Salt Mine in Blue, Purple, and Green - New Painting

Salt Mine in Blue, Purple, and Green
11 x 14 x 0.5 inches
Acrylic and Oil on Canvas

Since last week's plein air painting in monochrome hues of silver, bronze, gold, and beige, it was time to add color.

I decided on a blue, purple, and green color scheme. The new process of painting an abstract painting as the base coat for my Plein air paintings is so exciting to me. It adds a spring in my step and I can't wait to begin the process.

This one took the shape of the landscape naturally without trying. When I had the painting in front of me on the land, the mountains seems to line up with what I had randomly painted abstractly. Woohoo! So much fun!

I grabbed the palette knife and mixed the paint to the sandy color of the desert floor. Slabs of the creamy beige appeared on top of the colorful abstract below it. I laid the paint down in the direction of the mountains. I let the color show through in strategic places to add surprise and wonder to the landscape scene. Two gold dots peek out boldly.

The salt mine is a wonderful place to paint. I could paint hundreds of paintings there and never tire of it. Remnants of the past salt mine stick out the ground as if they are part of the flora.

Let me know what you think in the comments. Thanks for reading this far.

Me, Mary Rush, with my painting - Salt Mine in Blue, Purple, and Green.

The Throne of God Painting - 11 x 14 - Mixed Media on Canvas

 

The Throne of God painting and me, Mary Rush.

The Throne of God

• Mixed media on Canvas
• 14 x 11 x 0.5 in
• Still wet, will be available in 2-6 months

Now that the weather is warming up, it’s time to hit the painting Plein air trail again. I’m changing up my process. I hope you like the new look of my landscapes.

 

A land formation at the salt mine conjures my imagination of being an enormously large chair where God sits. It is in a direct line with my driveway. So, I always feel like I live at God’s feet. He (yes, my God is he) sits on his throne and watches over me.

 

The photo on the left is a scanned version of the center of the painting. I stand next to the full painting in the photo to the right. The metallic gold and silver, white, and beige color scheme is subtle except for the high contrasting lines.

 

It’s always a thrill to hit the hiking trail with paints and an easel in tow. As much as I love painting abstract, I love being in nature too. The new process marries both the abstract and the landscape. I have the best of both worlds now. It feels great.

Collage Exploration on 9 x 12 Canvas - #4: Village Boardwalk
9 x 12 x 0.5 inches
Acrylic and Paper on Canvas
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Collage Exploration on 9 x 12 Canvas #4 - Village Boardwalk

9 x 12 x 0.5 inches

Acrylic and Paper on Canvas

#4 of 4 in the Series: Village Boardwalk

When I walk down the boardwalk, people stop me and say, 'Oh, your house is the one that glows.'–Mary Matalin

This fourth and final piece of this series is similiar to the third in color, design, and composition. The foreground wanted to be a lighter color than #3. But the same oranges, reds, and pinks are also part of the main color story of this painting.

The composition is asymmetrical with curvilinear lines. There is high contrast of darks and lights and warm colors and cool colors. The shapes seem to move to the right. The three triangles in the foreground anchor the composition.

All in all, I think it's a pleasing and colorful image filled with good cheer. What do you think? I'd love to hear, leave a comment below.

It takes a few to make war, but it takes a village and a nation to build peace.

–Abiy Ahmed 

 

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Insitu

Back Story on the Series

I have been working on a four-painting series for the past month. All four paintings are now complete. This post features the third in the series.

The Series

This series consists of four small paintings on gallery-wrapped canvas measuring 9 x 12 x 0.5 inches. The media used was acrylic paint and paper. I did two series on 9 x 12 inch paper of three paintings each and wanted to try it with gallery-wrapped canvas.

Process

The first step was to paint a white acrylic base coat on each painting. Then, I adhered colored paper shapes onto each of the four canvases, each receiving a unique approach. I painted all four canvases with the underlayer, which helped determine the design direction of each painting. 

After the initial sessions of working on all four at once, I considered each one and worked consecutively, finishing each piece as I progressed to the next. 

I wanted to make a series of small paintings that would hang well together. After the first painting, the color scheme took a different route. Numbers two, three, and four share a similar color story. Numbers three and four follow an almost identical design style along with the color story. 

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“Composition is the art of arranging in a decorative manner the diverse elements at the painter’s command to express his feelings.”
–Henri Matisse

Me, Mary Rush, with my painting, Village Boardwalk