The Gathering Continues

My first 12 contributions to the 30 Day Creative Gathering

This has been such a full year for me that blogging has taken a back seat as I process so many changes. Mum went into care and it seems unlikely she will be back home. At year end I sold the largest sculpture in my portfolio and the future hinted at more. Then Covid 19 shifted my personal priorities. I set up an Etsy Mask shop to support the cause. My trip to celebrate passing into the third age was axed and then in July, my friend of 25 years died. I now know more about dying and paperwork around it than I ever wanted to. I’ve been on a steep learning curve and there is no rest ahead. 

The whole world and everyone I know has had a tough year and we are all trudging zombie like towards 2021. However, it seems like I’ve had to process more than most. I keep thinking about the movie Titanic and I feel like I’m standing on the stern peering down into the abyss. How about you?

Anyway, life goes on and my internet friend Sheila Delgado has been doing an admirable job hosting the twice yearly Creative Gathering on Facebook. Each participating artist and crafter is soldiering on, and I’m thoroughly enjoying each new work they post. There is a great feeling of camaraderie and support. What a solid, reliable set of worldwide friends I have. Thank God for the internet.

Above are the first 12 postings I have made to the Creative Gathering. We are allowed one piece a day and we each post in the daily album. It is so interesting to see the changes in rhythm, color and media as time goes on. I’m sure we are each influenced a little by the others.

One of my favorites is the work produced by choosing a magazine image and attempting to mix the main colors. I think these are art works in their own right.

Then there are the wonderful character faces of 

Take a look on Facebook - 30 Day Creative Gathering - Friend me and ask for an invite

And Etsy - My Mask Shop - https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SEA2YOU

COLLAGE of 30 Day Challenge

IMAGE GUESSING COMPETITION WINNERS BELOW...

Four people managed to find the way to my blog or FB Messaging and send me some guesses for the photo below. Of course if you made it to the blog the answer was in the title, but kudos for putting in the effort. Out of four people three made two guesses, so I have seven answers to choose between. There were two correct guesses and five very creative.

Laurelle Cidoncha and Christine Brooks guessed correctly, that it was the dregs of my morning coffee, so you get joint first prize.
Sheila Delgado with Marshmellow Moonglow and
Corinne Bekker with Tolkeins Moria Mountain, both get a prize for most creative.

So you all win! PM me your addresses and your gifts will be on their way.

DAY 30 of 30 LAKE MORNING

LAKE MORNING (final) by Sea Dean 11x9 inches Watercolour and Graphite

 This was painted on competition paper that I don't usually use. It has a creamy look but not as cream as the images show. I’ve tried to lighten it, but when I do I lose the true colours of the painting which are beautiful. The graphite is also hard to photograph, but it shows quite well in this closeup. I really like the effect.

Final day of the challenge. Stay tuned for the collage of my submissions tomorrow.

 30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 29 of 30 - HEAVENLY SKY

HEAVENLY SKY by Sea Dean 4 x 6 inch solid  wood block

I’ve painted the northern lights before and its not easy. This painting however, came together quickly. The northern lights are double layered with opaque paint underneath and iridescent paint on top. There are three iridescents, Pebeo iridescent blue black, iridescent purple, and Stevenson interference green. Because most of the painting has the iridescent/interference paints, you never see the same colours twice.

30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 28 of 30 - TWIN CIRCLE NEST final version

It was tough resisting the urge to ring the nest with leaves, but I managed to pull myself away. To be honest I can’t figure out which way around I should mount this. I think the two on the right are my favorites, but that may change. I find that usually when I have this difficulty I end up choosing the way up that it was painted. What do you think?

I would be quite happy to keep this one, but at least I can enjoy it before it sells. I will have to find a spot for it. I will be posting it for sale on Artfinder ASAP.

30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 27 of 30 - TWIN CIRCLE NEST

This 12 inch circular canvas board is slowly developing into a textured collage painting. I’m trying not to overwork the leaves or add too many, but I love them so much I probably will add many more. I’m also trying to resist adding another egg, what do you think?

The painting should be finished tomorrow, and then I have to add a mount and varnish, but there weren’t enough hours in the day today.

Lots of crackle in this one Sheila!

30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 26 of 30 - Prep for Nests

Today I spent some time doing prep for some nests. 

The top image is a circular canvas prepped with a crackle surface. Crackle is not easy, being a combination of the chosen surface, type of crackle, type of underpaint, type of overpaint, thickness of application, type of application (brush, roller, spray) thickness of application and just sheer luck. Each different combination produces a different result and there are thousands of possibilities. 

Once you know what you’re doing, you can make choices, but never totally control the outcome. I’m getting better at it and having the pressure of a challenge forced me to figure it out once and for all. I like the way this is going.

This is a cast metal tree I’m repurposing for a nest stand. I will have to make the nest about 3 or 4 inches to fit in the crook, but I think it will look great when done. I try not to repurpose cast and wrought metal because its heavy to ship, but this piece was too special to go to the landfill. PS thats the fireplace behind which I redesigned last summer, right on trend.

One of the other pieces I worked on is a chateau chic candle stand which I’m also repurposing for a nest stand. I’ve used three different colored but similar chalk paints and left some of the raw dark wood exposed on the inner section to enhance the amazing hand carving done by the previous artisan.  Its gonna be hard to let this one go.

30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 25 of 30 - SPRING GOLDFINCH

SPRING GOLDFINCH 8 x 10 inch 

Almost the final version. I see some datk patches in upper right to eliminate and he needs a whiter dot in his eye. I should get to that today and then he will be posted for sale on ARTFINDER

30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 24 of 30 - SPRING GOLDFINCH

Spring Goldfinch by Sea Dean 8 x 10 inch

Sorry about the quality of this image, it was late and dark when I finished and I couldn’t get the colours right. I will post a better one in the morning. I’ve been working on this on and off for a couple of years and it’s time for the little guy to fly away. Still have a few touch ups, but pretty close.

DAY 23 of 30 - HANGING NEST

The wrought iron metal sconce is painted grey and this clever bird has decided to use it as a safe place to raise her children. The nest is finger woven in copper wire over a steel armature. Natural jute cushions a raw wood egg. Another in my nest series available on Artfinder here.

HANGING NEST by Sea Dean

30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 22 of 30 - Moving Forward

I picked up a painting from my gallery yesterday that had never felt completely resolved, so I spent some time thinking about the colors I had chosen. Something isn’t quite right. I believe at the time I had just discovered Kings Blue and that appears to be the biggest offender. It is a very intense, almost blue equivalent of Cadmium. Twinning KB with grey/violet and ivory didn't work, although in theory it should.

At the same time I was working on GOLDEN CIRCLE again, because I had ordered some matching hand embroidered braid from India and it arrived. The braid is beautiful, the braid in the painting is not. Luckily I visited my local dollar store last week and found some braid that works much better. I spent some time laying it in place, but didnt come to a conclusion. My next decision is whether to tint the background very lightly before attaching the braid. Hence more color research.

While searching I found this great cheat sheet on color

• White: combines with everything, especially blue, red and black.
• Beige: combines with blue, brown, emerald, black, red, white.
• Gray: combines with fuchsia, red, violet, pink, blue. 
• Pink: combines with brown, white, mint green, olive, gray, turquoise, light blue. 
• Fuchsia (dark pink): combines with gray, yellow-brown, lime, mint green, brown.
• Red: combines with yellow, white, fulvous, green, blue, black.
• Tomato-red: combines with cyan, mint green, sand, creamy-white, gray.
• Cherry-red: combines with azure, gray, light-orange, sandy, pale-yellow, beige.
• Raspberry-red: combines with white, black, damask rose.
• Brown: combines with bright-cyan, cream, pink, fawn, green, beige.
• Light-brown: combines with pale-yellow, cream-white, blue, green, purple, red.
• Dark-brown: combines with lime-yellow, cyan, mint green, purple-pink, lime.
• Reddish-brown: combines with pink, dark-brown, blue, green, purple.
• Orange: combines with cyan, blue, lilac, violet, white, black.
• Light-orange: combines with gray, brown, olive.
• Dark-orange: combines with pale-yellow, olive, brown, cherry.
• Yellow: combines with blue, lilac, light-cyan, violet, gray, black.
• Lemon-yellow: combines with cherry-red, brown, blue, gray.
• Pale-yellow: combines with fuchsia, gray, brown, shades of red, yellowish brown, blue, purple.
• Golden yellow: combines with gray, brown, azure, red, black.
• Olive: combines with orange, light-brown, brown.
• Green: combines with golden-brown, orange, salad green, yellow, brown, gray, cream, black, creamy-white.
• Salad green: combines with brown, yellowish-brown, fawn, gray, dark-blue, red, gray.
• Turquoise: combines with fuchsia, cherry-red, yellow, brown, cream, dark-violet.
• Electric colors: combines with golden-yellow, brown, light brown, gray, or silver.
• Cyan: combines with red, gray, brown, orange, pink, white, yellow.
• Dark-blue: combines with light-lilac, cyan, yellowish-green, brown, gray, pale-yellow, orange, green, red, white.
• Lilac: combines with orange, pink, dark-violet, olive, gray, yellow, white.
• Dark-violet: combines with golden-brown, pale-yellow, gray, turquoise, mint green, light-orange.
• Black is a universal colour — it looks elegant in any combination, especially with orange, pink, salad green, white, red, mauvish, or yellow.

30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 21 of 30 - NESTING CIRCLE (final version)

NESTING CIRCLE (final) by Sea Dean 

WIP

As I thought yesterday, the slight triangulation of the nest lying on a fork in the tree really helped the composition. It gave the eye something to settle on and understand, taking it from absstract and fantasy to reality.

The particular green that I’ve added to the leaves, Grumbacher Thalo Yellow Green, also gives the painting more depth. It seems garish when you’re using it and you have to have the courage to let it dry and settle, but it was a great tip learned from an artist and friend I much admire, Daniel Dearborn.  I like the softer green in the first WIP, but the final version is much more me.

30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 20 of 30 - NESTING CIRCLE

NESTING CIRCLE by Sea Dean 12 inch diameter $125 (unmounted)

This was an experiment all the way. I had read somewhere that it was possible to mix acrylic paint with chalk paint, so I wanted to give it a go. I grabbed a round canvas board, just because it was easiest at hand. I added crackle and painted the edge so it could be hung without framing.

I will probably mount this on a hidden square birch cradle, but other options include gluing another identical canvas to the back, mounting in a needlework ring, ordering a 12” round frame, mounting onto a larger square birch cradle or mounting onto the same size round birch cradle.

Painting in the round isn’t easy; do you totally center the composition or off center it? If you off center, how do you balance the lopsidedness and how off center should you go. I remember when I first started painting on square canvas I had the same problem. I think the answer in this case is to triangulate.

30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 19 of 30 - BUNNY BUNKIE

BUNNY BUNKIE by Sea Dean 7.5x5x5 inch Mixed Media $39

It’s funny how my feelings change about these bird houses. My favorites now are #1 and #3, but I love these bunnies. It’s off to the gallery on Friday, so I had to decide on a price. I chose $39. As the gallery takes 40%, thats only $20 to me for all that work and thats gross before supplies and overheads. Things have got so expensive that I think $35 is the new $25. What do you think, too low, too high? Your thoughts much appreciated.

Check out the barn owl hiding under the eaves and the bunny bum just visible at the corner of the house.

30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 18 of 30 - BEE LODGE (Final)

BEE LODGE (Final version) Mixed Media 7.5 x 5 inches by Sea Dean

Something was bothering me about this bee house so I left it and kept looking until I realized, as so often is the case, that the copper iridescent paint was more or less the same tone as the background and looking a bit blah. I quickly outlined with my new best friend, a Molotow fine black paint pen and voila, now it pops. I also added more black and copper stripes to the bees so they look more real.

Another thing bothering me was that the roof was too bright, so I added more crackle fluid, waited for it to dry and then painted with a creamier antique white. My theory that it would crack down the same lines as the layer below worked. Now I like it much more and can declare it done.

Add caption

I read an interesting article by Sherwyn Williams about hanging your art on the right color walls. I have a feature white wall at home that just doesn't show art well, the taupe walls are much better. Also my community gallery uses a very pale grey. However my Mum had mid to dark grey feature walls in her apartment and everything showed really well on them.

Creating the perfect backdrop for your art


30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 17 of 30 - SHINE by Sea Dean

There are videos below, but if you receive this blog by email you will only see them if you click on this link. sorry for the inconvenience. http://www.paintamasterpiece.blogspot.com

Its a little off topic for my 30 Day Creative Gathering theme, but I’ve been working on a slideshow movie of my carwash photography. It’s only a year or so since I stopped hand-washing my car and decided to let a machine do the job. I’m a bit of a Luddite, except for my iPad of course. It actually doesn't cost a lot more and with flashing colored lights and rainbow foam, its one of my little treats. Yup, I’m just entering my second childhood.. .

It was fast and easy to create a slideshow within the photo app on my iPad, but I just couldn't find a way to move it onto the net. Then I spent the best part of three days rebuilding a slideshow movie with iMovie, not the simplest app to work with. Each frame had to be loaded, manipulated with movement, and timed to the music. Of course because I was also learning there were many challenges to this. What a nightmare! I did gain a greater respect for editors though

The goal is to get better at producing video to market my art. I think I will be organizing some of these images into a series for limited editions, and eventually add them to my Artfinder shop. So here is SHINE in all its glory. I would love to hear what you think about the video and choice of music. I’m also interested in which one of the three links works for you because the first two were loaded through the video link which compressed them and the last was via photos. Sometimes things work differently for a visitor

30DCG2020  and ODP

DAY 16 of 30 - CARWASH

Compilation of images by Sea Dean

Its a little off topic for my 30 Day Creative Gathering theme, but I’ve been working on a slideshow movie of my carwash photography. It’s only a year or so since I stopped hand-washing my car and decided to let the machine do the job. It actually doesn't cost a lot more, but I’m a bit of a Luddite, except for my iPad of course.

I have a wonderful finished slideshow on my iPad but can’t seem to copy it to Facebook or onto the net. I will keep trying, but in the meantime here are some collaged stills.

Stay tuned.

DAY 15 of 30 - FLUTTERBY BIRDHOUSE

FLUTTERBY BIRDHOUSE by Sea Dean

I went to the ballet last night and took Valentines night off. The music and dancers were incredible and when I came home I just wanted to relax and relive the evening.

Today I worked on two more birdhouses. This one has under crackle of royal blue with blue glitter, White sparkly polymer butterflies and bronze acrylic paint over cream and grey chalk paint. So much nicer than it looks here.

30DCG2020 and ODP

DAY 14 of 30 - BEE LODGE in Progress

BEE LODGE by Sea Dean (Available by contacting me)

A work in progress. I have to wait for the crackle to develop before I wax and add details. The brownish looking painting is actually Golden Fine Copper Acrylic. The crackle roof has fine red undercoat and the rest is Chalk Paint.

The grey chalk paint is an experiment with powdered paint that you mix with water. I find its grittier and the pigment tends to separate, so needs constant mixing. Other chalk paint I use is Folk Art which has some interesting colors, and Canadian made Cottage Paint which is very nice quality and a different color selection.

I’m understanding how to make large cracks now, but it’s not easy, and always a surprise. I’m considering adding these to my next solo exhibition as they will go well with my proposed natural wood theme. I don't have a date yet, but as spring is fast approaching I’d better get my skates on.

30DCG2020  and 30DODP

DAY 13 of 30 - BIRDHOUSE BLING (final)

Yesterday I completed the front and today the back and sides. I think I’m going to include some color inside like beautiful lining in a designer coat. Just have to decide between red, green, turquoise or blue.

I also continued with some layers on three others that are not quite ready to show.

30DCG2020 - ODP