Still Happy

Laughing Buddha #2 was not as good a painting as the trial run, so I decided to put the two together, via weaving:

"Double Happiness"

Not sure I saved it, but it was an interesting exercise. Weaving together "failed" paintings has sometimes produced a sparkling surprise. Other times, it just doesn't work. Not always clear why... Here are some thumbnails of other weavings I've done through the years. Some of them have appeared in this blog.

"Espiritu" - from two unrelated subjects -
I chose because of colors and then cut completely freehand.

"Prickles and Lace" - started with two florals, both in pinks.

"Robledo Sunset" - two very loose sunset paintings -- on Yupo!

"Anasazi Textures" - I tried the nearly impossible, weaving AROUND the main subject.

"Legacy" - on Yupo; polyester webbing, spraying, additional cut
shapes on top, background shapes lifted out. 

"Windy Fun" - here, the weaving provided only the background.

Can't recall if this one ever had a name - I chose two paintings with no subject relationship,
just liked the dark background and round shapes.

So if you are looking for inspiration, how about looking through a stack of "failures." Choose two that have SOMETHING in common - it doesn't have to be subject. They could be related only by color or by shapes...

Double Happiness

I couldn't tell you today whether the Mah Jongg hand "Double Happiness" inspired this composition, or did I just chuckle in recognition when I read the name of the hand...At any rate, assembling a few of my favorite things -- a garden-sized laughing Buddha, a pot of white coral bells and a glass bluebird of happiness -- was double happiness.

This morning I  started swiping paint on the trial watercolor sketch, and it's not too bad...I think I'll transfer the drawing again to good watercolor paper and make another run at it. And, rather than pick apart the composition flaws here, I think I'll just enjoy the inspiration.

"Double Happiness Trial 1"

Golden Inspiration

Could there be anything more inspirational than flowers? Not for me. And the most "golden" of all might be yellow roses, my fave. Right after we moved into town, September of 2014, my friend Nancy and her husband Fred came for a visit. Nancy brought me a "yard warming" gift, a yellow rose bush!

That rose bush grew and prospered (unlike the dozens of others I have unintentionally killed over the years). Today, it is covered with blooms:

A couple of years ago I attempted a painting of my yellow roses, cut, in a pitcher given to me by another friend, Gail.  Here it is:

Not my best work, probably, but wow did I enjoy painting those roses! I used a lot of nickel azo yellow, quin coral and too much indanthrone blue. Maybe it's time to try that again...