LET'S RAVE!

CAN YOU IMAGINE THESE GUYS OUT ON A DANCE FLOOR?  PICTURE IT.  THE DJ (another raven of course) BLARING THE MUSIC AND THESE CHARACTERS  STRUTTING THEIR STUFF.  I FEEL A PAINTING COMING ON!  :)

                                                        sold

"THE LAST THING THAT BLEW MY MIND WAS THE WIND."

"I KNOW IT'S 5 O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE!"

"WHADDA YA MEAN THERE'S SOMEONE BEHIND ME?"

These pieces are all 6 x 6
and can be found on my website at
www.charleenmartin.com

**************************

CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

At first I thought this bright blue guy was a Sun dog (mock sun/parhelion) but upon looking it up, a Sun dog is normally on the same level as the sun.   So . . . I can't answer your questions about what it actually is, but I thought it very interesting and so I am sharing it.  If you have any thoughts, please let me know.

And now, a real dog . . .

This is Gus, and when Gus isn't busy sunbathing, he is usually running in circles chasing baby geckos.  He hasn't learned yet that they are just way too fast for him.

After going in circles chasing a gecko around that tree stump, (that gecko had to be toying with him!) he's pensively waiting for the gecko to make another appearance.  'Determined.'

Have a great week . . .

Charleen

AND QUOTH THE RAVEN ..

...  "I'M WATCHING!!"

'EVER WATCHFUL'

6 x 6" Acrylic over an Acrylic Pour

For more information on this Piece
Please visit my Website at www.charleenmartin.com

"And the Crow once called the Raven black."

~ george r. r. martin

***************

CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

Sunrise over Ajo

I love that little streak of white trying to fight its way through all that color!

Charleen

30 IN 30 ... ONCE AGAIN

ANOTHER 30 IN 30 CHALLENGE WAS HELD AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER . . .

I DECIDED AT THE LAST MINUTE TO PARTICIPATE AND ACTUALLY GOT ABOUT 25 PAINTINGS DONE.  ALL SMALL, 4 x 4" to 6 x 6".  ALL OF THESE, EXCEPT ONE, ARE ORIGINAL ACRYLIC POURS WITH AN ACRYLIC  PAINTING ADDED.  YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL WHICH ONE (bottom row, center left) IS NOT A POUR.  THE CHALLENGE TO MYSELF WAS TO SEE HOW I COULD USE A  POUR AS THE BACKGROUND FOR ANOTHER PAINTING.  STARTING AT THE TOP AND GOING CLOCKWISE ARE THE TITLES OF THE PAINTINGS.  IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF THESE PIECES JUST CLICK ON THE TITLE:

1.    CONTEMPLATING

2.    THE GARDEN GNOME  (that's an actual name of a poppy!)

3.    AND THE SEA TAUNTED THE BEAR TO COME OUT AND PLAY
                                  (this is the original pour without any additional painting. 
                                                               How could it not be this title?!!  :)

4.    LORD GREENWINGS

5.    FLIGHT PATTERNS IN BLUE

6.    DRESSED FOR THE WEATHER

7.    THE FAMILY TREE: "DO YOU THINK SHE'S JUST PLAYING COY?"

8.    FIORI ROSSI

9.    DANCING QUEENS

10.  BALANCE AND SYMMETRY

11.   PERSEVERANCE (center)

"AS YOU CAN SEE, I HAVE ENOUGH OF MY OWN
PROBLEMS AT THE MOMENT ..."

This one is actually 2 pours.  A 5 x 5" pour with another 4 x 4" pour adhered to the top, and then the chicken painted on that.  

'IT'S A DOUZY!'

This one will be a challenge, as will be a few others that are waiting in the background.

********************************************

CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

                                                                                                                  ~ katie morford

This was taken recently by my granddaughter Kaitlyn.  The first thing I thought of when I saw this photo was 'the light at the end of the tunnel'.  With that I will share this quote with you . . .

"The light is not at the end of the tunnel.  The light is wherever you are.  If you keep thinking your resolve lies in the future then it will always be just out of reach."
                                                           ~ david ault

Charleen

www.charleenmartin.com

EXPERIMENTATION ...

A LITTLE MORE POURING . . .

So, these 5 Pieces were part of a Pouring experiment I did.  I used the same 6 colors for all 5 Pieces: Black, White, Red, Turquoise, Sand and Cream.  I used the colors for each 'Pour' in a different order.

For those of you that didn't see my Post from June 20th these are what are called a 'Dirty Pour'. Results just depend on the amount and order you pour the paint into the cup (All the paint goes into one cup, but not mixed, one color over another, and then that is applied to a canvas which is turned upside down, put over the top of the cup, and then the whole thing is flipped over.  You let it sit like that for a few minutes, gently remove the cup and let the paint spread over the canvas. : ) 

  The originals are all small 4 x 4" ~ 6 x 6".  

1.   6 x 6"

2.   4 x 4"

3.   4 x 4"

4.   4 x 4"

5.   6 x 6"

Interesting to see how they are all so different.  For the Artists out there, I used canvases that were supposed to be pre-gessoed (acrylic base for sealing the canvas) but, they really were poorly sealed.  Next time I will gesso again myself.   The paint would have flowed easier and the colors would be more intense.

Number 2 reminds me of an old fashioned Paisley print so I'm going to say that is my favorite.  :)

I was playing with these to see if I could come up with some fun backgrounds for some Bird paintings and/or Collages like this Collage below.  I had pre-sealed this canvas before the Pour and you can definitely see the difference in the intensity in the color.

'AND THE BLACKBIRDS CIRCLED THE MOON'

6 X 6"  Mixed Media Collage

For more information on this Please Click HERE

***********************************

CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . . 

I picked this photo because it looks like a 'Poured' Sky.  :)

(I wish I could give credit to the photographer but, sadly, I have no idea who it is.)  

WE ARE ALL . . .

JUST A SHADOW IN TIME.

SHADOW WALKER

6 x 8" Acrylic on wood panel  ~  SOLD

I did this piece a few weeks ago ... just in time for my November Newsletter.  Since it's almost time for my December Newsletter I'd better get back in the studio and get some more work done. :) 

*********************************************************

A CHANGE FROM CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

Since we went south the first few weeks of November, and I did more sightseeing than I did Artwork, I thought I would share more of the photos I took on some of our explorations.  We will be heading south again in a few weeks, this time for three months. 

If it was up to my husband, we would have just stayed south but I wasn't quite ready to give up spending the Holidays with family.  As our daughter said "let's just take baby steps on this whole idea of you going south!"  :)  Don't know that I'll get away with that next year though.  I've been hearing too many mumblings about how "we could be in 80 degrees but here I am having to plow snow in 10 degree weather!"   I can't say that I blame him, especially since I haven't been any help.  I chose this time to have 'double' foot surgery (maybe there was a little method to that madness!)  :)  It was something that needed to be done, and since I was going to be laid up because of one foot, why not get it all over with at once and just do both.  And, what better time of year with well over 3' of snow on the ground already and that blanket being added to as I type. Our real problem may be just getting out of Mullan when the time comes!

 

Death Valley was not at all what I expected.  There are so many varied landscapes all within this one National Park.  It can go from 280 feet below Sea Level Salt Flats to over 11,000 foot high mountains.  I had no idea about the mountains ... I thought it was all predominantly below sea level.  Fascinating to see.

Salt Flats to Mountains

This is one of the drives off the main highway through the Park.  It's called 'Artist Drive' because of the many beautiful colors in the rock in this area.  It's aptly named.  :)  Iron Salts provide the reds, pinks and yellows while Micas produce the green and magnesium makes the purple.  Unfortunately my photos don't do justice to the actual coloring.

You can actually see the difference in colors in this photo.

And for you oldies out there that remember the old ads on TV . . .

And yes, this is where the original '20 Mule Team Borax' came from  :)

Easily the most desolate area I've been to.  I would not want to be lost out here.  Well, I don't want to be lost anywhere . . . but especially here!

As in the last Blog, if there are any photos here that any of the Artists out there would like to use as reference photos, please feel free.

Since there was not a cloud in the sky the day we went to Death Valley I decided to share this cartoon my friend Indy sent to me.  Kind of emphasizes how we can all see life (and clouds) so differently.

Charleen

.