Linking to Paint Party Friday.
This week  some collage and a cold wax & oil painting.
I started a 6 week class with Karen Sako who teaches mixed media collage.
The first week we were handed an envelope and told that it was our homework.

The collage below was done with the pieces in my envelope. It is approximately 7 x 5.  After I glued everything in place and outlined the sections with a Marks All Pencil, I didn't like the grungy look on the pretty colors. So I painted them all with Golden Soft Body Paints in their original colors from the envelope. I also added the red and aqua areas of paint to balance the colors of the papers. When it dried I added the dots and ruled lines in black and white.

The piece below was a ten minute piece. We were to tear a random page from a magazine then create a collage.   The "rush" shows in the execution of this piece!  The page I tore out had an article that showed several head shots and one of feet. I quickly, with no planning, glued them on! Then added the rather sloppy lines and dots.  Since the article is about Composition, it is ironic that I didn't pay any attention to that.  I really don't do well under time pressure!

Here is my Cold Wax and Oil painting.  I had a reference of a meadow. I am trying to be somewhat abstracted but also have a traditional focal point.  I think I succeeded with this one, I like it!

This has about 8 layers of paint that were scratched through and skimmed over so that some of the color would show underneath each layer.

Have a good week and thank you, Kristin and Eva.

Gloria

Lily Pond and "Abstract"

This week I finished the cold wax and oil painting that I photographed in two stages for last weeks post.  I added several areas of paint. I darkened the bottom in some areas and added lily pads, and shades of browns and yellow and blue in other areas.  I scratched through the layers to pull out weeds along three edges.  FINI!

My second painting was started over 4 sample pieces done in the workshop with Mark Russell.  I used up old wax and paint mixtures from my palette to add about 4 new layers to it.
I will let both dry completely before framing.

I am busy with Christmas decorating, shopping, cards and parties, like many of you, so I may not post for a couple of weeks.

 LILY POND

Step One

Steps 2-4

Recent Sunset from my back yard.

Colored lights, all gold & Silver ornaments--Tippy Top!!

Gold and Silver on dresser top

Enjoy a visit to Paint Party Friday hosted by Kristin and Eva and thanks for stopping by.  I would love to hear any comments or questions--Gloria

Learning about Mark Russells' technique for using Cold Wax.

Good Morning!
Last weekend was  the Cold Wax and Oil Paint workshop with Mark Russell at Mainstreet Art Center in Lake Zurich, IL.  
Mark did a demo that showed us how to mix the wax, the paint and a medium to thin or thicken, and his method of always having a horizon line as someplace for the viewers' eye to rest. Then we all went back to our individual tables to try it on our own as he walked around to see how we were doing and answered any questions. He did a demo each morning and afternoon. 
He was most generous with sharing some of his supplies.  He had a gallon of cold wax and some scrapers/shapers if we cared to purchase them, and the mediums.  he also sometimes drops in some sprinkles of  soft pastel that comes in a powder.  He puts a fairly large quantity of the wax onto his palette-maybe 1/4 cup in amount,  He also put out three different mediums including Galkyd, Gamblin Neomegilp. and Gamblin Solvent Free gel.  He uses Gamblin's Chromatic Black because it is the only transparent black oil paint.  One of the demos he did was to show the difference in using a transparent black with another color and white, and using an opaque black with another color and black.  The difference was amazing, there was a beautiful glow with the transparent black, and we all ordered our Gamblin Chromatic Black right then!  In Mark's paintings he layers from 12 to 20 colors of grayed-down paint and put the layers on very transparently.  He makes random marks in each layer and puts on paint and rubs it off in some spots to show the layer beneath.  Each layer may take a couple of days to dry, so he has a dozen pieces going at one time.
Since our workshop was only 2 days our pieces had about 3 layers.  We had to be careful not to get some muddy looks that you avoid by letting the layers dry.  I discovered my layers were not as transparent, and would take longer to dry to the touch-three layers times two days to dry each equals about a week to dry...

Here are some examples of my work. I forgot about horizons in some, and mine are more colorful and abstract than his work.  I will do more layers over some.

I am posting to Paint Party Friday hosted by Kristine and Eva and a great spot for seeing the work of many other artists from around the world.  Have a good week making art-Gloria 

Gloria J Zucaro's "Rocks and Mountains"

It has been a long time since I posted!  I have been taking an excellent online mentoring class with Kim Casebeer.  Kim is a superb Plein air landscape artist.  She gives the assignment on Tuesdays. They include two demonstrations on a video, a PDF of the lesson with a supplies list, her reference photos, her demos and her self-critique.  We do the lesson and email photos of our references if we have not used hers, and photos of our paintings in oil or pastel.  She gives us a critique on that following Thursday.
I have gotten behind for the last two weeks because of various exhibitions and shows I have been in or helped with.  I also am in process of remodeling, so have meetings with contractors, etc.  Tonight I am moving knicknacks and shelf contents out, so contractors will have room to "do their thing" at 8am tomorrow morning!
But I wanted to share what I have been working on lately.  The last lesson I started was "Rocks and Mountains".  I used my own reference from our trip to California last summer.  I think it came out pretty well, but I will enjoy hearing the critique when I turn it in.  To complete this lesson I still have to do my rock painting, which I am dreading!  So many surfaces, so many values!  So many colors!

This is on a piece of canvas taped to a backer board.  It looks a little wavy and the sky should be a little more evenly light blue.

I am linking this to Paint Party Friday, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.  Have a wonderful week and I am glad you stopped by.  Gloria

Gloria J Zucaro's "Some Finished , Some WIP"

My friend"Giggles" told me that the PPF link was not working, so I reinstalled it.  I hope now that you can find me!  Thanks so much for looking.

Except for putting my Permission To Play journal pages together with ribbon, I believe I am finished with the free workshop offered by Carolyn Dube. It was such fun and inspiring to see all the pages in other artists' books, too.  My pages are a little "sticky" so I am considering tips from other artists about sealing them for non-tacky finishes. Hairsprayclear gesso and wax???!

This week I also did some work on a portrait that I had previously drawn and based in with burnt sienna oil paint. It is from my class with Linda Vice at Mainstreet Art Centre in Lake Zurich, IL. 

Then I added some stained glass-like elements to my abstract "snow" painting.

I hope all of you who celebrated Thanksgiving had a lovely day and delicious food!

I am linking this belatedly to Paint Party Friday and my Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest pages.

https://society6.com/society?show=1

Gloria J Zucaro's "Starts"

Today I have two ZIA's for Laura's prompt of "only straight lines", in our tangles this week.  It was fun, like a limited palette in painting.  I will barely slip under the wire for posting them on her site.  It closes at noon on Saturdays.  Please enjoy the Diva's website and see a very creative group of tanglers!  I am also posting to Paint Party Friday, a huge amount of creative people there, also!

This first one I started in the center of the square, and as you can see, I didn't have it centered, or square!  But it was fun to watch it grow outward from there, even if it was very wonky!  Shown with its' reflection.

This second one is representing a quilt.  I drew it and put in all the stitches and cross-stitches and then ended up using colored Signo pens which obliterated many lines.  But I hope you get the idea!

My third project is the first block-in of an oil painting.  It is a landscape of a photo taken in Door County Wisconsin.  It actually has a cow in the foreground in the photo but I just wanted to do a landscape, so left the cow out.  I hope to finish this painting after my trip.  This is 8"x 10" on gallery wrapped 3/4 inch canvas.

Lastly I am sending a small birthday box to my sister-in-law.  It is a Crate & Barrel box that I painted with black acrylic and decorated with white acrylic.  I will put her card on the top for the address.

Have a good week!

Gloria

Gloria J Zucaro's "Mission San Xavier del Bac"

I finally finished my Mission Church that my friend Judy G. and I went to visit a couple of times when we went to Tuscan for plein air painting workshops. The Mission is being cleaned and repaired so this is not the usual front view of San Xavier del Bac. We walked around the sides and back and got some gorgeous sunlight hitting the Mission. In my painting you can see some of the tarps on the left side.

 

Oil on Canvas  

11' x 14"

Here is my original block-in below.  

I left some of the warm under-painting peeking through.

Last Sunday I my daughter Lucy and I attended another collage workshop given by Karen Sako at the Mainstreet Art Center in Lake Zurich, IL.  I wasn't really "feeling it" that day for some reason, so my efforts came out with very dark and very light areas instead of a nice mix of values.  This time I did three landscapes from the same reference(believe it or not!) and one bird on a 6" square board.

This one reminds me of Disney!

Lots of layers of paper and pastel and paint and ink!  

But just too darn dark!

I like this one the best.  I like the colors and the stamping and tangling.

These next drawings are from a live model session at the Elk Grove Library with the Artist Association of Elk Grove Village.  They were 1, 2, 5, and 20 minute poses.  I notice that I got darker and darker!

Thanks for looking.  I am sharing this with Paint Party Friday, although I am two days late!  Have a good week,         

                                                                     Gloria