What Have I Been Doing Lately?

Jul 03 2018

Yachats Downtown Banner Project

The past 2 years our little town of Yachats, OR has asked local artists to create banners for Hwy 101 – our main street downtown. Last year I painted the Haceta lighthouse. This year I decided to do something whimsical: a silly whale.

Painting on such heavy canvas was challenging but always a lot of fun. It is really fun to see it hanging on the light poles in town. I think there were about 30 artists contributing.

At the end of summer, the banners are auctioned off in a silent auction and funds raised will go to our local “commons” building for maintenance.

Jan 26 2018

Watching a Bob Blast!

I have had the opportunity to join many of Bob Burridge’s art workshops over the years, including one that took place Guatemala!

I read Bob’s “Blasts” (Artsy Fartsy News) and watch his YouTube videos from time to time. They are packed with great information and skills that one never wants to forget!

Take a look, you may want to subscribe too.

Dec 01 2017

Driftwood Project – Completed!

I’ve completed my 16″ x 20″ driftwood assemblage. My dilemma. How to frame? Do I want driftwood, a distressed frame or maybe some braided marine rope?

Oct 22 2017

Driftwood Project – Update

22 October 2017 –
It’s taking a lot of time, but little by little I am adding pieces. It changes constantly since what I find is…well, what I have to use.

My concern when looking at this work is that it is too busy. It’s my first try at something like this, so I am allowed mistakes. It’s good to take the time to experiment.

Oct 18 2017

Driftwood Project

We moved to the Oregon coast last year (Dec. 2016). Since then I have seen a lot of driftwood artistry AND a lot of driftwood. While looking on Pinterest I found an image that inspired me so I am working on a driftwood “painting.”

It is taking quite a lot of time. First hunting for small pieces of driftwood – which is more difficult than I had thought it would be. Most pieces are too large. Originally, I wanted to have each piece original to its size as I found it, but I had to start cutting off some of the pieces because it was just too hard to find the exact size. I also decided to use wine bottle corks for additional interest.

To make sure there are no little critters living in the driftwood, I soaked each piece in water with bleach added for a few days. I hope this was a long enough time since what I had read said to soak and drain a few times.

I decided to glue the pieces onto use a 16″ x 24″ canvas. I first lay out a few driftwood pieces, then glue when I am happy. I only glue a few pieces at a time.

I will be posting a few more images as I work on it.

This is the image I saw on Pinterest that inspired my project: