Dancer I |
Dancer II |
Painting process posts by Ellen McCormick Martens
Dancer I |
Dancer II |
These two paintings have taken a lot longer than I expected them to! They are the first couple of a large series of paintings that start with the ancient Irish alphabet, known as the Ogham Tree Alphabet. I don't know the trees by their UK names or sometimes even by the species of tree, so I use the North American equivalent to start the underlying drawing/painting. The Ogham letter is incorporated somewhere in the design. These two are Alder / Fearn and Willow / Saille. The paintings are acrylic and collage on canvas, 30x30.
Alder / Fearn |
Willow / Saille |
This series is about our individual viewpoints, symbolized by small circles; there are sixteen circular or circle-related collage areas in each painting, in a grid format; each one is unique. Surrounding them are very loosely painted soft grey-green brush strokes, lots of line work, and some black and white marks to set off the colors. Doors of Perception I - IV, 20x20", acrylic and collage on cradled wood panels, unframed.
Doors of Perception I |
Doors of Perception II |
Doors of Perception III |
Doors of Perception IV |
I loved these paintings but felt they were not quite what I wanted. I glazed them over, but then they were too dark. Now I am painting the patterns in the collage pieces and increasing the contrast, as well as making them lively and fun. Bayshore I has some distance to go; right now it is a bit chaotic, though I like many parts of it. It needs a unifying something or other. Making art is always an experiment.
Bayshore I (in process) |
Bayshore II (finished) |
Summer Solstice I and II were created to celebrate the longest day of the year, and the day when the sun appears to stand still, then change direction, moving south after having moved northward for 3 months. This day is the beginning of summer, though the days will already be getting shorter! Summer is a time of play in the Northern Hemisphere, when families visit the beach, play outdoors, eat and drink cold treats, and spend time goofing off. The colors of these pieces reflect that outlook and time of year.
The paintings are done on white mixed media paper, 9x7", and the image area is 7x5". Due to the conditions of the photo, Summer Solstice I seems to have beige paper. It is actually nice and white. These are available through my website for $50 per painting, or $85 (USD) if you purchase both at the same time. Visit my website
I was just fooling around with paint and collage today on a 9x12" mixed media pad. I did not like the way the composition turned out, but then I remembered long ago making postcards from 8x12" paper, so I cut it up and I really like the resulting postcards (well, 6x4" paintings). I photographed them on white background to highlight the colors. They could also be matted in white.
Warming up in the studio today. I have been so focused on building my new website that I had almost no time or energy to play in the studio. PLAY DAY! Remember to visit my website, ellecoyoteart.squarespace.com, and subscribe! I will be sending occasional studio notes.
I had to rework this painting because some paint dripped on the face of it while I was painting the sides. I did not want to do anything to it, for fear of wrecking it. As it is, I like the direction that it took while I was working into it. It is not finished, because my eye cannot escape the white shapes that are nearly in the middle, but if I add some more high-key elements it should work out. I have to let this layer dry first. Stay tuned!