full size downloadable file!
The only thing I ask is that once you are finished having fun with it, please take a moment to snap a picture of your creation and post it on my Facebook Page so I can see it. I’m excited to see what everyone ends up doing with it!
This piece has been “in progress” for a few months. I’m excited to finally share it with you!
“Fruition” Mixed Media Collage on Wood Panels, 36 x 20″ $795 (c) Lynne Medsker
When I got the idea it took a bit of mulling around on exactly how I’d make it and then once underway it was a bit time consuming. The things we do for art! The first step was to create large pages of mandala-inspired art that would be painted and then torn apart.
Work in progress, Fruition (c) Lynne Medsker
I will admit to some mixed emotions about creating something just to tear it into pieces! Art from last year? Wouldn’t have slown me down a bit! While that was in stages of progress I designed the background from old pages of sheet music, watercolor paint and layer of thin paper to lay out a rough shape.
Work in progress, Fruition (c) Lynne MedskerWork in progress, Fruition (c) Lynne Medsker
Then it was time to rip, tear and arrange the pieces! In addition to the mandala art that was used I also cut circles from some “not so successful” printmaking projects and added them for color and texture.
Work in progress, Fruition (c) Lynne Medsker
It seemed like a great idea but I ended up going a bit overboard. Ack! Color overload. And not very “tree like” either!
Work in progress, Fruition (c) Lynne Medsker
The first thing I did once it got to this stage was to paint a thin layer of irridesent white over the background to tone it down a bit (shown above after the background was painted). Then it sat for a while. And then it sat a bit longer. I wasn’t sure where to go with it at this point…I knew what I wanted, but that was about all. One day when I had a friend over to the studio we talked about it and bounced ideas back & forth and before she’d even left I was working away!
I have a fabulous stash of different kinds of paper…okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a paper-aholic! I love paper, thin, thick, solid colors, pattern, textures, flat…it doesn’t matter. So I dug into that and found the perfect piece. A nice brown tree-ish color, very loosely woven with gaps and thin spots for the design underneath to peek through while it gave the piece the unity that I’d been looking for. Happiness!! The next steps were to add highlights, shadows and outlines for definition.
Work in progress, Fruition (c) Lynne Medsker
The finishing touches from this point didn’t take long at all, a little charcoal, a bit of acrylic ink and it was done. 🙂 I’ve got a few other pieces that are in progress right now but I’m also shifting focus to holiday projects and gifts so they are moving slow too. Lucky for you I’ve got a backlog of art that I haven’t written about yet. 🙂
A Randomly Creative Blog 