Just for Fun

We've had a lot of rain this year, which means more FLOWERS! My favorite subject...and it's also the time of year for seed and bulb catalogs. I turn the pages and drool...usually don't buy any, but I do feel very inspired by the number and variety of flowers of all kinds.

My mom always had German iris, planted up next to the foundation of the house. Lots of different varieties, different colors and different scents. Irises always make me think of her. Last week I held a class on "mingling" watercolor -- that means letting the colors mix on the paper. I chose iris to do the demos:

    

Then I decided to use the demo paintings to do a "weave," where the paintings are cut into strips -- one vertically and the other horizontally -- then woven together.

I decided that I needed to strengthen the design,
as only by looking at it from a distance could
one tell it was a floral...so I added the collage
elements of buds and leaves.  Still not the strongest
design, but it was fun!

  If you want to try this method, choose two paintings of the same size and format, and find something else that will hold them together -- similar colors, subject, etc. The closer it's "zoomed in," the better. Paintings with too many distant details won't usually work well for this method.