Monday

"Life's Events" mixed media collage demo by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Life's Events", 16 x 16" collage and acrylic
$475 -on gallery wrap canvas, no frame needed -click here to purchase

This is my latest collage painting, and I thought I would share the steps this one went through on its journey.

In the first step, I gathered together relatively neutral hand painted and altered papers, which had been coated on both sides with polymer medium. The illustration board that I used as my support also had several coats of gloss medium on it. Then I randomly arranged the papers, aiming for repetition of line throughout. Then I ironed them down with a tack iron set on high with a silicone sheet (from labels) between the work and the iron.


I continued to add more papers to get a colour theme going and to break up some of the larger shapes. I was going for composition at this stage -a way to guide the eye through out the painting.


I kept turning the painting around to see how it best worked. I then applied some titan buff fluid acrylic paint with a foam roller around the exterior of the painting to keep the interest in the centre, rubbing some of it back while wet.


Lots of time thinking, turning and painting was spent between the last 2 steps! In the end I decided to cut into the design with a solid yellow background, forcing the collage bits to become one unified shape against the background. I added some balck and white deli paper that I had painted through a stencil to get some bold contrast, and painted over a lot of the paer from the initial layer. Adding the stars (taken from some of the original papers) seemed to create a story for the painting. I began to think of life's events as stars, some big, some small, some that stand out and change the path of your life, while others are just small moments in the overall plan of a life. I just love it when the work speaks to me and guides me to the finish. The joy of pure creativity!

I will be teaching a Mixed Media Collage workshop at Swintons Art Supply in Calgary April 11-13. Please click here for the details and to register.

Enjoy!
Share |

Thursday

"Menagerie" Encaustic Mixed Media painting by Sharon Lynn Williams




"Dancing In Time", 6 x 6" encaustic mixed media on gallery wrap canvas
not for sale

I have been playing around with combining collage and encaustic painting lately. It is interesting to see how the encaustic reacts to the elements, and it is fun to be able to not have to wait for things to dry before progressing the painting.

Just a reminder that the 10% coupon for purchases on my website comes to a close on Monday, March 31st. Just enter 'celebrateslw' when checking out. You can chose between a digital download of my plein air painting book, 1 of 2 watercolour instruction dvd's, or even an original piece of art to hang in your home. If there is a painting you would like but it is not in the shop, please contact me to see if it still available.

Enjoy!
Share |

Monday

Celebrate With Me! Discount Coupon by Sharon Lynn Williams

"On the Banks Of Fish Creek" 24 x 30" oil on canvas
SOLD


My beautiful daughter Rebecca gave me a wonderful gift this Christmas: a new online presence. I am very proud of the look of the new site, and the only thing I regret is how much time and effort it has cost her to bring all my online dreams to reality (instead of working on her PhD!). This beautiful piece of work is found here. To help me celebrate, I am offering a special discount for all items in the new shop at a 10% discount. Simply navigate to the 'Shop', select what you might like - from a digital download of my book (new), one of 2 watercolour DVD's, or even a painting, and when you go to check out, enter the coupon code celebrateslw in the coupon box. Please note: The coupon expires on March 31st, so don't delay! The discount will be calculated and you will be able to pay with a credit card using the extremely secure 'Stripe' platform. All very professional if I say so myself!  Please let me know what you think of the website, especially if you have any problems viewing or navigating it - it may still be a work in progress...

Enjoy!
Share |

Wednesday

Pen & Watercolour Sketches from Arizona & New Mexico by Sharon Lynn Williams



It has been over a month since I last posted, I am embarrassed to say! I have been very busy working on my NEW WEBSITE which is now live -check it out and let me know what you think. It has been a huge labour of love by my beautiful daughter who gave it to me for Christmas. I don't think either of us realized just how much time it would take us to get it up and rolling according to my vision for all that I wanted it to be.
Also, I was thrilled to go on a 9 day art viewing retreat to Arizona and New Mexico with some of my favourite art buddies. We visited a TON of art galleries and artist studios in Scottsdale, Santa Fe and Sedona. I came back with so much inspiration that I didn't know what to do with it all!
I made several pen and ink and watercolour quick sketches during our trip, which are presented in this post for your viewing pleasure.


 I haven't had much experience with cacti, and just had to capture their wonderful forms.


 I did this one from the car and painted it afterwards. We drove through some sleet on the way to Santa Fe.
I am really impressed with the building code in Santa Fe, that all homes etc must be done in the adobe style. It really adds to the wonderful ambiance of Santa Fe, which I love.

 We stayed in the wonderful (?) Wigwam Motel in Holbrook on Route 66 -a throwback to the 60's. There are a bunch of old cars in the parking lot, and I couldn't resist this one.

Our last stop was to visit Montezuma's Castle. It is incredible to me that those folks would climb the cliffs to farm and to get water, while everything is so easy in our lives today. Makes me appreciate all that I have!

Enjoy!
Share |