From Time To Time

From time to time I get the chance to do something other than work with words and photos and the ephemera of life.

I recently enrolled in an online painting class led by Lisa Congdon and Mati McDonough called Get Your Paint On.

We're in week two and I've been really inspired by the content of the class - it's less about learning "how to paint" and more about simply embarking on an exploration of painting.

There's all kinds of people making all kinds of different paintings in the class. I love seeing the variety of student work. What I've really loved is the daily content during the week from Mati and Lisa - including interviews with other painters that I've found really inspirational.

As you can see, what I made for week two is not just painting. It's got a whole bunch of things going on including paint, wax, gel medium, fabric, stitching, collage, and hand drawn lines.

Here's what I wrote about it on my Flickr page (the class shares work through Flickr):

11 inch x 14 inch | acrylic paint, gel medium, wax, fabric, papers, stitching

I started out this week intending to do something with large blocks of color. I really liked some of the things I saw on Jennifer Sanchez's website last week (she was the featured artist in class).

At certain points throughout the week this canvas contained large blocks of pure color. Over time it morphed - there is such a huge lesson for me in the waiting and the letting it happen. There were many times I was frustrated with the amount of layers I was ending up with and I have a certain level of impatience with waiting for paint to dry.

Today though I moved in a new direction, inspired somewhat by Donna Watson (found her featured in book called Masters Collage), back towards a more neutral overall tone (vs. the pure red and pure turquoise I had on certain days this past week).

I took my base painted layers and built a group of boxes on top. Within each box I did something, including stitching fabric directly onto the canvas.

I can't wait to see where this week's prompt will lead me. Week three is about using color - maybe it will spur me out of my muted, monochomatic beige and white phase?



SALE THROUGH TUES AM


Don't miss the Designer Digitals quarterly sale that runs through early tomorrow morning. 30% off everything in the store.

Here's one more product I released this past weekend:

Thick Alphabet + Numbers

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24 thoughts

  1. dawn says…
    02/14/2011

    Thank you for sharing this project with us Ali. I so wanted to take this class and thought it looked like fun. I love the look of yours and the colors you used. Love all the different things going on with it.
    I'm confused as to how you did this though. Did you use little canvas then glue them together and how did you sew on it? Sorry can't figure these two out.

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. dawn says…
      02/14/2011

      WOW Ali, thank you for explaining it. I had no idea how you were getting a needle thru all that. How very cool and how fun to use so many different supplies at once. Love it.

    2. Ali says…
      02/14/2011

      It's all on one 11x14 canvas.

      I did many (like 10) layers of paint in different colors along with gel medium (like mod-podge) and tissue paper. It was very textural.

      Next I added hot wax over top of a mask to make the small circles.

      Then I decided I wanted to create the rectangles so I drew lines on the canvas to make the boxes. Next I painted, cut, adhered, and hand-stitched the fabric right through the fabric pieces. I used the gel medium again to adhere the papers.

  2. Loving Life 36 says…
    02/14/2011

    I would like to say thank you for the inspiration that you have become in my life. It is wonderful to have someone to make you remember to that everyday is life and to cherish it. I am extremely interested in your Italy trip. I would love to go but since my husband is a farmer in the Midwest, October makes it completely impossible. Are you planning any other trips like this in the future? If not, is there a specific travel agent that you used? The trip is exactly what my husband and I have been looking for. Once again, thank you so much for your inspiration. I hope only one day to meet you in person.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      02/14/2011

      Hi - the trip is through ScrapMap - they are the agency in charge of organizing the event.

      I don't have any other international trips like this one planned at this time. It's likely I will have an international trip in 2012.

      Thank you for the kind comment :).

  3. Lisa W. says…
    02/14/2011

    Looks awesome...I am to with Dawn I can't quite figure what how you did it. Material and modge podged??? or????

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Cynthia says…
    02/14/2011

    I love the piece; it is as if you amplified what you are all about style wise in a really composed and yet free flowing way - the texture is gorgeous and it has quite a bit of colour; that little pop of red is so great with all the tones you have in the piece.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Abbeyviolet says…
    02/14/2011

    So cool. I really want to learn more about paint. Sadly didn't wok for me this monh. Glad it is going well!

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Debbie S. says…
    02/14/2011

    That is beautiful!

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Suz says…
    02/14/2011

    That class looks like a lot of fun. Glad you got time to "play."
    Happy Valentine's Day Ali!

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. cinback says…
    02/14/2011

    A Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Jane says…
    02/14/2011

    Ali hi,
    I bought the Remember This and That paper and elements collection and am loving them. The journaler page shows up a gorgeous rich brown on the pdf but is black when I print it. Is there any way to change the colour of the text I guess not but thought no harm to ask......

    I also got the thick alphabet and cannot figure out how to use them. I don't have photoshop only word. But I could have sworn I saw a tutorial on the site about how to change the colour of the text. I can insert the pictures into a word doc and resize which works but is slow so I think I might be missing a few tips or tricks here. (The text box overlay on the journalers was helpful.)

    I also love the grid piece above. (Digital paper??)

    Thanks
    Jane

    Reply 3 Replies
    1. Jane says…
      02/16/2011

      Ali hi,

      I tried this and could not get it to work. Now that I had some direction I was able to find the following in the Help.

      "When stored as files, bitmaps usually have the extension .bmp.), .jpg, .gif, or .png file, you need to edit its colors in an image editing program." I can recolour the whole image i.e. the whole I guess it is no longer possible to change colours in word but thanks for getting back to me anyway.

    2. Jane says…
      02/16/2011

      Ali hi,

      I tried this and could not get it to work. Now that I had some direction I was able to find the following in the Help.

      "When stored as files, bitmaps usually have the extension .bmp.), .jpg, .gif, or .png file, you need to edit its colors in an image editing program." I can recolour the whole image i.e. the whole square. I guess it is no longer possible to change colours in word but thanks for getting back to me anyway.

      I am enjoying the info on your site and going to sign up for a few things when my current course finishes.

      Regards
      Jane

    3. Ali says…
      02/14/2011

      Hi Jane - the journaler overlay is black (usually most overlays come as black in the packages so you can recolor them to suit your project). You can definitely change that in Word - here's a link to a written tutorial: http://aliedwards.com/2010/01/scrapbooking-with-your-computer-opening-recoloring-adding-to-a-photo-loading-brushes.html

      That tutorial will also show you how to change the color of the thick alphabet.

      And you are going about how I would do it in word - insert each individual letter and resize to how you want it.

  10. Linn says…
    02/14/2011

    This is inspiring me today, Ali. I went to ArtFest last spring and felt renewed to begin being an artist again after a few years of intense parenting. I held onto it for a month or two, then we became foster parents and are back in the thick of the early parenting years. This real ART that is simply a form of expression rather than of memory-keeping speaks to me right now. I feel like it's something I need to make room for in my life to bring balance. Thanks for the inspiration today.

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Heather H says…
    02/14/2011

    Thanks for sharing this with us, Ali! I think it's great to see that there are still new things to learn, new paths to explore, even for an artist as advanced as you are. :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. dpoet says…
    02/14/2011

    My passion for scrapbooking has evolved into mixed-media. But it was my love for your work and your "no rules" approach that led me there. It's like I needed someone's permission to let go a little. I know what you mean about all the layers, and the patience it takes, but there really is no other way to get this wonderful effect. This is a beautiful piece and since white is the most difficult "color" to work with...Bravo! to you. All of your work is so inspiring. Thanks.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      02/14/2011

      Thank you - really appreciate your comment :)

  13. Gabi says…
    02/14/2011

    This is such a beautiful piece of art, Ali!

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. I’m Working On | Ali Edwards says…
    02/17/2011

    [...] working on more paintings (and working on doing more painting vs. collage this week). I’m loving the rhythm of having [...]

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Tiffani says…
    02/18/2011

    I think the muted tones are lovely! Thanks for sharing this - it's inspiring!

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. paula s says…
    02/22/2011

    what a great project! thanks so much for sharing it - AND - a piece of your life!

    Reply 0 Replies
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    01/31/2012

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