Gloria J Zucaro's "A Floral Bouquet for Frida"

I had fallen behind in posting so this is my second post today and the last project inspired by Friday Kahlo.  This project was led by Jane Lafazio. Jane did a wonderful drawing of flowers and then painted them with watercolor. Below is my version. I drew the flowers in ink, then used Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils to put the colors in my flowers. I then wet the pencil to make the effect of watercolor.  I did the background in yellows oranges and blues.  But when I wet it, it wasn't intense enough to make the flowers pop.  So I started added layers of inks in the same colors.  I also tried a stencil in a deep rose that was eventually mostly covered.  I added more pink to the blossoms and made the branch darker.  Then I splattered with white.  I like the final result.  I am really loving the ink because of the vibrant colors you can achieve.

And the final

"Frida and Zentangle Moebius"

Today I am finally posting my painting from January 16 with Frida Kahlo inspiration and project led by Andrea Gomoll.  I kept trying to get it to look like I wanted it but it took a couple days of just thinking about it to decide what to do.  So then I got behind on the next two projects since we have one a day for 4 or 5 days in a row.  Catch-up time!

In Andrea's example she painted different types of leaves in her background, then took a black and white photo of herself and adhered it to the page.  Next she painted more leaves and flowers on separate paper, then cut them out and glued them on with foam dots that raised them off the page in the area to mimic Frida's floral headdress.

I decided to do the painted on leaves in the background, then add cut-outs from Dover books of flowers and butterflies that my daughter Lucy had given to me.  Well, my leaf paintings were terrible! I had painted them over some collage I had added first and I had tried also to stamp on some leaves but the foam stamps wouldn't imprint on the rough collage surface.  I also stamped on some birds. What a mess! But I proceeded to add the floral headdress anyway.

I outlined the flowers with black ink, then white ink.  I added the butterflies and did the same.  Then I added white ink, then changed the background color, then added Silks paint + gel over the butterflies. Everything was too dark.  Finally, today I added gesso mixed with an underlying blue watercolor pencil and added two larger pink flowers to the hair piece.  Now I am pretty happy with it.

The Final! Posted to Creative Jumpstart 2016

I am also posting to "I am the Diva"-Laura Harms site.  This week is highlighting the children with Moebius Syndrome.  Her youngest son is one of only 5000 people in the whole world that has this condition. Every year at this time, we use the symbol for the organization and their color purple in our Zentangle.  I used a 7" x 5" box piece covered with gesso as my substrate.  Please visit The Diva's site to see all the imaginative ways to tangle this image.

Gloria J Zucaro's " Imitating Frida with Mario Robinson"

I will keep it short.  This week we have as our Creative Jumpstart 2016 inspiration the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.  Our first demo was with Mario Robinson who had done a wonderful self-portrait in watercolor. Mario showed us 3 or 4 watercolor techniques using both wet into dry, smooth washes, and wet into wet.  He also showed both wet into wet and wet into dry glazing layers for richer color.Below is my final project piece with Mario.  I did another self-portrait, but gave myself black hair like Frida.  I was amazed to see how much I look like my mother.  My mother is a brunette, where as I take after my father and was always a blonde(now with some help from the salon)!

"Imitation Frida"

My reference photo

One of Frida's Paintings used as reference

My second reference from Frida's paintings.

Oops!  I forgot to photograph right from the beginning, but you get the idea.

Almost done, but needs something?!

I decided to add some white ink as highlights.  The rest of the painting was done in Derwent Inktense Watercolor Pencils.

Enjoy the day!

Gloria

Gloria J Zucaro's "Jenn's Valentine"

12" x 12" square Original Oil on Canvas panel.

To Purchase

Click on image to enlarge

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  I am posting my painting today to Jennifer Mclean's challenge of the week  for The Artists Playroom, which is Valentine themed.  This will also be my early post to Paint Party Friday.  I may try to get my Diva challenge done, too and post to "I am the Diva".  I painted a still life today in what is a contemporary impressionistic style.  I had placed a stem with multiple flowers on it in my Belleek vase.  I had some Lindt Chocolate Truffles, so put them on the table.  I hope you enjoy my painting and your Valentine's day.

5"H x 8"W

Colored paper, Spray Ink, Glitter Paint, Gel Pen, Rhinestones

I am participating in Carolyn Dube's "Use Your Words" on-line workshop.  This was a funny

mess because I did not have a stencil and the Cricut die-cut machine I have does not have the silhouette feature to make stencils so I thought I would just spray over the letters I cut out. But I already had a black background with a white heart. The red did not show up on the black when I sprayed the ink. So then I tried gold glitter spray, well that was a little better, but blew the letters away! So I just used white gel pen around the misplaced letters and then added a little 3 piece strip of rhinestones to the heart. I wrote my journaling with the white gel pen, but it picked up the red ink and came out pink!  The reason I picked the word "pain" is because I have been going for physical therapy on my neck and shoulders for the last three weeks.  It is just arthritis, which is what happens when you get old!  LOL!

Gloria J Zucaro's "French Street Scene #003"

Tonight I am posting my oil painting from a photograph by Lee A. Brown.  Every month Lee posts a photograph for artists to paint from his pictures of his travels around the world.  This months' photo was taken in Roussillon, France.  I have rearranged the subject and changed some of the colors.  Be sure to go to Lees' site to see what other artists have done with the same photograph.

15"H x 30"W Oil on Canvas...SOLD

Click on image to enlarge

I am also saving this to Paint Party Friday.  I missed getting around to say "Hello" last week, so I hope to visit with other artists this week.

I am also posting to the I Am The Diva Site hosted by Laura Harms.  This weeks' Tangle is using a special string, Tangle Patterns String # 003 which looks like this...

And here is my finished tangle

3.5 Inches Square on Watercolor Paper

To see my Pastel Painting completed on Monday Go Here

Happy Paint Party Friday!

Gloria J Zucaro's "Taking A Break"

6"H x 6"W Original Oil on Raymar Panel

$75.00 Unframed  Shipping to your ZIP
To Purchase, email me at gloria@gloriajzucaro.com

The Daily Paintworks challenge this week is to use a reference picture to form your own group of people from all the subjects in the reference crowd scene.  I changed the scene by eliminating the umbrellas, and putting people from three different tables together.  I brought the windows and flower boxes down to the lower level of the building. 

These ladies needed to get off their feet after a day of sight seeing!  "Cheers!"  

See the reference photo below.

Tree Sculpture Series "Late Bloomer"

8"H x 10"W Original Oil on Board, 
SOLD

 I always think that bare trees look like sculptures.  This tree was in a lovely garden in Long Grove, IL.  Our group was doing Plein Air  and  I picked this tree as my subject matter because its' "body" was so beautiful.  Most everything else in the garden was in bloom, so I titled the painting "Late Bloomer".

Gloria J Zucaro's "Four Diamonds"

3.5"H x 3.5"W Original ink design on Zentangle Tile

Hand-colored with Sakura Metallic GellyRoll Pens. 

$3.00 includes mailing. Email Me

The is a Diva Challenge and in support  of  The Four Diamonds Fund.  "The Four Diamonds Fund was started by Charles and Irma Millard after their son, Christopher, lost his 3 year battle with cancer in 1972.  Symbolic of the traits Christopher felt were needed to defeat cancer, he wrote a story in which the knight Sir Millard overcomes obstacles to achieve the four diamonds of Courage, Wisdom, Honesty and Strength. "  This quote is from the Diva website.  As I envisioned my diamonds I also thought of hope- the Sunburst in my design,Flowers- growth and renewal,Connectors and Hearts-we are all connected by the ones we love.  Boomerang shapes for Karma we give and receive.

CONNECTOR-Jane Monk, CZT

DL-SUNRAY-Donna Hornsby, CZT

BUTTERCUP-Sandy Bartholomew,CZT

BOOMERANGS-Teresa Clerc, CZT

Gloria J Zucaro's Collage Class

This past weekend I took part in a collage workshop at The Mainstreet Art Centre in Lake Zurich, IL.  It was taught by Laura Lein-Svencner.  What a fun but intense workshop!  I never realized how labor intensive collage can be!  

We spent the whole first day preparing our papers with staining, stenciling,crinkling, removing color with a metal polishing compound,gessoing, and polymer, polymer, polymer!  All our twenty papers or so had to be polymered on both sides, and transfers had 3 layers of polymer on one side only. So all day it was a constant stream of artists brushing on the polymer or gesso, and carefully carrying their papers one at a time to the back room to let them dry on newspapers that were stacked everywhere on tables and on the floor!

The second day Laura did a complete demo for about an hour and a half.  Then she gave us some small squares of watercolor paper and some of her sample papers(three very small pieces, about 2" x 3", and a couple of transfers.  We were to do practice runs with these three and tear or cut the papers, arrange them and tack them down with a special little heating iron.  Then more polymer, then shading around areas on our pieces to make them more dimensional, adding some pastel if we wished, spray with fixative, polymer, add transfers, tack, moisten the back of the transfer to remove the paper, quickly polymer to avoid a bloom, add beads or what-not....I am exhausted!  And most of you will say "what in the world is she talking about!"

ANYWAY...below are my first efforts with collage.  The first 3 are our practice squares, about 4" square, the fourth and fifth are using our own papers and "Found" objects.  I my, case the flowers and the sunbather that are mixed in with my papers.  These collages are larger.  One is 6" square, the other is 6" x 4".