Love Never Dies . . .

"love never dies"

mixed media on 20x24 canvas

I am in love with this painting!  I have to say that it is my personal favorite of anything I have done thus far.  I used a limited palette of just black and white with some red.  There are a couple of other undone paintings underneath.  I just didnt like what was happening so I gessoed over it and started new.  

Here is the first new layer done with just foam brushes . . . 

I thought I would have trouble with all the space but I am getting used to painting larger.  I used mostly foam brushes and a palette knife.  My favorite part was adding the white drizzles!  

The words always seem to come to me as I paint.  And these words fit the piece perfectly.  Last night Lou hung it up on the wall in our living room.  It will be making its way to my etsy shop soon.  

I am sharing this piece over at Paint Party Friday.  Its always a great time over there!  

I am already planning another black and white piece similar to this except I am thinking a burst of yellow hearts this time!  I do love some yellow with grey. 

Now its time for some ice cream!  lol  

(seriously though, when is it NOT time for ice cream??)

xo

Finding The Face . . .

I am discovering a style of painting that I think is becoming my own.  I really love being free with paint, picking a couple of colors, adding some white and using my hands to smear the paint around.  I also use a scraper sometimes.  Then I stand back and look to see who or what shows up.  I love it when I find a face.  

I am hoping you too can see the face I discovered in the top left side of this piece.  It almost looks like a mask and it is only half of a face.  I am sure there are other discoveries to be made!

So now I would like to ask you . . . 

What do you see??

Sharing today at Paint Party Friday :)

Do You See Her ??

Late last night I had the beginnings of a headache.  Disgruntled and tired I tried to meditate on my Chi Machine in an attempt to get rid of my headache.  I was sure it had to be from a tight neck.  And while the machine helped I found myself still not wanting to go to sleep.  

So I grabbed an 8x10 piece of birch wood I had laying around and some payne's gray paint.  I squirted some of the paint onto the wood and smeared it around with my hand and a paper towel.  I didn't put any gesso on the wood and forgot how the wood soaks up the paint.  I used to paint this way and loved it.  You never know what will show up.  I also love the look of the wood grain coming through.  

So very quickly I noticed a face presented itself!  It is a side profile of what looks to be a woman.  I took a black crayon and shaded around the image to bring it forward more.  

I was happy to be playing with paint again and I feel like my work on wood with these images that always seem to appear feels the most like "me".

Do you see her too??

Crimson And Raw Umber Palette I Wasn't So Sure Of . . .

untitled

12x12 mixed media on canvas

available on etsy

I wish I had taken photos of this piece in progress.  Sometimes when I get in the zone I forget to grab my camera.  Oh well.  The finished piece will just have to do this time!  These are two colors that I would never had thought to try together.  This color palette is for sure out of my current comfort zone.  But I pushed through and do like the results.  This painting has many layers and was done on a 12x12 wrapped canvas.  It is now in my etsy shop.  :)

I just love using the white out pens for scribbling.  If you have never tried them you should!  So much fun!  And I find that they are more bright white than the sharpie white paint pens.  

Last night I stayed up late writing poetry, sketching an angel, and working on another abstract piece.  I was inspired when I picked up Misty Mawn's book "Unfurling".  I hadn't read through it in a long time.  Once I grabbed it off my book shelf I fell right in.  I was up till after midnight but the house was quiet and it was just me and some art supplies!  I will share some of the that work soon!

Today I am sharing this piece over at Paint Party Friday.  Do stop by if you never been! 

Click HERE!

xo

Black And White With A Splash of Red

"in the city"

mixed media on watercolor paper

© cathy bueti

Something about black and white that I love.  Maybe its the drama, or maybe its because it goes with everything.  I have done many pieces in black and white with altered photos so this time I decided to try a messy abstract piece with those colors. I completed this whole piece using my fingers instead of brushes.  And then lots of white out pen and black sharpie markers.  I like the splash of red too. 

I painted this last weekend just before I headed to the doctor for my emergency arm thingy.  And haven't painted all week.  I am feeling pretty crappy with this super antibiotic I am taking.  I am halfway through the 10 day cycle.  I will be glad when that is done.  The abscess is healing but my post traumatic stress continues.  I need more art.  I hate feeling so out of sorts.  I need to be kinder to myself. This too shall pass . . . 

Sharing this today at Paint Party Friday. 

Wishing you all a nice weekend  xo

My First Journal Page

As you all know its been a rough few weeks for me but I am glad to be getting back to some art. I am hoping it will help heal me or at the very least distract me from myself as I grieve. I have never done an art journal mostly because I don't like painting on paper when it curls up from the wet media. I know, I am a perfectionist that way. lol I had one laying around for about a year and gave it a whirl. The pages were really thin so I glued some of them together before I added gesso.

I used my caran d'ache watersoluble crayons, stamps, black gesso, and white gesso to make the mishmash you see on this page. I was letting myself be messy which I hardly ever do but it felt good to just spill out all the stuff in my head on this page. And I actually like it! lol

I am sharing this today over at Paint Party Friday. It feels good to be back sharing some new art. Hop on over there and check out all the lovelies!

Click HERE

xo

Trying To Paint My Way Out Of A Bad Week . . .

mixed media on 9x12 watercolor paper

So it has been a rough week for me. An emotional rollercoaster of sorts. It began on Saturday with my half sister's high school graduation which I cried through over my dad not living to see the day, and then Monday night my mom called with some bad news about a cousin of mine that hit way too close to home for me. Then the tears started again. Today I feel like I am finally starting to pull myself up out of the muck of it all.

Late last night I went into the studio grabbed some paint and a piece of watercolor paper and started smearing paint around with a paper towel no less. Then I added some stamping. Then I added white paint with a brayer. I grabbed my distress ink and started smearing that around the edges. And at the end I used my crayons for some shading. The words that popped up for me I quickly wrote on the paper. Kinda appropriate for the week I had. Somehow your soul just knows what to bring out of you.

It felt good to create something even if it was messy. I will be trying to link up to Paint Party Friday for the first time this week. Trying to stay positive and thats a pretty nice place to be from what I have seen! :)

Tomorrow night Lou and I are going to see Def Leppard in concert. Our 4th time! Their special guest is Heart. It is sure to be an amazing show. I am looking forward to it. It will be a great way to end a stressful week!

Wishing you all a lovely holiday weeked!

xo

Altered Angel . . . Using Photos of My Art

"Altered Angel"

mixed media on 6x8 inch canvas board

Its rainy here today so I have been in my studio sanding photos and painting. Some of you may remember seeing this photo in its original state. . . .as thepainting "Angel in the Shadows" Click Here to see the original painting. I had been thinking about using it for one of my altered black and white pieces. I digitally altered the image to black and white, cut it out, and began scratching it up with sandpaper. I used distress ink on the edges. Then I grabbed my water soluble black crayon to do some shading and outlining of the angel image.

I glued the photo to the gessoed board and cut up another piece of the image to add at the top. I used white gesso on a palette knife to scrape onto the background. I have a new white gel pen that I added the details with around the edges.

I have a photo of another one of my glazed paintings that is waiting in the wings to be cut up and altered! I think that will be next!

Control . . . Getting Messy With Paint

"Control"

acrylics on 8x10 art board

Its strange to me the title that came to mind for this piece. It feels very out of control to me. I painted this late last night which I don't normally do. But hubby fell asleep early and I was restless. So I went into my studio. I grabbed some alizarin crimson, payne's gray, a brush, some paper towels and started smearing then wiping. I had no idea or plan for what I was doing. When I saw what looked like water on the bottom start to come out I worked on bringing that out. I used white gesso instead of white paint. For some reason I really like the chalkiness of the gesso.

The butterfly stamps were an after thought but I like how they look against the darkness of this piece. It felt good to not pay attention to the end result but get caught up in the process which doesn't happen too often for me. With all the anxiety I had at the beginning of this week I feel like maybe I worked some of it out!

Its cool how you never know what you will see . . . I see a little white angel in the top left just above the "L" in Control! Do you see it too?

In The Cove . . . New Abstract

"In The Cove"

acrylic glazes on 5x5" birch wood

These colors inspired me to think of the ocean. I don't normally go for colors this bold but thought I would give it a try to see what they looked like glazed on the wood. I used magenta and phalto blue (green shade) and I love them together! I also added some water soluble crayons in areas for shading. I mixed in some titanium white to lighten things up and to make waves on the left side.

In this one I found an image on the right that to me looks like a couple hugging while leaning against a rock wall. The title popped into my head as I was painting. It looks like a nice place to be. I really do enjoy creating these abstracts and feel a freedom I don't allow myself doing other types of painting.

For those of you celebrating Christmas I wish you a wonderful evening and a memorable day tomorrow spent with those you love!

Angel in the Forest . . . A New Abstract

Angel in the Forest

acrylic glazes on 8x12 birch wood

Hope everyone is having a good weekend! Thanks for the nice comments on my last post! I am so happy you are all enjoying my wood abstracts! I had some time today to work on another one.

This time as you can see I used different colors! Although I stayed with the burnt sienna I added sap green and naples yellow. I saw these colors in my head last night. And as I was glazing and blending in the bottom right I saw images appear. In this one I see what looks like a man holding up an angel with tiny wings!

What do you see?

Spirits in the Storm . . . A New Abstract

Spirits in the Storm

acrylic glazes on 16x12" birch wood

I wish this piece was on a smaller piece of wood so that I could have scanned it. The colors look a bit richer in person. It was hard to get a good shot with the camera. Lately I am liking the scanner for taking images of my art.

I feel like it is easier working on smaller pieces of wood. But maybe that is because I am intimidated with a lot of blank space! I am still not tiring of my favorite colors so here they are again.

I titled it spirits because I see some ethereal beings over on the right. They look like they are floating in the air back to back. The colors look stormy to me in this one. Like things are being stirred up around them. And I feel as if they are being pulled toward the light near the center.

Thanks for all the great comments on my giveaway post! I am excited to see so many of you have entered!

"Embrace" . . . Acrylic Glazes on Birch Wood

"Embrace"

acrylic glazes on 5x5" birch wood

prints available in my etsy shop

I am hoping that you can tell where I got the title from for this one! Feeling inspired by my last piece with its image that came out and spoke to me I longed to try another! So on another piece of birch I used the same colors but added titanium white this time and began layering. I was trying to not "look" for something and just be random about it. I stepped away for awhile and then went back to it. I felt that it just wasn't done. Then when I added the last layers of payne's gray over on the right I noticed that an image appeared. I saw a couple standing in an embrace.

Once I saw that I immediately connected to this piece. I am hoping you see what I see!

NYC . . . New Abstract Mixed Media

NYC

abstract mixed media on 8x10 canvas board

Sold

First a big thanks to everyone who commented on yesterday's post! I am constantly amazed at the encouraging and positive community I have found via this art blog. I am beyond excited to hear that you loved my first abstract mixed media!

So on to another one! I started this one last nite on a board that I messed up a couple of months ago attempting something abstract. I already had payne's gray and some tissue paper for texture. I thought it would make a good starting point for this piece. I had in my head that I wanted to use some of my NYC photos. Although I used the same color palette I felt like these pics needed a darker grungy feel. The water drips were a last thought. And I scratched in the letters through a glaze of paynes gray. As I finish my second one I wonder where I would be without acrylic glazing liquid!! Love this stuff! So important for blending!

When I first got started this morning with this piece I had a panic moment where I thought it was coming out all wrong. I thought it was awful. But instead of quitting I pushed forward and I am so glad I did!

PS . . . If you get a chance check out Kolleen's great blog Heart Wing Sisters. She has started a weekly series called "I am better for it" where you can share your personal story to inspire others and I decided to share mine. You can check it out HERE!

My First Abstract Mixed Media Painting!

Love Me

abstract mixed media on 6"x8" canvas board

available on etsy

I started this piece last nite. As you know I have been dabbling in abstract paintings. I have been thinking about incorporating my photography into some abstract pieces. So that is what I did here. I used one of my favorite images and printed it out on regular printer paper to collage on to the canvas board. I used payne's gray, burnt sienna, titan buff and zinc white in various shades. There is some gel medium for texure and to help incorporate the photo into the background. I added the stamping at the end as I felt that there was just something missing. I think it helped the composition.

I am pleased with how it came out! And I felt a bit looser during the process! There is hope I may start using my left brain more after all!

If you are interested in abstract mixed media I learned some of these techniques from a great book I just started reading. Its called Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed Media Artists by Ann Baldwin. I am loving it! You can check out Ann's website to find out more about the book and her artwork HERE

Complimentary Colors . . . Abstract

Acrylic on 9x12 canvas paper

You made me so happy with all of your lovely comments on yesterday's post!! I am glad you like her! Big thanks to all of you!

Today I thought I would share an abstract I did last week. As I said when I posted my last abstract I tend to shy away from any bold colors. The color wheel scares me! lol And what is most difficult for me is choosing colors. So abstract painting which I want to learn how to improve with is really tough.

I chose complimentary colors to practice with for this painting. I used shades of orange and a light turquoise that I mixed with titanium white and phalto blue (gs). I had an easier time with blending on this one adding some titan buff to lighten areas in the orange and added some water to the bottom left corner blotting it off. (I am loving this effect!) At the end I added the blue to bubble wrap putting it on for texture. I have to say that my eyes do not like these colors together although they do make each other stand out! And again, the colors look bolder in person.

PS . . . I am hosting a giveaway on my life after cancer blog In My Life. I am giving away a signed copy of my memoir Breastless in the City to one lucky winner! You can check out the details HERE!

Practicing More Abstract . . .

acrylic on 9x12 canvas paper

I haven't used canvas paper in a while but I ran out of boards. I have a harder time painting on the paper. Its just something about the way the brush moves on paper than I don't like. But this time I used acrylic glazing liquid and fluid acrylics which gave me more time to work with the paint.

I started with a layer of titan buff and then added shades of magenta. I wanted to darken some areas with black and added too much but in the end I liked the result anyway. I tried spraying water in spots and blotting it off as well as using bubble wrap for some texture. I could have done a few more layers but we all know how impatient I am!

I think the colors look better in person. Still tough to get a good picture of some of my work.

Hoping to move on to some complimentary colors but for now am liking the monochrome. That color wheel scares me!

Playing With Paint This Morning . . .

I had a 5x5 wrapped canvas calling to me. I thought of this heart last night. I wanted to try to do one in monochrome so that I could practice layering and blending the paint. I chose phalto blue (gs) again with only white and black.

I also sketched last night. New girl coming soon!

Abstract Turns Into A Flower . . .

Acrylic on 6x8 canvas board

This started out as another attempt at an abstract and somehow a flower came out! I was trying another monochrome piece this time using quinacridone magenta with only white and black to vary the shades. As I started blending the shades together I saw a flower in my head and decided to add it.

I am very uncomfortable painting this way with no reference except whatever is in my head. My mind is so crowded all the time there is no room for imagination sometimes! But I will keep working nicely with my left brain and hopefully find a more comfortable place in abstract mixed media.

This piece and my first attempt at abstract piece are inspired by a new class I am taking with Julie Prichard and Chris Cozen over at Land of the Lost Luggage. I love their abstract art and am learning alot so far about color in the Color Beyond the Basics class.

First Attempt At Abstract . . .

Acrylic on 6x8 canvas board

I have always loved abstract art. I love the shapes and blending of all the colors into seamless composition. I have wanted to try it myself since I began painting earlier this year. It is such a different process for me than painting faces or my landscapes. And amazingly it is the most difficult for me to do.

My analytical brain does not like to work this way! Without a reference point of color and shape I am frustrated with how hard it is for me to just let go and see what the painting does and says to me. But I don't want to give up. I want to learn how to paint this way and not shy away from it.

I think what it can teach me about myself is priceless. So I will continue to push through my fears and my perfectionism moving forward . . .