Down the Rabbit Hole

I think we've all been down some rabbit holes lately, some more scary or deceptive than others. But this particular journey is more of the artistic variety, playing with paints and releasing that inner child. I've done a whole series in this style but before I post them I've decided to show the process just in case anyone had the urge to get colourful and make a happy mess.

And here we go. A square piece of watercolour paper measuring 6" x 6". These are Kilaminjaro paper tiles that come in a pack from Cheap Joe's Art Stuff. They are very sturdy and can handle lots of paint, brushing, scraping, etc. I start by wetting the paper slightly then brushing on some Payne's Grey, plus a mixture of turquoise and yellow in a very random fashion. Making the ol' substrata.

Next I used a stencil of a flower from Stencil Girl. I don't always use stencils but sometimes they are great for a quick start. Eventually it will lose its' 'stencilness' within the artwork.

Now I'm going to start breaking up the background a bit more. This piece will be the exact opposite of monochromatic. I've also started messing with that flower shape using free, loose brushstrokes of bright yellow.

Now to begin embellishing with random repeating shapes. We're about to veer into Impressionism with a dash of Pointillism, followed by full on Fauvism.  I've added that pink but will later subdue it because, damn, it's Pepto Bismol pink.

O.K. here come the dots. Plus I'm adding paint strokes to those petals to lose their stencil look. That pink has been knocked back a bit and the yellow has been toned down. At this point many people would think I should stop there. Maybe I should have, but I didn't. Sometimes less is more, and sometimes more is more. Let's go full out. This is not Minimalism by any means.

And here's the finished painting (I guess). I doodled a lot with a white pen, added some paint spatters. (Yes, even Jackson Pollock gets a nod) and then..... some of you may question the addition of that blue circular squiggle cutting right through the flower. Well, that was to keep the composition from being too boring and to keep the flower from being too static. I could have made fifty other choices but this is what I did. It's all spontaneous and intuitive and that's what makes it fun. I don't know where each rabbit hole is taking me.

 This was just a demo piece. Here are the others in the Rabbit Hole series that are already complete. Each has a scrap of a handwritten letter on it, penned by a friend in England who was commenting on the effects of Covid-19 over there. Her handwriting is very small, neat cursive and I tried to insert that bit of collage in each painting to add to the dreamlike (possibly hallucinogenic) effect. There are four paintings that are spoken for. The rest I'll probably put on Etsy.

The Tale of Clive the Lonely Llama (or what I did during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic)

Who knew that when 2020 started that I would find myself creating a story in pictures about a llama? I think we have all found ourselves surprised this year (also horrified, scared, anxious, uncertain, and yet brave, inspired, and compassionate, and amazed that we, as a planet, are suddenly aware of our global community all in this together. Life. Go figure)

But back in the distant days of February I was working on some small 5" x 7" abstract paintings, as exercises for possible larger versions. Sort of like this:

One of them was looking rather bland and going nowhere after I put some tiny rectangles of colour across the top. So, on a whim I painted a green rectangle and it became an odd little house, which needed a stone wall, which suddenly needed a llama. A llama specifically named Clive (perhaps his owner was an Anglophile, or had a long ago love affair with a British gent of the same name). It was just a one off amusement. But Clive was alone in his landscape.

                                             I couldn't just leave him there so: Hello!

And so a story begins. Paloma and Gustavo want to take Clive on an adventure.

Night falls and it's time for a rest but Clive isn't sleepy yet and the world is big. It's a long way but where are they going? (At this point even I didn't know. I just let them lead me on).

Up in the mountains a village comes into view.

  

They are being watched.

Clive tries out the local produce.

The three friends make it to the top of the world.

Fernando and Esther watch them depart back down the mountain.

Another night camping out. Look who came along.

Back over the bridge. Still just as high. This time they are watched by Monty (Montague III)

Almost home. Atahualpa's rock nap has been disturbed by all the foot traffic.

And finally, there are a few surprises in store all around. Here comes Senora Paola with Brigitte.

(but wait, we have seen Brigitte before ;-))

The End

The full set.

And Clive's Facebook portrait.

I hope you have enjoyed this story.

Some fun research topics.

1) Peru and the Andes

2) Who is Atahualpa?

3) Monty Python and llamas

4) Fernando Lamas and Esther Williams 

5) Llamas in costumes

6) Abstract Expressionism

7) the books of Tomie de Paola

Now Where Was I?

Well, I meant to have already completed my blogs about our trip to England and Scotland (back in May/June) but life rudely interrupted and then suddenly summer was over. I hate leaving things unfinished (apart from dozens of art projects), so......
After our pleasant and bonny time in Edinburgh Glenn and I boarded the train for Durham to visit more family members.

Matt and Sapna have visited us in Lubbock, here seen in 2015, and so it was time to come to them.

Durham is a lovely university town on the River Wear in northeast England, with its' own castle and cathedral, where Matt teaches philosophy. (Matt is the third son of my cousin, Gay Salmon, and half brother to Stephen and Chris Salmon). We had already visited with Stephen and family in Chester so now Chris and his family were driving in to visit us here. Having just been part of our lone U.S. family branch for so long it was nice to suddenly have an extended family of relatives to keep up with.

We stayed at a quaint little inn, the Kingslodge Inn, which was comfy and well maintained, with a nice pub and dining area.

The lovely and peaceful river:

A few views on walkabout:

We all met up to visit the outdoor museum village of Beamish, which recreates past times in England, from the bucolic views of farms to a 1930's street scene fit for a BBC production.

Here are Izzy, Holly, Nicola, Chris, and Matt as we prepare for our tour.

And here's Sapna with little Priya.

Lots of walking and bus riding to get around.

 Of course we all needed to sample some massive helpings of fish and chips.

Glenn, Matt, and I had a walk through Durham Cathedral (built 1093-1133, and the shrine of St. Cuthbert), actually one of my favorites in terms of feeling light, open, and welcoming. I especially loved the geometric designs on the columns.

All in all a lovely visit.

And Matt knows where to find the best scones.