bodner015

Continuing with the oil pastels for the next few days I completed enough to go into a show.  When I had them all together I noted that all were relating to times in one's every day life when one takes  the time to think and reflect -whether deep or not. And so the series:  "Pensive Moments" Again, these are 5" x 7" oil pastel pieces with the lines burnt into the illustration board.

Mannie took out an earlier (try almost 20 years) art piece she had not framed.  There were some tears in the silk and so would have had to be redone.  So, Mannie cut out the poppies and repaired them.  She added them to a hand dyed silk background.  She found a round matte and a thin frame and all looked pretty good.  She is deciding what to do with the matte to enhance the image. Each o9f the poppies had to be cut away from its previous background and repaired. Extra beading was added. The poppy pieces were rearranged with the matte and frame.  Mannie put some material next to the poppies to see how it works with the frame and image.  We shall have to wait and see what the final product looks like.

Over the last whale I've worked each day on a new oil pastel painting.  I have amassed a few as I have taken time to put Mannie's work on the blog as well. Albeit my oil pastel works are only 5" by 7" pieces., they do present unique challenges. The pastels I am using have  a thick tip which makes getting into small areas a little difficult.  I may need to whittle a point on the pastel in order to get to the smaller spaces -or buy a set of Sennelier oil pastels that come with a point. I am having fun determining colour combinations that work together to create harmony and/or contrast.  I am limiting my blending to about 3 colours because to add any more seems to create a muddy appearance. And once two layers are on the oil pastel for a third layer either slips about  or grabs the layer beneath and puts pits in the work. Remember, too, I have not abandoned pyrography as I now burn the image lines into the paper to create the look you see here.

Over the last week I have been painting with the oil pastels onto 5 inch by 7 inch area on  illustration board with a medium roughness.  I try to limit the blending colours to no more than 3 -sometimes i go over areas in white.  I have done one a day. The immediacy of the blending directly on the surface is a challenge and so I have a trial board near by.  But once down, those colours stay and are the deuce to get out.  I burn the illustration board to get the lines I have always liked and give a different look to the pastel painting.

Mannie is getting ready for a number of artisan shows and sales.  She has been adding small ornaments to her works.  French dyed damask, beading, embroidery, punch needle, and more -her usual embellishments.

Just lately, I have been using oil pastels on bainbridge board and I am burning lines into the paper.  I can work quicker and the blending is interesting.  Oil pastels are unique in that you have to mix and blend directly on the paper -you can't do it on a palette and then put it onto the canvas.  And, once down, the pigment remains.  So, I'm working in this new medium because it is so immediate -a far cry from the meticulous burning and painting I have been doing.. I will get back to my wood burning and fluid paintings when I have more time to work.  I'm working through colour combinations and blendings with the pastels that I might like to use in the paintings.  I am intrigued by the new medium and am interested to see where this will all go.

Good Grief!! It's been quite a while. Last year the summer was spent getting the boathouse into the air while all the cribs and decking were done.  This Summer, from May until September, has been spent picking up on all the other things that needed to be done in connection with the boathouse -and then there was the project. Mannie and I have often spent 3 months on our island -without tv (we do watch videos and tapes) and without the internet.  So, no blog for a good portion of the summer. And, on top of that, where did the summer weather go?!  I also slashed open my hand with the base of rock I was tossing onto the shoreline (another issue to deal with). I required stitches and could do no work as I bound my thumb to my finger to stop the movements that were continuing to open the wound.  Needless to say, no art work was done and the paintings of the Angst Series has been put on hold until the winter. Mannie has been in many shows since getting back home -in fact, right now, we ar