Skip to main content

"It’s a Beautiful Day", Original Mixed Media Painting by Colorado Artist, Donna L. Martin

"It's a Beautiful Day"




This tree and little bird emerged as I was attempting to do some "intuitive" painting.  I took a class a few months ago from the fabulous artist, Tracy Verdugo, to learn how to do this style and technique of painting.  Boy, has is been challenging for me!  I truly, truly love it though ~ you never know where you are going when you start out or where you will finish.  Below are some pictures of the evolution of this piece.




To start out, I divided the canvas up into squares and chose some colors I wanted to use.  Some squares were dark, some lighter.  The images and marks I made are symbolic to me.  I had just returned from a trip to the ocean and had never seen water that beautiful.  It totally inspired me!




In this step, I added acrylic inks over the entire piece.  Cool colors on one side, warmer colors on the opposite side.  You can see how some of the marks still show through.



This is the tricky and most challenging part for me.  I am trying to see what forms or what images may appear on the canvas.  I turned it sideways and upside down to see if I could spot something.  Low and behold, a faint image of the wings appeared and it seemed to be the perfect shape for a bird.




In this next step, I painted out some of the parts of the painting that weren't necessary to the composition, but still left a hint of the layers underneath.  I just love this!

Low and behold, this is the completed piece.




This piece is fresh off the easel.  It has vibrant, beautiful hues of turquoise, blues, and greens with pinches of orange, pink, yellow, and white.  It measures 24 X 24 on a gallery wrapped canvas.  It is available for purchase.  

If you have questions, comments, or are interested in purchasing, please feel free to contact me at saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com.  You can also browse my website at donnamartinfineart.com and follow me on Facebook.







Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watercolor Landscape Painting, "Aspen Morning", by International Watercolor Artist, Donna L. Martin

This is an original watercolor landscape that I completed last year.  I just love using vibrant colors of purples and blues...makes me so happy! The original piece is sold, but prints are available in various sizes. View more of my work at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-donna-martin.html For questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at: saltlightwatercolors@yahoo.com

Flying Free and Finding My Voice

       Fly Free   I have always been one of those people who is naturally shy.  It may have a little to do with the way we were raised, we were always told that children "are to be seen and not heard".  Growing up in that culture, I've always had trouble expressing what I'm feeling or saying what I wanted to say.  Why would I have anything worth saying?  I always felt that when I finally was able to say something, was anyone really listening?    To add to this, I grew up feeling like I really didn't fit in anywhere, that I was usually the odd one out.  I was the one who got picked last for the team, didn't stand up for myself...I didn't know how, didn't have " permission ".  I couldn't really find my place, or my voice.    I attended Columbine High School for one semester before we moved to a wonderful little small Texas town.  When I first got there, the kids in ...

Have You Danced Lately?

"She Danced"        This is my latest mixed media piece.  The words just seemed perfect for this one.  I was inspired by an artist that teaches "tu tu" painting classes and I really wanted to try and make my own "dress" and add my own unique, personal touches and words.    Anyone who knows me, knows I struggle with words.  When I paint, I feel like I communicate what I can't say.  I get lost in another world and time slips away.    This is how I imagine it is for other artists as well.  I can imagine when dancing, time slips away and the dancer is transported into another world.  This canvas was huge, literally for me.  My brother has been encouraging me to do larger works.  So, because I love him so much and he always knows what's good for me, I took the leap.  This is my second attempt at a 36 X 36 X 1.5 canvas.  My first attempt felt so daunting and I felt so lost.  With t...