Parts of Art

     I've been talking a lot about the importance of having a muted palette, meaning very little color.  But lately, I've wanted to add color to some of the paintings that I did over the last few years. So that's what I've been doing. I just added color to this piece. It was called The Clearing, and it was a very monotone palette. It was actually one of the favorite paintings at my shows. But you know, it just didn't sell. So I decided to take a breath, (a couple of breaths actually), and re-work this painting, add color, and actually change the path of light in the painting.        So what do you think now? I kind of like it! I like the new light coming through, and I like the blues that are in here now, that didn't used to be, and the light browns and yellows. And I like this little trunk, that gives you a place to sit when you're at the clearing of the woods. A limited edition print of the original Clearing is   available here.  ...

          I’ve always been a lover of paint and paint palettes. I vividly remember the excitement I felt opening that rectangular tin filled with round cakes of watercolor paint in elementary school. I was hooked! From that point on, I have wanted to explore and express within the inviting purity of paint.          In 1988 I had a beach side shop where I hand painted women's clothing. I was using acrylic paint in abundance. One morning I had cleaned my palette off, and had peeled a large colorful piece of variegated and textured acrylic paint from it.  Some friends of mine came into the shop (actually it was my minister and his wife). During our brief conversation, I showed them the peeled up paint and said, “This is too pretty to throw away, but I don’t know what to do with it.” The husband said, “Oh, you should cut it up and make it into jewelry!” We all laughed about it. It was like "Yeah right, I should try ...

 Suddenly it's Autumn! Here's what that means to me:  Filling up my illustrated journal with sketches and paintings from my gardens Getting new art supplies watching the leaves as they  dance and flutter to the ground and attempting to capture it in watercolor Starting a fire in the woodstove next to my watercolor table and setting my coffee on top and last but not least, offering workshops in my art studio for fall and winter. Click here for the calendar Mask up and come make art!

Drumroll please!! Now for the first time ever,  you are invited to our premiere Walker Art Dept Art studio Tour You will see both sides of our studio,  and get a sneak peek at what really  goes on in there! Come on in and see our studio, then enjoy  our shop

According to Bustanoby’s Color Manual, copyright 1939, which in my book is, hands down, no contest, THE authority of color:  "It is a deep blue. Compound of cobalt and alumina.  In admixture with white, cobalt Blue yields Sky Blue tints.   Cobalt itself is a tough, steel- gray metallic element similar to nickel, valued for the blue pigment it forms. A high percentage of the  world’s supply comes from a district near the town of Cobalt, in Ontario, Canada.” “ Dinky Bird” by Maxfield Parrish, 1904. Via   Wikimedia Commons  {{PD-US}}      Cobalt blue is sometimes called  Parrish blue  because artist Maxfield Parrish used it to create his distinct, intensely blue skyscapes.       Cobalt salts were first used to decorate ancient Chinese pottery with brilliant blue designs. Other ancient civilizations discovered the artistic potential of cobalt without knowing what metal they were using. One study don...

OF THE WOODS                                                                                 Ferns Mixed Media collage 20 x 32 framed $425 Woods Edge Mixed Media Collage 20 x 32 framed $425 Winter Woods Mixed Media Collage 20 x 32 Framed  $425                                                

    To the ancients, sage was connected with immortality, or at least longevity, and it was believed to increase mental capacity. The genus name is derived from the Latin word for salvation. The plant was at one time used to counteract snakebites. It was also sought after for drinking tea, even by the Chinese, who eagerly traded their own fine green tea for it at a ratio of 4 to 1.   The oils in sage have been said to have antiseptic, astringent and irritant properties, and have been used to dry perspiration, treat sore throats and mouth sores, and even lower blood sugar in diabetes.  So what do I like about it? The color, of course! Here’s the young sage in my herb garden back in June: And here it is now, at the end of August:    Now for a description of sage green from the classic color book: Bustonobys Color Manual:  "Grayish green of a dull character, resembling the undried narrow, wrinkled leaves of the sage plant, used as ...

     This neck piece was one I made several years ago, from a very thick and variegated section of an artist palette. The palette was not from the usual source (my husband) but was given to me by a friend who is a prolific painter. It must have  had 10 to 15 layers of dried acrylic paint on it! In fact, the top layer was so splattered and multicolored, I came to think of it as the Jackson Pollack palette.  Here are some of Pollack’s painting from his “drip” period:     Not that Pollack ever used a palette! He actually became best known for the large canvases tacked to the  floor of his barn studio,  on which he dripped paint straight out of the paint can.         But if he  DID  have  a palette, this is probably what it would have looked like! Here is the necklace in the design build phase at my work space:              I cut selecte...

  It was 2001 and I was participating in a juried art show in DelRay Beach, Florida. I had stepped away from my booth for a few minutes, and when I came back was surprised to see a woman in my booth. With her face about five inches from the displayed jewelry pieces,  she was closely inspecting them!  Undaunted, I greeted her and then started in on the usual explanation of my work. I peel the dried paint from the palette and transform it into jewelry. After a moment of listening, she said, “I can tell they’re made from paint, because I make paint.”             At first I wasn’t sure I had heard her correctly. Up to now, I had never met anyone who makes paint!  But then she introduced herself to me: she was Barbara Golden. Okay, Barbara Golden of Golden Paints?!?! OMG! I had a celebrity in my booth, at least a celebrity in my world! I mean, Golden Paints was only the biggest name in professional artist acrylics!  ...

                One day at an art show a man came rushing up to my booth. He had heard that I make jewelry pieces from the dried paint from artists palettes, and he just had to see it for himself.     "Oh my God, this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" He exclaimed, picking up one of the necklaces and inspecting it.  “Please tell me you have a patent on this?!”        Well no, I didn't have a patent on it, I explained. He gave me an incredulous look and said " Well that is the first thing you should do! I would hate for someone to steal your idea!” That’s when the dreaded internal dialogue began. You know the ones, those pesky inner voices that say  “What were you thinking, putting your idea out there for someone to steal? Are you that dumb? How can you be so naive? You better quit now before someone steals it from you.”       The next morning I was on the phone with a very ...

Know what inspires me in this autumnal season? Copper!  Here’s a recipe from Bustanoby’s Color Manual, copyright 1939 (no, its not edible): Copper: Neutral tint of red-orange, typical of this ductile, metallic element. Copper is used in the arts, in electrical manufacture and in alloys.  Color matched from actual copper articles:  16 parts Zinc White 8 parts Yellow Ochre 1 part Venetian Red         So there you have it; the recipe for copper paint. And if you’re like me, and feel compelled to pull that dried copper paint off its palette, you might procure pieces such as these.         This might be just an ordinary old paint pan with layers of dried creamy caramel and burnt sienna paint to some.  To me it is a mouth watering concoction of harmonious blends that make me wanna exile to the studio, fire up the wood stove and make jewelry.  And yes, this is where it starts....     ...