Original Art Koser

Maija Baynes Painting Workshop

2012-01-27T20:01:00.001-05:00

    January 24-26 were three days well spent in a painting workshop with Maija Baynes. It has been a while since I blogged about a class that I have taken and enjoyed so much.
For some reason I have not been able to get the feeling; "Oh I really want to paint that!"; therefore I paint nothing. Even my paint something silly did not get me out of my blank canvas block. The painting passion always returns but I never know how long it will take.
     I tried reading; Artist's Way, Color Choices, the new Acrylic Artist Magazine and Fill Your Oil Paintings with Light & Color.    Nada.

     Maija was a guest demonstrator at the Vero Beach Art Club meeting where she painted a still life. It dawned on me that part of my problem was that I have to visibly see the landscape or subject in front of me to be able to paint it. My brain had just shut down to printed subject materials. During the workshop I learned totally new painting techniques to paint a landscapes, cloud/skies and water/ reflections.
This gave me some new ammunition to move forward.

Using a tinted canvas and a limited palette we were instructed to sketch in the simple shapes of the subject's outline. No drawing, just take an old brush and scrumble in the basic shapes. I had to relearn scrumbling and to use a small amount of paint. My outline shapes had too many hard edges and my paint layer was way to thick. Maija paints from dark to light which threw me off a bit. She showed us how to combine a limited number of colors to get the full landscape palette. The logic was that a blending of a small number of colors would unifying the total painting.

Maija's palette

The colors of the background contain more blues and grays, they are lighter with softer edges. Next she added red to the shaded areas of the paining and then proceeded to add mid and light tones of greens. The sky was done last which is the opposite of my technique.

Maija deomonstrated how to mix the sky/ cloud colors before painting the sky. Note there were six different tones to the clouds! After that I had the knowledge to tackle my own sky. Pure white cotton ball clouds are a no, no from now on.

Maija's final painting

The second day dealt with clouds and the third day focused on water reflections. Who knew reflections should be painted in the mirror image direction of the object? How can I miss little things that are so obvious?

Maija- Clouds

Maija's water reflections

I know it was a good workshop because the time passed quickly and I was struggling which means I was learning and out side of my comfort zone!
Here are my three uncompleted attempts at landscape, a cloud scene and water with reflections:

My landscape

My clouds

I will finish these and post the final results for the world to ponder.

My water reflections

A Play House for Laurel

2011-07-29T14:01:00.000-04:00

Being a grand mother to a little girl is so cool. I adore inventing "girlie" project to share with her and my newest venture was to make a play house which is like sewing a huge pillow case that will fit over a card table. As always, I under estimated the time and sewing challenges.

Completed Play House.

I would like to present the newest house on the block, Laurel's Cottage. As the builder of this fine abode I would like to point out it's special features:

There are three windows with curtains and a mirror hung on the wall for our 18 month old princess to check on her beauty. The exterior of the house boasts of a mail box, porch light and house numbers. I even made fabric letters addressed to the home owner. The ruffles under each window are imaginary flower boxes and along the bottom of the cottage is a garden of roses planted up against the house. The next time I go to the flea market I will search for a mini kitchen set to go with the mini pots and pans I bought.

Now you may be wondering where I got the blueprint for such a lovely English Cottage. I purchased a card table and faked it, sewing myself out of one situation after another. Patterns seem to stifle my right brain so I don't use them.

Oh, I almost forgot the stars and mini mirrors glued to the under side of the card table so Laurel can gaze at the heavens as she plays in her cottage.

This will be a Christmas present for my darling grand daughter and she is worth all the hours of sewing and figuring out how to make this project work.

Another Ta da moment.

Summer in Sunny Florida!

2011-06-20T09:48:00.000-04:00

All my beloved activities cease for the summer and boredom, hot humid boredom sets in. Well this summer I am fighting back. I took on a local community project, signed up for an acrylic workshop and a day of Mixed Media Paste Paper Collage class. A little travel, a little gardening and I am good to go until September. Add to that list a sewing project for my grand daughter and I am content. My mind is planning a card table play tent with all the charm of an English cottage.
The results will be posted as they are completed. Wishing you all a great summer.

Original Art Koser: I Have Gone to Windmill Painting Power

2011-05-22T11:57:00.000-04:00

www.verobeachartclub.org: I Have Gone to Windmill Painting Power

I Have Gone to Windmill Painting Power

2011-05-22T11:54:00.000-04:00

Windmill rotating arms.

All of the easels I have used over the last 30 years were cheap or free,wobbly, hard to use and generally unsatisfactory. I have know about a windmill easel for a few years but never had the nerve or the money to purchase one. After the demise of my four year open air tent art show career, I took the earnings and the advise of my artist friends and splurged on this:

Rotating mechanism.

Sturdy base on casters.

Hydraulic damper.

This easel suits my style of painting because I like to use the drip technique so turning the canvas or paper at different angles aids in getting the paint to flow in any direction. I can easily set the easel at any angle (upright for acrylics and 45 or so for watercolors) and even lower it to a horizontal position for mixed media work. The windmill arms turn 360 in both directions. I may not be the best artist in the world but this new invention makes painting my creations more comfortable and enjoyable.

Value Added Exhibit

2011-04-17T15:30:00.000-04:00

AFTER

All dressed up and    Nowhere to go!

My little Russian Dolls were just sitting around but I have found a place to show them.

     Art Mundo had a call to artists to take an ordinary object and alter it creatively, thus making it "value added".
     I think an ordinary gourd fits the bill, so please wish me luck.

BEFORE

Art in Public Places

2011-04-05T15:45:00.000-04:00

You are invited to see my entry into the Vero Beach Art Club Member Exhibit held at the Indian River Courthouse, Vero Beach, Florida. Art in Public Places is supponsored by the Cultural Council of Indian River County and begins April 15 ending July 14, 2011.

     This year I am going big (25" x 31") or going home.

     Bodacious was an experiment with the color field genre. Some of the materials are iridescent and glitter as light hits them from different angles. It represents a modern geometric abstract using bold colors.

Original Art Koser: New Paintings.

2011-03-18T19:51:00.000-04:00

Original Art Koser: New Paintings.: "Majestic Mountains Finally the 'zone' returns after many months of ; 'I can not think of a thing I want to paint'..."

New Paintings.

2011-03-18T19:49:00.000-04:00

Majestic Mountains

Finally the "zone" returns after many months of ; "I can not think of a thing I want to paint". I usually divert myself with something crafty but this time I went to an open studio and painted with friends. Tucked away in a corner I had time to just paint without any distractions.

I seem to be going more and more toward the abstraction of a subject and the older I get the more I crave color, pure jewel tone color!

During a recent workshop I started a chef themed painting. I got the background and middle ground with little effort but the foreground flummoxed me for months. Somewhere in my subconscious I solved the problem and here is Chef Braden which named after my son.

Chef Braden

I finished three paintings in a few days and it feels so good to be home!

New Address....Please Note the Change.

2011-03-07T18:29:00.000-05:00

X marks the spot! My new spot is:

www.verobeachartclub.org
Artists Gallery

Please join me for the blog party!

Thanks.

Mary Ellen

A Big, Really Big Gourd!

2011-03-07T18:09:00.000-05:00

All but a few of my painted coconuts were sold at my last tent art show. My absolute high spot was the fact that three different sportsmen wanted to buy my "Football" coconut!

I decided to keep my favorite, Double Chocolate Mocha Cupcake, for myself.

I then graduated from coconuts to huge gourds. My motto is if you bring it home to me I will paint it and I did.

Let me introduce Russian Peasant Doll.

She is 20" tall and 19"wide.

What I have been doing lately.

2011-03-07T17:06:00.000-05:00

FYI:

This Saturday is the Vero Beach Art Club's Art Trail tour. I have co- chaired the Art Trail committee with two friends in the club. We arranged for 10 artist to open up their home/studio to the public to purchase tickets and tour art studios within Vero Beach. The goal is to raise money for our scholarship fund for a deserving college bound art student, to promote local artists exposure and hopefully help them sell their art work. In addition we want amateur artists to see you can have a studio in a sun room, small bed room or a big closet. Just get out there and create.

Kudos to Volunteers:
This has been my first experience with committee chairing and I have gained respect for all the work and time that goes into such a venture. Hats off to all the volunteers of our community! There are countless hours, meetings and leg work that go into organizing individual people into a public event. Needless to say my art experiments have been in a holding pattern, but after Saturday watch for my next project.

What are your doing art wise?

Change is in the Wind.

2011-03-07T16:55:00.002-05:00

Hi all,
A lot of paths have been altered since last I dazzled you with my inane but fun projects.

Former web site grab button.

I closed down two on line web sites due to lack of sales response. I have decided to end my career in the open air tent art show venue for the same reason and I'm searching for a new path to explore. Just because something did not work out I do not consider it a failure. I learned a lot more about computers, photographing my art work for on line presentation, blogging. search engines and so forth. There have been great conversations with people at the art shows and even some repeat customers for my painted coconuts.

I have taken two wonderful workshops; one was acrylic and the other gold leaf abstract painting. Here is one of the paintings from workshop days well spent behind a paint brush.

Golden Glow 1

Laurel's First Christmas

2010-12-26T19:52:00.000-05:00

My one and only grand child will be one year old at the end of December. To me she is the prettiest, smartest and most adorable little girl ever! Just indulge me and let me enjoy the moment.

Many gifts for her were store bought but the one I love the most and enjoyed giving the most was a cardboard BOX. You know how young children play with the box more than the toy gift? Well I decorated a large furniture box as a gingerbread house.
See for yourself.


Back of the House; see the smoke in the chimney?

Front of the House

Side of the House

All that is left to say is.......TA DA!!

Holiday Wishes

2010-12-17T19:17:00.000-05:00

Let it Snow!

Let it snow, but just not here where I live!

Many a year was spent in the cold north and I did enjoy the beauty of winter. The softness of snowflakes falling on a clear winter night, the rain freezing on tree branches to make a crystal wonderland and of course every year I made snow angels under the stars. Ah , what a bucolic scene.

I won't venture into black snow, frozen fingers and toes and the white knuckle trips on icy roads.
No, this year I will only remember the good stuff .

My wish for you is to celebrate in the way that is special to you with the people that mean the most to you.

Mary Ellen

SEE YOU AT THE ART SHOW

2010-12-08T18:05:00.000-05:00

Art in the Park sponsored by the Vero Beach Art Club is having an open air tent art show and I will be in it!

Coconut-Football

I must admit it is a lot of work to set up a tent and man it all day but it is good networking, a little selling and a plethora of interesting conversations with the people wandering by. Puppies, painting, doing lunch and talking are some of my favorite things.

November 21st Show:
The last tent show I focused on Art for Youth. Titles like games, whimsy, coconut art, safari and mini art were were posted around the tent. Big, bold and bright was used to appeal to children not adults, after all children should also be surrounded by art.

Plum Blossom

December 12, 2010 my theme will be The Human Form.

All People

Just people in many different styles.

Easter Island

A Child's Wonder
I am wishing myself warm, sunny weather and a large crowd of people to see my art work and the art work of the 24 other artists.
Where ever you are I wish you a perfect Sunday.

CINDERELLA WORE PRADA!

2010-11-09T20:39:00.000-05:00

Yes, I am a little bit overly dramatic, but here I go again with the dyed paper towel thing. This time I decided to create a 3D shoe from the Viva paper towels left over from Lulu's class silk screening project. I wanted to out "Ga Ga" myself with this shoe and then I promise I am done with the shoe thing.

What is Cinderella's slipper with out a pillow to sit upon? I then sewed a pillow out of scrap fabric and found items. I used Crown Royal felt bags as the top.
This can truly be labeled one of a kind because I will never, never attempt this again.
WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Before you is the final product: CINDERELLA WORE PRADA!

Calendart PR Event

2010-10-22T10:08:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you get the bug
sometimes the bug gets you!

Last week I attended my first "Meet and Greet". It was held at Art Mundo's Underground Bank introducing the 24 artists that were accepted to create paintings for the 2011 calendar. I chose to do the "Year of the Bug" just to be just this side of silly. Here is some of the art work I did: Hope they bring a grin to your face!

The 5x7 pictures were made with hand made paste papers to create a whimsical image of bugs. The wings get their iridescent quality from Angelia film or fibers.

Honey Bee

Some bugs are realistic and some are pure imagination.

Sunset Moth

Purple Beetle

Praying Mantis

Some are a simple rendering and others are super detailed.

Geiger Beetles

Yellow Woolly Bear Caterpillar

Adonis Butterfly

All were fun to create and I wish Art Mundo well on their fund raiser.

Opinions on my creations are welcome......

DECONSTRUCTED SILKSCREENING

2010-10-10T17:41:00.000-04:00

I kind of got detoured while trying to finish my people pointillism collage, so it is on the "I will get to it someday" pile.

My excuse is signing up for LuLu's class at the Vero Beach Museum of Art . She is presenting a variety of techniques that can be integrated with my own personal style and media. The first class taught us deconstructed silk screening. What most intrigued me was the lack of pre-planning of the found objects and textures that were used. If you look closely on the first screen print you will see the asymmetrical circles made by rubber bands!

During the second class LuLu showed us resist and how to transfer images onto the surface of a printed page. I noted some cool shoes on the newspaper I was using for a drop cloth so I free hand cut out the general image and placed the cut out on my paper before I printed with silkscreen dyes. White remained where the shoe template was placed. Secondly, I used the shoe cut out to reverse print with the wet dye by pressing the template on a previously screened paper. The most fun is just playing around with new "stuff" and figuring out how I can adapt it in my mixed media.

Paste paper shoes

In my studio I created whimsy shoes using paste papers. Even the Viva towels used to clean up our silk screens can be dried and used in collages. Here I glued dyed paper towels to design another pair of fantasy shoes.

Viva paper towel shoes

Wonder what this week will bring? More later as art happens.

Pointillism Collage Continued

2010-09-26T15:32:00.001-04:00

Somehow my pointillism experiment morphed into a straight collage of people. I have tried to keep with the dot theme but I don't think that qualifies as a pointillism work. I for one will be surprised at the results.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

The Plucky Crone

2010-09-23T12:36:00.002-04:00

Abandoned Mt. Cabin

       There are pioneer women in this world that will survive and thrive under the harshest of conditions. I have a dear friend that is one of these women. The latest adventure that she undertook alone was to chase down and capture the dream of living in the North Carolina mountains. She bought a piece of land, made all the arrangements to move a house from Florida to NC, clear the lot of trash, had the house put back together, had a well plus septic dug and lived there a month without electricity during an unusual hot spell.
     Imagine driving 10 hours to get there with two large dogs and two cats in a car packed to the hilt! If anything could go wrong, it did and somehow she found solutions. In six weeks she did all that plus got a flower garden growing and met all sorts of great people and found time for some fun. We all call her the "energizer bunny".
     Girlfriend you exhaust me just thinking about your journey! I flew up and visited for a week; great weather, great activities and yes she is THRIVING.
So that is what I have been up to lately and now back to my art.

Old Barn up the Road

Fresh Food Market

Pointillism Continued

2010-09-23T12:17:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks later and the painting looks the same. I have reached a road block but an idea will appear out of nowhere when I least expect it. When it does I will finish this puppy and show it to you! ME

The Day I Met BJ

2010-09-06T14:39:00.000-04:00

BJ at the beach in Glen Arbor, Michigan

There is something I have been meaning to do for 10 years or so; write and publish a short story about BJ, my soul mate dog. I did write the story and drew some pictures for it but I knew I would never get it formally published. I post this now so I always remember my dear friend.

BJ sitting in a huge flower pot.

     This short story is dedicated to all of us who love dogs and their unconditional love and the laughter that they bring into our lives.

     Married with children but without a dog for some years. Something began to tug at my heart strings and told me that it was time to welcome a dog into my life again. I could think of so many reasons why getting a dog would add work to a busy life but all that didn't really matter. I just wanted a dog to love and care for.

     A search for the perfect pet was on and it took almost a year of looking. First I researched the breed that would be just right, I asked a local vet what breed would suit the needs of my family, I visited dog shows, called different dog clubs and one owner even invited me to her home to meet her poodle. Many thanks to the people that were so kind and caring in sharing with me.

     To ensure the perfect choice of my next dog I had specific requirements that I was insisting upon:
         *Not a puppy
         *Small lap dog
         *Floppy ears, long legs and a long tail
         *Female with a gentle disposition
         *Non shedding due to family allergies

Example of the perfect lap dog!

         * And CHEAP;   Needed to be a rescue dog



     One Saturday I set out for another pet parade where a rescue group showed unwanted pets to try and get them adopted. The price was right and I met three dogs which were either hyper or ugly or both! I will not settle this time, I was sticking to my requirement list.
Next I drove to a fancy dog show that was being held in downtown Lansing, Michigan.
There were breeds I had only seen in books and they were so beautiful and SO EXPENSIVE! I will keeping looking until I found the perfect dog, maybe not today but someday.
     I debated on whether or not I had time to stop by the local Humane Society for yet another look at the new animals in the shelter. My son and daughter had been with me on many visits before. They wanted to take every dog home and finally gave up on me saying.."Oh you will never find the perfect dog, you are just too picky". Maybe I was but the choice was so important to me because it would be a forever home.
     Some how I found myself in the shelter's parking lot, then in the shelter on my way to the small dog room which was down the hall past the loud, leaping big dog room. I got side tracked and walked into the room filled the din of barking passing by cage after cage.

BJ looked me straight in the eyes.

The very last cage held a quiet dog peering out at me with dark sorrowful eyes. She was all silver gray with darker floppy ears that filled up most of her big face. Her tail looked like a giant feather duster and at the end of her very long legs were paws the size of mops. The poor dear was so so thin but newly groomed, bow and all. Hum... the card said "BJ: female sheepdog mix, one year old, owner gave her up because she was too big".

BJ's first day with her new family.

This silent dog just stood there looking into my eyes, her ears perked up surrounding an adorable furry face that seemed to be saying; what's not to love? BJ had the kind of beauty that you saw instantly or you would never see it at all.

Before giving up for the day I thought it would be charitable I asked if I could take BJ out for a walk in the yard. BJ was big, really big in fact she was huge. This quiet dog was so happy to get out that she dragged me out the door running onto the grass!! This definitely was not the small lap dog I was looking for. Sorry BJ.

Me being dragged for a walk with BJ.

Only moments after we were outside BJ calmed down and something magical happened, she responded to my voice and looked me straight in the eyes. This not so perfect dog had touched my heart and I felt something good in the pit of my stomach.
I was worried about her size, was she going to grow more to fit the paw mops? Did she shed? I tugged at her fur and none came out. I stuck my nose in her hair to see if I would start sneezing. OK that all checked out. The ladies at the shelter really wanted me to take her because she had been there 10 days and bigger dogs have a harder time finding a new home.

     I did not have the nerve to just take her home and say "surprise" so I brought the family back a few hours later to see this not so perfect dog. When they saw BJ their eyes opened wide and jaws dropped. My son said that was the ugliest dog he had ever seen, my daughter said let's take her and Dad said OK.

    You guessed it she is ours. We piled into the kids and not so perfect dog into the car and celebrated with ice cream cones for everyone even BJ.
    Four out of list of requirements isn't so bad. BJ was our gentle giant with the capacity to love and play as huge as her size.

We had BJ 16 years and she was my dog, my confidant, my comfort and my joy. There will never be another BJ and I am writing this now so that the world knows she lived and still lives in my heart. If the truth be known I did this for me and yes after all these years I have tears running down my face.
Love you BJ.

Pointillism Collage

2010-09-01T19:44:00.001-04:00

Today pointillism is back on my artistic plate. I am fascinated by Seurat's famous works but do not have the knowledge nor the patience to paint a million dots. Thought I would kick it up a notch and make it bigger, bolder and abstract.
First I painted a canvas with jewel toned acrylics in random strokes.

Step two I took my paste paper collection, a 3 ringed hole punch and some scrap booking cutting tools that my daughter gave me and punched out dots of all colors.

At the moment my plan is to glue complimentary dots onto the painted canvas colors.

Step 1

Sugar and Spice Twice

2010-08-21T17:03:00.002-04:00

In other words, I changed my mind and here is the finished painting.

Sugar and Spice

2010-08-21T13:32:00.000-04:00

Sugar and spice... well you know the rest. This painting is dedicated to all the precious little girls in my life: Laurel, Mya and Mackenzie. You make my world a better place with your sweet sense of wonder of life. Thank you for inviting me into your secret imaginary flower garden.

Plaster Collage Update

2010-08-20T12:10:00.000-04:00

The final product of "Sugar and Spice" has been a wee bit elusive but here are the areas that I am pleased with;
these paste paper flowers:

Yellow Flower

Big Flower

Bug


Tulip	Just for fun I added a bug and a bumble bee:

Windmill Easels

2010-08-19T16:44:00.000-04:00

I really, really want to buy a 36" windmill easel but the cost has me hesitating. Has anyone used one or purchased one or knows of a used one that is for sale? I need to think is it worth the investment. Anyway I sure would appreciate some input. Thanks.

Plaster Collage:Page 4

2010-08-18T13:26:00.000-04:00

I have lost control over the painting! The majority of the plaster work is now covered up with paste paper shapes. One good thing is that the plaster raises the paste paper flowers off of the canvas for more depth. Observing my own work at this stage; I need more contrast, more unification of the flowers and details, too many foreground objects and not enough soft edged fading into the background images. I must take care not to go off of the cute scale, maintain my original objective of a high key color palette and not to get to representational. At the moment the title is "Sugar and Spice".

Little Girls Rule:

Original Art Koser: Plaster Collage page 3

2010-08-13T13:52:00.000-04:00

Original Art Koser: Plaster Collage page 3: "Page 3 I hope you see a difference each time I post my progress. The blue sky like sponge technique is an attempt to unify the picture as..."

Plaster Collage page 3

2010-08-13T13:49:00.001-04:00


Page 3

I hope you see a difference each time I post my progress. The blue sky like sponge technique is an attempt to unify the picture as a whole and to make the subject matter pop out. Looking at the photo helps me see many places that need to be developed. At first the flowers were loosely representational but I like the big purple thing in the upper right so to heck with "real" flowers. I'm noticing that the raised plaster bubbles are floating aimlessly and they need to be tied into the scene better. More later when I figure it out. What would you do to make this a good painting?

Page 2 of Plaster Collage

2010-08-09T14:53:00.001-04:00

Let me set the scene; I have no plan, the CD "O Brother, Where At Thou" is playing and I am trying not to go over the top with this experiment. Then I remembered a cool tool that I found at a flea market. No one knew what it's purpose was but I knew it would become a stamp in my collection.

NEW STAMP

PAGE 2.

Plaster Collage Experiment

2010-08-07T19:04:00.000-04:00

After my workshops on paste paper (check out my blogs on www.originalartkoser.com) I am now diving into plaster collage that I read about in Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine. I have no plan or image in mind so this may take awhile. I chose a 16x20 canvas and put modeling paste on one side, next I scrapped some shapes into the wet paste. My plan is to make a high key color collage in a whimsical child like style. The swipes of side colors will peek through as I add papers and paste papers to make my collage. Here is page 1 in my experimental journey.

page 1